To celebrate the one year anniversary (and what a very busy year it has been) of Pokémon GO, Niantic Inc. has announced some brand new events happening around the world that players can join in on even if they aren’t at the event itself.
For starters, there will be a Pokémon GO event in Chicago named Pokémon GO Fest Chicago (this information was found on the official Pokémon GO website):
“Pokémon GO Fest (Saturday, July 22 taking place in Grant Park, Chicago, IL) is fast approaching, and we hope you’re all as excited as we are. We wanted to share some details about how Pokémon GO Trainers everywhere can participate in a global challenge with Trainers at the event to unlock special rewards worldwide.
During the day, there will be three Challenge Windows in which Trainers everywhere will work alongside those in Chicago to unlock global rewards. During the Challenge Windows, Trainers in Grant Park will attempt to unlock perks for Pokémon GO players around the world by catching certain types of Pokémon. Each Pokémon- type will be tied to a different perk, so Trainers at the park will need to carefully choose which Pokémon they catch. Will those in attendance try to catch Electric-type Pokémon to reduce the distance required to hatch Eggs, or Grass-type Pokémon to increase Stardust bonuses, or other Pokémon- types to secure a variety of other bonuses? Join in the action and find out!
Meanwhile, Trainers outside of Chicago will attempt to catch as many Pokémon as possible during the Challenge Windows to extend the duration of the bonuses unlocked by those attending the event. If Trainers around the world catch enough Pokémon, a mystery challenge will be unveiled in Grant Park that, once completed, will unlock an extra-special bonus across the globe. Trainers everywhere will want to grab their friends and family to help make this the biggest celebration in Pokémon GO’s history!”
Along with the United States, Europe will be receiving their own Pokémon GO events in August and September. The European event is named Pokémon GO Safari Zone:
“We’re excited to announce that a variety of Pokémon GO Safari Zone events will be taking place at select Unibail-Rodamco shopping centers during August and September!
August 5, 2017
Fisketorvet—Copenhagen, Denmark
Centrum Cerny Most—Prague, Czech Republic
August 12, 2017
Mall of Scandinavia—Stockholm, Sweden
Stadshart Amstelveen—Amstelveen, The Netherlands
September 16, 2017
CentrO—Oberhausen, Germany
Les Quatre Temps—Paris, France
La Maquinista—Barcelona, Spain
All seven Pokémon GO Safari Zone events will give Trainers the opportunity to catch a wide variety of Pokémon in special zones featuring Pokémon originally encountered in the Kanto and Johto regions, including some Pokémon never before encountered in Europe! Additionally, Trainers in attendance will join forces to take on unique and powerful Raid Bosses that will be making appearances at these events.”
The final location to receive a Pokémon GO event is Japan. In August, players can participate in the event named the Pikachu Outbreak:
“The Pokémon Company will be hosting its annual Pikachu Outbreak event in Yokohama, Japan, from August 9–15, where a special Pokémon GO experience is taking place. More information about Pikachu Outbreak will be unveiled by The Pokémon Company in the coming days, so stay tuned for all the exciting details!”
With all of these upcoming updates and events, it seems that Pokémon GO and Niantic Inc. have turned towards making the game more exciting for players and encourage players who have stopped playing the game to come back. Although some of the events are location-exclusive, it’s cool to see Niantic Inc. try to get all Pokémon GO players involved.
Image via Flickr/edowoo.
