Articuno Available for a ‘Brief’ Period, Reward Extension in GO

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The Pokémon Company has released an official, albeit unclear, statement regarding legendaries in Pokémon GO.
 
Up until now, details on how long legendaries Lugia and Articuno would be available have been scarce to none. And although no concrete end date was given, TPCi stated that Articuno “will appear at Gyms for a brief while.” The statement only singled out Articuno as having a short stint in the game, and once again confirmed that Zapdos and Moltres will be coming “soon.” This seems to suggest that Lugia will be available for the long run, and the three original, legendary birds will be switched out so each is available for a small period of time.
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On a related note, Niantic has officially announced via Twitter that the GO Fest global rewards have been extended to end on July 27th, 5:00pm PST – that’s 72 more hours of these bonuses:
  • Double Stardust
  • Double Candy
  • Double XP
  • Increased Pokémon encounters
  • Reduced hatching distance
  • Reduced buddy distance
Have you been lucky enough to catch one of these beauties to add to your collection?

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530 thoughts on “Articuno Available for a ‘Brief’ Period, Reward Extension in GO”

  3. Prediction: USUM will have legends, but they’ll be encountered like Ultra Beasts to the frustration of all. Unless there’s walking Pokémon in which case they’ve got over world models anyway.

    Celebi gets a Z-Move like Mew for GS re-release, Kanto and Johto legends can’t be found because virtual console has your back for them. However, if Ho-oh or Lugia is available, they’ll be near or on top of that tower in Maile Garden, and they’ll get Z-Moves/Megas/Primals

    Reply

      • They’re saving it for SuMo ?

        Nah the kinda gaudy cloud decorations on it make me think it’s not functioning and is just decorative

        Reply

    • We should play game. Which past legends (other than Zygarde) will be in USUM.
      My guess will be Xerneas, Yveltal and Beasts of Johto

      Reply

      • Xerneas/Yveltal, to wrap up their Zygarde relations

        Creation Trio, if we don’t get Sinnoh remakes this Gen. Found at areas where dimensional boundaries are weak

        Reply

  4. Personally I don’t like roaming Legendary Pokemon, it just ends up annoying me and I want to try for good natures etc.

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  5. I finished the review, went to copy it to paste it here, accidentally deleted it, and there’s no undo button where I typed it.

    ._.

    Reply

  6. I just thought of something that could actually happen in USUM. Now I’m pretty sure some people thought about this already, but what if all the previous Alolan Forms available in SM are inaccessible to get because of the whole alternate universe matter (Rather, where all the previous Alolan Forms are gone, there are the new ones exclusive to these games)?

    It would actually be pretty beneficial because you could get a normal version of a Ninetales, or even a normal Persian, in USUM without training up a regular one in the previous generations. And you do the same vice versa where you could get regular forms of the new regional forms in USUM in SM.

    Reply

    • Wela Volcanoes – Heatran/Entei/Groudon/Reshiram/Moltres

      Mount Hokulani –
      Zekrom/Raikou/Zapdos/Cobalion

      Brooklet Hill –
      Suicune/Kyogre

      Seaward Cave –
      Suicune

      Maile Garden –
      Ho-oh/Lugia

      Aether Paradise –
      Mewtwo

      Lush Jungle –
      Virizion

      Resolution Cave –
      Terrakion

      Reply

  8. Splatoon 2 Review

    While Splatoon 2 is a blast, under that fresh coat of ink it’s just Splatoon that rolled a few better abilities.

    Let me begin by saying this: the Squid Research Lab has promised to support the game with new stages, weapons, and splatfests for up to a year. So while I’m reviewing the game in its unfinished state, these are my opinions on the game as it stands.

