Newsletter 
Mobile games developer Niantic and the Pokemon Company International announced the latest Pokemon GO in-game event called the Water Festival. Starting today, Pokemon GO players will be much more likely to encounter Water-type pocket monsters like Squirtle, Totodile, and Magikarp regardless of where they’re located, the companies said. The increased encounter rates will also apply to the second generation of Pokemon that the San Francisco-based developer recently started adding to its popular augmented reality (AR) game. To increase their chances of catching Water-type pocket monsters, trainers are encouraged to visit larger bodies of water, fountains, and other places that they suspect such creatures might be frequenting. Niantic is also commemorating this occasion by providing players with a special Magikarp Hat their digital avatars can wear. The latest Pokemon GO event will run from today until Wednesday, March 29.
The wording of the announcement doesn’t suggest that trainers are currently able to earn extra XP or take advantage of some other in-game benefits like some previous in-game events allowed them to. Still, this seems like a solid opportunity for Pokemon GO players to fill out their creature pool, especially if they were so far unlucky with encountering Water-type pocket monsters. Niantic has been holding in-game events in Pokemon GO for quite a while now and more similar digital festivities are expected to follow in the near future.
On a related note, the popular mobile game is expected to receive a few more content updates in the coming months. While speaking at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Niantic’s Chief Executive Officer John Hanke revealed that the company is planning to roll out three more major content updates for Pokemon GO over the course of this year. At least one of those updates will contain new pocket monsters, while others will be aimed at revamping the game’s gym system and introducing a trading mechanic. All of those features have been requested by millions of players in recent months, so the San Francisco-based developer is hoping their additions will improve user retention rates and make the game more enjoyable in general. New details on upcoming Pokemon GO features will likely follow in the coming weeks.