Niantic’s Generation II Releasing Event: New Pokémon in Charlottesville

MaKayla Grapperhaus, staff writer

Last summer, Pokémon took over Charlottesville, along with the rest of the world, but just as the craze with Pokémon Go began to die down, Generation II has rolled into town. With over 80 new wild Pokémon on the loose, it is no surprise both fans and casual gamers have returned to the app in hopes of catching them all. 

The releasing event for Generation II followed the Valentine’s Day event, in which pink Pokémon spawned more frequently. As the event came to an end Feb. 14, Niantic announced that Pokémon from Generation II would be released sometime over the coming weekend; however, by Thursday night, Pokémon Go’s newest creatures were already out in the wild and ready to be caught.

Since the initial release of Pokémon Go, Charlottesville has provided enthusiastic gamers a place to relive their childhood. Places such as the University of Virginia and the Downtown Mall have been the ideal spots for gamers as both locations provide a large selection of Pokémon along with all the pokéstops a trainer could ever need.

Several Pokémon gyms are also found throughout UVA’s campus and while the battles between the three different teams (Instinct, Mystic, Valor) had begun to cool off, the release of Generation II gives gamers a good reason to return to battle. Patrick, from team Mystic, is a first year student at UVA.  He says he took a break from Pokémon Go, but with the releasing event, he has returned to see what’s new. He said: “I’ve had most of the best [Pokémon] for a while now, but now I can catch even better ones.”

Here at PVCC, new Pokémon can be caught and tested out in battle in the gym located at Keats Science Building. Liam, from team Instinct, is a student here at PVCC. He says that the first Snorlax he ever caught was near the Dickinson Building. Although that was last summer, he now has his eyes set on the best Pokémon from Generation II.

At level 35, Liam is no casual gamer. Just recently completing his pokédex for Generation I (excluding region locked Pokémon,) the timing for the release of Generation II could not have been better for Liam. In addition to knowing where all the top gyms are, Liam claims to also know all the best spots in Charlottesville to catch Pokémon.

However, Liam admits it is not all about being the best at the game. He said, “Pokémon Go is just a really great game. It’s good exercise and I’ve met a lot of cool people in the community who also play. I would love to catch them all, but like any game, it’s just all about having a good time.”