Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: dragon week, Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go

Pokémon GO's Best & Worst of 2020: The Worst Events

The year 2020 is wrapping up, and it has been a year of major change in Pokémon GO. Trainers have seen the game add both new features and new species, all the while adjusting to the ever-changing situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that followed. Now, let's take a look back at what has been a defining year for Niantic's worldwide mega-hit game and determine the Best and Worst of 2020 in every aspect of Pokémon GO. This time… we're talking about the worst events of 2020. Let's go!

5. Dragon Week

Dragon Week had the biggest problem of any event in Pokémon GO, and yet it only just about makes the list because it was also overall a terrific event. Gible was in raids, Rayquaza was the Legendary boss, and the wild spawns were pretty good. However, the rarity of Deino, which was supposed to be the event's feature Shiny release, was so egregious that it became a meme. Where's Deino? We still don't know.

4. Fashion Week

Fashion Week makes the list not because of a bad selection of Pokémon but due to horrible communication from Niantic. Top Hat Kirla was dropped into raids and, unlike any other evolved costume Pokémon in raids ever, wasn't available in its Shiny form. This in and of itself makes no sense in a year where Costumed Raticate, Nidorino, and Gengar could be encountered as Shinies, but is made worse by the fact that Niantic never announced that it wouldn't be Shiny. They never responded to the community asking directly for answers. They just let Pokémon GO players figure it out themselves after bleeding raid passes and we deserve better than that,

3. Animation Week

A middling event, this one didn't have major highs to make up for its boring lows. Its biggest offense was that World Cap Pikachu hardly spawned at all compared to previous costumed releases, and that was really the only interesting target of the event.

2. Holiday 2020 Event

The Holiday Event is Pokémon GO's most anticipated event outside of the annual Halloween Celebration, but Niantic approached it as more of a throwaway event. Not only was there not an actual Shiny release, with Jynx being activated Shiny through encounters, but Jynx was also only obtainable through raids. I couldn't begin to guess at what Niantic was thinking here.

1.  Magikarp Community Day

Nobody asked for this but yet, Niantic woke up one morning with an idea for a Community Day destined to flop.

One thing that these events have in common besides this list is that, largely, they were still fun. Pokémon GO is an overall great experience and while some aspects of the game can be frustrating, I can't help but end a piece like this on a positive and honest note. Every time I played Pokémon GO made me smile this year, and I hope that the same is true of your experience.

Even with the not-so-hot events.

NEXT: The Best Events of 2020

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