Pokemon GO players have managed to catch over 1.5 billion Pokemon over the last few days, which has seen the community earn the silver tier reward in the ongoing Global Catch Challenge. With the silver tier unlocked, players now enjoy double stardust as well as double XP and six hour lure modules.

By unlocking the silver tier rewards, Pokemon GO fanatics are over halfway to unlocking the gold tier. If fans manage to catch a total of 3 billion Pokemon in Pokemon GO by November 26th, they will unlock the region-exclusive Pokemon Farfetch'd worldwide for 48 hours. And since Farfetch'd is currently exclusive to Asia, those living in that region will have a chance to catch the Australian-exclusive Kangaskhan instead.

So, how likely is it that Pokemon GO fans will meet their goal come November 26th? According to Niantic, the community is "roughly" at the daily speed necessary to hit the mark, but if players grow complacent, they may ultimately fail to unlock the gold tier.

The Global Catch Challenge was off to a slow start, which could be attributed to a number of factors. The winter season may make it less likely for many dedicated Pokemon GO fans to venture out to hunt for wild Pokemon, and that combined with the general lack of new content as of late may not make the game very appealing. However, double stardust may actually see more players return to Pokemon GO and participate in the Global Catch Challenge, as stardust is the scarcest resource in the game.

Whether or not double stardust results in an increase in Pokemon GO players remains to be seen. However, if players keep it up at their current pace, then it's likely that they will reach their goal of 3 billion Pokemon caught and unlock gold tier rewards. If this is accomplished, even more lapsed Pokemon GO players may be convinced to return to the game, if only for the opportunity to catch the region-exclusive Pokemon Farfetch'd while they have the chance.

Pokemon GO is available now for iOS and Android mobile devices.