Niantic Pokemon Go Fest Chicago is currently underway.
Pokemon Go players today received a notification that encouraged them to catch as many Pokemon as they can around the world to “unlock amazing rewards.” So what exactly is this notification referring to? Why is the game encouraging players to catch more Pokemon than usual, and what are the “amazing rewards”?
This is a part of the game’s Pokemon Go Fest, a day-long celebration that’s taking place on Saturday. It’s mainly centered around Chicago, where fans are gathering in Grant Park for a live event that requires a ticket to attend.
However, Niantic is also allowing players around the world to get in on the fun in two ways. First, those in Chicago will be catching certain types of Pokemon in Grant Park in order to unlock bonuses for everyone worldwide. But in order to extend those bonuses, players outside of Chicago must try to catch as many Pokemon as they can during particular “challenge windows.”
Those “challenge windows” are 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. CDT, 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. CDT, and 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT. So it’s during these times that you’ll want to really focus your energy on catching every single Pokemon you come across in order to extend the bonuses. That would be the first amazing reward.
But there’s another reason you want to try to catch as many Pokemon as you can today. If players worldwide catch enough Pokemon during the challenge windows, a legendary Raid Battle will be unlocked in Chicago. You want that to happen even if you’re outside of Chicago because if those in Grant Park defeat the legendary, this Pokemon will come to Raid Battles around the world. That’s the second amazing reward.
Granted, it’s a little hard to believe that Niantic won’t unlock the legendary in Chicago either way; they haven’t specified how many Pokemon need to be caught worldwide in order for the Raid Battle to be unlocked, meaning they’ll probably just make it available no matter what and pretend that the goal was reached. Still, this is a way to get players around the world to participate and feel like it’s a pressing matter rather than something that’s definitely going to happen.
If the legendary Raid Battle does appear, it will happen at 6:00 p.m. CDT, so this is when you’ll want to check in on the live stream of the event in order to see the first ever legendary Pokemon in Pokemon Go.