We are officially three full months into 2024, and Niantic has yet to address one of the biggest flaws in Pok\u00e9mon Go\u2019s <\/em>content lineup. Since the calendar swapped over, we have yet to see a new Pok\u00e9mon appear in the wild.\u00a0<\/p>
In total, we have seen six new Pok\u00e9mon, not including forms or variants, introduced to Pok\u00e9mon Go<\/a> <\/em>over three months of events\u2014none of which have been added through the most common method of encountering Pok\u00e9mon in the game, wild spawns<\/a>. Instead, we have seen basically every other means utilized, limited-time Research and special Raid Days. <\/p>
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Drampa has only appeared in raids outside of some Amazon Prime Gaming-locked Research, Enamorous had a single Raid Day event, and Poipole will be unavailable after June 1 when the World of Wonders Seasonal Research<\/a> ends. Then you have Charcadet<\/a> and Varoom<\/a> being locked as Egg-only encounters, which the community always despises due to the uncertainty of hatching a Pok\u00e9mon you want after putting in the work for incubation. The only new inclusion that isn\u2019t exclusive in some way is Annihilape<\/a>, which utilizes a modified version of its Scarlet <\/em>and Violet <\/em>evolution method that requires you to battle in a specific way with your Primeape.<\/p>
And that doesn\u2019t even touch on Dusk Form Lycanrock<\/a> being a locked evolution to only certain Rockruff based on random luck. At least Origin Forme Dialga and Palkia being event-exclusive for Go Tour: Sinnoh makes sense, given how Niantic has handled previous Legendary roll-outs.\u00a0<\/p>
The one exception here is White-Striped Basculin<\/a>, which can technically be encountered in the wild\u2014but only if you chase it down using Routes, so even then it is locked behind another mechanic during Go Tour: Sinnoh.<\/p>
The lack of regular wild encounters has players missing the first two or three years of the game, where big batches of Pok\u00e9mon would be dropped in bulk, giving them a real reason to get out and chase new spawns as they appear. \u201cI really miss the days when you see silhouettes of new Pok\u00e9mon nearby like when Gen 2 dropped everyone was in a frenzy and couldn’t wait to go out and explore! Lures everywhere, it was fun to see. Nowadays the only silhouettes you will see now are costumed Pok\u00e9mon,\u201d Reddit user jpierrerico said<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>
Those days are long gone, as Niantic is slowly running out of Pok\u00e9mon to release that aren\u2019t special encounters like Legendaries, meaning the drip feed we have become accustomed to will continue to some extent, which could lead to more moves like skipping Galar spawns for Paldean relevancy<\/a>.<\/p>
\u201cI remember one point when the crowds shifted because someone nearby had picked up a Miltank down the road. Nothing special, just a Miltank. But it was fun!\u201d Reddit user ProbablyADitto said<\/a>. \u201cThat’s what the drip release ruins: the feeling of actually going to a new region and encountering all the new native Pok\u00e9mon. Nowadays it just feels like the Pok\u00e9mon are the ones out on an adventure and we’re just waiting for them to come to us.\u201d<\/p>
Most of Pok\u00e9mon Go\u2019s <\/em>April events<\/a> will continue this trend, featuring newly available Shinies, adding Mega Heracross to Mega Raids, and the like. We could still see a change coming, but this seems more like the new norm rather than an outlier this year.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
