Pokémon Go Community Day, 8/3/2019

Hot on the heels of one Community Day is another, which would be this month's (August). And yet, it's barely two weeks after the previous one had taken place, and it's not even a repeat of that one due to a technical error of some sort. It's fun, but it's also quite jarring in some ways due to them being so close together. It means that one may not have much time to prepare for the event, except for one's wits. Regardless, this is the way things are - and this could be so as well for upcoming things in the game - and one can only follow them as they are.

As always, there are the particulars of the event. Like last month, the schedule shifted to one hour later in the day, from 4 to 7 PM. This month, the featured Pokémon is Ralts, which has some significance that will be detailed shortly. The special move to be gained from evolution is Synchronoise, a Psychic-type move that may bode well in some respects. The side bonus repeats the one from two months ago, being accelerated Egg hatching, which may also prove to come in handy shortly (but will be explained later). Finally, extended Lure Modules and Shiny forms are natural and expected for any Community Day, certainly.

Because the featured Pokémon is Ralts, this Community Day holds significance for four Pokémon: Ralts (as expected), Kirlia, Gardevoir, and Gallade. As is known, Kirlia of any gender can evolve into Gardevoir, but only male Kirlia can evolve into Gallade, which in Pokémon Go is aided by way of a Sinnoh Stone. Therefore, this is the first since Swinub in February to make use of the Sinnoh Stone and to feature multiple generations, and the first since Eevee last year to feature a Pokémon with branched evolution. The special move mentioned above applies to both Gardevoir and Gallade, which becomes rather important. As a whole, this Community Day is quite special in regard to the Pokémon involved.

For me personally, after being restricted at a certain place for the previous Community Day, it's a relief to have been able to take part in this one normally with my raid group and in my usual place. It also meant lots and lots of Ralts that were caught. What also helped is that I linked up for the first time with an old member of my raid group as friends in the game, and after trading many Ralts, we ended up with three Lucky ones. I didn't evolve them all, of course, as my Candy stock is far too few for that purpose. I did evolve a Lucky male I had previously to Gallade and one strong and one Shiny female to Gardevoir. That still left many strong Ralts and Kirlia for later use.

On one hand, this Community Day came somewhat quickly after the previous one, maybe even too quickly. On the other hand, this Community Day had quite a bit of things going for it, including the possibility to have two fully evolved Pokémon with a special move. Even I got good results, maybe even unexpected. I'm sure that despite whatever circumstances might have been involved for participation or otherwise, this was arguably a "hot" Community Day for any player - the challenge being to stand up to it.

One year ago: Divergent Anime?
Two years ago: A Hobbled Pikachu... 3DS XL