Pokémon GO Fest Chicago was held in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA at the beautiful Grant Park on July 22nd, 2017 but the event did not go as planned as it was plagued with technical issues. Cell phone networks from Verzion, Sprint and AT&T were overloaded and did not function properly causing people at the event to be unable to play the game. The Pokémon GO Fest Live Stream was also plagued with technical issues from audio static that made people sound robotic, to video streaming issues and also video quality issues. Hopefully Niantic will learn from this mistake and order and require portable cell phone towers from all providers that are now common at major sporting events and concerts like Coachella. Junichi Masuda also attended the event.

Twitter Posts:

Legendary Pokémon Articuno and Lugia are here! #AdventureTogether https://t.co/wKNLY7I9aA pic.twitter.com/dA1R3PrlMW

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 23, 2017

Trainers, we’re aware of server and connectivity issues impacting #PokemonGOFest and are working as quickly as possible to address them.

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 22, 2017

Blog update! Thank you Chicago!https://t.co/kaZPMEskuf

— 増田順一@GAME FREAK inc. (@Junichi_Masuda) July 23, 2017

Niantic Pokémon GO Fest Chicago Update

Today at Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago, technical issues created problems for a large number of players attending the event. From everyone at Niantic, we apologize to all of the Trainers who came out to Pokémon GO Fest today. Although we were able to solve many of the technical issues, we were not able to offer every attendee a great experience.

Niantic is taking the following steps immediately:

• All registered attendees will soon receive an email with instructions on how to receive a full refund for the cost of their ticket. These instructions will be sent to the email addresses associated with your Pokémon GO account.
• All registered attendees will receive $100 in PokéCoins in their Pokémon GO account.
• Special Pokémon, Eggs, and check-in PokéStops appearing during Pokémon GO Fest have had their range increased to a two mile radius surrounding Grant Park through Monday morning, July 24. These Pokémon and Eggs will only be visible to Pokémon GO Fest attendees who validated the QR code they received when they entered Pokémon GO Fest. Attendees who were unable to validate their QR code during the event can do so through the special PokéStops through Monday morning.
• All registered attendees will have the Legendary Pokémon, Lugia, added to their account.

We appreciate the patience of all the Trainers who joined us in Chicago this weekend. We will strive to make sure our experiences are of the highest quality going forward.

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/pokemongofestupdate

Niantic has announced that as part of the one-year anniversary celebrations, Legendary Pokémon are coming to Pokémon GO very soon.

YouTube - Pokémon GO - Adventure Together for Legendary Pokémon!

A Legendary first year of Pokémon GO!

Trainers, As part of our ongoing celebration of Pokémon GO’s one-year anniversary, we’re excited to reveal that Legendary Pokémon are nearly here! Soon, millions of Trainers around the world will be able to discover, battle, and catch these extremely rare and very powerful Pokémon.

As Trainers around the world go out and explore their neighborhoods in search of Pokémon and Raid Battles, they can keep an eye out for unique Legendary Eggs appearing at Gyms. If Trainers and their team are able to successfully defeat a Legendary Raid Boss, they’ll have the opportunity to catch a Legendary Pokémon of their own! While Legendary Pokémon will help them take on the toughest Raid Bosses and Gym Battles, they’re not willing to leave their Trainer’s side, so they can’t be left to defend Gyms.

On July 22, thousands of Trainers in Grant Park for Pokémon GO Fest and the millions of others around the world will be working together to unlock in-game bonuses for the entire Pokémon GO community. If they manage to catch enough Pokémon during the Pokémon GO Fest Challenge Windows, the first Legendary Pokémon will be revealed in Grant Park. If the Trainers in Chicago succeed in defeating the Legendary Pokémon, that Pokémon will start appearing in Raid Battles around the world, after Pokémon GO Fest.

