‘Pokemon GO’ Super Community Day: Where To Get Your Favorite Shinies

Pokemon GO

Niantic

Pokémon GO is going all out for what will be its biggest Communtiy Day, or rather Community Weekend, more accurately, in the history of the game. They are celebrating all the Community Day that came before it, and it’s a lot to process given how many Pokémon are appearing and which ones are going where.

There are two “traditional” Community Day three hour periods, one on Saturday, December 14 (today) and one on Sunday, December 15 from 11 AM to 2 PM local time. But there are additional spawns from 9 AM to 9 PM on both those days as well.

If you’re going to be hunting for shinies, you should probably know what you’re getting and where those will come from. Your best bet is going to be the wild Pokémon, as you can amass a ton of those in a short amount of time, especially during the three hour window. Shinies usually have between a 5-8% spawn rate in events like these, meaning 1 in 15 or 1 in 20 or so will get you a shiny encounter if your luck is on par with the average.

For the purposes of this event, that means:

Saturday (11 AM - 2 PM): Totodile, Swinub, Treecko, Torchic, Slakoth, and Bagon will appear more in the wild.

Sunday (11 AM - 2 PM): Mudkip, Ralts, Trapinch, Turtwig, and Chimchar will appear more in the wild.

These ones are going to be your best chance to find shinies as they will be appearing more often than anything else in that time period like it’s a traditional Community Day. But that’s not all.

Pokemon GO

Niantic

Saturday + Sunday (9 AM â€" 9 PM): Totodile, Swinub, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Ralts, Slakoth, Trapinch, Bagon, Turtwig, and Chimchar will also appear in the wild more generally, just perhaps not at Community Day levels.

Saturday + Sunday (9 AM â€" 9 PM): Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Eevee, Dratini, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Mareep, Larvitar, and Beldum will be appearing in raids.  These are past Community Day Pokémon and they should have the same shiny rate as the others, if not higher. And since they’re available all day, you can farm until your heart’s content.

Saturday: (9 AM â€" 9 PM): Bulbasaur, Charmander, Pikachu, Dratini, Totodile, Mareep, Swinub, Larvitar, Treecko, Torchic, Slakoth, and Bagon will hatch from eggs.

Sunday: (9 AM â€" 9 PM): Squirtle, Eevee, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Mudkip, Ralts, Trapinch, Beldum, Turtwig, and Chimchar will hatch from eggs. This is going to not really be a great way to farm for shinies because you won’t even know what you’re getting until the egg hatches. But you might as well be hatching stuff as you’re running around doing everything else.

As one final word of advice, make sure you have incense running the whole time as that works with the increased spawns. And lures if you have spots near you. Also, make sure you are evolving the shiny forms of the Pokémon you’ve caught to their final evolution as one additional bonus of this weekend is that these Pokémon will also know the special moves they learned during their past Community Days, and there are literally only a few hours a year where you can get something as rare as a shiny with a special move like this.

Happy hunting, see you out there.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Pre-order my new sci-fi novel Herokiller, and read my first series, The Earthborn Trilogy, which is also on audiobook.

How Pokemon Sword and Shield made new Pokemon worth caring about again

Corviknight, a badass new flying Pokemon.

Nintendo

What do Game of Thrones, Captain Marvel, and Pokemon Sword and Shield have in common? 

Volatile fans. 

Earlier this year disgruntled Free Folk demanded the final season of Thrones be remade to their liking. Captain Marvel was review bombed on Rotten Tomatoes after prickly viewers were upset by comments Brie Larson made. Finally, even months before it had the best US launch of any game in the series, a large minority of players harboured a burning hate for Pokemon Sword and Shield.

What had these Poketrainers apoplectic? Sword and Shield are the first games in the series not to feature every Pokemon. Traditionally, after beating a Pokemon game's final bosses -- think the Elite 4 -- you'd get a National Pokedex that would allow you to capture, trade and use any Pokemon from preceding games. 

That's not the case in Pokemon Sword and Shield. These games restrict y ou to 400 Pokemon, less than half of the 890 species that have been introduced across all eight generations of Pokemon games. That's right. Only 400.

