A major Pokemon GO Community Day has just come and gone, introducing the adorable Normal/Fighting Pokemon Stufful to the game. Even though this Community Day only just got checked off the calendar, however, Niantic is already announcing the next wave of Pokemon GO content. Niantic just teased a major update to Mega Evolution that'll make it easier to make use of the mechanic while toning down the difficulty level of Mega Evolved Pokemon Raids. What's more, Niantic has announced the next Pokemon GO Community Day. Pokemon GO fans can look forward to yet another special Pokemon spotlight on May 21st.
From 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. local time on May 21st, Pokemon GO fans will see greatly increased numbers of Alolan Geodude in the wild, including their Shiny forms. This Alolan variant of a classic Pokemon seems like a logical choice for a May Community Day, since the Season of Alola is ongoing. As usual, players can take advantage of a number of passive bonuses if they play Pokemon GO during the May Community Day, but fans should note that this Community Day has a couple special features that could affect future events. Every Pokemon GO Community Day is special, but the May event is particularly worth watching.
May Community Day's Bonuses and Opportunities
The May Community Day is particularly stacked with bonuses for Pokemon GO fans to enjoy. During the event, catching Pokemon will earn players tripled Stardust and doubled Candy rewards. Alolan Geodude are also twice as likely to drop Geodude XL Candy when caught. Both Incense and Lure Modules will last for three hours during the event, and taking pictures in Pokemon GO will earn fans a special Pokemon encounter. Trading is also empowered during the event; Pokemon GO fans can make two special trades instead of one during the event and for two hours afterwards, and trades will cost half as much Stardust overall.
Like many Community Days before it, the May event encourages fans to evolve an Alolan Geodude during the event. Raising one into an Alolan Golem during the event or up to two hours afterwards will allow the Golem to learn the efficient Fast Attack Rollout. On top of all these features, the Community Day encourages players to work in groups with one more bonus. If players catch enough Pokemon from a Lure Module placed on a PokeStop, the Lure Module will quadruple Stardust rewards on nearby Pokemon catches for 30 minutes, replacing the event's passive triple bonus.
Special Pokemon GO Purchases
Players looking for some bonus gear during the Pokemon GO Community Day can get some from the in-game shop, where there'll be a free bundle of 30 Ultra Balls, as well as a Community Day Box costing 975 PokeCoins and containing a Super Incubator, a Lucky Egg, an Elite Fast TM, and a Star Piece. Particularly eager Geodude fans can also buy a ticket for the Community Day Special Research story, A Rocky Road, for $1.00 in local currency. Notably, this event introduces a new ticket gifting mechanic. Fans can buy the Community Day's Special Research ticket for other players who don't have a ticket already. Additionally, the Community Day will feature new stickers themed after Alolan Geodude.
In many ways, the Alolan Geodude Community Day looks fairly standard, but it's still remarkable in a few ways. The event's long list of bonuses suggests that Niantic is interested in making up for the newly reduced duration of Community Days. Richer bonuses over shorter time periods may become the Pokemon GO standard. The new gifting system for Special Research tickets is bound to rear its head again too, since it encourages Pokemon GO fans to get their friends in on the day's bonus content. It'll be interesting to see how Alolan Geodude's special day compares to future events.
Pokemon GO is available now for Android and iOS devices.