Saturday, July 13, 2024

Pokémon Go Fest 2024 (Global), Day 1

So, now it's time for the Global edition of Pokémon Go Fest, which as discussed earlier on in this season, is practically a "wrap-up" for the entire run of Pokémon Go Fest this season this year. Also as discussed, there were certain "running themes" that had been detailed for all of its editions, and they manifested themselves differently for each edition yet similarly overall, with the primary theme being the "chase" between brightness and darkness. The manifestations specific to the Global edition are what I want to discuss today as well as tomorrow, and I'll start with mostly those of today.

Just like those in past years, from 10 AM to 6 PM today there were habitats rotated on the hour, composed of four habitats repeated once. This time (ahem), the themes were times of day: Dawn Meadow, Shining Day, Creeping Dusk, and Darkest Night; they are respectively composed of Pokémon species exemplifying natural beauty, radiant brightness, sneaky glows, and grim mysticism. Complementing them were two new forms of Pikachu wearing sun and moon crowns in the "early" habitats and one each of Espeon and Umbreon with special scarves in the "late" habitats. Everyone had the chance to encounter and capture all these Pokémon today (with more chances tomorrow, free of habitat restrictions), and those with paid tickets can encounter - by activating an Incense - Unown of the letters that make up the words "DAY" and "NIGHT" plus a unique rare Pokémon depending on habitat. The special Pikachu and evolved Eevee forms also appeared in raids (one star and three star respectively), and one-hour Lure Modules and photo bombs complemented the Pokémon appearances.

The biggest (and most dramatic) chases occurred in top-level raids over the course of this day, which rapidly changed among the nine Ultra Beasts - including the two that debuted this year - that can be raided, in addition to the Legendary force of the Ultra Space: Necrozma, the being that redefines light and shadow, for which Pokémon Go Fest becomes its venue of debut this year. To raid, one needs raid passes, and naturally, more free passes were given out today to help raid as many Ultra Beasts or Necrozma as one may think one needs, at least for today.

On the side of Research, also like last year, Field Research complemented the habitats, giving Pokémon or item rewards. Each habitat also had an associated Collection Challenge of nine specific Pokémon that unlike last year had to be completed today, although they did not include the special costumed forms as above. Global Challenges, though, were still on par with last year for its capturing objectives and bonuses. The big ticket item - literally, as it represents the preview image for the ticket purchase in the in-game shop - is today's Special Research set, focused on tasks that eventually leads to an encounter with Marshadow, an odd Mythical Pokémon of the darkness - and so thusly the light has been shed.

As for my times of day, they were spent with many of those from my raid group (and a few external colleagues) to go through today's offerings, particularly the catching and raids, to go through them all in a timely manner. I didn't have a very good haul in raids, particularly for Necrozma, but I did complete the Special Research set up to just before the Marshadow encounter, preferring to hold it back for now, especially given the possible shenanigans that may crop up on Day 2. I'll have the answer to that tomorrow as well as the other side matters of this year's Global edition.

If each day is filled with the lightness and brightness of day and the starkness and darkness of night, then today's offerings for Pokémon Go Fest have neatly fulfilled them. All that is left is to see how the night transitions to the day and vice versa, and some insights have been provided on this day. What separates the two from each other, and thus what remains to be elucidated, is something that makes a pursuit across each day - and now Trainers are also in pursuit of that, at least going into tomorrow.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Hi folks! Feel free to comment, but know that I'll be selecting only the most appropriate and relevant comments to appear. Think before you post.