'Pokémon Go' Water Festival: New Event Increases Encounters With Water-Type Pokémon
Game developer Niantic recently announced a new event focusing on Water-type Pokémon called "The Water Festival."
The Water Festival event officially started on Wednesday, March 22 and is scheduled to end on Wednesday, March 29 at 4 p.m. EDT.
According to Forbes, the special "Pokémon GO" event is meant to correspond with World Water Day. Started by the United Nations, the day is commemorated in order to bring attention to the global clean water crisis.
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With the recently announced event, "Pokémon GO" gamers will get to encounter more Water-type Pokémon more frequently. The three main Pokémon that will be spotlighted during the festival are Magikarp, Squirtle and Totodile, as well as their evolutions — Gyarados, Wartortle, Blastoise, Croconaw and Feraligatr.
Though Lapras is usually categorized as an ice Pokémon, it's also part water. As such, it is hinted that the Pokémon will also have increased spawn potential during the Water Festival.
Niantic mentioned that when gamers explore areas where Water-type Pokémon are known to more commonly appear, they will "have a greater chance to encounter several of the Water-type Pokémon originally discovered in the Johto region."
Players will also get to have a new customization item for their avatars. Those who love the Pokémon Magikarp will get to wear the limited, themed headgear "Magikarp Hat" on their avatars.
According to GameRant, the Water Event is not one of the biggest updates introduced to the game, and it most likely not one of the three major updates that Niantic has in store for the mobile game this year. Nevertheless, these small events in the game are just as valuable when it comes to keeping gamers occupied while they wait for bigger updates that come with new features.
In the past, Niantic teased multiplayer gyms, a trading feature and player-versus-player battles. However, release dates for these much-awaited features have yet to be announced.
"Pokémon GO" is currently available for iOS and Android devices.
