In recent years, Pokémon Go seems to love (or want/need) to hold January's edition of Community Day very early on in the year... and it seems this one is no different, being held just five days after the year started. But then, that might mean it's going to be a big thing, and in fact, Community Day is trying out a few things that may mean big things for it now and later on. And that all starts with this rather early edition.
The big thing about it - specifically, the Pokémon that it features - is that it's of Sprigatito, the ninth-generation Grass starter. Thus, it follows the order of its addition and not regional or generational order, considering the featured starter (first partner) Pokémon over the years. It also means the rest of its ninth-generation buddies will be due out this year also, though that's a bit speculative. What isn't speculative is that as a starter Pokémon, its evolved form Meowscarada gets the Charged move of Frenzy Plant, as with other Grass-type starters. It can now also learn its signature move of Flower Trick, but that's a lesser concern in many ways. This is supplemented by the always-lucrative main bonus of triple Stardust.
For this edition, the paid Special Research is newly restructured, now comprised of two pages of six tasks each, with mostly the same rewards but somewhat different tasks - and being more pricey as well. The encountered Sprigatito in the tasks also have special backgrounds of the current season, an enhancement of a novelty actually introduced in the Community Day edition of the previous month. This is also the case for a Timed Research set with tasks completed day by day over the next week, as well as some Field Research tasks not of the regular "catch 3" variety (which are still present) over the course of the event, suggesting that adding novelty to the event is now a concern.
Still, there are the continued regular bonuses: double Candy and Candy XL chance, extended Lure Modules and Incense, extra Special Trade and discounted trades, photo bombs, showcases, in-game shop and Web Store item bundles, and special stickers, all of which by now can be regarded as being rather essential. Notably, though, bonus raids - which would have been the intermediary form of Floragato in this case - are now absent, suggesting that they are no longer regarded as essential compared to the other regular bonuses and the latest implemented novelties.
Meanwhile, my personal experiences of the day are best summed up in conversation form with a special person I sent, something that I didn't actually need to do for this one but I chose to do it anyway:
Goh: Was there a festival or convention somewhere?
Me: There was one out of town, and I actually wanted to send Ash - but Community Day is just as important and saves money.
Ash: Let's wait for next time that happens.
Me: Sure. You caught a lot of the Pokémon, right?
Ash: Of course - ones with the background too. But I didn't find a really good one...
Me: Luckily I have a Buddy Pokémon with the best stats I could get, even if it's still not that good. I'll see about trading for one later on.
Goh: And the place of the meetup was...
Ash: The park close to where our friend lives.
Goh: Oh. Convenient.
Ash: But... I got told by someone that some people dislike our friend.
Goh: Wait... how?
Me: If anything I did made people have negative feelings, then that is not my intent and I apologize for that.
Goh: This must have been a downer.
Ash: I think the Sprigatito might have sensed it too.
Me: Well, you don't have to say anything more. And we can even disregard other "Community" aspects for now.
Ash: I still met our friend's other friends - good ones.
Goh: OK, that's great.
Me: This isn't one of the better editions for us, but it's better than nothing. [sigh]
According to the lore, the species family has a penchant for magic (as evidenced by the Special Research title, "Meowgical Occasion"). While Community Day may or may not have lost its magic, it seems to be trying to pack in magic of a different kind. Hopefully that could be sufficient for the editions throughout this year... and myself.
One year ago: Tell Me, It'll Be All Right
Two years ago: Kids in Cosplay?
Three years ago: Indomaret Promotional TCG Cards
Four years ago: (Re)Structuring Competitions
Five years ago: Jelly-Filled Doughnuts
Six years ago: Cosplay: Bunkasai XXI
Seven years ago: The Music of Go
Eight years ago: Alt+0233 and Its Kin
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