With Christmas only one week away, that opens the door for Niantic to start the 2017 holiday event very soon. Niantic told TechCrunch earlier this month that they want to start the holiday event on December 21. With that start date in mind, what will Niantic include in this event?
LAST YEAR: The holiday events we had a year ago were very popular at the time. The first part of the event featured Santa-hat Pikachu, increased hatch-rates of baby Pokémon, and a set of sale boxes. The second part of the event featured another sale, increased spawn rates of starter Pokémon, and one-hour Lure Modules.
THIS YEAR: Now let's get into what we expect for this year, starting with the first part of the event.
COSTUMED PIKACHU: Unfortunately, we expect that holiday Pikachu will return this year. It's not that we dislike the special Pikachu, but they've really grown stale. Pikachu is the franchise's mascot, but there are many other iconic Pokémon that could be given costumes (Eevee, Togepi, the starters, etc).
INCREASED HATCH-RATES: We don't expect increased hatch rates of babies again. After all, they've become obnoxious. But, if Niantic want's a flashback, they could increase the hatch-rate of the new, Generation 3 Pokémon. It would make people complete the Pokédex faster, so it would be a risk if Niantic wants to do so.
NEW SPECIES: New species of Pokémon have to be a part of this event. We obviously expect Delibird (Shiny variant hopefully included), given its signature move was recently added. But we expect Niantic to take it a step farther. There are two Ice-type families in Generation 3, which would fit the season.
SHINY STARTERS: If Niantic wants an encore of the starter event, they should release some of their Shiny variants. It would really bring some much-needed excitement to your would-be-everyday Squirtle, Chikorita, or Torchic.
Thanks for reading Trainers, and let us know what you think of our ideas on Twitter (@PNN_APTV)!
LAST YEAR: The holiday events we had a year ago were very popular at the time. The first part of the event featured Santa-hat Pikachu, increased hatch-rates of baby Pokémon, and a set of sale boxes. The second part of the event featured another sale, increased spawn rates of starter Pokémon, and one-hour Lure Modules.
THIS YEAR: Now let's get into what we expect for this year, starting with the first part of the event.
COSTUMED PIKACHU: Unfortunately, we expect that holiday Pikachu will return this year. It's not that we dislike the special Pikachu, but they've really grown stale. Pikachu is the franchise's mascot, but there are many other iconic Pokémon that could be given costumes (Eevee, Togepi, the starters, etc).
INCREASED HATCH-RATES: We don't expect increased hatch rates of babies again. After all, they've become obnoxious. But, if Niantic want's a flashback, they could increase the hatch-rate of the new, Generation 3 Pokémon. It would make people complete the Pokédex faster, so it would be a risk if Niantic wants to do so.
NEW SPECIES: New species of Pokémon have to be a part of this event. We obviously expect Delibird (Shiny variant hopefully included), given its signature move was recently added. But we expect Niantic to take it a step farther. There are two Ice-type families in Generation 3, which would fit the season.
SHINY STARTERS: If Niantic wants an encore of the starter event, they should release some of their Shiny variants. It would really bring some much-needed excitement to your would-be-everyday Squirtle, Chikorita, or Torchic.
Thanks for reading Trainers, and let us know what you think of our ideas on Twitter (@PNN_APTV)!