After beating Pokemon Sword and Shield and becoming the Gelar region's champion, I am here to tell you shocking news: Sword and Shield are the best Pokemon games in nearly two decades partially because there are "only" 400 Pokemon. For the first time since Pokemon Gold and Silver, new Pokemon are the most fun thing about a new Pokemon game. 

Hear me out. 

When Pokemon Red and Blue came out there were "just" 151 Pokemon. Catching 'em all was an effort but doable for enterprising completionists. Then Gold and Silver, the best Pokemon games of all time, came along. An absorbable amount of new creatures were introduced, you could now breed Pokemon and get de-evolved critters like Pichu, and existing favorites got inspired new evolution forms. 

The Pokemon formula was fleshed out in a way that was exciting, not overwhelming. But since then Pokemon games have become overwhelming. From 2000 through to 2018, from Gold and Silver to Ultra Sun and Moon, we went from 251 to 807.This is fantastic news for avid Poketrainers who are keen to catch 'em all no matter the cost. But it hampers the fun for other players.

There are two key trade-offs for the ever expanding list of Pokemon. First, the prospect of capturing every single creature becomes a turnoff. As a goal, it's impossibly daunting. Second, the Pokemon designs become less s pirited. The more existing Pokemon there are, the harder it is to design news ones that stick out in a good way and the easier it is to design ones that stick out in a bad way. 

A gym leader threw this bad boy at me and I knew I had to have one.

Nintendo

Toxtricity, a dope electric lizard that gives off stoner vibes, is another strong addition. This is one of two Toxtricity forms. 

Nintendo

Case in point: Recent generations have seen dodgy new families of Pokemon that range from swords with eyes to ice cream with eyes to keys with eyes. The upside is the occasional valuable addition and that new rosters of Pokemon make competitive play deeper. But rarely are new Pokemon arresting enough to trade out an old favourite for. 

Which is why I was so pleasantly surprised to realise that the team I won the Champion's Cup with were almost all Pokemon new to Sword and Shield. Only one, Gengar, was from a previous game. 

This wasn't out of a preplanned "out with the old, in with the new" mission. This just happened the old fashioned way: An opposing trainer or gym leader throws out a sweet-looking Pokemon, and I think, "what is that? I want that." Or I encounter a baby Pokemon in the wild and get a hunch: This will evolve into something sick. 

The former was the case for Coalossal, a lumbering beast of rocks a nd molten coal: The fire gym leader used it against me, and I knew I had to have one. The latter is how I found Toxtricity, a super-chill, borderline stoner-looking electric lizard. I found his first form, Toxel, and knew the little guy had something special in him.

Click for more Boom With a View.

All of this is a level of intrigue and experimentation which just didn't happen for me in previous games. 

Many hardcore fans have been vociferous in venting their frustration wi th the curtailed selection of Pokemon. A #BringBackTheNationalDex social media campaign was started, in which some participants politely voiced disappointment -- and others sent death threats to Sword and Shield's developers. The game's Metacritic score is 80, but thanks to angered fans, its user score sits at 46. 

If you're a hardcore Pokemon fan, who relishes spending hundreds and hundreds of hours catching every Pokemon, or in having the widest possible range of Pokemon available for competitive play, I understand your frustration. It does suck for you, I concede. And there are certainly some Pokemon I miss having around, like Alakazam and Dragonite, so I understand if some fans are crestfallen about their favorite Pokemon being absent. 

But Nintendo has a huge audience to cater to. Sword and Shield sold over 6 million units in their first week alone. What does the average gamer get when Nintendo adds in the best new Pokemon designs in over a decade and takes out th e most useless ones? The refresh Pokemon has needed for years. 

Originally published Dec. 9.Update, Dec. 10: Adds first week sales figures. Update, Dec. 12: Adds note on Sword and Shield enjoying best US launch of any Pokemon game. 

‘Pokemon Go’: Where to spend December’s epic Community Day in the Bay Area

As expected, Niantic is wrapping up the year with an epic two-day Community Day extravaganza.

The team is bringing back every Community Day pocket monster going back to 2018. This gives lapsed or newcomers a chance to catch up and grab important Pokemon that they must have missed. The following creatures and their shiny forms will be available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 14 and 15: Beldum, Larvitar, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Dratini, Eevee, Chikorita, Squirtle, Cyndaquil, Pikachu, Mareep, Bagon, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Swinub, Ralts, Turtwig, Totodile, Chimchar, Trapinch and Slakoth.

