Pokemon Go community slams “greedy” pay to win Max Mushrooms

Pokemon Go is adding Max Mushrooms from Pokemon Sword & Shield and fans have complained about how they represent a pay-to-win mechanic for difficult Dynamax battles.

Max Mushrooms are coming to Pokemon Go as part of the Gigantamax Lapras Max Battle Day on December 6. The official Pokemon Go website has detailed how Max Mushrooms will function and fans are already livid.

Max Mushrooms first appeared in The Isle of Armor DLC for Pokemon Sword & Shield. While they could be used in battle to buff stats temporarily, they served a much more practical purpose – making Max Soup, permanently allowing a Pokemon to use its Gigantamax form.

Pokemon Go Max Mushrooms are another cash grab

Niantic/The Pokemon Company

Users on The Silph Road Reddit criticized what was seen as a way of adding pay-to-win mechanics to Pokemon Go’s Dynamax/Gigantamax Raids.

“400 coins so four bucks for double damage in a Gmax raid? What were they smoking?” one user wrote, while another said, “Niantic is allergic to making any decision that doesn’t immediately exploit their consumers.”

“I got so excited thinking these might allow us to Dynamax our existing mons, but wow… that’s a high cost just to double damage for presumably just one player,” one player explained, adding, “Honestly, even if it affected your entire group, that still sounds like a lot.”

Max Raids in Pokemon Go are tricky because they must be done in person. There’s no way to use Remote Raid Passes to join friends or strangers, making them exceptionally difficult for rural players.

It also takes a ton of time and resources to trick out a Dynamax/Pokemon, with the extra powers locked behind hundreds of Candy per upgrade.

Max Mushrooms feel like a calculated move to exploit the impatient, which is why players are so frustrated to see them included in such a manner. Fans have been crying out for a Max Soup equivalent that can give all Pokemon Dynamax or Gigantamax forms, but instead, all they got is a costly buff.