Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 10/30/2020

Last year in an event rollup for Pokémon Go (see below), I noted that it was relatively uneventful and that likely the most important event would be the Halloween event, which is always a mainstay, as past years have indicated. This time, though, there is (or was) a load of events in addition to that, so it has become a stark contrast to that. It can also be considered one of the months in recent times that is most packed with events. That said, I still have to roll them up, so that becomes the task of this post and my own big task before this month ends.

There is a definite pattern to this month's events, though, and they involve weekly and one-day events, so it helps to use that to structure my rollup. In the first week of the month, there was a week-long (Paris) Fashion Week event to celebrate its start and a collaboration of Pokémon with fashion brand Longchamp. During the event, certain "fashionable" Pokémon became the focus, including some with totally neat costumes that can be gotten in various ways. Midway through that event, Niantic celebrated its fifth anniversary, and this became a one-day event on October 4. The single focus on that day was a Timed Research set to be completed on that day, and many bonuses were active to aid in that effort and to celebrate the day in general. The start of the month could be considered to have been quite celebratory.

October is a distinct month in terms of seasons, and to commemorate that, a "seasonal change" event started out for approximately half of a week. The focal point of this is the debut of Pokémon known to change with the seasons, which would be none other than Deerling and Sawsbuck, presently in its Autumn form to coincide with the northern hemisphere season. Pokémon with a natural theme were more active, as with Berries that are gained. Amidst the event, there was also a Limited Research featuring Meowth of all forms on October 10, though in execution, it was mostly about the Alola form, and Shiny forms seemed to be scarce compared to other similar events. Both were still somewhat well-timed and appropriate for the affairs of the seasons, which will certainly change again soon.

After the seasons changed, it was also time for Team GO Rocket to change in all kinds of ways, including the Pokémon they bring, except for their nefarious intentions. It was at this time that the Strange Eggs also began to appear from superior positions within this organization. More importantly, this event also this marked the appearance of a new Special Research with focus on this team of not-so-great people, and awaiting at the end of that Special Research is a familiar Pokémon, especially to those who participated in this year's Go Fest: Mewtwo in its Shadow form, which also marks its general availability. The main event that lasted for a week went well, but later on there was a goof on Shiny Shadow Pokémon that demanded compensation. The corresponding one-day event for this is Community Day, but that doesn't need to be explained, not in this post at least.

And then there is that mainstay event, the Halloween event, that started a week ago and is ongoing. This year, the event is a lot more festive due to the appearance of lots of new Pokémon forms, including costumed Gengar and Sableye, Mega Gengar, Galarian Yamask, and Shiny Spiritomb. The latter two are part of this year's "A Spooky Message" Special Research, and even Spiritomb can be gotten just through Field Research, making them less of a rare commodity in general. Complementing this event is yet another one-day event called "Catch Mastery" that tested the mettle of Trainers in catching Pokémon, with Drifloon as a feature of the event, as well as the realization of last year's cancelled Raid Day, and a special one-week Go Battle League challenge. The latter two are very special and needs to be given more information that can fit in this post, but everything around the event is truly "spook-tacular", even this year.

With that, the month of October this year has become a rather eventful one, with a few long events and just as many short events. Things are always happening in Pokémon Go, so it would be no surprise if they do keep happening, especially in the manner that they do (or did) this month. Halloween is regardless a mainstay, especially with the day being tomorrow, and this year it's bigger than ever in the face of challenges that are also bigger than ever. Perhaps to face the "spooks", one only needs a larger frame of mind, and it may be that all the events this month provide just that.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 10/30/2019

Two years ago: Community Day Workflow

Three years ago: Pokémon Go Halloween 2017 Event