There’s so much going on in Pokémon GO right now that the last Spotlight Hour almost went unnoticed. However, it should serve as a model for upcoming events, believes MeinMMO author Max Handwerk.
In recent days, the graphical changes in Pokémon GO have been particularly prominent. While the big avatar update received primarily criticism, on the other hand, there were positive reactions to the biome update.
One thing is for sure: Pokémon GO looks different now, and this is generating a lot of discussions. However, what should not be overlooked is the last Spotlight Hour. It did quite a few things right in terms of gameplay – and should ideally serve as a model for future Spotlight Hours.
What kind of event was that? The Spotlight Hour brings a specific Pokémon in connection with a bonus every Tuesday for 60 minutes. The monster appears everywhere from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and the bonus applies during that same time.
This week, on April 23, 2024, the Pokémon in the spotlight was the ‘Unratütox’. This Pokémon is a bit controversial, as it is often ridiculed for its design. It is, quite literally, a living trash bag. And its evolution, Deponitox, is basically the same but larger.
Seen in that light, the Spotlight Hour was a literal hour full of garbage. But that didn’t matter, as it turned out.
Why the Unratütox Hour in Pokémon GO was so strong
What made the hour good: So first of all, personally: I am quite a fan of Unratütox because it looks a bit silly but still cute. Regardless of that, the hour can be seen as a good model for future Spotlight Hours.
Because let’s be honest: You usually don’t get too upset if you miss the Spotlight Hour. Often, the monsters are rather mediocre, and you tend to focus more on the bonuses. And this time, those bonuses elevated the hour to another level.
This came about through three components:
- The actual bonus of the event was double catch XP. That’s always great when you want to level up.
- Additionally, Unratütox is one of the monsters that give more stardust than others. A hidden bonus, so to speak.
- And third: For some reason, the shiny rate for Unratütox seems to have been increased.
More Shinies for Unratütox: Normally, there is no increased shiny chance during the Spotlight Hour. However, this time it seems to have been the case. At least many trainers reported on social media that they found unusually many shiny specimens during the Spotlight Hour. One also appeared during my rounds; I believe it was my first spotlight shiny.
Trainers suspect the reason for this in the concurrently running environment week, where Unratütox was supposed to have an increased shiny rate from 2 km eggs – and actually only there. But it seems that this also spilled over into the Spotlight Hour.
Whether it was a faulty increase of the shiny rate or an intentional surprise remains to be seen. But: A slightly increased shiny chance might be just the bonus that the Spotlight Hour generally needs. We don’t need to move in community day sizes; we just need a slightly improved chance. It’s quite possible that this attracts more trainers on Tuesday evening than anything else.
At least the Unratütox Hour is receiving a lot of praise from trainers on social media – rightly so, in my view. What are your thoughts on the topic? Would you like an adjustment to future Spotlight Hours? Or do you think it works fine as it is? Share your thoughts in the comments!
And if you want to know what’s coming up: Here are the remaining events in Pokémon GO in April 2024.
