Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 7/30/2019

July has been a fun- and excitement-filled month in Pokémon Go. Therefore, it was only right to delay this month's event rollup for as long as possible, and today is a good day to write up that event rollup. There seems to be something for everyone in all the events of this month, and I mean everyone, including those who are "removed" from it all, loosely speaking. With that, things really have delivered on both of the premises above to different extents.

Last month, the Summer Tour kicked off with a bang (or a zap); this month became its continuation. Pokémon Go Fest Dortmund, held early this month, was the next stop on the tour, along with Candela's XP Challenge as part of Professor Willow's Global Challenges. The XP rewards should have been lucrative to lower-level players and captivating for upper-level ones, but the real prize was the Entei Raid Day one week later, which happened to end up for me personally on the same day as a certain theme event. So for that, I personally lost time from one because of the other, but it was a necessary expense, especially as it led to its Shiny form. The same local time schedule also applied in this case. This Summer Tour has one more stop, but that would be for next month's rollup.

Meanwhile, this month's top-tier Legendary raid boss really shook up. After hosting Groudon for the early part of the month, a strange Legendary beast came about. Armored Mewtwo became the raid boss, and it's a Mewtwo unlike any other, for it is outfitted with a suit of armor. Despite this, it seems to be a weaker Mewtwo by CP standards. Yet Mewtwo is Mewtwo, so it was a good opportunity for many players to open the Pokédex entry for it, even if it's a little less viable. One other thing: the inclusion of Armored Mewtwo has a reason, and that is to promote the 3D remake of the first feature film, especially in Japan. That one will also have to be discussed on its own whenever I feel the time is right.

Speaking of strange attires, over the past week, another Pikachu in costume appeared, this time with a characteristic hat of natural fiber with a red band. Not much of the details about this were given in the news bulletin for it, but those in the know will recognize this hat as belonging to none other than the Straw Hat Pirate Monkey D. Luffy. That's because this is actually part of a One Piece collaboration in order to commemorate Kumamoto Prefecture, the place of origin of its author-illustrator Eiichiro Oda. It's still unique and special for fans of both this and Pokémon, like me.

Capping off this month is a tie-in event to the recent Team GO Rocket invasion. When this came about, the invasions were sporadic. But last Sunday, things took a different turn: all PokéStops were invaded over the course of an hour, from 4 to 5 PM. At that time, the said team also took to proclaiming their existence. This event may not be exclusive to this month and can stand to be repeated, like the Legendary Raid Hours, but it bears mentioning regardless. As well, it seems to affirm that they're here to stay for some time ahead, adding a bit of tension to the game.

Evidently, quite a bit of this month's events were tailored for those in particular areas (and in some cases, mindsets as well). But that didn't stop the rest of the players from enjoying them; I dare say everyone really did get something, especially the fun and excitement from them. Needless to say, the drive to "get up and go" is really great for these events too, which means that the events maintained exactly that.

One year ago: Leaving a Lasting Legacy
Two years ago: Cosplay: ACOLYTES 2017