The best decision Niantic has ever made
The Ultra bonus...that is just spectacular. The fact that we will be able to hatch Regionals (giving a use to 7k eggs again for those who already got an alolan vulpix) combined with the fact its a month of mewtwo raids. Im glad they didnt do a mewtwo rid day, mostly because we had really crappy weather moltres day, and theres only so many passes you can use, I think niantic realized that they could make a ton more money doing it this way while also making their players a lot well off. (I mean 5/6 free raids compared to around 30, you do the math, plus all the primeim passes people likely will buy)
I think that this was a great idea, it gives players who didnt have regionals or access to EX gyms the ability to get those pokemon. Raid wise, its going to feel really weird not having machamp be the best legendary raid counter again, but he'll always see use for getting those Tyrantiar. I really hope they do this again for johto and hoenn
Though I wonder how the Regional hatches will be handled, will they be related to where the egg came from giftwise or will that not matter?
Answers
Metagross, relax about SC Gengar. You'll get one. Was visiting a friend in Georgia (the country) and doing some trading. Asked him if he had any SC Gengar, turns out he had 7. Traded two to me, both got lucky (but before the stat bump to 12 floor, unfortunately). So I have two lucky ones now, and still have one of my own that I can trade for another.
It will happen, one way or another. Just be open to the opportunity. Most SC Gengars are pretty old, so their lucky chance is really high.
Not your thumbs down but to say something that I've seen said to US players about wanting regional based events - you're not the entire player base. Beyond the worldwide Farfetch'd release and the pay2enter Go Fest, North America hasn't received regional events. I don't think areas like Africa, Australia, or New Zealand have either for that matter, although I could be wrong. A majority of the player base is lacking *something* regardless of how trivial, myself and yourself included. I'm actually pretty excited to finally finish off my Kanto dex with Kangaskhan and would like to find my own shiny Moltres. This event is to help those people fill in some gaps that may have been there for a couple years now and (hopefully) put Kanto behind us for a long time.
I think that's a fair criticism, and reflective of the fact that Europe seems to have had more groups willing to partner with Niantic, such that a relatively small player base has had an outsized benefit.
It's not a bad choice for a series of rewards, but it doesn't give me anything *I* feel *I'm* missing, even though I missed Zapdos and Moltres days.
Reminds me of my perfect Zapdos caught in 2017 when it first became a raid boss. That one acquires CB/ZC. Impressed by its animation and not knowing any guidance to compare moves, I maxed it out using all my Zapdos candy and lots of precious RC. It's too late and too costly to bring up another TS Zapdos, even if there's still chance catching it.
For players like you or I that have most of what we want, what else is there for them to do by way of rewards? Exp has been easier to obtain than ever and means nothing to anyone level 38 or up. Stardust? While I'd welcome it, may top players sit on literal millions they refuse to spend. "[X] Pokemon is available for a limited time, possibly shiny" is about all that's left. Y'know, besides dropping Gen 4, which given the "reward" nature of this event would undermine any reward based event.
I'm not trying to lay into you personally about it, I'm genuinely wondering what reward they could have given for an "Ultra Bonus" that would have piqued your interest more. As far as rewards go this is one of their better ones.
I'm also surprised Niantic can't get anywhere in the States to partner with them similar to Dortmund or Yokosuka. Isn't their office in California?
Unown events I've never considered to be in the same league as the Safari Zone events. While painfully rare to find outside events, they're not exclusive by any means. I live in a pretty metropolitan area and when scanners were live I'd see a singular spawn every few days at best. Of course, they were always like a 40 minute drive away or at 4am or something when I'd never be able to make it.
I personally am way more interested in the catching new things side. So...the unreleased mon from Gen 2/3 would have been my top choice, though I realize how unlikely that would be. Making the regionals available to be wild caught instead of eggs would also have piqued my interest more.
I don't sit on dust (I have 25K?), have an almost full dex with Gen I filled, am level 40, don't shiny chase... I know I'm an outlier here. Spending a few hours focusing on grass mon for Celebi was a real treat for me.