    When Splatoon 2 was first announced back in January at the Switch Event, skeptical fans expressed concern as to whether or not the game would have enough fresh content to warrant the game being labeled as a sequel. I chose to stay optimistic and firmly believed that Nintendo could make the game feel like a true sequel rather than a Splatoon port with a few new bells and whistles. Six months later, it turns out I may have been wrong. While there’s enough content in the game for an actual release this time around, the improvements and new features over the first game seem sparse. For example, the quality of life improvements were off the mark. One of the most annoying things about the first Splatoon was the opening sequence with Callie and Marie every time you opened the game. Yet while players are given the option to skip through the text of Sheldon, the weapon salesman, there remains no option to skip through the opening sequence. While this is remedied by the quick loading times and sleep feature of the Switch, it’s inconvenient nonetheless. Another issue is that there is still no option to change weapons in the middle of a lobby. This is an even bigger issue when it comes to playing online modes with friends, but I’ll get to that later. Now, onto the issue of fresh content. Nintendo has switched up almost all of the special and sub weapons this time, which changes strategies and keeps things fresh from the original Splatoon. However, outside of the weapons and new stages (which by the way are fantastic), not much feels all that different. As far as the core gameplay goes, it’s pretty much the same. The same four modes from the original Splatoon are still there, and while the rule set has been changed up a bit for some of them, those four are all we’ve got, as Nintendo has confirmed no new ranked modes will be added (source: https://mynintendonews.com/2017/07/23/splatoon-2-developers-discuss-the-game-and-post-release-support/). Sadly, the new characters aren’t all that interesting either, despite the personality the characters had in the original. In fact, many of them are just cookie cutter versions of the originals. For example, in both games clothing is sold by a jellyfish who talks weird, abilities are re-rolled by a sketchy guy with spiky hair, and hats are sold by someone with another creature living on their head. But now I feel I’m being too negative about the game, so I’m going to switch over to talking about the positives instead.

    While it hasn’t changed much, the core gameplay is still as fantastic as it was in the original. The wide variety of weapons, as well as the promise of more, keeps things fresh on the battlefield without being too overwhelming. Most of dnew stages are expertly designed, and the alterations on the returning stages are fresh enough to make me excited to ink their floors once again. Ranked battle is still as fun and frustrating as ever, but this time each mode is given its individual rank. This is great because now I can finally play Tower Control without ruining the gain I made in Splat Zones. The maps are now on a rotation of two hours instead of four, which promotes longer play sessions. Now if there’s a map that I hate (probably The Reef), I don’t need to wait four whole hours to see it gone. The last small bonus I’d like to comment on is the music. While it still consists of the same squeaks and quirky noises as the first, it’s still bursting with personality and a lot more palatable this time.

    Even though I’ve complained they only added one new real mode, Salmon Run is an absolute blast. Even though there aren’t all that many enemy types, the battlefield can get really chaotic and overwhelming quickly, which is a great thing for a horde mode. The fact that you don’t get to choose your weapon in this mode means that players need to carefully think about their strategy with each weapon type. Even though on the surface it may look simple enough, Salmon Run can get very difficult quickly, and the tide of battle can change at any moment (yes, pun very intended). The only downside to this mode is that for whatever reason it’s not playable at all times, only in certain pre-set sessions.

    The story mode suffers from the same condition the much of the rest of the game suffers from. It’s strikingly similar to that of the original Splatoon. However, it makes a few tweaks that make the mode feel just fresh enough until the end. For example, Sheldon will require you to use certain weapons for different levels, meaning you can’t just blow through enemies with the same strategy every time. The octoling battles are also vastly improved over the original game, as they require you to recover eight mini-zapfish rather than simply make it to the goal like last time. Lastly, the story involving everyone’s favorite musical duo (I can say this with confidence, Pearl ruins it for Off the Hook) and the final battle are both anticlimactic. Without spoiling anything, that’s about as much as I can say. It’s shocking (zapfish pun this time) that the ending was the weakest part of the story mode, because the finale was showered with praise in the original.

