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Pokemon GO's community hasn't been thrilled with Niantic's event planning lately. This sentiment was exemplified in a recent Reddit post by the player Pinwheelfeels.
In a post titled, "this is how a lot of us feel," Pinwheelfeels shared a meme deeming recent Spotlight Hour events useless because Rowlet and Litten's shiny forms aren't available to catch.
Ever since the Season of Alola, the region's starter Pocket Monsters still haven't received their shiny variants. For many Pokemon GO fans, this has dulled the usefulness and appeal of March's Spotlight Hour events, as three of the four Spotlight Hours featured Alolan starters Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio.
The post was later removed from the Pokemon GO subreddit. However, plenty of trainers managed to have their voices heard before the meme was de-listed from the subreddit's main page.
Pokemon GO players discuss the absence of shinies in March's Spotlight Hours
Since shiny variants of the Alolan starter Pokemon are still unavailable, many Pokemon GO players on Pinwheelfeels' post remarked that they didn't have much drive to capture the likes of Rowlet and Litten.
While Popplio's Spotlight Hour won't begin until March 28, 2023, plenty of fans stated that they weren't excited about the event and may only play until they catch a starter with maximum IV stats, as they tried to do for Litten and Popplio.
Players also said that given the lower catch rate of starter Pokemon, the Spotlight Hours have proved underwhelming. Many fans are not catching many Litten or Rowlet that will be worth much of anything besides a Pokedex entry.
Some Pokefans weren't quite as harsh on the recent Spotlight Hours, pointing out that the bonuses to candy, Stardust, and experience points were at least worthwhile. However, for players who already have these resources in abundance, it's understandable that frustration would build, with the inability to capture a few shinies during the slim time window that Spotlight Hours operates in.
One player by the name of B0hemianGr0ve_Studi0 pointed out in the post that players shouldn't have gotten their hopes up on catching shinies during the Spotlight Hour at all. Since the three Alolan starters don't have their shiny variants coded into the game, it only makes sense that they won't receive them during March's Spotlight Hours. Moreover, debuting shinies tend to be reserved for larger events like Community Days.
B0hemianGr0ve_Studi0 also made it clear that Niantic had informed players ahead of the Spotlight Hours that the three Alolan starters wouldn't have shinies available to catch, so expecting otherwise didn't make sense.
A few players also broached the subject of the lowered catch rate of certain Pokemon during Spotlight Hours. Starters don't have the best chances of being caught, leading to many of them escaping encounters.
Some fans stated that Niantic should at least boost the catch rate of Spotlight Hour Pocket Monsters if the shinies aren't available. This way, players can at least catch a large number of starter Pokemon to train and evolve.
Instead, many fans remarked that they spent the entire Spotlight Hour watching Rowlet/Litten escape and only managed to catch a few creatures of middling quality.
Granted, Spotlight Hours are meant to be mini-events sprinkled throughout the month. However, given the short one-hour timeframe for spotlights, trainers can end up spending most of the event failing to catch the featured Pokemon. Throw in factors like bad weather, and it's understandable why players are less than satisfied with Niantic's handling of Spotlight Hours.
Unfortunately, Niantic doesn't seem particularly receptive to the criticism it has been receiving on multiple social media outlets.
After controversies surrounding the phasing out of remote raiding and remote raid passes, as well as "paywalling" certain Pokemon such as Keldeo a few months back, the Pokemon GO developers seem to be inundated with dissatisfaction. However, it's important to point out that dissatisfied fans don't necessarily represent the full body of the fanbase.
It's unclear as to whether Niantic might change its plans for Spotlight Hours in future months, or if it will finally introduce shiny Alolan starters to Pokemon GO. However, doing so would certainly alleviate the concerns that many fans have with these small-scale events.
Although Niantic may very well still be making good profits from the Pokemon GO community, continued criticism and controversy aren't exactly great for business. Listening to player concerns will go a long way when it comes to improving the experience.
At the same time, though, Niantic can't be expected to make every player happy, which may be why they've continued on their current path when it comes to event planning.
