Primal Reversion vs Origin Forme: Which is better in Pokemon GO?

Pokemon GO hosts all sorts of alternate forms from the host franchise. Primal Reversion and Origin Formes are some of the most popular and beloved due to the time at which they debuted, as well as the monsters who possess them. Primal Reversions are held by Groudon and Kyogre, while Origin Formes are possessed by Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.

Since a lot of Mythical, Legendary, and even some basic Pokemon possess various different forms and apperances, it can get tricky to keep track of which ones have different effects, where each one can be used, and if any of them have any real impact on gameplay whatsoever. So what about these two specific alternatives? What are their differences and which of the two are more powerful?

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Everything to know about Primal Reversion in Pokemon GO

Primal Reversion is essentially Mega Evolution for Groudon and Kyogre (Image via The Pokemon Company)

In the franchise's lore, Primal Reversion is a process where the original power capacity of the repsective Hoenn Legendary is restored by invoking their presence with the correct orb. To rephrase, Primal Reversion is what happens after Groudon is awoken with the Red Orb like in Omega Ruby, instead of the Blue Orb, which is used in the original Ruby game.

Since these alternate forms debuted in the sixth generation, Game Freak wanted to do something special for the Hoenn Titans in the generation where Mega Evolution debuted. As such, the orb plot point was revisited and worked into Primal Reversion. This design philosophy carries over into Pokemon GO, where Primal Reversion is equivilent to Mega Evolution in terms of its gameplay mechanics.

Sadly, this means that Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre can only be used in Raid Battles and gym sieges. This greatly limits the value of these forms as fans who do not partake in Pokemon GO for its raid content may not find themselves using Primal Reversion very often.

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Everything to know about Origin Formes in Pokemon GO

Origin Formes used to offer a different type of playstyle, but they have become straight-up buffs from their base forms in their most recent iteration (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Origin Formes follow a standard method to how a majority of the other "Forme" archetypes in the franchise are handled in Pokemon GO. Rather than being alternate forms that players can switch between at will like they can in the main series, the Origin Forme is treated as an entirely seperate creature from its base form.

What this means is that rather than being able to turn a Dialga from Altered to Origin Forme, there are two types of Dialga that players can catch: one Altered, one Origin. This also means that since there is no alternative resource required for these monsters to reach this form, both variants of the respective Legendary can partake in almost every type of battle the mobile game has to offer.

Origin Formes for Palkia and Dialga also sport a new Adventure Effect for their signature charged attacks. While Giratina does not have this benefit, Origin Giratina is the only Origin Forme to offer an alternative playstyle, rather than just being an upgrade to their base Altered Forme.

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Is Primal Reversion or Origin Formes better in Pokemon GO?

While Primal Reversion does have its fiar share of useful scenarios, Origin Formes can be used in more instances at the cost of both variants being harder to obtain at a given time. With the recent Pokemon GO Tour Sinnoh event, Niantic has given Origin Dialga and Origin Palkia additional effects, making them far more valuable than Primal Groudon and Kyogre.