Pokemon GO's ready to start its next event, according to an announcement made by Niantic on Friday morning. Pokemon GO players will soon have the chance to hatch themselves their very own shiny Bonsly, which can be evolved into a shiny Sudowoodo, a first for both Rock-type Pokemon in the mobile game. That's just the start of the new Special Gift Event 2019, however, which lives up to its name and improves gift-giving in Pokemon Go, too. The summer gift event begins August 5 and will last through August 19.
Beyond Shiny Sudowoodo and Bonsly becoming available for the event, two other changes will be made as part of the summer gift event. First, 7-kilometer egg Pokemon will be hatching from all 2-km eggs that drop, of which shiny Bonsly is one possibility. Second, Niantic is adjusting players' gift inventory size, as well as the number of gifts that a player can send in any given day. The Gift Inventory cap will be raised from 10 to 20 and the total number of gifts that can be sent a day raised from 20 to 30.
The changes to the 7-km egg should be welcome for Pokemon trainers hoping to collect more Alolan Pokemon. The changes to Gifts will also be a welcome change for those who are able to make the most of it.
Overall, this special summer event for Pokemon GO isn't going to be too exciting for competitive-minded trainers. Pokemon collectors might jump at the chance to acquire any sort of shiny, but Bonsly and Sudowoodo don't fit particularly well into strategic players' plans.
That's not to say that Pokemon GO fans won't take any event that they can get. At the very least, increased gifts per day is a reward that all Pokemon GO player will welcome. Plus, opening gifts don't require going outside in the summer heat. The event will last from August 5 through August 19.
Pokemon GO is available now on iOS and Android devices.