Trainers everywhere can tune in to watch the action taking place in Grant Park live and join in the conversation using #PokemonGOFest on social media. Follow the official livestream on Twitch or YouTube for the latest news coming out of Pokémon GO Fest including Challenge Window updates, exclusive interviews, and the reveal of the first Legendary Pokémon!

It’s time for Trainers everywhere to start powering up their Pokémon for battle because there are many legendary adventures to come!

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/legendarypokemon

Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.69.0 for Android and 1.39.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from the development team.

• Added icons to the Pokémon information screen to indicate how the Pokémon was caught.
• Added the ability for Trainers to spin the Photo Disc at a Gym after completing a Raid Battle.
• Added the ability for Trainers to send Berries to their Pokémon defending Gyms through the Pokémon info screen when they are not nearby. Motivation regained will be less effective through this method.
• Added the ability for Trainers to give Berries to Pokémon defending Gyms if their motivation meter is full.
• Improved Pokémon Collection screen search functionality.
• Fixed an issue where Trainers were unable to complete Raid Battles started before time expired on the map view.
• Fixed an issue where Pokémon are not properly returned to their Trainer after defending a Gym.
• Various bug fixes.

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/ver-update-071817

Niantic has announced further details about Pokémon GO events that will take place around the world during July, August and September of 2017. The Chicago event was previously announced during the First Anniversary of Pokémon GO press release.

Pokémon GO events around the world!

Trainers, Over the next few months, we'll be hosting a number of events taking place around the world in celebration of Pokémon GO's one year anniversary. No matter where you live, you're invited to join in the fun!

Pokémon GO Fest Chicago

Pokémon GO Fest (Saturday, July 22 taking place in Grant Park, Chicago, IL) is fast approaching, and we hope you’re all as excited as we are. We wanted to share some details about how Pokémon GO Trainers everywhere can participate in a global challenge with Trainers at the event to unlock special rewards worldwide.

During the day, there will be three Challenge Windows in which Trainers everywhere will work alongside those in Chicago to unlock global rewards. During the Challenge Windows, Trainers in Grant Park will attempt to unlock perks for Pokémon GO players around the world by catching certain types of Pokémon. Each Pokémon- type will be tied to a different perk, so Trainers at the park will need to carefully choose which Pokémon they catch. Will those in attendance try to catch Electric-type Pokémon to reduce the distance required to hatch Eggs, or Grass-type Pokémon to increase Stardust bonuses, or other Pokémon- types to secure a variety of other bonuses? Join in the action and find out!

Meanwhile, Trainers outside of Chicago will attempt to catch as many Pokémon as possible during the Challenge Windows to extend the duration of the bonuses unlocked by those attending the event. If Trainers around the world catch enough Pokémon, a mystery challenge will be unveiled in Grant Park that, once completed, will unlock an extra-special bonus across the globe. Trainers everywhere will want to grab their friends and family to help make this the biggest celebration in Pokémon GO’s history!

Pokémon GO Safari Zone Events in Europe

We’re excited to announce that a variety of Pokémon GO Safari Zone events will be taking place at select Unibail-Rodamco shopping centers during August and September!

 August 5, 2017
 Fisketorvet—Copenhagen, Denmark
 Centrum Cerny Most—Prague, Czech Republic

 August 12, 2017
 Mall of Scandinavia—Stockholm, Sweden
 Stadshart Amstelveen—Amstelveen, The Netherlands

 September 16, 2017
 CentrO—Oberhausen, Germany
 Les Quatre Temps—Paris, France
 La Maquinista—Barcelona, Spain

All seven Pokémon GO Safari Zone events will give Trainers the opportunity to catch a wide variety of Pokémon in special zones featuring Pokémon originally encountered in the Kanto and Johto regions, including some Pokémon never before encountered in Europe! Additionally, Trainers in attendance will join forces to take on unique and powerful Raid Bosses that will be making appearances at these events.

