Pokemon Go Announces Ticketed Galarian Mr. Mime Event

Pokemon Go wants you to pay money for the privilege of adding one of the creepiest Pokemon to your collection. The popular mobile game announced a new ticketed Special Research event that will start on December 19th at 10 AM local time. Players who purchase a $7.99 ticket will gain access to a new Special Research line that features an encounter with Galarian Mr. Mime. Players will also earn enough candy to evolve Galarian Mr. Mime into a Mr. Rime. Other perks of the ticket include a special event medal, exclusive Field Research tasks, and a brand-new avatar pose inspired by Mr. Mime.

This event is one of the first times that players will actually be required to spend money to gain access to a particular Pokemon. That decision is likely tied to Mr. Mime being a region exclusive Pokemon - players typically need to travel to Europe to add the Pokemon to their collection. While Mr. Mime has appeared worldwide in a few select events, this likely will keep the Pokemon feeling like a prize to the vast majority of players.

For those who don't want to spend $8 to chase a tap-dancing clown around your neighborhood, Pokemon Go will still have some free festivities planned for the weekend of the event. All players will see more Ice-type and Psychic-type Pokemon attracted to incense, and Shiny Cubchoo will be added to the game for the first time. Incense will also be active for three hours instead of one hour. The free festivities will take place from December 18 at 10 AM to Monday December 21 at 8 PM local time.

We'll see if this event marks the beginning of a trend of making players pay to encounter certain types of Pokemon, or if this is just a one-off event. Pokemon Go has given no indication of when Galarian Mr. Mime will make its next appearance in the game.