On the last weekend of March, a Safari Zone was supposed to take place in St. Louis in Pokémon GO. Niantic canceled this event as a precaution due to the coronavirus. Instead, there will be a worldwide event where not all players need to gather in one place.
What has Niantic announced? The Safari Zone from March 27 to 29 will be postponed. A date within the next 12 months will be found to make up for the event.
The reason cited by Niantic is the current situation surrounding the coronavirus. The focus, according to official statements, is on the health and safety of the players.
Those who purchased a ticket for the event in St. Louis, America, can return it until March 26 at 7:59 AM. Alternatively, you can keep it since Niantic will host another event as compensation.
Worldwide Replacement Event for the Safari Zone
What will take place instead? The Safari Zone will be activated worldwide instead. Ticket holders can then find special Pokémon in their local time zone and surroundings and participate in special field research.
Additionally, new legendary raid opponents have been added to the GO Battle League to give trainers the opportunity to catch Pokémon that would otherwise be exclusive to raid battles.
Which Pokémon does the current Safari Zone bring? The Safari Zone in St. Louis was supposed to include 6 Pokémon. Noteworthy among them are Unown “S”, Teddiursa, and Rowlet:
- Unowns only get a PokéDex entry, but some want to catch all forms.
- Teddiursa could appear as Shiny for the first time at this event.
- Rowlet is actually a regional Pokémon. It would be possible, albeit unlikely, for it to appear worldwide now.
Otherwise, there are still several other events happening worldwide in March. So many that players demand less of them.
What happens to other live events? So far, 4 live events have been announced for 2020, including two more Safari Zones:
- A Safari Zone in Liverpool (April 17 – April 19)
- A Safari Zone in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 8 – May 10)
These events have not been canceled at this time. However, the developers are keeping an eye on the situation surrounding the virus, and there may be postponements here as well.
- There has also been no statement regarding a potential GO Fest in 2020.
- Additionally, you can currently choose the Pokémon for the next Community Days.
