Niantic recently announced one of their most significant gaming events: "Pokemon Go" Travel and the Global Catch Challenge. This historic event in the famous augmented reality game asks players around the world to catch three billion Pokemon in the span of one week.
Niantic announced the event in a video that featured "Pokemon Go" Trainers from around the world. The trainers asked players to participate in the Global Catch Challenge to reach the lofty goal. They also promised that reaching the goal will yield events and special unlocks that will be available for all "Pokemon Go" players.
The challenge will run from Nov. 20 to Nov. 26. Players around the world will need to catch three billion Pokemon within that time frame if they want to unlock the ultimate prize for everyone: making the elusive Farfetch'd available worldwide. Players in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will also get the chance to catch Kangaskhan, a Pokemon exclusive to Australia.
Of course, with effort comes rewards, and Niantic has a lot in store for everyone. The road to three billion is long, and so the developers had prizes ready for when players reach certain milestones.
On 500 million catches, there will be double experience points (XP) gained for every "Pokemon Go" player. The creature spawn rate will also be increased. The duration of lures will be prolonged to six hours; a massive increase considering that the default duration of lures is only 30 minutes.
On one-and-a-half billion catches, players will enjoy the double amount of stardust, and Pokemon spawn rates will increase as well. This is in addition to the double XP and the six-hour lures mentioned earlier.
Reaching the three-billion goal will trigger Farfetch'd spawning worldwide for 48 hours. The 48-hour time limit also applies to Kangaskhan spawning in East Asia. Double XP, Stardust, and six-hour lures will remain in effect during this time.
