Pokémon Go is giving out lots of candy for Valentine’s Day
Here’s a little sweet news for those of you still playing Pokémon Go. The Valentine’s Day event kicks off on Wednesday, and there will be lots and lots of candy.
Gamemaker Niantic announced the news Wednesday on its blog:
“With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we couldn’t think of a sweeter time to double the amount of Candy you’ll earn every time you catch, hatch, and transfer Pokémon. Your Buddy Pokémon is also getting into the Valentine’s Day spirit and will find Candy twice as fast!”
Pink Pokémon such as Chansey and Clefable will be encountered more frequently in the wild. Cleffa, Igglybuff, and Smoochum will also be more likely to hatch from eggs. And lure modules will last for six hours.
Notably absent, however, is any sign of more Generation 2 Pokémon.
Players have been hoping legendary Pokémon such as Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Mewtwo are finally released into the game, and there has also speculation about the introduction of player vs. player battles and trading.
There also was speculation that the Valentine’s promotion would focus on Gen 2 Pokémon Umbreon and Espeon. Both of these monsters evolve from Gen 1 favorite Eevee, and their evolution would depend on Eevee’s happiness.
People have been delving into the code of Niantic’s releases and finding plenty of hints that Gen 2 creatures and a lot of other significant changes are on the way, but it seems we won’t see much of that until spring at the earliest.
The Valentine’s event launches at 1 p.m. Wednesday and will last until 1 p.m. Feb. 15.
This follows a Christmas event that included new baby Pokémon that had to be hatched rather than caught in the wild and holiday “presents” that were bundles of items sold in the store.
Those new baby Pokémon are from Generation 2, but players were hoping for more from what was billed as a big announcement, perhaps a release of 100 or so new creatures. And a limited edition Pikachu was wearing a festive hat to celebrate the holiday season.
Overland Park-based Sprint in December announced a partnership with Niantic in a bid to pull fans of the game into more than 10,500 of its stores in the United States.
Pokémon Go players can go to Sprint, Boost, and Sprint at RadioShack locations to recharge phones, get data plans, collect in-game items, including Poké balls and eggs, and battle with their favorite characters.
Niantic also announced a partnership with Starbucks.
This story was originally published February 8, 2017 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Pokémon Go is giving out lots of candy for Valentine’s Day."