Niantic is hosting their second Pokémon GO Fest this weekend starting Saturday in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Tickets are already sold out, but for all those didn't snag a ticket to the event still have a chance at catching all the rare and regional exclusive (Pokémon only found in certain regions around the world, but are being brought specifically to Chicago for the event) if they hang around downtown Chicago.
Throughout the weekend, worldwide and for those in attendance at the festival, Lugia will make a reappearance in raids, as it most certainly must be in celebration of how Lugia was first released at the first 'GO Fest' last year and it was also the first time 'raiding' was introduced, a huge milestone in the gameplay for the developers. Raids are ways for players to team up and battle one significantly stronger Pokémon, and if beaten before the timer, allows for all players to have an opportunity to catch it. There is a high chance that shiny Lugias will be available, so those that don't have him can certainly hope to find one!
They have also announced on Twitter that just like last week with Articuno Day, trainers will have the ability to catch shiny Zapdos next week if they pass worldwide challenges beginning tomorrow.
Before the event has started, players in Asia have spotted new Shiny variants and Alolan forms of Pokémon that should start appearing for the Western Hemisphere tomorrow. These screenshots were taken and posted on
reddit here. The new shiny variants are for Minun and Plusle (Pictured in the bottom two squares), and the Alolan forms of Geodude (top left) and Diglett (top right) have also released.
The 'Alolan' forms are from the latest games and the 8th generation of 'mons', but are all rehashes of original 1st generation Pokémon -- It was a play on Darwin's theory of evolution, as these Pokémon developed different element types based on living on a new Island.
The Pokémon Company has looked at continuing this trend for future installments, hoping to keep fans of the originals excited to see twists of some of their favorite older generations of the little guys.
Lastly, they have announced the August Community Day Pokémon...Eevee! No word out on the exclusive move for those that capture it within the 3-hour windows for both Saturday and Sunday, August 11th and 12th. A fan favorite since the original games, is also unusually different as this pokémon has one of the largest families, featuring 7 different-typed evolutions. The official blogpost can be seen
here