Pokemon Go Groups - Is there any that stand out? (Instinct, Mystic and Valor)

July 20, 2016

The Pokemon Go teams and the differences between Instinct, Mystic and Valor.

Pokemon Go players who reach level five will face a difficult dilemma as they will have to choose one of three teams - Instinct, Mystic and Valor - to join. Once a player has made their choice, they cannot be undone and will belong to that team for the rest of the game. So what are the differences between them? How do they affect the game experience? And which one is right for everyone?

The truth is that no matter which team we choose, it doesn't affect our game. What happens is that, once we pick a team, we will be fighting with them from now on and against the others. We can now only train in our team's gyms and fight in the other teams' gyms. But the core of the game will remain the same regardless of which team we are on. The choice ultimately comes down to personal preference, and there may be some factors you'll want to consider before choosing.

The first thing to consider is which group your friends are in. It makes sense that you want to be on the same team as them and want to fight the other teams together. On the other hand of course you will never be able to compete with them by fighting against them.

You can also check how popular each group is in your area. You can tell this by looking at what colour the gyms are on the map of your area and which one has the most. This way you can get into the most popular one or deliberately choose to get into a less popular one.

You can also search the Facebook pages of the groups and see which are the biggest in your area and which are the most promising. It's all about finding a group of players you feel comfortable with, since you'll be playing with them permanently from now on. And ultimately, the game provides descriptions of each team, what they stand for, what their ideals are, and too many people make their choice based on that alone without regard to what their community has chosen.

So here is a quick description of the groups and their characteristics.

team instinct

Color: Yellow
Leader: Spark
Mascot: Zapdos

The Instinct team might be the one you want to go to if you like "underdogs" as it is currently the least popular of the three. According to a recent Kotaku poll, 23% of players chose Instinct and the group's subreddit has 13,000 participants.

The Instinct team believes in using trust and intuition. They believe that they will never lose if they trust their instincts hence the name of the team. They also have no problem letting the other two teams eat each other. This way the team can silently grow while the others fight each other. On the other hand they have a mutual respect with the Mystic team and a shared hatred for Valor. And even though they have the least amount of people compared to the other two they managed to occupy the White House (in America) and Liberty Island where our famous statue is located.

Team Mystic

Color: Blue
Leader: Blanche
Mascot: Articuno

The Mystic team again is driven by the use of wisdom, serenity and intelligence. Their mascot is Articuno, the creature with the ability to control cold, which suits those who want to have "cold" logical thinking and control over the fire of emotions. Let's say they're the Jedi in the Pokémon world.

In the online Pokémon Go community, Team Mystic is by far the most popular of the three. It was also by far the most popular in Kotaku's poll with 37% of players battling alongside Blanche. There are 18,643 participants on the team's subreddit.

According to leader Blanche's description, Team Mystic will prevail through calm analysis in every situation and control. The followers of the group are inclined towards science, logic and clear thinking. They liken themselves to House Stark from Game of Thrones and have the motto "Team Mystic knows no other creature but Articuno the creature from the North". They hate Team Valor with a passion (as much as their cold minds will allow) and the battle rages between them mostly.

Team Valor

Color: Red
Leader: Candela
Mascot: Moltres

And finally, there's the red Valor team, driven by the ideal of power as the highest value in the Pokémon world. The members of Valor are driven by passion and power above all else in stark contrast to the serenity and cold logic of the Mystic and the loyalty and instinct of the Instinct. Think of them as the House of Targaryen from Game of Thrones in the world of Pokémon.

If you're into this game with the idea of being the best of the best and the belief that Pokémon are the most powerful creatures there are, then maybe Team Valor is for you. The team already has a reputation for being more aggressive and competitive than the others. According to Kotaku's poll, it has 29% of players and the team's subreddit has 6,216 participants. They tend to attack at night and take over areas while other players sleep. They currently hold the Empire State Building.