This year online only Pokemon go The festival took place over the weekend, and since it was the first one open to all players, regardless of physical location, it may not be surprising to hear that it is still the largest. Niantic says “a record number of millions of trainers” participated from 124 countries and regions around the world, catching almost a billion Pokémon in total.
The event involved new search lines every day, culminating in players who fought against Team Rocket leaders and caught Victini, a mythical Pokemon that was made available in-game for the first time. Other festival features include new shiny Pokémon and regional Pokémon that appear outside of their typical habitats, though not as many as can usually be found at an in-person event. The only regional addition I personally saw was Heatmor, which is normally only found in the Western Hemisphere.
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Niantic
Although the event was designed to be able to play from home, Niantic says the players walked an average of nearly 15 kilometers each. An in-game item that attracts Pokémon became more effective over the duration of the festival, and Team Rocket members could be seen in balloons floating through the sky, but it would have been easier to complete the search lines if you left the home .
As previously announced, Niantic is using $ 14.99 ticket sales revenue to help fund projects by the creators of Black AR and US NPOs working to rebuild local communities. The company had promised a minimum of $ 5 million, but ticket sales have increased that number beyond $ 10 million.