Pikachu Outbreak in Japan

The Pokémon Company will be hosting its annual Pikachu Outbreak event in Yokohama, Japan, from August 9–15, where a special Pokémon GO experience is taking place. More information about Pikachu Outbreak will be unveiled by The Pokémon Company in the coming days, so stay tuned for all the exciting details!

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/gosummerevents

Niantic has announced that they have partnered with Big Heritage in the United Kingdom to encourage community engagement and education. Pokémon GO event will take place Saturday July 22nd, 2017 and Sunday, July 23rd, 2017 across Chester, United Kingdom including activities at Chester Castle which will be open to the public for the first time in 20 years!

Big Heritage and Pokémon GO team up in the ancient city of Chester

Niantic, Inc., the developer, and publisher of Pokémon GO, The Pokémon Company International and Big Heritage, the UK heritage organization have partnered to curate historical locations throughout the ancient city of Chester within Pokémon GO to encourage community engagement and education.

On the weekend of Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd of July, events will be staged across Chester, including activities based at Chester Castle, which will be open to the public for the first time in 20 years. Visitors to the city will be able to take part in a number of fun trail activities, with in-game and real-world surprises for Pokémon GO players. The weekend of events coincides with the annual Chester Heritage Festival, which celebrates the heritage of one of the world’s most historic cities.

Chester will play host to Pokémon GO Trainers visiting the UK from around the world, turning historical sites into PokéStops that players can interact with. Big Heritage will also be working with schools across the Cheshire and Merseyside regions as part of an initiative to encourage young people to explore and learn about their local area by playing Pokémon GO together.

Niantic CEO and founder John Hanke said "I am incredibly excited about this partnership linking local history and Pokémon GO. We love the idea of using mobile games as a motivation for families to play outside together and perhaps to learn something interesting while they are at it!"

Big Heritage founder Dean Paton said “We are so excited about working with Niantic, Inc., who are true innovators in their field, and as passionate as we are about getting people exploring and learning about the world around them. It’s a genuine coup for Chester to be the ‘test bed’ for some amazing new ideas, and we hope we can use the game based on the iconic and beloved Pokemon brand as a tool for helping more people get excited about the past.”

Sources: https://nianticlabs.com/blog/bigheritage/ and http://bigheritage.co.uk/big-heritage-and-pokemon-go-team-up-in-the-ancient-city-of-chester/

Niantic has announced that from July 6th, 2017 at 1:00 P.M. PDT to July 24th, 2017 at 1:00 P.M. PDT, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Pokémon Go, a special Pikachu wearing Ash's Hat will be available in the wild.

Happy Birthday, Pokémon GO!

Trainers, It’s hard to believe that Pokémon GO launched just a year ago, and what an amazing year it’s been! Since joining us last July, you’ve demonstrated the true power of Pokémon GO and augmented reality gaming by searching for Pokémon in the real world, exploring on foot, building new friendships, and discovering new places right in your own neighborhoods. Throughout this incredible journey, you’ve caught over 125 billion Pokémon and made countless memories along the way. But there are many more adventures still to come.

Just a few weeks ago, the one-year anniversary celebration kicked off with a bang. You and millions of other Trainers went outside to battle in revamped Gyms and participate in Raid Battles with family and friends for the first time, but this was only the beginning of an action-packed couple of months. The celebration continues with a special Pikachu wearing a familiar hat appearing all over the world. From July 6 at 1:00 P.M. PDT to July 24 at 1:00 P.M. PDT, Pikachu discovered in the wild will be wearing Ash’s famous hat from the Pokémon animated series, so make sure you don’t miss out on your opportunity to catch one! You’ll also be able to stock up for Raid Battles and the events ahead with the special limited-time Anniversary Box, which will include Incubators, Max Revives, Ultra Balls, and Raid Passes at a discount in the in-game shop.

Stay tuned for even more exciting news over the coming weeks, including additional information on Pokémon GO Fest Chicago this July, events hosted at select Unibail-Rodamco locations this August and September in Europe, and Pokémon GO events at the Pikachu Outbreak in Yokohama, Japan, this August!

