One of the main things that keeps Pokemon Go interesting 10 years later are its events. There’s almost always something going on in the game to encourage players to log in and catch new Pokemon. This weekend brought players a new Catch Mastery event, and it was almost great. The Oricorio Catch Mastery event began at 10 AM local time on February 7th and runs for just a few hours until 8 PM. And it’s already proving to be the most unpopular event of the year so far.
Catch Mastery events are a recurring feature in Pokemon Go. They typically center on catching one kind of Pokemon. This time, Oricorio is the star of the show. And initially, that could seem pretty exciting. Oricorio is one of the Pokemon that has several regional forms in Pokemon Go. And the event’s promo image features all four, which could suggest an exciting opportunity. There’s just one problem. The Catch Mastery Timed Research gives you plenty of chances to catch Oricorio, but only the one typically found in your region.
Pokemon Go Fans “So Tired of Looking at Oricorio,” But It Didn’t Have to Be Like This
Image courtesy of Niantic
Region-locked Pokemon are one of the ways Pokemon Go encourages trading. Make a friend from another region, and you can get some exciting new Pokemon to fill in your Dex. But on rare occasions, Niantic has been known to temporarily expand regional forms beyond their typical areas. Flabebe is a good example of this, as it often pops up in events with opportunities for players to catch forms not normally found where they’re at. The Oricorio Catch Mastery event, however, opted not to give players this chance.
There are 4 forms of Oricorio in Pokemon Go, each locked to a specific region. Baile Style Oricorio appears in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Pom-Pom Style Oricorio is native to the Americas, whereas Pa’u Style Oricorio spawns in African, Asian, Pacific, and Caribbean Islands. As for Sensu Style Oricorio, it can be found only in the Asia-Pacific region. And that means that players working their way through the Oricorio Catch Mastery event are seeing a whole lot of just one form of the dancing Pokemon.
The event comes with a free Timed Research path, with tasks like “Make 3 Nice Throws” and “Catch 3 Starly.” Completing each task earns you a Pokemon encounter with Oricorio. That’s… a lot of Oricorio. If you’re still Shiny hunting your regional variant, that’s not bad news. But if you were hoping to see the other 3 forms to round out your collection, you’re out of luck. And as one Redditor puts it, featuring all variants would’ve made the event an A+. Instead, Pokemon Go players, including my personal friend group, are already very, very tired of seeing just the one form of Oricorio over and over again.
Pokemon Go Players Debate Chances of Random Oricorio Spawns During Catch Mastery Event
A few players, like the Reddit user above, suggest that the final page of the Timed Research offers a random Oricorio. However, this is unconfirmed, with many other trainers claiming no one they know got anything but their regional variant. In fact, many players think the only reason anyone got unusual spawns might be due to a glitch with GPS tracking misidentifying their location. Given that the Pokemon Go info page for the event reiterates the regions for each variant, it seems like
Though the Oricorio Catch Mastery event is pretty underwhelming compared to what might have been, it’s not all bad. Shiny Ocicorio is boosted during the event. So, all those spawns of your local variant do at least have better odds of being Shiny.
Are you working your way through the Oricorio Catch Mastery tasks in Pokemon Go? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!