Well this one came out of the blue, welcome back to 2018! In a bit of a shocking move, Niantic has announced the latest Community Day for Pokemon Go... and it's in January. Not long after Spheal's day. And it's Frenzy Plant Venusaur!
Yes, that's right; for the first time ever we not only get a fully mutually exclusive second Community Day in a single month, we also get a full repeat. We have a bit to unpack here, so let's break down the event first.
Bulbasaur Community Day 2022
| Start Time | End Time |
|---|---|
| 2:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. |
- Bulbasaur will spawn en-masse and with an increased Shiny rate.
- Any Ivysaur evolved during event hours will result in a Venusaur that knows the Elite Move Frenzy Plant.
- 3x Catch XP.
- Snapshots will result in Photobombs from Bulbasaur.
- A paid Special Research line titled "Bulbasaur Community Day Classic" will be available in the shop for $1.00 (or local currency equivalent) .
- A box containing 30 Ultra Balls will be available in the shop for free.
- A box that contains several premium items and a Charged Elite TM will be available in the shop.
The Return of Classic Community Days
So let's get this out of the way; not everyone in the greater Pokemon Go community is super-happy about this Community Day for one reason or another. And while we can respect those opinions, the Gamepress team does not agree with them.
While we make it no secret that this team does not agree with all of Niantic's past decisions, we honestly feel that this is a good move on their part! This does not replace the new Community Day of the month, instead working in tandem with it. And it's a fine example of something that the Gamepress team has espoused since long before I personally was fortunate enough to join; accessibility. When the December 2020 Community Day recap left the 2018 Community Day Pokemon out of the loop, many were skeptical of what this meant. Were they going to become Elite TM exclusive? The ability to obtain them via other events during the year was nice, but ultimately didn't give us any hope beyond Niantic's whims. If secondary Community Day reruns become a continued factor of the game, then we know as a fact that these moves will return at some point in the future.
Is this a perfect solution? No. The ability to use normal TMs to obtain these moves like what we saw last year was arguably the best way to go, but this at least gives us hope for the future. And, beyond that, it also gives newer players a chance to relive a small bit of what we had in 2018. While it's true that the collectiveness of the community has dwindled due to specific global circumstances, the ability to experience old Community Days is a nice addition to the Pokemon Go experience. And while it's not perfect, kudos to Niantic for giving players a second chance to reap the benefits that it has to offer.
