Pokemon GO players came out by the masses during GO Fest 2020 to power through all of the timed research and unlock some massive Ultra Rewards. Now that August is here, it's time to cash in on that hard work and enjoy three different week-long bonus events. Things kicked off on Friday with Dragon Week, but some parts of the PoGO community are very unhappy with part of the bonuses.
Dragon Week is being celebrated with a series of bonuses, features, and special spawns. Although there are plenty of Dratini and Bagon appearing around Pokestops and for players who are using incense, the main attraction of Dragon Week for many Pokemon GO players was supposed to be the chance to encounter Deino (and Gible to some extend). The very rare Pokemon is a fan-favorite, evolves into a powerful and meta-relevant Pokemon, and is hatching at very low rates from 7km eggs this week.
PoGO trainers have between July 31 and August 7 to enjoy Dragon Week and the festivities include some pretty great opportunities. Rayquaza is back in 5-star Battle Raids and the increased Dragon-type spawns should help players earn the gold Dragon badge. That particular badge has been one of the harder catching badges to obtain, even for players who have been pretty dedicated to the game for the last few years.
As a quick reminder, these are the features of Dragon Week that fans were promised:
The following Pokémon will be appearing more frequently in the wild: Alolan Exeggutor, Horsea, Dratini, Trapinch, Swablu, and Bagon. If you’re lucky, you might find a Gible!
The following Pokémon will be hatching from 7 km Eggs: Horsea, Dratini, Trapinch, Swablu, and Bagon. Gible and Deino will also be hatching from 7 km Eggs, but only if you’re lucky!
Rayquaza will be in five-star raids.
Complete the Timed Research this week for a chance to encounter not one, but two Deino! This Timed Research will be available from Friday, July 31, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, August 7, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Deino!
Clearly the bonus details are emphasizing that Gible and Deino are intended to be very rare hatches from 7km eggs, but even still, some trainers are upset at the rates. Niantic does not confirm exact percentages for rarity and hatch rates, but data collected from The Silph Road and other PoGO community members estimates that the chance of hatching a Deino or Gible may be as low as 0.5%. Those are pretty rough odds and make the chance of that shiny Deino seem nearly impossible for players who aren't buying tons of Super Incubators and running around racking up distance all week.
Although the rates are low, it's important to keep in mind that Gible and Deino may be the most exciting, but they aren't the only bonuses available. There are still the other special spawns, the chance for newer players to earn their Dragon badges, and a Timed Research with lots of strong rewards (including a Deino encounter) on the line. Obviously it would be great to be able to secure enough candy to evolve Deino up to its final form during Dragon Week, but it doesn't seem like that's the intended experience for the majority of players.
Selling Super Incubators is a great way for Niantic to make money in Pokemon GO and this sort of event definitely pushes users in that direction. It's always unfortunate when it starts to feel like players who have lots of money to spend can get better value out of an event than free-to-play users, but this has always been the case for the egg-themed Pokemon GO events. As long as there are eggs that contain ultra rare Pokemon for a limited window of time, there is always going to be some frustration from players during these events.
With two more Ultra Reward events right around the corner, hopefully things are a little less frustrating going forward. Some fans are still holding out hope that Niantic might adjust the hatch rates for Deino and Gible before the Dragon Week event ends later this week, but at this point there has been no indication that those changes are coming.
Regardless of the Dragon Week egg drama, at least the spawn rates are giving trainers a good reason to take a break from catching the best Unova Pokemon in the game and concentrate on something new for a bit. Check back for more Pokemon GO updates closer to the event. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.