‘Pokemon GO’ Update: Gen 1 Legendary Pokemon May Finally Be Arriving This Summer
The legendary Pokemon GO update may be coming near, a Niantic employee hinted at the 21st Webby Awards. Global Marketing Lead Archit Bhargava took to the stage to receive an award on behalf of the company, but before walking out, he delivered a five-word speech suggesting the arrival of Articuno, Mewtwo, Lugia, and other legendaries this summer.
“This summer will be legendary!”
Legendary may not mean what fans think, but it is unlikely for the marketing lead to not know what the word means for the franchise. As Pokemon GO Hub also points out, this may be a marketing tactic and not simply a slip of the tongue. Players have been waiting for the legendary Pokemon since the mobile game was released in July 2016 and Niantic knows that very well.
Earlier this year, the developer also confirmed that the legendaries are certainly coming in 2017 but refused to say a specific date or month. Generation 2 rolled out early this year, so that left summer and the holidays as the likely launch timeframes.
Now that Niantic sort of confirms the summer release date, all that’s left for fans is to guess when exactly Pokemon GO is being updated with the much-awaited features.
Legendary Pokemon Release Date
'Pokémon GO' should release a Legendary a week, all summer long https://t.co/wXFrMxkCXV pic.twitter.com/E9dF9zar74
— Forbes Tech (@ForbesTech) May 11, 2017
So, when exactly is Niantic planning to release the legendary Pokemon into the wild? Well, rumors suggest that it is likely to be in July, on Pokemon GO’s first anniversary. Summer starts at the end of June, so July is right within the company’s target.
There is no other setting perfect for the arrival of the legendary creatures other than the AR game’s first anniversary. Niantic is highly likely to hold a big event, maybe even the biggest Pokemon GO event ever, on this special occasion. As Mewtwo is seen to have appeared on a big happening in the trailer (which you can watch below) it is likely that this Pokemon, along with the others, will pay a visit during the celebrations.
ComicBook also notes that Niantic CEO John Hanke previously revealed that legendaries will be introduced via large-scale events that will require players to cooperate, much like what the trailer portrays. Trainers should then expect to make some time to travel to a certain location, like the Times Square, to meet with other trainers also on the quest to catch Articuno, Zapdos or Moltres.
Legendary Pokemon Evidence
https://youtu.be/mJBptOG6f04
If fans still have doubts over Bhargava’s massive hint, the report from Eurogamer indicates that the legendaries are ready to go live in Pokemon GO. The dataminer NesstendoYT on YouTube has already discovered the Gen 1 legendary Pokemon Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo, and Mew in the game files. Dataminers have also seen such Pokemon from Gen 2, which are Entei, Raikou, Lugia, Suicune, Ho-oh, and Celebi. Their stats were listed but not the capture rates.
Again, this is a sign that players might not be able to capture the legendary Pokemon via normal means. They may not appear in the wild at all, only in timed special events that Niantic will (very likely) rarely hold. If that is the case, then trainers should take advantage of the upcoming event and dedicate some of their time to capture the rarest creatures in Pokemon GO.
Of course, participating will likely not ensure the capture of a legendary Pokemon. There should be a goal that groups of players must work towards in order to be awarded a special monster. But seeing that there are a number of creatures just waiting to be captured, Niantic may hold separate events for each one.
More Pokemon GO updates, whether on legendary Pokemon, trading or other features, are expected to be detailed in the coming weeks.
[Featured Image by Jesse33/Shutterstock]
