Pokemon Go Players Frustrated Event Was Announced After it Already Ended

Earlier this week, Pokemon Go offered players an increased chance at finding Kecleon, a Pokemon that’s pretty tough to come by in the game. Kecleon is number 352 in the Pokedex, and Niantic planned the event for December 18th, which happens to be the 352nd day of the year. Unfortunately, most players were unaware the event was happening, as there was no information posted on the game’s official website, and news wasn’t Tweeted out until after the event had ended for a good portion of players around the world. Unsurprisingly, Pokemon Go fans are pretty frustrated about how it all played out. 

“You guys really need to have a meeting on marketing and time zones. A surprise event is no fun when the other half of the world has no time to even plan for it,” wrote Twitter user @KirbyTails. 

“You… you literally posted it at 8pm Eastern time,” wrote user @SagaDMW. “I’m lucky; I heard from a FB page based overseas. But… you literally posted it as the event ended… for the entire east coast of the US…” 

“Your notification was 21 hours too late for those of us in New Zealand. We had no prior warning and most of us missed it,” wrote user @littleheaven7.

Finding Kecleon

Kecleon was added to Pokemon Go at the start of 2023. The chameleon-inspired Pokemon hides on PokeStops, and players can only find one by spinning the disc, which causes Kecleon to fall off. The missed event is particularly frustrating for players that purchased the game’s Masterwork Research Story back in February. That paid Research Story has a number of grueling requirements, one of which tasks players with catching 10 Kecleon. Knowing about the event ahead of time would have given players a better chance at finally completing it. 

In the past, Niantic has offered makeup events after this type of mistake. In July, Pokemon Go hosted a makeup event for the Squirtle Community Day Classic after players experienced log-in issues. It’s possible that a makeup event could similarly be held for this Kecleon event, but Niantic has made no announcement at this time. 

Pokemon Go Winter Holiday Part 2

In addition to the Kecleon event, December 18th also saw the start of Pokemon Go‘s Winter Holiday Part 1. The first half of the event saw the debut of two new Pokemon from Scarlet and Violet: Cetoddle and Cetitan. Niantic has also provided details about the second half of the event, which will be starting on December 25th at 10 a.m. local time, and will last through December 31st at 8 p.m. local time. Starting then, players can expect to see the debut of Psyduck and Golduck wearing holiday attire. 

Did you get a chance to participate in this Pokemon Go event? Are you frustrated that Niantic didn’t announce the event until it was too late? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!