I had apparently wanted to make this post "soon enough" when I discussed about "certain new flavors", but it seems "soon enough" couldn't come sooner. There was also likely an element of waiting to understand it more fully, particularly by playing the game the topic pertains to, but that has yet to be realized either. In any case, now it seems just as well to make a bit of a writeup on the topic that was intended to be covered.
So, a long time ago, I wrote up about Dynamax, what seemingly makes up the "gargantuan phenomenon" of the Galar region. As it turns out, that writeup seemed to have come too early, for there is another part to that: Gigantamax. Like the former, it involves Pokémon species becoming giant-sized, but where in the former the Pokémon (mostly) retain their normal form appearances despite being massive, the latter involves completely (separate) new forms, akin to but not really like Mega Evolution, nor a "successor" of it.
As of the completion of the eighth generation, 32 Pokémon species have distinct Gigantamax forms. Oddly - or not so oddly - a good number of those are for species originally from the Kanto region, including Pikachu and Eevee as "flagship" forms, while the rest are mostly for species from that generation and the associated region. The oddness further extends to some of the forms, as Gigantamax Pikachu (and Eevee) appear well-rounded, while Gigantamax Meowth has an elongated body. The local generation forms, though, could almost be described as Mega Evolution that seemed wasn't meant to be.
There is also the understanding that only certain individuals can access the forms, much like how Dynamax is at present is implemented in Pokémon Go, through what the original games refer to as "Max Factor". They had to have that inherent, or else had to go through a process to have them; the Sword and Shield games do in fact have a mechanism for the latter, which is also reflected in the anime as Ash's Gengar went through the process so it could have its Gigantamax form, while Pikachu already had its "Max Factor" inherent as shown early on. It's another case of a mechanism not being available to everything up front.
Back to Pokémon Go, Gigantamax has actually been included, in both Pokémon storage search and the Pokédex with all entries, but no form has so far come to light. Given the mechanism of Power Stops and Dynamax there in general, however, it seems easy to point out how that will go down... and perhaps the difficulty of dealing with them. For now, it seems Trainers will have their hands full with just Dynamax at present, and showing the capability to wrangle Dynamax will surely show the capability to wrangle Gigantamax later on.
Overdue as this post is, it seems to be still relevant today by what is happening in Pokémon Go. It's also relevant as it "closes the circle" - or rather, makes it whole - of the Galarian "gargantuan phenomenon" that I had started to cover back when, without knowing about the "other side" of that phenomenon as well as its potential. At the least, there now exists a greater understanding of it as well as a greater applicability.
Two years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 9/18/2022
Three years ago: To Care and To Protect
Four years ago: GOtcha Podcast Episode 1: Mega Evolution in Pokémon Go
Five years ago: Raid Failures
Six years ago: A Restarted Fever?
Seven years ago: What I (Really) Like About You - Pokémon
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