The first Safari Zone events for Pokemon GO kick off in Europe today. The cities hosting the event for September 16 are Barcelona, Paris, and Oberhausen. Information on the event is pouring in from those who attended, offering glimpses to those who couldn't and preparing those who were able to snag tickets.

The Pokemon GO Safari Zone events are broken up into two camps, shopping centers and event cities. Ticket holders arrive to the specified shopping centers to participate in the event proper, while those without tickets will still be able to reap some of the benefits; trainers still have the opportunity to catch some of the event Pokemon through special spawns around the city.

According to reports, those with tickets will need to register for the event when they arrive. Upon registering, trainers will receive a "Trainer Kit", which is loaded with swag. Inside you'll find a wrist band, sticker, qr code to activate at stops, a map, and some kind of Pikachu-themed paper hat. Additionally, attendees will receive a in-game medal.

There are Team Lounges set up around the event for trainers to mingle or rest. As is the standard with these events, lures will be active all day at PokeStops at the various shopping centers. The shopping centers will drop special 2 km eggs, and are reported to hatch a variety of Pokemon such as Chansey, Dratini, and Porygon.

As for Pokemon to catch, trainers will have the opportunities to obtain Kangaskhan, Shiny Pikachu, Shiny Magikarp, as well as various forms of Unown, in addition to others. Because of the event, Gym and Raid battles aren't available at the shopping center locations.

The Safari Zone events will continue on from here, moving into Denmark and the Czech Republic on October 7, then onto Sweden and the Netherlands on October 14. The first events were scheduled to begin in August, but suffered a slight delay. Niantic later issued a statement explaining its decision, saying the company needed more time to deliver the best experience possible. Attendees to the Safari Zone events will have to decide if it was worth the wait, but so far there haven't been reports of any major issues.

This is likely a relief to Niantic, which had major issues with its Pokemon GO event in Chicago. While phone networks were really to blame, it led to attendees being unable to participate in activities and ultimately led to upset customers. Niantic has since put out many of these fires by offering refunds and compensation, but the experience was an important lesson for the company: be prepared for anything. Hopefully, what it has learned is reflected in the current Safari Zone event and any Pokemon GO events to come.

Source: Reddit