    Overall, I have very mixed feelings about this game. On one hand, the game provides a memorable experience that’s bursting with personality and just plain fun. And that’s the point, isn’t it? To quote Reggie, “if it’s not fun, why bother?” But on the other hand, it feels like I’m just playing the original Splatoon again. When there’s a noticeable lack of new core gameplay content and many complaints from the first game have yet to be addressed two years later, it makes me question whether I’m truly experiencing Splatoon 2, or if I’m experiencing Splatoon with a few of those weekly updates thrown in there. It’s very difficult for me to score Splatoon 2, and I’ve actually been fluctuating on it for a few days now. I don’t think I’ve ever been this conflicted on game. I want to be able to give it a fair score without feeling like I’m grading it on the achievements original Splatoon. So, grading this as a sequel standing on the shoulders of the giant Splatoon, I score Splatoon 2:

    7/10

    Final thoughts: Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic game (now I feel like I’m rambling), and I’ll play this 7/10 more than higher scored games, but it’s the distinct lack of noticeable improvements that makes the game unworthy of the big pink “2” in the title.

    Reply

    • Shoot I forgot to talk about the communications

      Communication is one of the game’s biggest flaws. I’m not in the group that cares for voice chat, as I have no need for it, but even beyond that fiasco, basic communication features are tiresome. It’s difficult to join friends in Turf War, as when you join friends it’s a complete coin toss as to whether it queues you in their lobby or tells you that the console can’t reach your friend’s. Sometimes it takes me up to four individual turf wars before my brother can connect, and that adds up, since there’s now nothing to do in the lobby. You can’t play Ranked Battle together at all, instead you need to reach B- to unlock League Battle, which is essentially multiplayer Ranked. I can’t comment on this, because, as much as I hate to admit, I haven’t reached B- just yet (I’m close on Splat Zones though). One communication feature the game excels in is wireless. You can play any map, any mode, with any weapon with friends over wireless. You can even play Salmon Run over wireless, but it isn’t optimal as it doesn’t adjust for any less than four players.

      How would I fix this all? Simple: create a communications lobby where friends can join to wait together before choosing what they want to do, instead of trying to catch a friend inbetween battles or attempting to queue in their lobby.

      Reply

      • If you’ve never played the original splatoon, it’s probably a 9/10. I’m looking from the perspective of a sequel to a great game rather than a great game itself.

        And no prob! It was fun writing it. 😀

        Reply

        • I’ve payed the first one so I’m probably gonna be a bit disappointed, but tbh I’m probs still gonna love it :0

          Reply

    • My main problem with the game is playing with friends. I hate that it won’t just keep you on the same team as them every time. It’s unnecessary rivalry when we could just be working together. I also don’t really like the whole “two maps” per hour type thing they have. It gets a bit tiring.

      I do think local co-op would work really well here with the Switch, so it’s a shame that they need a whole other switch to play locally. That’s just my opinion, I’ve always played shooters with my brother.

      My final critique would be that they could do SO much more with the mythology of the world and create a whole interesting universe with unique stories and characters, but it just feels like they’re not interested in doing that. I’m gonna compare it to Halo because that’s a pioneer for FPS both online and off. The story and universe for the halo series (while perhaps being convoluted) are interesting and there are good characters and arcs. I don’t get that feel here. I get it’s a kids game, but pokemon tells good stories too.

      That said, I love that they’re giving free DLC, that’s always a huge plus to me, and I really am enjoying the game, especially because I did not play the first. I just think there’s more here than they realize.

      7.8/10

      Reply

  9. A tiny bit salty because I was lucky enough to beat Lugia in this suburban town I live in, but wasn’t able to catch it…honestly the premiere ball system they have going really isn’t very good. I’m 1/3 on catching the raid bosses

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  11. So thanks to GameFAQs (said no one ever) I just learned a dumb, but kinda cool fact

    Each Tapu repeats a different vowel twice in their four letter, Hawaiian inspired name :0

    Reply

  13. I have a fun idea for you all. So as USUM is potentially going to have an alternate universe, the characters in SM may totally be different in this version. So as these characters are prob going to be different, you guys can come up with what differences and changes the characters have.

    For example, in USUM, Guzma received loving support from his family that allowed him to become able to beat the island challenge, to which he was able to fulfill his dream of becoming a trial captain. As captain, Guzma seeks to guide trainers on the right path in their journeys just as his family helped him in his direction of life.

    Reply

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