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/birthday2017

CEO John Hanke of Niantic was interviewed by Andrew Webster of The Verge to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of Pokémon Go. One of the topics discussed in the interview was the development timeline of the game and John Hanke confirmed they are behind their own internal schedule for the game. He also discussed that trading and player-versus-player combat are still being worked on. John also explained that development has been hampered because of a lack of money and is quoted: "But we only had so much money, and we were doing what we thought was reasonable."

Interview Question - When you look at where the game is now, and compare it to your initial road map, how similar are the two?

We lost probably six months on our schedule because of the success of the game. Really all the way through November and December, from launch onward we were rebuilding and rewiring infrastructure just to keep the game running at the scale that we were running at. We were fortunate to have a massive launch, a massive success, and many, many more users than we had planned for. But we had to redirect a substantial portion of the engineering team to [work on] infrastructure versus new features. That switched off things like extending gyms, it pushed out things we still want to have, like player-versus-player and trading. I’d say we’re about six months behind where we thought we would be.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/6/15911936/pokemon-go-niantic-john-hanke-interview-one-year-anniversary

Niantic announced via their Official Support on Reddit that they will be adding a slash to all Pokémon caught through third-party services that circumvent normal gameplay. These Pokémon may also not behave as expected.

Update on Pokémon caught using third-party services that circumvent normal gameplay

With the announcement of Raid Battles and the new battle features, we are staying true on our commitment to ensuring that Pokémon GO continues to be a fun and fair experience for all Trainers. Starting today, Pokémon caught using third-party services that circumvent normal gameplay will appear marked with a slash in the inventory and may not behave as expected. We are humbled by the excitement for all the new features we announced yesterday. This is one small part of our continued commitment to maintaining the integrity of our community and delivering an amazing Pokémon GO experience.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemongo/comments/6ihyoi/update_on_pok%C3%A9mon_caught_using_thirdparty/

Niantic announced that Raid Battles and New Gym Features are coming to Pokémon GO in its biggest update.

Raid Battles and New Gym Features are Coming!

Trainers, The biggest update to Pokémon GO is nearly here! Very soon, Trainers around the world will be able to participate in a revamped Gym gameplay experience, including the opportunity to join together with others to battle against powerful Pokémon in the new Raid Battle feature!

New Gym Features and Updates: Starting soon, Gyms are undergoing a major facelift. You’ll soon be able to spin the Photo Disc at Gyms to acquire items just as you do at PokéStops—but that’s only the beginning. More updates to Gym battles are also just around the corner. Gyms are no longer based on Prestige and training. Instead, they now feature six permanent slots that can be filled by the controlling team’s Pokémon. Each Pokémon assigned to these slots must be unique. For example, only one Blissey can be assigned to a Gym at a time. In addition, opposing teams will battle the Pokémon in the order they were assigned to the Gym.

At the heart of the update is a new motivation system that will significantly change how you interact with Gyms. When a Pokémon is assigned to a Gym, a motivation meter will be displayed. Pokémon assigned to defend a Gym lose motivation over time and as they are defeated in battle. As a Pokémon loses motivation, its CP will temporarily decrease, making it easier for opposing teams to defeat. To help keep the Pokémon motivated and in tip-top shape for their next battle, Trainers can treat their team’s Pokémon to some Berries, which restore their motivation. If a Pokémon loses all motivation, it will leave the Gym and return to its Trainer the next time it loses a battle, so you’ll want to keep your team’s Pokémon motivated by giving them Berries frequently!


Gym Badges: Now you’ll be able to earn Gym Badges when interacting with the many Gyms around the world. Gym Badges serve as mementos of your Pokémon GO adventures and reflect your contribution to a Gym’s success.

You’ll be able to level up your Badges by battling, giving Berries to the Pokémon in the Gym and spinning the Gym’s Photo Disc. You can earn the opportunity to receive bonus items and increased rewards from Gyms by raising the level of your Gym Badge.


