Niantic Schedules Make-Up Day For Pokemon GO Fest 2020 This Weekend

To make up for issues that have been plaguing this year’s edition of the annual Pokemon GO Fest, developer Niantic is adding a weekend to the event.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST on Aug. 16, players who purchased tickets to the original event will be able to participate in many of the activities that were available during the prior Pokemon GO Fest weekend held in July, reports Digital Trends.

Previously held July 25-26, the first day of the Pokemon GO Fest featured habitats that “Pokemon GO” would rotate through to provide players the opportunity to catch a wide variety of pocket monsters.

The make-up day will feature habitats revolving around fire, water, and friendship for an hour, in that order. While the first two habitats are relatively self-explanatory, the friendship habitat will feature some of the cuter creatures in the pokedex, including Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Eevee.

Aside from the rotating habitats, players will be gifted two incense and two remote raid passes. Incense attracts Pokemon to the player and lasts up to an hour rather than the usual 30 minutes. Raids, which usually require a player to go somewhere, require a pass to compete.

The remote raid passes allow for players to participate in the large multiplayer boss battles without having to leave their homes.

Finally, the chances that any gifts given by other players will include a rare candy have also been increased. A candy is a consumable that can be given to any Pokémon in the players’ party to increase their power or potentially evolve them.

Unlike in previous years, Niantic was not able to hold the annual Pokemon GO Fest at specific locations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rather than canceling it, however, the company made the event available to all “Pokemon GO” players worldwide. Unfortunately, this caused some complications.

Although the event turned into a huge success, many players had connectivity issues, particularly when trying to join a raid, notes Digital Trends. Several changes to “Pokemon GO” were made to adjust for the roaming nature inherent in the game that obviously could not be accommodated due to COVID-19.

Still, spending on the platform has increased during the period of stay-at-home orders.