Halloween-themed events are no oddity when it comes to video games.Pokemon GOis no exception, with Halloween events occurring in the hit mobile game since its release in 2016. However, one addition toPokemon GO’s 2024 Halloween festivities left players feeling a little tricked rather than treated.
Another key staple ofPokemon GOevents is costumes. Players can often find specific Pokemon dressed in themed attire for a particular holiday. For example, duringPokemon GO’s winter holiday celebrations in 2016, players could find Pikachu in the wild wearing a Santa hat. Niantic has continued this trend across other holidays, including Halloween. Typically, fans would be joyous to receive cute costume-wearing Pokemon in-game, but 2024’s costumed Pokemon have been revealed to be costume repeaters.
Pokemon GO’s 2024 Costumed Critters Are Outfit Repeaters
Several Pokemon featured in the Halloween event were dressed in costumes they had worn in previous years. For example,Piplup wore its firstHalloween costume duringPokemon GO’s 2021 celebration. While it’s unsurprising to see Piplup in the wild, the Pokemon is dressed in the same pumpkin hat it wore during this previous Halloween event several years ago.
Niantic was sure to include new Halloween editions of existing Pokemon for 2024’s event, includingFroakie, and its evolutions, donning a witch hat and Rowlet, and its evolutions, wearing a top hat. These additions have been appreciated by thePokemon GOcommunity, but nevertheless contribute to another frustrating aspect of 2024’s Halloween event.
The reintroduction of certain costumed Pokemon is not the most egregious orfrustrating part ofPokemon GO’s 2024 Halloweencelebrations. Rather, players are upset with the worst barrier of them all – a paywall.
Pokemon GO Players Are Upset About Paying for Costumed Mons that Were Previously Free
These costumed Pokemon that have previously been featured inPokémon GOare now included in the“Costume Party Premium Timed Research”pack for $1.99. These Pokemon include:
As mentioned,Halloween Piplup was availableinPokemon GOpreviously for free, as were other Pokemon included in this list. Some of these critters aren’t available in the wild in their Halloween costumes this year. However, there are some ways to acquire a couple of these themed Pokemon without players needing to open their wallets.
All the aforementioned Pokemon are available to players upon completing specific tiers of the “Costume Party Premium Timed Research.” Fulfilling specific tasks leads players to encounters with one of the Pokemon. Witch Hat Pikachu and Spooky FestivalVulpix are availablethrough wild encounters, raids, and eggs, but this repetition feels a bit lackluster to most players. Rather than play through the game to earn these Halloween-themed Pokemon, players could be tempted to spend money in their quest to “catch ‘em all!”
Why Niantic May Have Enacted This Paywall
This could be exactly the move Niantic is hoping players will take. WhilePokemon GOhas existedfor almost a decade, the game still sees new players and the return of old ones. This re-release of costumed Pokémon may be enticing to players who, for example, didn’t get to catch Piplup in its pumpkin hat back in Halloween 2021.
Timed Research is, as its name implies, only available for a limited amount of time. Playersreturning toPokemon GOat the end of the event may scramble to try and find all the limited edition costumed Pokemon. Having these Pokemon available behind a paywall may give these players peace of mind. They may not have caught these costumed Pokemon in the wild or through Timed Research, but they still managed to add them to their Pokedex through this offering.
Niantic is not the first developer to reuse its past assets for profit, and it certainly won’t be the last. Gamers wanting to grab these spooky costumed Pokemon have until November 3 beforePokemon GOmoves onto its next event, the Harvest Festival on November 7 andPokemon GOWild Area 2024 on November 23.
WHERE TO PLAY
Now you may battle other Pokémon GO trainers online! Try the GO Battle League today. Join Trainers across the globe who are discovering Pokémon as they explore the world around them. Pokémon GO is the global gaming sensation that has been downloaded over 1 billion times and named “Best Mobile Game” by the Game Developers Choice Awards and “Best App of the Year” by TechCrunch
UNCOVER THE WORLD OF POKÉMON: Explore and discover Pokémon wherever you are! CATCH more Pokémon to complete your Pokédex! JOURNEY alongside your Buddy Pokémon to help make your Pokémon stronger and earn rewards! COMPETE in epic Gym battles and… TEAM UP and UNITE with other Trainers to catch powerful Pokémon during Raid Battles!It’s time to get moving—your real-life adventures await! Let’s GO