New Raid Battle Feature: All around the world, you’ll soon be able to participate in the new Raid Battle feature at Gyms. A Raid Battle is a cooperative gameplay experience that encourages you to work with other Trainers to defeat an extremely powerful Pokémon known as the Raid Boss. Before a Raid Battle begins, all Pokémon assigned to the Gym will return to their Trainers, and a large Egg will appear atop the Gym. When the countdown above the Egg reaches zero, the Raid Boss will be revealed.

Before you can battle the Raid Boss, you’ll need a Raid Pass. You can get one free Raid Pass per day by visiting a Gym, but you can only hold one at a time. You can also get Premium Raid Passes from the in-game shop. Upon using your pass to join the battle, you and up to 20 other Trainers work together to defeat the Raid Boss. If you successfully defeat the Raid Boss within the five-minute time limit, you’ll have the chance to catch an extra powerful Pokémon of your own!


New Items: After defeating a Raid Boss, you’ll receive a collection of rewards, including some new items obtained only by defeating a Raid Boss: Rare Candies, Golden Razz Berries, and two types of Technical Machines—Fast and Charged. A Rare Candy is a mysterious candy that, when used on a Pokémon, turns into that Pokémon’s Candy. Golden Razz Berries will greatly increase your chances of catching a Pokémon you encounter in the wild and can also be given to a Pokémon assigned to a Gym to fully recover its motivation meter. Technical Machines are items you can use to permanently teach a Pokémon a new Fast Attack or Charged Attack.

To put these exciting changes in motion, we’ll be temporarily disabling all Gyms. Once the update has been rolled out to players around the world, Gyms will return. The Raid Battle feature will then be rolled out slowly over the next few weeks, starting as a beta, with raids visible only to a subset of players at certain Gym locations. Over a few days, we’ll invite more players to participate and enable raids at more Gyms around the world. Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates on when you’ll be able to start battling in raids. We can’t wait to see you outside battling at your local Gyms!

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/raids

Trainers, We’re celebrating two amazing milestones—Pokémon GO’s one-year anniversary and 750 million global downloads—and you’re invited to join in on the fun! Over the next few months, we’re hosting real-world and in-game events planned alongside some very exciting new features that will get you outside exploring the world with family and friends. Get ready for an action-packed couple of months!

To kick things off, we will be hosting the Solstice Event starting on June 13, 2017. This in-game event will feature Fire-type and Ice-type Pokémon, huge XP bonuses for throwing Poké Balls accurately, and discounted Lucky Eggs in the in-game shop. Soon thereafter, you can look forward to a new update focused on collaborative group gameplay features that will get you playing Pokémon GO in fun new ways. In preparation for these exciting features, we’ll be temporarily disabling Gyms for a short period of time.

We’re also excited to announce our first ever real-world Pokémon GO event coming your way: Pokémon GO Fest Chicago! This event will take place in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA at the beautiful Grant Park on July 22, 2017. Join us as we celebrate the Pokémon GO community with a ton of exciting festivities. Tickets and more information for Pokémon GO Fest Chicago will be available at PokemonGoLive.com/Fest on Monday, June 19 at 10:00 A.M. PDT, so make sure to mark your calendars and follow our social media channels to be notified when tickets go live! European Trainers can look forward to Pokémon GO celebrations hosted across the continent from June through September in partnership with Unibail-Rodamco shopping centers. We'll be posting a complete schedule for these events very soon. Also, The Pokémon Company is organizing “Pikachu Outbreak”, a Pokémon event in Yokohama, Japan, in August where they’re exploring a unique Pokémon GO experience. Stay tuned for even more details surrounding each of these events in the coming weeks.

Keep an eye on PokemonGoLive.com and our Pokémon GO social media channels for the latest news and updates surrounding the exciting features and events coming your way. See you outside!

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/anniversary2017