Cellular recreation mega-hit Pokémon GO by no means misses a probability to make an inexplicably dreadful resolution. Its newest comes with the celebration of the sport’s eighth birthday, the place it has made the weird resolution to refuse to permit entry to long-time gamers who accomplished one particular quest again in 2020.
Yearly, POGO celebrates its anniversary with just a few in-game occasions, some free, some premium. For 2024, the “Pokémon GO’s eighth Anniversary Celebration” gives a bunch of options, together with a strategy to encounter Meltan with no Thriller Field, a variety of recycled monsters carrying celebration hats, some bog-standard Timed Analysis duties (each free and paid), and the principle spotlight, a $5 Masterwork Analysis known as Whispers within the Woods that includes shiny Celebi. (Oh, and in a selection that feels far too on the nostril, the one new Pokémon to realize a celebration hat this 12 months are Grimer and Muk.)
Whispers within the Woods is a brand new, super-long quest that may finish with gamers receiving one of many final chase Pokémon, a shiny Celebi. However alongside the way in which it additionally gives a powerful 153 Extremely Balls, three Tremendous Incubators, a Poffin, some Uncommon Candies, Lure Modules, TMs, Battle Passes, a bit of XP and Stardust, and extra in addition to. Even leaving apart the Celebi, this can be a mighty haul of in-game objects for 5 bucks. Simply the incubators alone would often price you extra.
Which makes it fairly probably the most astonishing discovery that anybody who occurred to finish the Distracted By One thing Shiny Particular Analysis within the covid 12 months of 2020 isn’t allowed to participate. The choice to by a ticket is simply grayed out within the store, with the unhelpful message, “You have already got a ticket for this occasion, or have an lively or accomplished Analysis that disqualifies you from having the ability to buy this ticket.”
Go to the weblog for the occasion, and also you’re knowledgeable in a footnote,
Trainers who accomplished the Distracted by One thing Shiny Particular Analysis story will be unable to buy this Masterwork Analysis story.
There’s no cause given, and we’ve not but heard again from Niantic in response to our asking why. Now, it’s seemingly one thing to do with the Gen II legendary Pokémon being an extra-special, distinctive creature, somewhat than one amongst lots of its variety, a la Pikachu or Charizard. However then, that is already totally undermined by permitting gamers to have each an everyday and a shiny model of the monster, so, you already know, what?
Complaining about not having the ability to give Niantic one other 5 bucks at a time when POGO has been allowed to develop into fairly so rotten may appear a little bit unusual, nevertheless it’s as a result of it solely exacerbates the frustrations. There’s so little of any substance to do within the recreation of late, and the paltry occasions that do present up that may beforehand have been free at the moment are paid-for, whereas current Masterworks have been so inconceivably large as to be unmanageable. (Glimmers of Gratitude, for example, requires you to seize an eye-watering 492 Pokémon from every of the primary 4 areas, for its first stage of seven.)
Whispers In The Woods would lastly be a extra manageable occasion to get pleasure from, with a cool Pokémon on the finish (and the prospect to catch a shiny Celebi with higher stats than maybe you acquired earlier than), and a ton of super-useful in-game objects for a comparatively low cost worth. Refusing entry to those that are dedicated to the sport sufficient to have been enjoying for over 4 years is a wildly silly resolution, and a much more galling one given it will be value shopping for even when it simply refused you the Celebi on the finish.
As we talked about, we’ve contacted Niantic to ask what’s up. Within the meantime, long-time gamers, get pleasure from—er—catching a Muk with a hat. Weeeeeeee.
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