The Water Festival starts today for Pokemon GO players, and among all the bonuses to look forward to, it’s the inclusion of two shiny pokemon that has gamers excited.

Pokemon Go was released in July 2016 and was one of the most used mobile apps in that year. This “augmented reality” mobile game encourages physical activity while feeding into the age-old “collect ‘em all” staple that’s made the video and card games so popular.

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The first shiny available during the Pokemon GO Water Festival is Barboach, which is referred to by players as “the whiskers pokemon.” Normally it has a grey body, blue fins and whiskers, and a jagged black line down its sides. The shiny version is similar, but most notably has yellow whiskers and fins and a white body, while keeping the jagged black line.

Barboachs are both Water and Ground. This duality means it’s particularly weak to Grass-type pokemon and moves, so avoid fights against Sceptile, Grovyle, and Roselias. However, it’s resistant to Fire, Steel, Poison, and Rock so feel free to take it out against a Steelix, Drapion, or Hypno. Water Gun and Mud Bomb are some of the best moves, but don’t discount how quickly a Mud Shot can fire off. Take them out in either rain or sun to give them a boost.

barboach pokemon

The Barboach evolves into a Whiscash, which unfortunately is unremarkable against the more high-end pokemon currently ruling the meta.

The second shiny available is the Carvanha. Normal coloring has a blue top, red belly, and yellow fins. The shiny version available now looks to have a more gold/green color on the top with more of a light blue belly.

This piranha-looking pokemon is a Water and Dark pokemon, which makes it vulnerable to Bug, Grass, Electric, Fairy, and Fighting types and moves. Avoid matchups against Deoxys, Breloom, and Machamps. It’s strong against Fire, Ice, Steel, Water, Dark, Ghost, and Psychic which makes it more than a match for Metagross, Slowbro, and Hypno.

pokemon go carvanha water festival

To do some real damage, use Bite and Crunch, and use a well-timed Snarl to turn the tide, pun intended. Take it out during the rain or fog for a nice boost. The Carvanha evolves into a Sharpedo. While a major damage dealer, it has very little defense. Use well, but with caution.

With Gen 5 pokemon coming out soon, the Water Festival is a great chance to get ahold of these rare pokemon before a whole slew of new pocket monsters become available. Be sure to stay tuned for more community events and news.

Pokemon GO is out now for iOS and Android mobile devices

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