Mamoswine and its pre-evolutions, Swinub and Piloswine, are the only Pokémon in Pokémon GO and the Pokémon series to be both Ice and Ground types. The fourth-generation games introduced a plethora of new evolutions to pre-existing Pokémon, and Mamoswine is one of them. This Pokémon has existed in the Pokémon world for thousands of years, with researchers finding ancient cave paintings depicting them. Mamoswine thrived during the Ice Age, but their populations diminished as the climate warmed.
This unique Ice and Ground typing is a double-edged sword for Mamoswine, as it has coverage against many different types, Electric, Poison, Rock, Fire, Steel, Grass, Ground, and Flying, while also being weak to many different types, Fire, Water, Grass, Fighting, and Steel. So long as players know their type matchups, they will be able to get a lot of use out of Mamoswine’s strengths.
Where to Find Mamoswine in Pokémon GO
The key to finding Mamoswine in the wild is to find areas its types call home. Ice types tend to show up near bodies of water, while Ground types appear near beaches and open fields. Rivers and lakes aren’t too hard to find in the world, so players in both urban and rural environments could have a shot at finding a Mamoswine. Of course, the weather will also play a factor in what types of Pokémon appear in the world. As expected, Ice types appear whenever it’s snowing, and Ground types during sunny days. There’s a possibility that Mamoswine can appear in both winter and summer thanks to these factors, making it accessible year-round. Once players encounter Mamoswine, they can catch it as they would any other Pokémon.
Much like with most fully evolved Pokémon, Mamoswine is very difficult to find in the world. The easiest method to obtaining it in Pokémon GO is to evolve it from it’s pre-evolutions, Swinub and Piloswine. As these two Pokémon share their typing with Mamoswine, they can be found in the same locations. It takes 25 candy to evolve Swinub into Piloswine, and 100 candy to evolve Piloswine into Mamoswine. Because each Pokémon will yield four candy, three for being caught, and one for being sent away, players will need to catch a total of 32 Swinub. However, Mamoswine has one more requirement for evolution. In addition to 100 Swinub candies, players also need to use a Sinnoh stone. All other unique generation 4 evolutions in Pokémon GO require this stone to evolve, and Mamoswine is no exception. Players can obtain this item by battling other trainers, or by winning continuous battles against the three team leaders. These bouts can be accessed by clicking on the ‘Battle’ icon in the top right corner above the ‘Items’ and ‘Shop’ button. After scrolling all the way down, players can challenge the team leaders for a chance to win the Sinnoh stone so they can evolve their Piloswine into a Mamoswine.
Pokémon GO is available for iOS and Android.