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What Does Snivy Community Day Mean For The Future Of Pokémon GO?

Community Day used to be very predictable in Pokémon GO. Before 2020, the accepted pattern was: Starter Pokémon, rare spawn, Starter, rare, starter, rare. This set the expectation that Pokémon like Gible, Deino, and Axew would get Community Days. Now, 2020 changed all of that up by throwing the pattern aside and delivering a year of Community Days featuring mostly Kanto Pokémon, some choices selected by voting, and some choices (sorry Magikarp) that would've potentially won last place if every Pokémon was included on the voting list. All of that to say, the predictability of Community Day was out the window. Now, however, we are finally seeing Snivy Community Day, leaving many trainers to wonder… does this mean that Pokémon GO Community Days are back on track?

Community Day logo in Pokémon GO. Credit: Niantic
Community Day logo in Pokémon GO. Credit: Niantic

If Niantic sticks to the previous pattern beginning with Snivy, this is what the rest of 2021 Community Days in Pokémon GO will look like.

  • March 2021: Snivy
  • April 2021: Random selection
  • June 2021: Tepig
  • July 2021: Random selection
  • August 2021: Oshawott
  • September 2021: Random selection
  • October 2021: Chespin
  • November 2021: Random selection
  • December 2021: Fennekin

I personally don't think that we're going to get this. I especially don't think the non-Starter slots will go back to featuring rare spawns every time, as it seems that Niantic has realized that they'll be able to monetize events with Pokémon like Gible in raids for… well, forever.

I think we are more likely to see the Unova Starters play out as listed above and then a long gap between the end of the Unova Starter Community Days and the beginning of the Kalos Starter Community Days. The thing is, a lot of people misinterpret the reasoning behind Niantic's changes to Community Day as a reaction to the pandemic. Most of the selections were in the code before the pandemic was a thing. They have never commented on the reason behind the changes but it's much more likely that Niantic realized they'd never be able to keep up with the pace of Community Days focused on Starters without slowing down.

So here we are… left with an unpredictable future for Community Day. My personal advice for Pokémon GO trainers who wish things would go back to the way they were before would be to let Niantic know. While they can't maintain the pace they had before, they have definitely confirmed that they're listening to the complaints regarding their poor selections and are making changes. If they're listening, it's on us, the Pokémon GO community, to keep talking.


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Theo DwyerAbout Theo Dwyer

Theo Dwyer writes about comics, film, and games.
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