February 27th is a special day for all Pokémon fans, as it’s Pokémon Day! This annual event celebrates the launch of the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green games back in 1996.
The blockbuster mobile app, Pokémon GO, has been no stranger to getting involved in the Pokémon Day festivities. Last year, players were able to nab a special event Pikachu with a stylish hat that learned the move “Present.” This year, starting on February 26 at 1:00 pm PST through to 1:00 pm PST on February 28, players will be able to enjoy a generous amount of Kanto goodies.
Pokémon GO players can expect to run into a lot of Kanto Pokémon from the original Game Boy games – with Pidgey, Caterpie, Rattata, and many others more likely to make regular appearances. It’s not just standard Kanto Pokémon though, as Niantic have also confirmed that shiny variants of Pidgey and Rattata will also be available for players to capture. How do Kanto Pokémon Raids sound? Expect those too!
To tie in the Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! Nintendo Switch game, look forward to flower-crown wearing Pikachu and Eevee making appearances as both wild encounters and as part of special Field Research rewards.
Official announcements aside, dataminer Chrales has discovered text for two new moves in the Pokémon GO network traffic. Acid Spray and Power-Up Punch were spotted on February 25th and although it’s unclear if they are related to Pokémon Day, the timing is oddly close.
There is a whole lot of Kanto love this Pokemon Day, so have fun trainers! Pokémon GO is free to download on compatible iOS and Android devices.
