Master the Mountains of Power event with complete guide to Mega Aerodactyl debut and Shiny Slugma hunting strategies
Event Overview and Schedule
The Mountains of Power event arrives in Pokemon Go as a pivotal January 2022 experience within the Season of Heritage, introducing multiple exclusive features for dedicated trainers.
Pokemon Go’s Mountains of Power represents a major Rock and Steel-themed celebration, featuring the debut of Shiny Slugma, the long-awaited Mega Aerodactyl arrival, and valuable buddy system enhancements.
Following the Winter event series and New Year festivities, Mountains of Power continues the Season of Heritage narrative with geological themes and powerful Pokemon encounters throughout early January.
This focused event emphasizes Rock and Steel-type species including Geodude, Nosepass, and Onix with significantly boosted wild spawn rates, complemented by the inaugural appearance of Mega Aerodactyl in raid battles.
Our comprehensive guide provides strategic insights and practical tips to maximize your event participation and resource acquisition.
The Pokemon Go Mountains of Power event commences on Friday, January 7, 2022, at 10AM and concludes on Thursday, January 13, 2022, at 8PM local time.
Trainers have approximately six full days to complete exclusive research tasks, accumulate Mega Energy, and hunt for the newly released Shiny Slugma variant during this compact event window.
Mega Aerodactyl Debut Deep Dive
The landmark feature of Mountains of Power is the debut of Mega Aerodactyl, appearing in Mega Raids beginning January 7, 2022. Initial Mega Evolution requires 200 Mega Energy, with subsequent transformations costing 40 Mega Energy each.
Mega Aerodactyl marks the first Rock-type Mega Evolution introduction in Pokemon Go history, establishing itself as potentially the premier Rock-type attacker for raid battles with exceptional damage output and type coverage.
Strategic Insight: Prioritize Mega Aerodactyl raids during the event period to stockpile Mega Energy for future use. Since Rock-type attackers excel against Flying, Bug, Fire, and Ice-type raid bosses, having Mega Aerodactyl available provides significant type advantage in numerous raid scenarios.
Advanced Tip: Coordinate with local raid groups to maximize Mega Energy acquisition. Each successful Mega Aerodactyl raid provides approximately 40-50 Mega Energy, meaning 5-6 raids will secure permanent Mega Evolution capability.
Event Bonuses and Strategy Optimization
Mountains of Power features a single but highly valuable bonus for dedicated trainers:
This reduced walking distance creates the ideal opportunity to advance toward Best Buddy status with your preferred Pokemon, unlocking valuable perks including CP Boost during battles, random gift items, and Catch Assist functionality.
Pro Strategy: Focus on walking Pokemon that benefit most from Best Buddy status, such as legendary Pokemon, PvP contenders, or rare species you frequently use in raids. The CP boost can make critical differences in both raid performance and PvP matchups.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Don’t waste the reduced walking distance on Pokemon that won’t benefit from Best Buddy status. Prioritize meta-relevant species rather than casually walking whatever Pokemon happens to be your current buddy.
Wild Encounters and Shiny Hunting
Throughout the event duration, these Pokemon will appear with increased frequency in wild encounters:
Beyond the boosted spawn rates, Shiny Slugma becomes available for the first time in Pokemon Go during and following the event. The hunt for this fiery snail Pokemon’s shiny variant requires persistence and strategic location selection.
Shiny Hunting Strategy: Focus on areas with high Pokemon spawn density such as parks, shopping centers, and locations with multiple PokeStops. Use Incense and Lure Modules to further increase Slugma encounter rates during the event period.
Advanced Technique: Utilize the Quick Catch method to maximize the number of Slugma encounters per hour. This technique can potentially double your shiny checking efficiency during limited event windows.
Raid Bosses and Battle Planning
These Pokemon will appear as Raid Bosses throughout the Mountains of Power event duration:
Raid Strategy Note: The raid lineup features several Rock and Steel-type Pokemon that align with the event theme. Plan your battle teams accordingly, ensuring you have strong Fighting, Ground, and Water-type attackers prepared for these encounters.
Team Composition Tip: For Mega Aerodactyl raids, prioritize Water-type attackers like Kyogre, Swampert, and Gyarados, or Steel-type attackers such as Metagross and Dialga. Electric and Ice-types also perform well against this Flying/Rock-type Mega Evolution.
Resource Management: Balance your raid pass usage between Mega Aerodactyl for the exclusive Mega Energy and other raids that feature Pokemon you need for your collection or that have desirable shiny variants.
Research Tasks and Rewards
Mountains of Power includes an exclusive Timed Research questline focusing on core gameplay activities including Pokemon catching, Egg hatching, and Buddy Candy acquisition, with completion rewards featuring encounters with Beldum and Mawile.
Additionally, event-specific Field Research tasks will be available through PokeStop spins, offering encounters with Alolan Geodude, Slugma, and Mawile as completion rewards.
Research Completion Strategy: Prioritize the Timed Research as it disappears after the event concludes, while Field Research tasks can be completed at your leisure if acquired during the event period.
Efficiency Tip: Coordinate your buddy walking with the reduced distance bonus to simultaneously progress both the Buddy Candy research tasks and your Best Buddy advancement, maximizing time efficiency during the limited event window.
That covers everything essential for mastering the Mountains of Power event. For additional Pokemon Go guidance, explore our related resources:
Cutest Pokemon of all time | How to beat Cliff | How to beat Sierra | How to beat Arlo | How to beat Giovanni | How to beat all Team Go Rocket Grunts | Spotlight Hour schedule | Current Raid Bosses | How to get free Remote Raid Passes | How to catch Ditto | How to get Pinap Berri
No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Pokemon Go Mountains of Power event: Start time, Shiny Slugma & bonuses Master the Mountains of Power event with complete guide to Mega Aerodactyl debut and Shiny Slugma hunting strategies