Pokémon GO Kanto 2021 Celebration Event

Like the celebration of Kanto, which continued the theme of Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto with a week of first-gen appearances and raids, ends in Pokémon GO, let’s go back to this event to see what worked and what didn’t.

What worked for this Pokémon GO Event

• Extra time: on Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto Collection Challenges tasked trainers to do… a lot in one day. Fortunately, many of them were able to be completed during the Kanto celebration. It wasn’t something we knew when the Tour was originally announced, so that extra move to complete these challenges was a nice bonus on top of a promising event.
• Wild vs Incense: We’re dealing with an entire generation here, so it was a good move for Pokémon GO to divide the species that you might encounter. Some were mostly frankincense spawns, while others could be found in nature. It was the perfect way to allow trainers to choose the direction of their hunt.
• Mood: This event felt like an extended, low-key continuation of the Kanto Tour. After such a fun but intense day, this is exactly the kind of low-key, no pressure coaches needed.

What didn’t work for this Pokémon GO Event

• Raids: My one and only complaint after playing the week is that the regional should have appeared in raids around the world. It seemed a little disappointing to include them during the Kanto Tour but remove them for the event, especially when the rest of the raid rotation outside of the Legendaries was so uninterested.

Overall

Niantic seems dedicated to taking back the attention of Pokémon GO players after a relatively sterile January that left many wondering what was going on with the game. With a string of improved events under their belt, their best ranged event Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto, and an announcement that includes multiple versions of Shiny Legendary in March, it feels like the game is really back on track.