Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 3/31/2024

And it's also the last day of the month, so my monthly event rollup for Pokémon Go also needs to get going, moreover since I haven't done it on a certain day as in some past years - but that's water under the bridge. Speaking of, there seems to be a torrent of events this month, coming like a wave to Trainers, particularly those in certain parts of the world. So, I have to put myself through the torrent of explaining them just as I have gone through the torrent of their progression.

On March 3, there was the Charged Up Research Day, which for some came quite a bit sudden. As expected, species of the Electric type were featured, with five selected species able to be encountered from Field Research and others appearing in the wild, including Pikachu. A paid Timed Research set was also available for those who could devote more effort, to encounter the selected species. Notably, this also took place on the second day of a certain paradise event, so the Pikachu portion aligned perfectly... but other things may not have, as the case may be. Still, it did provide a charged start for this first month of the season.

March 5 to 11 brought something new on the horizon, as the Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration event. It coincided with the launch of the anime series of the same title on specific platforms in specific regions. Appropriately, the event features elements from the anime: debut of the Charcadet family in Eggs, a special Cap's Pikachu with Volt Tackle, main character photo bombs, and other characteristic Pokémon in the wild, raids, and Field Research task encounters. The remaining complements were double XP for hatching, more Team Go Rocket balloons, themed showcases, and a Web Store bundle. For those about to get into the new series, this event became a fine introduction in addition to celebration.

Weather Week returned from March 14 to 18, and this time it was an all-weather celebration, certainly with Castform in tow. It appeared with greater Shiny chance and more often in the wild plus in Field Research for all forms regardless of weather, and it was key to a Collection Challenge. The rest of the featured Pokémon were one species for each kind of weather and a few other all-weather species from the channels as above plus raids, making up the other Collection Challenge. The whole event was complemented by double Stardust for captures plus more in Weather Boost, and certainly themed showcases. In general, fair things about the weather was to be found during the event.

Two Raid Days were seen in March - and not just any Raid Day; they were Primal Raid Days. That meant Kyogre and Groudon in that specific form, on March 17 and 23 respectively from 2 to 5 PM with appearances in all Gyms. As usual, both of these had increased free passes, chance for the Shiny Pokémon in question, and remote raid limits. They also had paid tickets that could be bought in a bundle or individually, and provided even more free passes as well as increased Candy XL chance, XP, and Stardust. In execution, though, the Kyogre edition suffered from server problems and was extended to 7 PM, while the Groudon edition was normal. It was definitely a huge undertaking on both days, and slightly abnormal too.

Verdant Wonders was the penultimate event of the month, taking place from March 21 to 25. By the featured Pokémon of the event, it could be described as a "magical jungle" with Grass types, Fairy types, and some other "cheeky" species; they were in the wild as well as Field Research task encounters. New to this event were the Cottonee family with a costume and Shiny Flabébé, and returning for all was another Zarude encounter opportunity... obtained through buying an event ticket containing a Special Research set for that purpose as well as other bonuses. Collection Challenge sets and themed showcases rounded out the event, making it a veritable jungle indeed.

Closing up the month, there was the Taken Over event from March 27 to 31 (today). As this is a Team Go Rocket takeover, it had its usual features: more of its members everywhere, changes to their Pokémon selections (new and old alike), and the ability to unlearn Frustration by Charged TM. The major highlights of this edition are Shadow Groudon from Giovanni with a new Special Research set, Shadow Mewtwo from raids on the weekend, and Shiny Sandile debut. The minor complements are Field Research tasks, Dark-type Pokémon in the wild, Timed Research sets, featured showcases, an extra paid Timed Research, bundles in the in-game shop and Web Store, and an avatar pose for sale. Team Go Rocket had wanted to deliver their own wonders as well - and they did just that.

It only started off the season, but the abundance of Pokémon Go events in March (and all of the elements contained therein) did seem to crash upon Trainers like waves, gushing them with torrents of things related to Pokémon. Appropriately enough, it's for a season that promises to deliver a literal world containing wonders, so the deluge may be said to bring wonders awash for Trainers - even only at its beginning. After the deluge, the two remaining months of the season can promise more wonder in events, hopefully in different ways.

One year ago: The State of Nominations, Part 21

Two years ago: Consume and Create

Three years ago: "New Daybreaks" for Pokémon

Four years ago: The Long-Winded Side of Things

Five years ago: Cosplay: ONEGAI Bunkasai 2019 - Eiyuu no Uprising

Six years ago: Mauville's Progress

Seven years ago: Nostalgia: Episode 672 - "Here Comes the Trubbish Squad!"