That's a ton of Pokemon to keep track of and a few will be important to grab. The reason for this is that these Pokemon can learn exclusive Community Day moves that make them some of the best in the game. The vital ones will be:Larvitar — The evolution to Smackdown Tyranitar makes it a powerful Rock-type attackerBeldum — The evolution to Meteor Mash Metagross makes it a top Steel-type attackerBulbasaur — The evolution to Frenzy Plant Venusaur makes it a top Grass-type attackerCharmander — The evolution to Blast Burn Charizard makes it a top Fire=type attacker plus the shiny evolution is gorgeous.Bagon — The evolution to Outrage Salamence makes a great Dragon-type attacker.Trecko — The evolution to Frenzy Plant Sceptile makes it a top Grass-type attacker.Torchic — The evolution to Blast Burn Blaziken makes its a top Fire-type attacker and must for Team Rocket boss battles.Mudkip — The evolution to Hydroo Cannon Swampert makes it a top Water-type attacker and good Pokemon for Team Rocket battles.

Keep in mind, players must evolve these Pokemon during the set times over the weekend to get those moves. For PvP players, they'll definitely want another chance at Eevees and Trapinch. Both are important Pokemon in player-vs-player battles. Just make sure to walk an Eevee 10 kilometers and evolve at night for a Last Resort Umbreon while players should evolve the Trapinch into Flygon to get a Pokemon with Earth Power.

For those who want to get the most out of this Community Day, the prime-time hours to go hunting is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. In addition, players can expect double catch stardust and experience so save those lucky eggs and star pieces. Players can expect half egg hatching distance as well. The eggs obtained during the Community Day weekend will hatch the 2018 Pokemon. Lastly, there are reports of a Celebrate 2019 Special Research, which will give players a a Unova Stone, nine rare candy and 20 ultra balls.

With that said, here are some of the best places in the Bay Area to spend this super-sized "Pokemon Go" Community Day weekend during the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. bonus time hours. These have been mentioned in Pokemon Discords around the region. Also expect mostly sunny weather for both days:

Berkeley: If you're in the East Bay, the UC Berkeley campus is one of the best spots to catch. Plenty of players in the community will be circling the campanile. Expect the Pokestops around the area to also be lured up.

San Francisco: If you're in city, there are ideally two spots to hunt for Pokemon. The first is on the Embarcadero from roughly the Ferry Building to the Cupid's Span scuplture. The other area is in Golden Gate Park centered on Botanical Gardens and Stow Lake boathouse.

South Bay: The South Bay community is more spread out and I haven't been to a Community Day in any of the cities there. These sites are mentioned in the Pokemon Go: San Jose Discord but I haven't verified them.De Anza College (Cupertino)Central Park (Santa Clara)Oakridge Mall (South San Jose)San Jose State University (Downtown San Jose)Overfelt Gardens (East San Jose)

If you know of any popular spots or gatherings for Pokemon Community Day, please email me at gcacho@bayareanewsgroup.com.

November 2019 NPD — Pokémon has best U.S. launch in series history

Consumers in the U.S. spent $2.251 billion on gaming-related products online and at U.S. retailers in November, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. That's down 19% from the same period in 2018. November is still dealing with a tough comparison due to having no game on the level of last year's Red Dead Redemption 2.

Here are the full results:

November 2019 Dollar Sales Nov'18 Nov'19 Change Total Video Game Sales $2.783b $2.251b -19% Video Games Hardware $1,206m $891m -26% PC & Video Games Software (PC, Console and Portable; Physical and Full Game Digital Formats from the STEAM, PlayStation and Xbox platforms) $1,071m $926m -14% Video Games Accessories & Game Cards $505m $403m -14%

The gaming industry saw contraction in all of its main spending categories. Hardware took the biggest hit. Fans have begun holding off in anticipation of the next generation. But software and accessories also declined.

"November 2019 tracked spending across video game hardware, software, accessories, and game cards totaled $2.3 billion, declining 19 percent when compared to a year ago," NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. "Year-to-date spending has fallen 12 percent when compared to 2018, to $11.6 billion."

