Trainers, the Kanto Celebration has finally begun and we have a lot of important news to share with you! Still don’t know what the Kanto Celebration is about? You’ll find all the information here.
After a relatively slow start of the event, it appears that Niantic finally woke up 7 hours after the beginning of the event! It’s now 12 hours into the Kanto Celebration and here is what we know so far:
- Lures last for 6 hours;
- Few Pokémon from the Johto and Hoenn region are seemingly still spawning, perhaps related to Field Research quests or nests;
- Double Candy bonus applies to all Generations and also to Field Research rewards’ encounters;
- Buddy distance has been reduced by half, which makes sense since Double candy rewards apply to *almost* everything;
- Double Candy bonus applies to egg hatches;
- Starters spawn rates have been increased, along with Magikarp and Gastly (potentially to help trainers with their Special Research quests);
- Candy rewards from Research are not affected by the bonus.
- Mew quest is not entirely affected by the bonus. The reward remains 20 candies, but you do get 6 candies for catching Mew;
- Nests have seemingly not changed;
No Shiny News… [for now?]
Despite Chrales’ recently discovered Shiny leak, there doesn’t appear to be any report of new Shiny sprites in the game. Believe us, we are just as disappointed as you are right now.
Then again, why so much negativity? We have an event, double candy rewards, lures last longer, new and returning Raid Bosses, etc. Also, on the plus side, trainers who had not yet caught a Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee or even enough Magikarp candies for their first Gyarados (yes, those trainers exist) might finally be lucky enough to put their hands on their missing Pokédex entries!
And who knows, we could always see a progressive introduction of new Shiny models during the Kanto Celebration, similar to the Shiny Ghosts introduction (Shuppet, Duskull, and Sableye). We still have hope!
Raid Boss Shakeup
Furthermore, along with the obvious increased spawn rates of Pokémon from the Kanto region, it was announced (on the Pokémon website) that “Raid Battles will also feature Aerodactyl, Snorlax, and other rare Pokémon from Kanto.” Well, it took Niantic nearly 7 hours, but it certainly looks like it was a complete Kanto takeover in terms of Raid Bosses! We did not have a lot of expectations, but we are always happy to see new faces!
Raid Bosses’ shakeups are always interesting as they have proven to be another way for Niantic to introduce new Shiny sprites into the game, so we certainly hope for some Shiny news! Until then, you will find below the result of the Kanto Takeover. (In bold are new Raid Bosses)
| Tier | Kanto Celebration Raid Bosses |
| ★ | Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Magikarp |
| ★★ | Venomoth, Lickitung, Weezing, Muk, Exeggutor |
| ★★★ | Aerodactyl, Omastar, Alakazam, Onix, Kabutops, Scyther, Machamp |
| ★★★★ | Snorlax, Rhydon, Golem, Lapras |
| ★★★★★ | Latios/Latias |
Double Candy Bonus
Luckily, Double Candy rewards apply to all Pokémon, meaning that Pokémon from the Johto and Hoenn region also benefit from the bonus. The same applies to Field Research reward encounters, catching the Pokémon will award double the candies; however the bonus does not apply to Special Research Rewards. Egg hatches also benefit from the bonus and Buddy distance has been reduced by half to reflect the bonus.
Special Boxes
To the raiders’ delight, Premium Raid Passes have a killer discount during the Kanto Celebration. Click here for our full analysis. Make sure you spend your coins wisely!
Final Note
With all that being, although some of you would argue that there is time for a fancy conclusion given that not much is going on with the Kanto Celebration. Well, we disagree! Get outside and have fun (but be safe, please). Niantic could still surprise us. Also, make sure to join the discussion on our Discord server and be sure to report any research you find during the event!
