First hints of a possible Friendship Day event in Pokémon GO were found by dataminers. We show you how the event looked in previous years and what you might expect.
What was found? In the code, the dataminers found the texts “Old Friends, New Beginnings” (via pokeminers.com). The data indicates that this is an event that has not yet been announced. This also includes a limited-time research.
Trainers suspect that this could be this year’s Friendship event. However, it has not been officially confirmed or announced yet. Last year, the event drew criticism. We show you how it usually goes and what wishes the players have after the last time.
How does such a Friendship event work?
How it went so far: The first Friendship Day event took place on April 24 in Pokémon GO. So almost exactly a year ago. Niantic announced at the time that it is a recurring event that will slightly adjust its bonuses year after year and focus on Grass-type Pokémon.
So an announcement for this year is still pending. The find date of the dataminers, almost a year after the first event of this kind, suggests that it is the name of this year’s event.
Last year, most of the event was active for three hours. However, some bonuses also lasted six hours. Additionally, there was a large collector challenge that rewarded trainers with 175,000 XP. Other bonuses included:
- Chance of Lucky Pokémon increased for 6 hours
- Trading range increased to 40 kilometers
- Three times XP for catching Pokémon
- Incense and Lures lasted for 3 hours during the event
This drew criticism: After Friendship Day, there were some negative voices from the community. Many criticized the short time frame of 3 hours for the main event. They had hoped for an increased limit on special trades as an obvious bonus, which was not activated.
There was praise for the opportunities to earn a lot of XP in a short time. Many trainers are still in the level process from level 41 to level 50 and can really use an XP boost.
It is quite possible that the bonuses will look similar this year and Niantic will maintain a large XP gain.
