Game Master update: Celebi catch rate, Scizor catch reward and more

Trainers, in preparation for the GO Fest Niantic has updated the Game Master file, a core file that controls how the various aspects of the game behave. This update is important, as it sheds some light on how Celebi encounters will work and (potentially) which new raid bosses we can expect.

Here are the big changes:

Scizor capture Stardust reward has been added, indicating that Scizor will potentially be captureable in the near future:

bonus_stardust_capture_reward: 200

Larvitar Attack and Dodge probabilities have been added, probably just as a modifier to Pokemon’s base attack and dodge probabilities:

attack_probability: 0.3
dodge_probability: 0.15

Celebi base capture rate has been added, flee rate removed, making Celebi a guaranteed catch for anyone who completes the GO Fest Celebi quest chain:

base_capture_rate: 100

New GO Fest badge information has also been added, highlighting four new badge types, awarded per day of attendance and entrance:

item_templates {
  template_id: "BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2018_SAT_NORTH"
  badge_settings {
    badge_type: BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2018_SAT_NORTH
    badge_rank: 2
    targets: 100
    event_badge: true
  }
}
item_templates {
  template_id: "BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2018_SAT_SOUTH"
  badge_settings {
    badge_type: BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2018_SAT_SOUTH
    badge_rank: 2
    targets: 100
    event_badge: true
  }
}
item_templates {
  template_id: "BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2018_SUN_NORTH"
  badge_settings {
    badge_type: BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2018_SUN_NORTH
    badge_rank: 2
    targets: 100
    event_badge: true
  }
}
item_templates {
  template_id: "BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2018_SUN_SOUTH"
  badge_settings {
    badge_type: BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2018_SUN_SOUTH
    badge_rank: 2
    targets: 100
    event_badge: true
  }
}

What does this all mean?

The new badges and Larvitar changes are (honestly) meaningless – they don’t tell us anything we don’t already know. However, the rest of the changes is more revealing:

• Celebi is a guaranteed catch, similar to Mew, and apparently can’t flee. Of course, this is all according to current Game Master and is subject to change.
• Scizor is likely to appear as a raid boss, probably Tier 4. If Scizor is to be introduced, it is possible that additional themed bosses will also be featured on or after GO Fest.

Let’s see what happens tomorrow – an exciting weekend is ahead of us!