Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 4/30/2020

Well, this is the last day of the month, and I haven't written up the event rollup for Pokémon Go for this month. Therefore, I have to write it up today in any case. And I want to and continue to do so, in fact, so that becomes the deal for this post. As well, Pokémon Go has made it easier to recap events thanks to the Today View, so that becomes another reason to make this rollup. For this month, there were a few events that really took the spotlight.

Early this month, there was an event called "Tricky Pokémon". It lasted for a week from April 1, and because of that, this is the April Fool's event; it's a legitimate event instead of pulling a "prank" as with two years ago. In this event, Pokémon known to have deceptive or pranking behavior took the spotlight, being present in the wild, in Eggs, and through Research. Some of the more notable Pokémon from this event are Aipom and Croagunk, both of them appearing in photobombs and the latter with a Shiny form; there was also Ditto with expanded appearances, as well as the debut of Stunfisk in various ways. Still, with this event, everyone can be said to have been "pranked out".

After a day's rest, it was time to get back into the "spring" of things, and that was allowed by an event called "Spring into Spring". Much of this event is related to eggs, which explains the presence of Exeggcute, Chansey, and Torchic in the wild, as well as a few other spring-related Pokémon. Some other Pokémon also sported flower crowns, notably newcomers Buneary and Togepi. Though technically a separate event, Marill also appeared in GO Battle Day on April 12 as a capture reward, alongside this spring event. Eggs from Gifts also had a slew of baby Pokémon, some possibly Shiny and all taking not long to hatch, as the Eggs are all 2 km ones. Some Field Research tasks were also Egg-based, while hatched Pokémon came with more Candy and Lucky Eggs lasted for an hour. Everything had a nice "spring" to them.

On April 19, a few days after the previous event concluded, there was the debut of a one-day event similar to Community Day, with it being called "Incense Day". For six hours, the Pokémon attracted by Incense, having already been extended as a special countermeasure, cycled each hour among different types, with the six types for this event being Water, Fire, Grass, Psychic, Bug, and Ground, in order of their appearance across the six hours. Each hour also had an uncommon "guest" Pokémon join in along with a selection of three that more often appeared. Sentret also appeared often throughout the entire event, possibly being Shiny. An extra Shop bundle of 3 Incense was also available for those who needed them. This was a neat new paradigm that could stand to be repeated with different types next time.

Within the final days of the month, there was another week-long event, this time called "Buddy Up". The highlight of this event was the appearance of Volbeat and Illumise everywhere, temporarily beyond their regional boundaries, in the wild and in Field Research tasks. Woobat was also a star, appearing in the same ways; all three were complemented with a selection of whimsy Pokémon that could conceivably be Buddy Pokémon. Meanwhile, for all Buddy Pokémon, they can bring more gift items and Souvenirs, travel less to get more Candy and Hearts, get easily excited, and be present longer. It was a total festival for all kinds of Buddy Pokémon, one that could be leveraged for nifty advantages.

Beyond that, the spotlight of the Pokémon Go events for this month were turned up, notwithstanding the way that Today View really helped in doing so. Lots of Pokémon were involved, and they all brought their own flavor to the events for which they become a part of. Word has it that Today View will be even more instrumental in the events to come next month, but that is for later. This month, all the events were all highlights in all the best ways.

One year ago: A New(?) Pikachu Doll
Two years ago: A Sun & Moon Doujin Manga
Three years ago: Cosplay: ComiCamp 2, Day 2