Niantic has been silently teasing Ho-Oh for a while now, but we still haven't seen it. So when will Ho-Oh be released? Let's discuss.
Ho-Oh was featured in the original Legendary trailer, but we saw the Legendary Beasts (who weren't in the trailer) before it. Many thought this phoenix-like Pokémon would be released after its counterpart Lugia, probably at Pokémon GO Stadium. A movie featuring Ho-Oh was also going to be released that day in Japan. That widely-accepted prediction did not turn out to be true. But that does not mean Ho-Oh is far off.
In Pokémon lore, Ho-Oh created Entei, Suicune, and Raikou from the remains of three Pokémon that died in a fire. So it makes sense that Ho-Oh will be available sometime during the Beasts' world tour. Niantic needs to get the EX Raid feature out globally first, as Ho-Oh will probably be available exclusively in this feature. And with the Mewtwo hype partially spoiled, releasing Ho-Oh in EX Raids would bring back some excitement and act as compensation for delaying EX Raids this long.
As we said before, part of the prediction about Ho-Oh coming out at GO Stadium was partly based on the Japanese release of Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!. The Western side of the globe has their release of the movie in the upcoming days. On top of that, Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver (the original Generation 2 games) are being re-released on the virtual console at the end of the month. It seems very likely that all this Ho-Oh hype at the end of the month could carry over into Pokémon GO.
Good luck with you Beast Raids, Trainers! The first cycle is half over!
Ho-Oh was featured in the original Legendary trailer, but we saw the Legendary Beasts (who weren't in the trailer) before it. Many thought this phoenix-like Pokémon would be released after its counterpart Lugia, probably at Pokémon GO Stadium. A movie featuring Ho-Oh was also going to be released that day in Japan. That widely-accepted prediction did not turn out to be true. But that does not mean Ho-Oh is far off.
In Pokémon lore, Ho-Oh created Entei, Suicune, and Raikou from the remains of three Pokémon that died in a fire. So it makes sense that Ho-Oh will be available sometime during the Beasts' world tour. Niantic needs to get the EX Raid feature out globally first, as Ho-Oh will probably be available exclusively in this feature. And with the Mewtwo hype partially spoiled, releasing Ho-Oh in EX Raids would bring back some excitement and act as compensation for delaying EX Raids this long.
As we said before, part of the prediction about Ho-Oh coming out at GO Stadium was partly based on the Japanese release of Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!. The Western side of the globe has their release of the movie in the upcoming days. On top of that, Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver (the original Generation 2 games) are being re-released on the virtual console at the end of the month. It seems very likely that all this Ho-Oh hype at the end of the month could carry over into Pokémon GO.
Good luck with you Beast Raids, Trainers! The first cycle is half over!