Pokémon Go’s unbelievable Go Fest event shows that there can be too much of a good thing

Every year since the inception of the Pokémon Go Fest, the mobile game has brought the fun all over the world with in-game celebrations in the form of Pokémon Go Fest Global events. Whether it’s Mythical Pokémon, special eggs, bonus raid passes, or a boosted chance to get Shinies, the event always brings the most. This year, the fun goes even further – indeed, some would say too far. Not only is the entire event free, rather than the $15 tickets we’ve seen before, but there are so many raids on offer that the chances of getting something you actually want are pretty slim, by the looks of it.

35 Pokémon will be available across Five-star, Mega, and Super Mega Pokémon Go raids on Saturday, July 11, while Sunday, July 12, will see 58 bosses available to fight, all of whom are completely different from the prior day’s pool. Given that Pokémon Go only gives us a set number of raids a day, the chances of being able to get what you want are slim, and the chance of finding a fellow player to help you out is even slimmer. That means the raids introduced in the Pokémon Go event itself, Mega Mewtwo X and Y, will be nearly impossible to complete, making the whole thing pretty redundant, honestly.

The saving grace of this is that Pokémon Go intends to give players nine free raid passes a day via gyms during the event. That doesn’t make your chances of catching Mega Mewtwo that much better, or being able to assemble a squad to take it down, but it does mean you can actually attempt it if you do happen upon it. Alongside the free passes, Shinies will be boosted once again, incense and lure modules are active for more time than usual, and event-themed ‘mon will appear, with the core three starters, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, appearing in cute Pikachu visors.

This is all in celebration of the tenth anniversary of Pokémon Go, and in theory, sounds very generous – especially because it’s free for all users this time around. The reality is that, though cheap, it’s going to be stressful. The stress has already started to kick in for some, as players online are in the comments of Twitter/X posts begging to make friends so that the whole thing becomes easier. Honestly, we can’t blame them, because this is a bit of a mess.

For those of us who were looking forward to taking on Mega Mewtwo X and Y, all we can do is hope that they both appear in the rotations again at some point. Will Pokémon Go’s Go Fest Global event go well? And if not, will Niantic learn from it? Let us know what your thoughts are over on our Pocket Tactics Discord. Maybe you’ll even be able to trade some friend or Pokémon Go codes to start preparing for the storm.