Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: lake trio, Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go

Lake Legends 2020 Event Review In Pokémon GO

The Lake Legends event is wrapping up in Pokémon GO tomorrow as Niantic prepares for the biggest launch since the start of the game: Pokémon GO Beyond, their first branded update, which will add Season, Generation Six, and Levels 41 – 50 to the game. Before all of that kicks off, though, let's take a look back at the Lake Legends event and see what worked, what didn't work, and what amazed Pokémon GO trainers worldwide.

The Lake Trio in Raids

This could have been a disaster but, instead, it just worked. By keeping Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie region-locked, Pokémon GO tasked players with reaching outside of their comfort zone and communicating with players around the world. Many trainers were able to get the entire Lake Trio for the first time, with some even catching multiple to trade to their less lucky friends. While it hurts me a bit to admit this, withholding the Shiny release was a smart move on Niantic's part because these Pokémon were desirable enough on their own without the sparkles. When they come back again with their Shinies included, it will be worthy of another tie-in event.

Niantic deserves major props for not turning off Remote Raid Invites for these. There is a bit in their code that suggests that certain raids are prohibited due to species being regional… which seemed specifically made for the Lake Trio. It wasn't active, though, which shows a great deal of dedication by Niantic to the idea that Pokémon GO, during current times, should be playable without travel.

Pokémon GO Event Spawns and Shiny Release

While Goldeen is a bit of an underwhelming Shiny (imagine if the orange and white swapped rather than just lightened!), it was at least an attainable one. The event spawns were good with a fair amount of Goldeen. Anyone hoping to nab a Shiny Machop in Pokémon GO had a solid chance at making that green dream come true as well.

12 Days of Friendship

Though not related to the event, the 12 Days of Friendship bonuses did run concurrently with the Lake Legends event and… well, it was, again, awesome of Niantic to include such a bonus that helped trainers lagging behind Level 40 to get there. And for Level 40 trainers, the expanded trade distance was also terrific. Hopefully, every time they do this, that perimeter grows.

Overall, Lake Legends was one of the strongest events of Pokémon GO's best year yet.

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