Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Niantic, Niantic Labs, P25, pokemon, pokemon go

Top 10 Best Pokémon GO Events Of 2021 Part One: 10 – 6

As 2021 comes to a close, let's take a look back at this transformative year for Pokémon GO. 2021 was the first full year where we saw Niantic apply Seasons to the game. This year saw the second remote GO Fest, the return of in-person events, the launch of Pokémon GO Tour, the beginning of Masterwork Research questlines, and more. In this two-part series, I will count down the Top 10 Pokémon GO events that took place in 2021. Before we begin, I'd love to see your picks in the comments below.

10 – Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl event

• When: November 16th, 2021 – November 21st, 2021
• New release: N/A
• Shiny release: N/A
• Special features: Sinnoh Starters in Lucas and Dawn-inspired hats
• Why: While this event didn't have any major new releases or Shiny drops, it was a fun and short Costumed Pokémon hunt that was made a lot more fun by an incredible raid rotation featuring Cranidos, Gible, Tyranitar, and Shieldon. It was the definition of a fun, low-key event.

9 – GO Fest 2021

• When: July 17th, 2021 – July 18th, 2021
• New release: Meloetta
• Shiny release: Shiny Whimsur, Chimecho, Audino, Tympole
• Special features: Many music-themed Costumed Pokémon, all Shiny-capable
• Why: GO Fest is always heaps of fun, and making it a remote event in 2020 was among the best things Niantic has ever done in Pokémon GO. This only hits the #9 spot, though, not because it wasn't among the most fun events of the year, but by comparison to last year's offering. This year, the second day focused primarily on raiding Legendaries which most hardcore players already had, which would have been fine if Niantic didn't nerf the Shiny rate for those who preferred to hunt in the wild.

8 – Fashion Week 2021

• When: September 21st, 2021 – September 28th, 2021
• New release: Furfrou
• Shiny release: Shiny Blitzle
• Special features: Costumed Butterfree, Sneasel, Kirlia, and Blitzle featured. Fashion Challengers.
• Why: This event makes the Top 10 because of two major wins. First, Furfrou brought Form Changing into the game, which will have an impact on future Pokémon like Arceus, which will make it so we don't have an 18-part tiered release of each form. Also, this event saw Niantic release Shiny Top Hat Kirlia after last year's "Has it been released?" debacle, gaining some level of redemption for last year's Fashion Week blunder. Fashion Challengers were also fun, bringing Trainer battles to the game for the first time since Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto.

7 – Ultra Unlock Part 2: Space

• When: August 6th, 2021 – August 17th, 2021
• New release: N/A
• Shiny release: Shiny Palkia, Shiny Heracross
• Special features: Kangaskhan and Heracross in raids globally.
• Why: Continuing the hype of Ultra Unlock Part 1 which, spoilers, ranks higher on this list, Ultra Unlock Part 2: Space debuted Shiny Palkia and featured normally-regional Pokémon in raids globally. I also like that there was no major Shiny release in the wild for this one, allowing it to be an event that fully focused on raids.

6 – Luminous Legends X

• When: May 4th, 2021 – May 17th, 2021
• New release: Xerneas, Swirlix, Goomy, Spritzee, Pancham
• Shiny release: Shiny Galarian Ponyta
• Special features: A global challenge that unlocked Pancham and Shiny Galarian Ponyta
• Why: This was the first non-ticketed event of 2021 to completely wow me. Pokémon GO seemed to pull back on its Legendary releases, Shiny drops, and species rollouts in 2021, which made this event quite special, considering it debuted the Legendary Xerneas, multiple new Kalos Pokémon including Goomy in the wild, and Galarian Ponyta in raids. This was the event when I saw that the game I loved so much had hoped to maintain the hype it had built upon for years.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!