How to Make a Pokémon GO Event Less Enjoyable: Pokémon Horizons Event Edition
TL;DR By making coveted Pokémon rare spawns or non-spawns altogether. That's less enjoyable.
Ahoy, Trainers! How did you find the Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration Event? What’s that, you say? There weren’t enough Pikachus spawning? You didn’t get a Charcadet? The rest of the event was hella boring? Well, whatever you do, please don’t come closer with those pitchforks and torches. Trainers? I SAID “DON’T!”
While I’m sure the overall reaction to the Pokémon GO event in question hasn’t gotten to the point that literal armed revolt seems like a viable course of action, if the mood is a sour one among the player base, this seems more than understandable. The Pokémon Horizons: The Celebration event, timed to coincide with the release of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, a continuation of the Pokémon animated series, on Netflix, was a six-day commemoration of this milestone in the storied Pokémon franchise within Pokémon GO. The PoGO official website post about the event boasts of these highlights:
Pokémon debuts
Eggs
Event bonuses
Surprise encounters
Featured attack
Wild encounters
Raids
Field Research task encounters
PokéStop Showcases
Pokémon GO Web Store Event Bundle
Sounds good, right? All these elements stuffed into almost a week’s worth of action? New Pokémon to kick off a new animated series? Bonuses? Featured attacks? Only a fool would dare to criticize such a cornucopia of Pokémon-related entertainment, no?
Maybe, maybe not. Let’s break down these advertised points of interest and see if they cut the proverbial mustard.
Pokémon debuts
The big selling point of the Pokémon Horizons event was the debut of the Charcadet line. From a fan service perspective, that Charcadet, Armarouge, and Ceruledge can now be added to the Pokédex in PoGO is legitimately exciting. I may not speak for everyone, but I will assert that Charcadet is a little cutie, and Armarouge and Ceruledge look dope AF. Never mind that their utility in PvP appears to be fairly limited, at least until a potential move update happens. As far as aesthetics are concerned, no complaints here. What’s more, unlike with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, there is no need to worry about exclusivity based on the version you own. Depending on the Pokémon you battle after making Charcadet your Buddy, you can evolve it into Armarouge or Ceruledge. The choice is yours and yours alone.
What is less enjoyable is that these Pokémon are only available through Eggs. The silver lining herein was that Charcadet could be hatched from 2 km, 5 km, and 10 km Eggs obtained during the span of the celebration. The rub was that, no matter what length of walking was necessary to hatch one of these Eggs, Charcadet was only one possible outcome from a pool of hatches, and after the event ended, Charcadet was relegated to 10 km Eggs. You were essentially playing Incubator Roulette to try to get one Charcadet, let alone enough of them to procure the whole evolutionary line. This favored those with deep enough pockets and/or a willingness to spend for Incubators to improve one’s chances of success (more on this later).
By now, Niantic’s willingness to lock a Pokémon’s availability behind Eggs/special events is well established, so it’s not terribly surprising that they would do it here in such a way that maximizes players’ impetus for “getting out there” while still preserving a sense of rarity for something like Charcadet (in the main-series games, Charcadet is rare, although it can be encountered in most areas of the Paldean region). Even so, it’s still disappointing considering it is now an even more unlikely hatch with the hatch distance limited to 10 kilometers. Niantic could’ve chosen to do as they have done with Skwovet or Wooloo and make them rare spawns limited to special events or GO Battle League encounters. Perhaps Charcadet is not meant to be treated in such a banal fashion. Either way, it’s probable that more casual players didn’t hatch one before the close of the event. For a Pokémon of which the evolutions seem to be outclassed by other Pokémon of the same types (Ceruledge, for example, is arguably not even the best Fire/Ghost type in Paldea next to Skeledirge, let alone in Pokémon GO), that puts a bit of a damper on the Fire Child Pokémon’s arrival.
Eggs
I’m noting Eggs here because I just think it’s funny that Niantic gave Eggs its own heading. Charcadet is the relevant Pokémon here and it was available from the Eggs of which distances we’ve already identified earlier. In case it isn’t clear, it hatches from Eggs. Not a spawn. Sorry, Trainer.
