The "Pokemon Go" event for Valentine’s Day has already been a rousing success among the fans, but it’s what wasn't announced that seems to be the best love letter of all. The official line from Niantic was that lures would be boosted from 30 minutes up to an hour, already a darn good event, but that many pocket monsters would spawn at a higher rate, much like the ghost types at Halloween or the Starters around New Year, plus double candy and shorter buddy walking distances -- always welcome boons to players.
Pink spawns are here
The pocket monsters that have seen increases in spawn rates include pretty much anything pink: Jigglypuff, Chansey, Lickitung, Clefairy, Clefable, Exeggcute, Slowpoke, and, for some reason, Porygon (not that anybody’s complaining -- those things are ultra-rare on the best of days).
In addition, hatch rates are increased for Igglybuff, Cleffa, and Smoochum and, presumably, catch rates are also higher for those evolutions -- Wigglytuff, Jynx, and Slowbro), though this has yet to be confirmed.
There is also the change of what pocket monsters can hatch from eggs, which wasn’t even announced by Niantic, but has been confirmed. Most notably, Pinsir, Scyther, and Onix have been moved from 10k down to 5k. Also, a slew of previously 5k creatures are being bumped down to 2k eggs, to include Abra, Bellsprout, Cubone, Ekans, Exeggcute, Ghastly, Krabby, Diglett, Goldeen, Voltorb, Seel, Slowpoke, Machop, Nidoran (male and female), Oddish, and Venonat. Now, when you hatch one of these, it won’t be quite as painful -- especially if you’re still looking for that Togepi.
The real treat
So why is this so important? Two words: hatch rates. By simply removing competing monsters from the higher tiers, it increases the likelihood of better hatches, such as Snorlax or Dratini from 10k eggs. It also greatly increases the odds of getting something marginally better from a 5k egg, such as a Growlithe or semi-elusive Koffing.
The changes also hint that Generation 2 is coming soon, but that rumor has been bouncing around since before Halloween. Still, the move is yet another in the right direction for the company, who hopes to regain its crown as the king of apps, and keep its already massive fan base happy moving forward.
