It's time for a new event in Pokémon GO and creator Niantic Labs is ready to make a splash with the new Water Festival.
Pokémon GO has lost some steam since its debut last summer when it took the world by storm and turned into a huge social phenomenon, but it's still keeping players engaged through various events that bring special treats for a limited time.
Niantic also spiced things up with the Pokémon GO update that rolled out last month, marking the first major update since the game's original release last year. The update added 80 Gen 2 Pokémon, evolution items, and more, boosting interest in the game. The latest event now aims to further sweeten the deal.
Pokémon GO Water Festival Event
Unlike other previous Pokémon GO events, the Water Festival is not tied to any particular globally recognized holiday. Instead, the Pokémon GO Water Festival comes as a surprise treat and it increases one's chances of catching water-type critters.
The Water Festival event runs through March 29 and players can take advantage of it to catch Magikarp, Totodile and Squirtle, as well as obtain their evolutions - Gyarados, Blastoise, Wartortle, Croconaw and Feraligatr. The event also increases the spawn potential of the ice Pokémon Lapras, since you can't have ice without water.
Moreover, for players in locations where water-type Pokémon typically roam (near lakes, water streams, rivers and such), the Gen 2 water Pokémon from the Johto region will also have a higher spawn rate. This means that players could encounter Lanturn, Azumarill, Chinchou, Marill, Wooper, Sloking, Politoed, Quagsire, Corosola, Qwilfish, Kingdra, Octillery, Remoraid, and Mantine, since they're all partly water types. The legendary Suicune would be a tough bet, however, even with the Water Festival going on.
The event also brings a new avatar wardrobe item that players can purchase with Pokecoins - the Magikarp hat.
Unlike other Pokémon GO events, however, the Water Festival doesn't bring any bonuses, double XP, increased lure time, more candy or anything like that. Previous events offered bonuses and various sales incentives to boost microtransactions, but the Water Festival doesn't seem to include such perks - or at least they're not mentioned in the announcement.
Catch Lapras In the Wild
Nevertheless, the chance to catch Lapras is perhaps among the most exciting highlights of this event. Lapras has been incredibly difficult to capture in the wild ever since Pokémon GO launched last year, so the Water Fest could be a boon or players looking for the elusive critter. A previous event in Japan increased Lapras' spawn rate and generated huge interest, so the Water Fest should be a big attraction.
Should the Water Festival enable players to add Lapras to their Pokédex without relying on egg hatching, it could go down in history as one of the best Pokémon GO events ever.
Are you excited about the new Pokémon GO Water Festival? If you go out and explore, check back and leave us a comment to tell us what water-type Pokémon you encountered.