Event bonuses
The bonuses for the Pokémon Horizons event—at least those announced before it began (Timed Research announced during the event was unlocked by way of a special code)—were 2x XP for hatching Pokémon and Team GO Rocket Balloons appearing more frequently. If you were hatching lots of Eggs, if you still are climbing to Level 50 re Trainer Level, and if you were looking for more opportunities to secure battle-relevant Shadow Pokémon, you may have gotten a lot out of these bonuses. Personally speaking, I don’t pay for Incubators and I’m already Level 50, so I was immediately out of luck on the first two counts.
As for the increased Rocket encounter rate, this meant more Stardust gained and more chances for capturing good Shadow Pokémon, but it also meant more battles and therefore a greater need to heal and revive my Pokémon. Besides, encounters with Shadow Pokémon are stat-dependent and, thus, are no guarantee to be worthy stashes in one’s storage. Without bonuses for catching Pokémon or a reduction to the walking requirements for Eggs absent use of Super Incubators, it’s hard to be entirely thrilled with what we were given here.
Surprise encounters
I guess surprise encounters when you take a snapshot are better than a kick in the rear, and you did get up to five. That said, outside of Charizard, the other possible photobombers could also be found in the wild. Some, in fact, were exceedingly common (put a pin in this thought too).
Featured attack
Pikachu wearing Cap’s hat (Captain Pikachu is also known as “Cap” in the anime) knows Volt Tackle, the signature move of Pikachu’s evolutionary line—and this reality will almost certainly never be relevant from a competitive standpoint. Not only can Cap’s Hat Pikachu not evolve into Raichu at this juncture, but though it only decreases the user’s Defense by one stage as opposed to Wild Charge’s two stages, it does less damage and costs more energy. It’s a novelty, pure and simple.
Wild encounters
Speaking of Pikachu wearing Cap’s hat, this was the wild spawn of the event as a previously unreleased asset. The others were common, or if not particularly abundant under normal circumstances, common enough that their inclusion could be seen as underwhelming. Nosepass and Scyther aren’t terribly valuable, though at least they can be Shiny. Fuecoco, Pawmi, Quaxly, and Sprigatito can’t, however, and only Fuecoco of these is relevant to any GO Battle League meta as a precursor to Skeledirge.
These Pokémon were out in force during the Pokémon Horizons: The Celebration Event, and because of the issues of the Paldean Pokémon not having Shinies released as well as Nosepass and Scyther mostly just being there for that purpose, featuring these Pokémon more frequently in the wild did little to warrant player attention. The newer or more PvP-relevant Pokémon—Alolan Grimer, Beldum, and Pikachu—got short shrift by comparison. Cap’s Hat Pikachu’s relative sparsity, chief among them, proves striking given the apparent contrast to previous events. You would’ve expected Pikachu wearing Cap’s hat to be more plentiful given Niantic’s and the Pokémon Company’s penchant for shoehorning Pikachu into every scenario imaginable. Not this time, however. It’s honestly a weird feeling.
Raids
I suppose if the costumed Pikachu spawns were to be more sporadic in nature, their inclusion in Raids was a welcome alternative. Rhyhorn as a One-Star Raid is so-so given that it has been frequent in recent seasons, but there’s a Shiny chance and Rhyperior has play in both in PvP and PvE contexts, so we can let that slide. Rockruff should probably be a wild spawn by now, but—ahem—fetching Shiny and scarcity being what it is, this was also a fair inclusion. Generally speaking, I can’t quarrel too much with the selections for the tier-one Raids.
Regarding the Three-Star Raids, Chansey is a vaguely irritating Raid Boss at this level because of its sheer bulk. Plus, it just had its own Community Day. Like, just had it. Whatever. It’s cute and can be Shiny. In past seasons, having Noctowl as a Raid Boss might’ve meant more. These days, following the Sky Attack nerf, it’s usable, but not a top-tier option, so it only really has value if you don’t have a Noctowl already built. From a PvP standpoint, Metagross is likely the pick of the litter here. As with Rhyperior, it’s meta-relevant in Master League, especially Master League Premier Cup, which is on the docket this season. All in all, not the worst lineup, but I doubt you’d want to go out of your way for them unless you have a particular need or want for one of these Pokémon. Or you needed to complete a Research task. Or you were simply really bored.
Field Research task encounters
Like with Raids, Cap’s Hat Pikachu was here as a failsafe. In similar fashion, however, it was but one potential outcome as a part of a pool of Pokémon. The Hatch 2 Eggs requirement seems fairly onerous given how watered down the chances were of encountering Pikachu next to the Paldean starters. The Win a Raid requirement was an upgrade in this regard, featuring Rockruff and Skarmory as alternative rewards, but at the end of the day, you’d rather have them available as wild spawns for the wider range of possible Individual Values (IVs).
Pokémon GO Web Store Event Bundle
What all of the above basically boils down to. With Charcadet relegated to Egg hatches and the limited-edition promotional Pikachu astonishingly less common out in the wild, this event was a conduit to get you, the Pokémon GO player, to spring for an Ultra Legend Box. This bundle included three Remote Raid Passes, 10 Premium Battle Passes, and 10 Incubators. If you were desperate for that Shiny Pikachu, you might have been tempted to fork over your real-world Poké Coins to more expeditiously complete the Research tasks or do more than just one or two Raids a day with free Passes. Indeed, this may very well have been seen as a high-value proposition for the buyer, so I can’t dismiss this out of hand. From a sales/marketing standpoint, meanwhile, it’s a tad bit surprising how naked Niantic’s embrace of such tactics is, though only a tad bit given the acceleration of the company’s monetization efforts over time.
In fairness to Niantic, because the event was meant to be evocative of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, they had to hew pretty close to the source material. The protagonists, Liko and Roy, choose Sprigatito and Fuecoco respectively as their partner Pokémon. Friede, leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers, is joined by Captain Pikachu and Charizard as companions. Murdock’s partner Pokémon is Rockruff. Orla? Metagross. Mollie? Chansey. Amethio? Ceruledge. Zirc? Rhydon. Onia? Golduck (Golduck appeared as a potential Field Research task encounter for defeating two Rocket Grunts).
Since this series owes a large debt to the region of Paldea, it just so happens that a number of these Pokémon are going to be inherently unexciting catches without the advent of a Shiny or signature move update. This is to say that a promotional event centered around the Paldean starters, at this point in time, was bound to be a little boring, so we can cite forces beyond Niantic’s control as a limiting factor. Also, Pikachu with Cap’s hat, for all its seeming uselessness, looks pretty sweet with the folding arms animation. That’s one electric mouse Pokémon with which you don’t want to mess.
Where we would expect Niantic to have more agency, meanwhile, some of the choices the company made for the Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration Event clearly didn’t benefit players. Gatekeeping a brand-new Pokémon behind Eggs and random number generation? That’s only fun if you’ve got space for those Eggs and/or the ability to hatch them in a timely fashion, i.e. Incubators to spare. Keeping the limited-edition event Pikachu seriously limited outside of Raids and Field Research? It turns what should be a fun gimme into more of a pressing concern.
Niantic’s modus operandi these days seems to be restricting fun to that which can be locked behind eggshells, whether in the form of Raid encounters or Pokémon obtained by walking them out while housed in Incubators. It’s not explicitly putting these experiences behind a paywall, but the compressed timeline by which to enjoy a more robust chance at hatching Charcadet or happening upon Cap’s Hat Pikachu in the wild certainly influenced less discerning end users. Is it merely the cost of doing business or predatory behavior? I guess that depends on your worldview.
Usually, by the end of these events, I’m struggling with replenishing my Poké Ball stock. With the Pokémon Horizons event, on the other hand, I had to manage my storage at several junctures to avoid my bag filling up to capacity. The rough timing of a Paldea-based event notwithstanding, that’s not a well-incentivized promotion. If Charcadet couldn’t be a wild spawn, at least throw some worthwhile bonuses at players. Bonus Stardust or XP for catches. Reduced walking distance to hatch Eggs. Extra Candies XL or otherwise. I don’t know—something. Extra XP from hatching Eggs and more frequent Rocket Balloons isn’t up to snuff, quite frankly. I, a dedicated PoGO trainer, already find the intrusion of Rocket Grunts somewhat pesky. Now you’re asking me to deal with more of them? That’s going from a little irritating to downright annoying.
Was the Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration Event the worst thing Niantic ever put forth? Not by a long shot. Could it have been better designed, though, to appeal to an audience that has put up with more than its fair share of shenanigans from a company that continues to plunge more deeply into nickle-and-diming its customers while continuously failing to effectively communicate with them? You betcha.
I didn’t mind this event tbh, I just focused on catching The Captain/A Grimer/Beldum. Admittedly I was very lucky in this regard, I managed to get the shiny/a rank 1/a hundo & a decent amount of XLs respectively.
The eggs… I largely just ignore them, I’ll hatch it eventually. Ironically did actually hatch my first Larvesta from a 2k egg!