New Pokemon Go Season Will Make Some Big Changes (And It’s a Win For Shiny Hunting)

Aside from a few major shakeups over the years, it feels like Pokemon Go has largely settled into a fairly regular rhythm. Each new season brings a new slate of events, wild spawns, and raids. But as the mobile Pokemon game enters its 10th year, Niantic has been making some big changes to refresh the game. We finally got remote trades (though there’s still some work to do there), and Go Tour introduced a new tier of Mega Raids. Now, the upcoming Memories in Motion season will once again shake things up in Pokemon Go.

The next season in Pokemon Go will begin on March 3rd at 10 AM local time. Niantic has already revealed that it will be called Memories in Motion. But today, we got our first influx of real, concrete details about what the new season will bring to Pokemon Go. And honestly? It sounds like it could bring some much-needed changes to the game. Memories in Motion will usher in quite a few changes to Pokemon Go events, as well as a brand-new experience called “Daily Discovery.” And we’re also getting some boosted Shiny odds in certain situations.

Pokemon Go Events Are Changing with the Memories in Motion Season

When the Memories in Motion season begins on March 3rd, Niantic is making some adjustments to events in Pokemon Go. From the sounds of it, these changes will be permanent going forward. Beginning with this season, the pacing of events “will be adjusted to a more regular schedule.” This is likely at least partly a reference to the new weekly Daily Discoveries cycle, though it could bring other changes, as well. In addition, weekend events will always take place on Saturdays, local time. Pokemon Go is also adding an in-game event calendar to help players keep track of what’s next.

The biggest change, however, is that Pokemon Go events are moving away from paid tickets for event GO Passes. Recently, many events have had GO Passes with free and paid tiers, similar to the monthly GO Pass structure. From the sounds of it, Niantic is pivoting away from this model. This could be a nice free-to-play-friendly move, but it all depends on what it looks like in practice.

What Are Daily Discoveries? New Pokemon Go Experience Debuts March 3rd

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This season will also be the debut of a brand-new feature called Daily Discoveries. This will give players a different “experience” each day of the week, from 12 AM to 11:59 PM local time. The Daily Discoveries will rotate on a weekly basis, and each offer different bonuses for players. The schedule is as follows:

• Sundays: Double-Time Sunday – increased duration for incense and lures
• Mondays
  • Fast-Track Monday – Double GO Points for all Pass Tasks on monthly and event GO Passes
  • Max Monday – Power Spots refresh more often, with more active Power Spots in general.
• Tuesdays: Showcase Tuesday – Up to 20 different categories of PokeStop showcases will be active
• Wednesdays: Raid Hour – Raid Hours from 6 PM to 7 PM local time, with bosses rotating on a weekly basis
• Thursdays: GO Battle Thursday – Up to 4x Stardust for victory rewards, plus an increased daily cap from 10 to 50 battles
• Fridays: Friendship Friday – Chance for up to 2 Special Trades, and an increased Lucky Chance trade for all trades. The cost of Trades will also be reduced by 10%, with 2 Guaranteed Candy XL. None of these bonuses will apply to Remote Trades, sadly.

Overall, this could be an interesting new flow of events for Pokemon Go players. I’ll be curious to see how this works out in practice as the season goes on.

Pokemon Go Introduces Increased Shiny Odds for Raids and Eggs

Another highlight for the new season is that we’ll see changes to Shiny odds in certain situations. Specifically, Shiny odds will be boosted for Raid battles and when hatching Pokemon from eggs. Whether this is a seasonal perk or a permanent change remains to be seen, as we also don’t know how increased that boosted chance really is.

In addition, Shadow Pokemon rescued from Team GO Rocket now have a chance to be Shiny if that Pokemon has made its Shiny debut. Battles with Team GO Rocket leaders and with Giovanni will have boosted Shiny odds.

Along with these major changes, the new season will also bring in a new GO Pass, new themed stickers, and seasonal changes to the Research Breakthrough and Egg pool Pokemon. For the full details about the upcoming Memories in Motion season, check out Niantic’s official blog post.

Are you excited to see some changes to the new season in Pokemon Go? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!