Yes, the current Pokémon GO event “Pokémon Day” doesn’t have much new to offer. Max Handwerk from MeinMMO still thinks it’s great. The nostalgia factor is pretty high!
This is the Pokémon Day event: The Pokémon Day celebrates the anniversary of the game series – and in Pokémon GO there is currently an event running for a whole week. It runs from February 25 to March 02 – so still until Monday.
You still have the rest of the weekend to catch some event monsters. However, some players seem to be uninterested – at least the event has been heavily criticized on Reddit. “Too many party hats, no new Pokémon” – comments like that are quite common there. However, I found the event actually quite exciting – and it definitely sent me out on a Pokémon tour more than usual.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Why I find the event brilliant: The main reason I like the event so much is the nostalgia factor. I should clarify: I am not exactly a competitive Pokémon GO player. I mainly play the game casually and on the go. It’s rare for me to pursue any specific goal while playing. The closest would be Community Days, which I really enjoy – I can understand that real pro players might find less to gain from the event.
But the current event has really excited me. Why? Because old Pokémon are everywhere.
The first generation probably has a very special nostalgia factor for many players who grew up with Pokémon Red and Blue. Sure, new monsters can be cool too, especially when you’re in the PvP League or always hunting for challenging raids, they can be particularly useful. But Generation 1 – there are so many memories attached to it.
It also includes the very first Pokémon movie, which showcased Mewtwo, Mew, and the clone Pokémon. In the movie, which just got a remake on Netflix, armor Mewtwo made its first appearance.
Just like the “evil” variants of the Gen 1 starter evolutions Blastoise, Charizard, and Venusaur. When I suddenly saw them in Pokémon GO, I was really happy – and it motivated me to try to catch the monsters (which isn’t that easy).
Furthermore, there are more references to the Pokémon past. Strong monsters like Rapidash, Dragonite, or Machamp are suddenly found in the wild – and getting them, especially Dragonite, usually takes quite a while. Also, there’s the Nidorino-Gengar raid day – which is likely a nod to the intro of the first editions:
All things that throw you back to childhood – and thus made the event pretty cool. Even if you might not necessarily need 30 party hat monsters.
And there could be really good raid bosses again after the event. At least MeinMMO colleague Noah Struthoff suspects:
