"Pokémon GO": The Madness Continues
Bring on the Legendaries!
As if the month long, rotating Legendary raid weekends weren't enough, Niantic has announced two additional Legendaries will be joining the fray! Beginning Tuesday, March 10, at 8 a.m., Registeel and Cresselia will be returning to Pokémon GO. Their return coincides with the start of the official first season of the Go Battle League, as both Registeel and Cresselia are among the best Pokémon for the Great and Ultra Leagues. In addition to the featured Legendaries, several other meta relevant Pokémon will be available in raids as well, such as Skarmory, Shieldon and Swampert. Fighting type Pokémon will also be appearing more frequently in the wild during this time, and shiny Timburr will debut in Pokémon GO! The best chance to encounter a shiny Timburr will be by winning a One Star Raid, or as a reward for winning in the Go Battle League.
Another Pokémon making his GO debut will be Rufflet, available as a Go Battle League encounter for trainers who have achieved Rank 7 or higher. Rufflet is a Generation 5, Normal/Flying type Pokémon and the male counterpart of Vullaby. Rufflet resembles an eagle and evolves into the “brave soldier of the sky,” Braviary.
Trainers will have until Thursday, March 12, at 10 p.m. to catch Cresselia, Registeel and the accompanying Pokémon. After that, beginning Friday, March 13, the Legendary Raid weekends will resume with the return of Giratina Altered Form.
Let the Battle Begin!
The official First Season of the Go Battle League will commence on Friday, March 13, at 4 p.m. E.T., with the Great League kicking things off. The Great League battles will last until Friday, March 27, at which point the Ultra League will begin. The Ultra League is slated for action until April 10, and will give way to the Master League, which will run until April 24. From Friday, April 24, through Friday, May 1, all three leagues will be available for trainers to battle.
During this time, Legendary and Mythical Pokémon will be available as a reward for trainers who win four battles with a Basic Battle Pass, or two battles with a Premium Battle Pass. Having these Pokémon as a reward in the Go Battle League is a great opportunity for trainers in the countries where Legendary Raid Weekends have been cancelled because of the coronavirus, such as Italy, Japan, and South Korea.
Abra Community Day Confirmed!
Abra Community Day has been officially announced for March. Niantic previously released a cryptic tweet that seemed to indicate a Psychic Pokémon would be featured for the March Community Day, and it has now been confirmed. On Sunday, March 15, Abra spawns will be increased, and the shiny variant will make its Pokémon GO debut. In the Northern Hemisphere, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, and the Southern Hemisphere from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. local time, Abra will be appearing more frequently in the wild. The shiny rate will also increase from the standard 1 in 450 chance, to the Community Day odds, typically around 1 in 24.
There has been no announcement regarding the exclusive Community Day move Abra's final evolution, Alakazam, will be able to learn, but it’s signature move, Telekinesis, is a good guess. Community Day protocol allows trainers to evolve their Abra into Alakazam, in order to get the exclusive move during the event, and up to two hours afterwards. Abra is also one of the Pokémon to benefit from the recently released trade evolve feature, so when Abra is received via trade, it can be evolved into Kadabra for 25 candies, and then into Alakazam for no candy cost whatsoever. Trading also gives trainers the opportunity to receive a “Lucky Pokémon,” which guarantees a certain level of IV, and costs less candy and stardust to power up.
March Community Day will also feature a Special Research Story, "Investigating Illusions." For only $0.99 trainers can acquire a ticket that gives them access to the Special Research Story from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., in their local time zone. The Special Research Story will be a four-stage event in which trainers must complete specific tasks in order to receive exclusive rewards, including but not limited to: 13k stardust, a Poffin, a Rocket Radar, and more.
This Research Story could be a sign of things to come, with more of these types of events being available as an added pay to play bonus on Community Day.
