Posted in: Comics, Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: kalos, Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go

Pokémon GO Kalos Event Review: Generation Six Debut

There's no feeling for a Pokémon GO trainer quite like when Niantic releases a new generation of Pokémon into the game. This week, the Kalos region was introduced with the first wave of Generation Six species as part of the Kalos Celebration Event. Did this highly anticipated release live up to the hype set by previous-generation unveilings?

Pokémon GO Event Spawns

One of the major issues that some Pokémon GO players expressed with this event was the rarity of Kalos species. Litleo was by far the most common of the new releases, followed by Bunnelby and Fletchling. Then, the starters were relatively uncommon with Chespin spawning most, Fennekin spawning every now and then, and Froakie spawning rarely. Finally, Noibat, it seems, will be the new Pokémon with Gible, Axew, and Deino's level of rarity. Throughout the whole event, as a hardcore player, I was able to encounter one. This level of rarity was, in my personal opinion, the right call for such a release and matched that of last year's Unova unveiling. In an event like this, the goal isn't the normal Shiny hunting but rather getting the new species. If they're overwhelmingly common, the event would feel old by the second day. As is, Niantic was able to keep a week of gameplay fresh without even releasing a new Shiny.

One thing that felt odd, though, was the catch difficulty of common Kalos spawns like Litleo, Bunnelby, and Fletchling. It's not that they were supremely difficult, exactly, but rather that they were often red-circle spawns that required multiple Pokéballs. This seems like a break from previous generation releases. For example, when Unova rolled out. the commons such as Patrat, Lillipup, and Purrloin were as easy to catch then as they are now. This seems like Niantic wanted to add a challenge to this that Pokémon GO players didn't quite need.

Raid Rotation

The Raid Rotation has been stale for multiple events and that remained true of this one as well. The introduction of Espurr ahead of the event made for a very exciting lead up to the Kalos Celebration, but without a Shiny release for this raid/egg exclusive Pokémon, it wasn't enough to keep a full week of raids entertaining. Adding to the fact that Kyurem is the current Tier Five raid boss in Pokémon GO, the only raid truly worth doing this week was the newly released Mega Abomasnow.

Tasks and Eggs

The tasks and eggs were solid this time, with a fair amount of Kalos species available in here. For those hoping to find a Litleo, Fletchling, or Bunnelby with high IVs, the tasks were a great place to start.

Overall, the Kalos Celebration Event was another major win for Pokémon GO, kicking off the final month of the game's best year yet.

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