‘Pokemon GO’ New Water Festival Event, More Totodiles, Squirtles, and Magikarps

The popular augmented reality game Pokemon Go announced today its new Water Festival event, which will start from 1 p.m.. PST today and run through March 29.

The event will increase water spawns globally, meaning creatures like Totodile, Squirtle, Magikarp and others will appear more frequently after 1 p.m,. Your trainer, in celebration, will now don a Magikarp hat.

Pokemon GO’s Water Festival Details Released

When software development company Niantic, the creator of Pokemon Go, made the announcement, it also released details on what players may find during the event. Below are what was outlined:

• The three main Pokémon spotlighted are Magikarp, Squirtle, Totodile and their evolutions, meaning Gyarados, Wartortle, Blastoise, Croconaw and Feraligatr.
• Lapras is also hinted at by name as having increased spawn potential. It’s normally thought of as an ice Pokémon, but it’s also part water.
• The event also promises that if you’re where “water type Pokémon normally appear,” i.e. by water in real life, you might see more spawns of Gen 2 Johto water Pokémon. That may include Chinchou, Lanturn, Marill, Azumarill, Politoed, Wooper, Quagsire, Sloking, Qwilfish, Corosola, Remoraid, Octillery, Mantine, Kingdra and probably not Suicune because it’s legendary. None of those have been mentioned by name, but those are all the Gen 2 water or part water types.
• There’s a Magikarp hat you can buy for Pokécoins.

The event’s name, “Water Festival,” is the name of a Southeast Asian New Year holiday, but since that isn’t for another month, is the not the inspiration for the name. In actuality, the event was meant to correspond to World Water, a day created by the UN to bring much-needed attention to the global clean water crisis.

In addition to the launch of this new event, Pokemon Go also launched a new feature that had players very pumped. When you achieve a 7-day streak with PokeStops, you’ll receive a random item for evolving Pokemon.

One interesting aspect of the event is that there are no bonuses or sales linked to it. No stacks of new items in the store, no double XP, or new candies promoted.

This event may be a great way to kick off the spring season, and are sure to lure some former Pokemon Go fans back into fervently playing the game — at least for the next week.