It's worth noting that 2019 was about even with 2018 until October. That's when the comparison to Red Dead Redemption 2 comes into play.

Let's do the software.

Software

NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but it also gets digital data directly from publishers. But not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn't share its first-party sales, and Activision Blizzard does not provide its Battle.net sales.

These charts are sorted by dollar sales — not number of units sold.

Top 20 best-selling games of October in the U.S.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order^

Pokémon Sword*

Pokémon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack*

Pokémon Shield*

Madden NFL 20

Death Stranding

NBA 2K20

Need for Speed: Heat

Luigi's Mansion 3*

FIFA 20

Borderlands 3

The Outer Worlds

Just Dance 2020

Mario Kart 8*

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

Grand Theft Auto V

Mortal Kombat 11

* Digital sales not included ^ Steam sales not included

"Dollar sales of tracked video game software declined 14 percent in November compared to a year ago, to $926 million," said Piscatella. "While year-to-date sales have fallen 8 percent to $5.4 billion. Gains in software spending on Nintendo Switch have not offset declines across other platforms."

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare repeats as the best-selling game of the month, and maintains its position as the best-selling game of 2019 year-to-date," said Piscatella. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare also becomes the best-selling game of the trailing 12-month period ending November."

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

"Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the No. 2 best-selling game of November and instantly becomes the No. 9 best-selling game of 2019 year to date," said Piscatella. "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order achieved the second highest launch month dollar sales for any Star Wars game in U.S. history, trailing only 2015's Star Wars Battlefront. The game also achieved the highest launch month dollar sales for a Respawn Entertainment-developed title in U.S. history."

Pokémon Sword and Shield

"Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield rank as the No. 3 and No. 5 best-selling titles of November, respectively, while the Pokémon Sword and Pokéemon Shield Double Pack places as the No. 4 best-selling game of the month," said Piscatella. "These titles combine to achieve the highest launch month dollar sales of any Pokémon release in U.S. history, topping the previous launch month high set by Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon. Were all versions of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield combined, the aggregate total would place as the #2 best-selling in November."

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

"Super Smash Bros Ultimate is now the best-selling Fighting game in U.S. history, with a lifetime dollar sales total surpassing that of the previous best-selling Fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl," said Piscatella.

The 10 best-selling games of 2019 so far

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019

NBA 2K20

Madden NFL 20

Borderlands 3

Mortal Kombat 11

Kingdom Hearts III

Tom Clancy's The Division 2

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order^

Anthem

The 10 best-selling games of the last 12 months

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*

NBA 2K20

Madden NFL 20

Red Dead Redemption II

Borderlands 3

Mortal Kombat 11

Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII

Kingdom Hearts III

Tom Clancy's The Division 2

Xbox One

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Madden NFL 20

NBA 2K20

Need for Speed: Heat

FIFA 20

Borderlands 3

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

Red Dead Redemption II

The Outer Worlds

PlayStation 4

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Death Stranding

Madden NFL 20

Need for Speed: Heat

NBA 2K20

FIFA 20

The Outer Worlds

Marvel's Spider-Man

Borderlands 3

Nintendo Switch

Pokémon Sword*

Pokémon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack*

Pokémon Shield*

Luigi's Mansion 3*

Mario Kart 8*

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*

Just Dance 2020

Ring Fit Adventure*

Super Mario Odyssey*

Nintendo 3DS

Pokémon: Ultra Sun*

Pokémon: Ultra Moon*

Super Mario 3D Land*

Super Mario Maker*

Super Smash Bros.*

Luigi's Mansion*

Mario Kart 7*

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D*

Detective Pikachu*

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon*

Pokémon Sword and Shield have the best U.S. debut in franchise history

Pokémon Sword and Shield had the best launch month ever for the franchise in the U.S. based on dollar sales, according industry-tracking firm The NPD Group.

The games, which essentially offer the same experience with small differences, came out for Switch on November 15. It's the first new generation of Pokémon to debut on a home console, although the Switch also doubles as a portable device.

Sword and Shield took the record from Sun and Moon, which came out for the 3DS on 2016.

