A Look at the Past: Pokemon GO Timeline in 2017

Hello fellow time travelers! (I know we’re not really time traveling, but let’s roll with it!!)

Let’s take a minute and look back at the past! We’ll be looking back at 2017, an iconic year for Pokémon GO. A year that brought some lovely things we’ve come to know and love today in the game, along with many events that have now seemingly become a yearly occurrence! Once again, the talented OrangeHeart has made us an amazing graphic to bring the timeline to life! Please take a moment to gander upon it!

Pokemon GO in 2017
Pokemon GO in 2017

 

January

  • January 24: Pokémon GO is released in South Korea.

February

  • February 8: Valentine’s Day Event – This event featured increased spawns of pink Pokémon, giving trainers a chance to add the coveted Chansey and Porygon to their collections (if they hadn’t hatched or caught one previously). Also, double candy for hatching, catching and transferring were added bonuses.
  • February 16: Generation II Pokémon from the Johto region made their appearance! This featured an entire generation roll-out at once (aside from Delibird and Smeargle) enticing many trainers return to the game for a fresh start! Evolution items also made their debut to give trainers a way to evolve Pokémon from first to second gen. The addition of Pinap and Nanab berries allowed trainers to accommodate for the new movement patterns the Pokémon had.
  • February 18: Unibail Partnership – New Pokestops and Gyms were added across Europe.
  • February 26: Pokémon Day Celebration – To celebrate Pokémon Day, a celebration of all things Pokémon; the Party Hat Pikachu made its first appearance to the game!

March

  • March 21: 7-day Pokéstop spins guaranteed an evolution item.
  • March 22: Water Festival – A snazzy new Magikarp themed hat, and to pay homage to the Red Gyarados in Lake of Rage from the 2nd generation games, shiny Magikarp made its splash in Pokémon GO!

April

  • April 13: First Eggstravaganza Event

May

  • May 5: Worldwide Bloom Event – A weekend of increased Grass type Pokémon spawns.
  • May 18: Adventure Week Event – Increased Rock type spawns, and a free Adventurers hat.

June

  • June 13: Solstice Event – Increased Fire and Ice type spawns.
  • June 19: GO Fest Ticket Sales Begin, selling out quickly
  • June 22: Gym Rework Live – Gyms reopened after being closed for a few days in preparation for raids. The gym system, in general, made more fair to all trainers.
  • June 29: Raids Now Live in Pokémon GO – Gave trainers another way to become involved with their local Pokémon Go community.

July

  • July 6: Pokémon GO 1st Anniversary – To celebrate this event; a special Pikachu wearing Ash’s hat from the anime made its appearance. Special Pichu wearing the hat could also be hatched.
  • July 22: Pokémon GO Fest – Thanks to many trainer’s hard work, Lugia, a Psychic and Flying type legendary from the 2nd generation became available as a raid boss! As a bonus, thanks to Team Mystic having the highest scores among GO Fest attendees, the Ice and Flying type legendary Pokémon Articuno also made its first appearance in the game as a raid boss!
  • July 31: Moltres, the Fire and Flying type legendary Pokémon made its first appearance in raids

August

  • August 4: An “unusual occurrence” happened in Europe, increasing Unown and Kangaskhan spawns across many cities.
  • August 7: The Electric and Flying type legendary Pokémon Zapdos came to raids
  • August 9: Pikachu Outbreak Event – Increased Pikachu spawns all over Yokohama, Japan. Shiny Pikachu also made its first appearance in the game. Shiny Pichu also became available to trainers lucky enough to hatch one.
  • August 14: Mewtwo EX raid test occured in Yokohama. Lugia, along with the legendary birds, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres all came back to raids.
  • August 31: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune raids began, being spread across different areas of the globe. Raikou in the Americas, Entei in Europe and Africa, and Suicune in the Asia-Pacific region.

September

  • September 6: First wave of EX passes went out for the Psychic type Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo.
  • September 16: Safari Zones in Oberhausen, Germany, Paris, France, and Barcelona, Spain.
  • September 22: Equinox Event – Increased Chansey, Larvitar, and Mareep hatches.
  • September 30: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune all swapped regions.

October

  • October 7: Safari Zones in Copenhagen, Denmark and Prague, Czech Republic.
  • October 14: Safari Zones in Stockholm, Sweden and Amstelveen, The Netherlands.
  • October 20: The Halloween Event Returns – Also featured the first wave of generation 3 Pokémon, all Ghost types. Trainers were also able to find shiny versions of Shuppet, Duskull, and Sableye.
  • October 31: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune all made their final rotation in raids.

November

  • November 4: Pokémon GO Week in Korea began.
  • November 19: Global Catch Challenge – trainers all over the globe were challenged to catch a total of 3 billion Pokémon in a week.
  • November 24: Safari Zone in Tottori, Japan.
  • November 26: The Gold Global Catch Challenge goal was met, releasing Farfetch’d worldwide and Kangaskhan in East Asia for 48 hours.
  • November 27: Thanks to trainers’ efforts in the Global Catch Challenge, the Fire and Flying type Ho-Oh made its first appearance in raid battles.

December

  • December 8: The second wave of gen 3 (the starters) were released. This included: Treeko, Torchic, and Mudkip. New raid bosses appeared, giving trainers a chance at shiny Absol and Mawile. Both became the first raid exclusive Pokémon. The weather system also went live, causing different types of Pokémon to spawn, dependent on weather conditions.
  • December 15: Groudon, the Ground type Legendary Pokémon made its first appearance in raids.
  • December 20: AR+ feature released on Apple devices, giving trainers a new way to catch Pokémon and take AR photos.
  • December 21: The third wave of gen 3 Pokémon was released, featuring mostly Water types and some Ice types. As a seasonal treat, Delibird was released. Shiny Snorunt also made an appearance.

 

And with that, we’ve got a comprehensive timeline of Pokémon GO in 2017! Have you made any special memories playing Pokémon GO? Please share your experiences with us in the comments below! Have a lovely day everyone!

Author & tags

JorroTreul
JorroTreul
From Southeastern North Carolina. Gamer and writer for GO Hub. Loves all his friends, Dunsparce, cats, and cute things. 23

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