Niantic
As part of Pokemon Go Fest 2018, Niantic released Lugia in Raid Battles all over the world for this weekend only. Not only that, but some players are reporting catching shiny variants of the legendary Pokemon.
The user who posted the picture above on The Silph Road subreddit, marknil, said that they were in a group of seven to eleven people over the course of seven Raids with one catching two shiny Lugia and two other people including themselves catching one each.
According to users on The Silph Road subreddit and Pokemon Go Hub, the encounter rate for shiny Lugia is around five percent. However, your mileage may vary.
The last time Lugia was in Pokemon Go was back in May, but that was due to a mistake on Niantic’s part. This was theorized to be due to Niantic loading the wrong set of Raid Bosses into the game after the end of the Battle Showdown event. Players were even able to catch shiny Lugia then. Before that Lugia was seen from March 15 to April 2.
According to the Pokemon Go Fest 2018 event website, the Pokemon featured in Pokemon Go Fest 2018 will appear around the world during the weekend the Fest is active. In addition, Niantic said that some special Pokemon found in the Pokemon Go Fest grounds will be appearing around downtown Chicago.
Users on The Silph Road subreddit have found these increased spawns of Pokemon. The list of Pokemon include the newly added Alolan Geodude and Alolan Diglett along with shiny versions of Minun and Plusle. You can see a list of Pokemon receiving increased spawns below:
Alolan Geodude Alolan Diglett Alolan Exeggutor Aerodactyl Magmar Swinub Slugma Treeko Mudkip Torchic Plusle (Shiny) Minun (Shiny) Lotad Cacnea Snorunt Seedot Wailmer Feebas Aron Trapinch
Pokemon Go Fest 2018 began in Lincoln Park in Chicago at 10 a.m. CT. The Fest runs along the 1.8 mile walking course through the park and features four different “habitats” with uniquely tailored Pokemon spawns according to the Chicago Sun Times’ Yvonne Kim. Members of team Valor, Mystic, and Instinct get two team lounges in the park each.
Fest attendees are able to catch the mythical Pokemon Celebi via Special Research, according to IGN. The five part quest involves catching certain kinds of Pokemon including Unown along with spinning PokeStops, hatching eggs, and more, according to users on The Silph Road subreddit. Celebi is the second mythical Pokemon added to the game after Mew was added as Special Research was introduced.
Celebi doesn’t appear to be available outside of Pokemon Go Fest 2018. Niantic has confirmed that Celebi will be available globally in the near future.
One user, Yeldarb10, reported seeing the region-exclusive Pokemon Torkoal appearing at the Fest (despite not catching one themselves). The Pokemon is usually located in Asia around India, Southeast Asia, and parts of the Middle East, according to our previous report.
The Global Challenge has kicked off for all regions, according to Niantic. Players at Pokemon Go Fest are tasked with completing 100,000 research tasks and players around the world are tasked with completing five million research tasks for their region. As each milestone is reached, different bonuses will unlock for the period of July 16 to July 23. If all milestones are reached, Zapdos will be available during a three hour window on July 21 with players able to catch a shiny variant.
Trainers, Professor Willow’s #GlobalChallenge has kicked off in the Asia-Pacific region! Nothing is impossible when you all work together. Stay tuned to get the latest updates—and good luck!
Players in the Asia-Pacific region have already completed their milestone, granting all players a guaranteed Rare Candy for each Raid Battle they win during July 16 to July 23.
#GlobalChallenge Update: Need some Rare Candy? Trainers from the Asia-Pacific region have just completed 5 million research tasks, guaranteeing that, starting on July 16, Trainers will receive 1 Rare Candy for winning Raid Battles!
The players at Pokemon Go Fest have completed their milestone of 100,000 research tasks, granting all players extra candy for catching Pokemon along with guaranteed Rare Candy for Raid Battles from July 16 to July 23.
#GlobalChallenge Update: Wow! Trainers at #PokemonGOFest2018 have worked together to complete over 100,000 research tasks! Celebrate this milestone by thanking them in your comments and replies!
Players in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India are halfway done with their milestone, having completed over 2.5 million research tasks. Players in the Americas and Greenland are also halfway done with their milestone.
#GlobalChallenge Update: Trainers from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India have finished over 2.5 million research tasks! Fantastic job, Trainers! Less than 2.5 million to go until they unlock the 2× hatch Candy bonus for everyone. Let’s GO!
#GlobalChallenge Update: Trainers from the Americas and Greenland are now halfway toward unlocking the halved hatch distance global bonus. Encourage your fellow Trainers from the Americas and Greenland in your posts!
Have you caught Lugia, shiny or otherwise, during the Pokemon Go Fest weekend? What about Celebi or any of the other Pokemon receiving increased spawns? Let us know in the comment section below.
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