The new Pokémon games also charted three times in The NPD's Group's list of November best-sellers. Sword is at #3, a double pack including both games is at No. 4, and Shield is at No. 5. Combined, Sword and Shield become the No. 2 best-selling game of the month, only behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Sword and Shield will give Nintendo a boost during the lucrative holiday season. Both games, the double pack, and the Switch itself should be popular gifts. And Pokémon is so popular that these games will continue to sell well for years.

“Pokémon Masters” Receives A Holiday Event With Decorations

DeNA officially started up their own event in Pokémon Masters today as we get a few new additions, but mostly decoration and costumes. We have the full set of additions for you below, including a new look for the Pokémon Center, a story event that kicks off on December 23rd, and some special bonuses just for logging in.

Credit: DeNA

See Trainers In Festive Outfits – Throughout the holiday season, players will have the opportunity to see sync pairs Rosa & Delibird and Siebold & Octazooka in festive outfits that are exclusive to Pokémon Masters. These sync pairs will be available to add to players' teams from now until December 31, 9:59PM Pacific via a limited-time seasonal sync pair scout. They may also make cameos in other areas of the game in the future.

Explore the Holiday-Themed Pokémon Center – An in-game story event titled "Rosa's Party" will allow players to experience the Pokémon Center in a whole new way – fully decorated for the holiday season! Players will also be able to embark on an adventure with Rosa to throw a party and bring some holiday cheer to Pasio. Rosa & Delibird can also be challenged in co-op mode to obtain special items used to upgrade sync pairs. This in-game event is available now and runs until December 31, 9:59PM Pacific, and is available to players who have completed Chapter 5 of the Main Story.

Story Event – "A Special Present": Players who complete the in-game event "Rosa's Party" will have the option to continue the story and earn up to 1,000 gems by playing "A Special Present", a very limited-time story event that will run from December 23 10:00PM Pacific to December 24 9:59PM Pacific.

Login Bonuses: Players who login from now until December 25 9:59PM Pacific will have the opportunity to earn Evolution Crystals and up to 3,900 gems.

Enjoyed this article? Share it! About Gavin Sheehan

Gavin has been a lifelong geek who can chat with you about comics, television, video games, and even pro wrestling. He can also teach you how to play Star Trek chess, be your Mercy on Overwatch, recommend random cool music, and goes rogue in D&D. He also enjoys standup comedy, Let's Play videos and trying new games, along with hundreds of other geeky things that can't be covered in a single paragraph. Follow @TheGavinSheehan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Vero, for random pictures and musings.

     

Pokemon Sword and Shield Players Organize Surprise Trade Christmas Event

Christmas is a time for giving. This holiday season, Pokemon fans all over the world will wake up on Christmas morning to find copies of Pokemon Sword and/or Shield wrapped beneath the tree. In an attempt to give a gift to new trainers starting on their journeys, Sword and Shield players are attempting to organize a Surprise Trade event for the holiday. Surprise Trade is a feature in the game in which two players can send one another a surprise Pokemon, with neither trainer knowing what they will get from the other. The idea behind Surprise Trade Christmas is that experienced players will offer up some truly valuable Pokemon in the hopes that they will go to the homes of younger players.

While this is not an event sanctioned by Nintendo or The Pokemon Company, it will be interesting to see how successful it is, regardless. After all, many people will likely be busy spending time with their families on Christmas day. Still, it's hard not to appreciate the wholesomeness of the intent. With so much negativity surrounding Pokemon Sword and Shield prior to their release, it's nice to see the fan community making this sort of effort to spread some holiday cheer.

Naturally, anytime someone comes up with an idea like this, someone will try their best to ruin it for everyone else, and Surprise Trade Christmas is no exception. Some Grinches out there are planning to put up low level Pokemon like Magikarp for trade. There really isn't anything than can be done about that, but the overwhelming response to the idea seems to be much more positive than negative.

Before launch, Pokemon Sword and Shield's "National Dex" controversy led to an uproar online, resulting in a fairly noticeable split in the fan community. Since the games debuted, however, reviews have been positive across the board, with some calling it one of the best games in the franchise thus far. Sales certainly reflect that, and new Pokemon introduced in the game, such as Yamper and Wooloo, have become quick fan favorites.

Have you checked out Pokemon Sword and Shield yet? Do you plan on participating in Surprise Trade Christmas? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!