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Something big is happening with Pokemon Go on July 28 (or late at night on July 27, depending on your time zone and the countdown video that Pokemon Go has running on YouTube.) Here’s a roundup of all the top clues we have so far, including some clues that were released with the countdown timer that you might have missed.
UPDATE: See our story here for an update on what happened with the live stream.
First Pokemon Go Just Sent ‘R’ Notifications on Mobile
On Friday night, July 26, Pokemon Go sent notifications that grabbed players’ attention. For most players, except a few on Android, the notifications appeared to just read “R” and nothing else.
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This confused players at first, who thought maybe it was just a glitch until Niantic started sending out tweets too.
Each ‘R’ Tweet Referenced 7/28, Which Is the Exact Time that the Countdown Video Ends
On Friday night, July 26, Pokemon Go also posted a series of tweets with images that all had 7/28 written on them.
Later, Niantic posted a countdown video to its Pokemon Go YouTube channel and shared this on Twitter.
The video just happens to be ending on July 28 (7/28) at exactly 12 a.m. Eastern. So this is what all those notifications and tweets were referencing. Team Rocket grunts are appearing in this video, so it must have something to do with a new Team Rocket event.
The whole thing started shortly after New York City defeated a Team Go Rocket invasion. So I’m guessing Team Rocket isn’t done yet.
Phew! It looks like Trainers in New York City have done a great job defeating Team GO Rocket Grunts and have contained the spread of Team GO Rocket. 🗽 ✅ Keep battling. We thank you for your hard work! 😄👍
The Countdown Video Began with a Desktop Background & Files
If you were watching when the countdown video first began, then you noticed a desktop background which included this:
YouTube
Here it is closer up.
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There were two COMP videos and then a clip below it titled “Final KKDay,” noted Redditor TrainerChops. KKDay might refer to a travel discount site called KKDay that also sells tickets to attractions, one Redditor suggests.
Reid Hoffman likely refers to Reid Garrett Hoffman, an internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He’s the co-founder of LinkedIn and is a partner at Greylock Partners.
One Notification Shows a Silhouette That Looks Like Giovanni
One of the tweets and notifications, when lightened, showed a silhouette that looks a lot like Giovanni. This photo was shared by u/Tomernator on Reddit. Giovanni is the head of Team Rocket and the most formidable Team Rocket foe.
Reddit/Tomernator
Another Notification Shows a Silhouette of Two Characters & the Third Is Just the ‘R’
The third of Pokemon Go‘s ‘R’ tweets shows a silhouette of two other characters, also with 7/28. Brightened, it looks like this:
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A Big Event Is Starting at Midnight Eastern on July 28
All of this points to a big event starting on July 28 at midnight Eastern. So yes, that’s in less than 24 hours, late on Saturday night in the United States.
Some trainers are wondering if maybe it will be a shadow raid of some sort, or if you’ll need to beat three Team Rocket leaders and then Giovanni is the final raid boss to beat.
Other trainers think Team Rocket will take over every PokeStop in the world, and the New York event was just teasing that. I think this would be pretty epic and am hoping it’s what happens.
Have your own theory about what’s going to happen? Tweet the author of this article.
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