Pokemon GO is celebrating the Day of the Dead with a special in-game event starting on November 1st. The augmented reality game was first released in 2016 and it swiftly became a massive cultural phenomenon. Summer of 2016 saw fans out in droves, getting together to hunt Pokemon and take down gyms. It reached such prominence that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton mentioned it in an ill-advised attempt to connect to fans that Pokemon GO itself brought back in 2020, to the surprise and chagrin of many.
After changing the social landscape of the world for a few glorious months, the game hit a bit of a slump. The novelty wore off, and fans realized that the game was missing a substantial amount of features. It was also quite buggy. To developer Niantic's credit, the team has been steadily improving the game since then and introducing numerous updates to improve the quality of the game and make more Pokemon available to encounter. Changes and special events are still being introduced to this day; for instance, Niantic has already teased a Halloween event that will feature spooky ghost-type Pokemon like Yamask.
And as reported by Pokemon GO Hub, the developer's festive plans extend even beyond Halloween. From November 1st to November 2nd, players in Latin America will get to take part in a special Day of the Dead event, featuring increased spawn rates for Pokemon that represent different elements of traditional Dia de los Muertos celebrations. Cubone, Sunflora, Roselia, Cacnea, Duskull, and Litwick will appear in the wild more frequently, and Gastly, Misdreavus, Absol, Shuppet, Duskull, Drifloon, and Litwick will be more commonly attracted to incense. Duskull can also be found by completing research tasks, as can Murkrow, and both the regular and Alolan forms of Marowak. To emulate the traditional Pan de Muerto, Pokemon GO is also making poffins a reward on GO Battle League reward tracks.
It's only a two-day event, so Latin American fans should definitely hop on it while they can. None of these Pokemon are especially exclusive, but the thought that Niantic put into selecting creatures that adequately represent the holiday is a very nice touch. The game is broadening its horizons in a lot of exciting ways; last month, for instance, it celebrated Paris Fashion Week with some very fashionable Pokemon. The Day of the Dead, of course, is a much more meaningful occasion for a lot more people, and seeing it commemorated in a major video game like this is bound to be a nice touch for fans.
It's not likely that Pokemon GO will ever reach the immense heights of popularity it had when it released. The fervor and adoration that gripped the public in the summer of 2016 might have been a once in a lifetime event. But it remains a solid title, and it's adapted very well to the lockdowns imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This new event gives fans a chance to celebrate the Day of the Dead with their favorite Pokemon by their side, and that alone is a very special addition to Pokemon GO.
Source: Pokemon GO Hub