Due to scheduling issues and amount of content, this issue of Weekend Download will cover the past two weeks and be up a day early.
1. New event details
POKÉMON GO FEST CHICAGO: GO Fest is officially one week away! Niantic revealed the details of the global challenges that were promised. By catching enough of certain Types of Pokémon, Trainers in Grant Park will be able to unlock certain rewards globally. By catching enough Pokémon worldwide, Trainers all over the world will be able to unlock the Mystery Challenge for the event-attendees. If the GO Fest-ers complete that challenge, a bonus award will be unlocked for the next two days that'll be available to all Trainers. Make sure to catch everything you see on July 22.
Some viewers of Trainer Tips' livestream on Friday shared that their local parks are throwing "catch-a-thons" on the day of the event. Again, catch everything on a week from today! Also, if Legendaries are going to actually appear at GO Fest (which is extremely likely), expect more news next week!
POKÉMON GO SAFARI ZONE: Niantic's official European sponsor, the Unibail-Rodamco malls, will be hosting seven separate events on three separate days in August and September. The events will feature more out-of-place regionals and "unique and powerful" Raid Bosses. This could mean Legendaries or new Raid Bosses (Dragonite, Typhlosion, etc).
POKÉMON GO BIG HERITAGE FESTIVAL:Pokémon GO is going to be a feature of the Big Heritage Festival in Chester, UK, on the day of GO Fest (July 22). PokéStops and Gyms will be added for a special PokéWalk, history will be explored throughout the antique setting, the castle will be public (the first time in 20 years), and some small challenges will be available for attending Trainers.
PIKACHU OUTBREAK: The Pokémon Company's annual "Pikachu Outbreak" event will be taking place in August. More details are coming soon!
MORE DETAILS: For the full details of these four events, click on the button below.
Pikachu certainly has a thing with hats! Pikachu (along with Pichu and Raichu) is wearing the hat of the human-face of the Pokémon franchise, Ash Ketchum. These hat-wearing mascots will be around until July 24, 2017, at 1:00 P.M. (PT).
For the same period of time, a special gift box is available in the Shop. The box contains Raid Passes, Ultra Balls, Max Revives, and Egg Incubators and costs 1200 PokéCoins. This box is not a good deal, with the only free item being the 20 Ultra Balls.
Please keep in mind that the events listed above, the Gym rework, and Raids are all a part of the celebration of one year of Pokémon GO. Any release of Legendaries, Generation 3, Shiny Pokémon, etc. within the boundaries of this summer is also part of this celebration.
3. changes to the egg chart
The beginning of the One-Year Anniversary Event brought another alteration to Eggs. This latest change has brought some mixed reactions, though. Niantic has done some good by adding Pokémon like the Johto starters, Houndour, Teddiursa to Eggs. However, some horrible additions (including Chinchou in 10KM Eggs) have earned some well-deserved backlash. For a full list of the changes, look at the red species on the Egg Chart (accessible above).
4. Legendary raids being tested
Niantic has been caught testing Level 5 Raids on their private, "dog-food" servers. Some Trainers did catch some of those servers' private Raids showing the word "TEST" and five, faint Rhydon heads below the Raid icon on the Nearby list. These Raids were seen in San Fransisco, California, and (more recently) Sweden. San Fransisco, notably, is where Niantic's headquarters is located.
5. "first legendary Pokemon" advertisement
Two iOS App Stores featured an interesting add this week. The App Stores were those of India and Singapore, and this pretty much confirms Legendaries are coming for the one-year anniversary.