Niantic has announced several big shake-ups to Pokémon Go, including a reduction in paid event tickets, and the ability to finally capture the Shiny versions of evolved Pokémon in the wild.
In a blog post detailing a raft of changes coming to Pokémon Go at the beginning of its next in-game season on March 3, developer Niantic said that it would be dropping its recent heavy focus on paid tickets, which have become a staple for almost every in-game event.
While optional, the tickets have felt non-stop, offering a smattering of extra Pokémon encounters or premium items to accompany in-game events for the price of $1-$5.
In their place, however, Niantic said it will “move away from paid tickets to event GO Passes,” the game’s battle pass-like mechanic it has previously used more sparingly, for the game’s biggest annual events such as Go Fest and Go Tour, as well as major holiday shenanigans around Halloween and Christmas.
GO Passes are typically more expensive, ranging between $8 to $20 depending on what is included, though offer access to the game’s most sought-after goodies, such as Golden Bottle Caps, Lucky Trinkets and Poké Coins.
Other major changes to the game’s regular schedule will include a more “regular” pacing for events, a Saturday focus for all weekend events (likely including Community Days), and the introduction of an in-game calendar later this year.
Pokémon Go’s regular weekly experiences are also being expanded. Alongside the existing Max Mondays, a new Fast-Track Monday bonus will double GO Pass points. Tuesdays will feature a regular focus on Showcases. Raid Hour will continue on Wednesdays. GO Battle Thursdays will offer 4x Stardust from individual battle wins, and twice as many battle sets. Friendship Fridays will allow you to make two Special Trades, with a boosted Lucky Trade chance, slightly reduced Stardust cost and two guaranteed Candy XL.
By far the biggest change here, though, is the move to finally, finally make all evolved Pokémon available in the wild, once their families have made their Shiny debut. This means creatures like Ivysaur, Wartortle and Charmeleon can now be Shiny possible, where previously it would typically be just a Pokémon’s base form, such as Bulbasaur, Squirtle or Charmander that could be Shiny possible (outside of a few minor event exceptions, costumes and Mega Evolve-able species).
In Pokémon’s main series’ games, evolved Pokémon have always been Shiny eligible, and fans have long grumbled about Go’s different way of doing things. No more! Indeed, Shiny Pokémon will also be more prevalent in Team Rocket battles, too, with an aligning of Shiny possible species for both Shadow and regular creatures. Lovely.
Last week, IGN spoke with Niantic about the game’s big rollout of new Mega Pokémon species, battle mechanics and a fresh in-game currency.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
