"It's on Easter Sunday": Pokemon GO players unhappy with upcoming Regieleki Elite Raid event

While the majority of players are looking forward to the next wave of Elite Raid Battles in Pokemon GO, some have begun to criticize the multi-million dollar company's choice on the date when these special occasions will take place. As such, many players are jumping to the conclusion that this is just another anti-consumer choice that has been made by Niantic.

Following a recent wave of criticism that the company has been facing ever since Elite Raids were added to the game, Niantic has just revealed the next batch that will feature the Legendary Pokemon from the Galar region, Regieleki. What should have been a celebratory occurrence was quickly shot down following the release of a newsletter that contained the details of these upcoming raids.

As it'll be taking place on a popular family holiday in North America, a very large portion of the Pokemon GO community is understandably upset. On the Reddit platform, frustrated players have been rather vocal about their distaste with this recent turn of events. So, what are these trainers saying to express their concerns?

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Reddit community reacts to Pokemon GO's Easter Elite Raid

A screenshot of the recent Reddit thread for Pokemon GO (Image via Reddit)

Surfacing on the official Pokemon GO subreddit, user u/DramaLlama695 publicly posted their frustration with Niantic's revealed Elite Raid schedule. This was primarily due to the fact that the upcoming raids are taking place during the Easter holiday. Since the holiday is typically spent in church services and with family, it's unlikely that players will be able to drop what they're doing during the holiday to challenge these Raid Battles.

While this initially seems to be a huge oversight by Niantic, it makes sense when looking at the rest of the global population. Easter is a western religious holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since religions that worship the Christian faith only make up a small percentage of the global population, this development seems to be more of an unfortunate coincidence rather than a deliberate move from Niantic.

A screenshot from the displayed Reddit thread

Considering that Pokemon GO's core audience isn't located in North America, it's entirely possible that the majority of the playerbase doesn't even celebrate the Easter holiday. It seems rather unfortunate that several trainers who celebrate the yearly holiday will be unable to partake in this once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it makes sense from a business standpoint that Niantic wouldn't cater to a particular minority of their players.

While players who cannot participate in Pokemon GO's next wave of Elite Raids because of the holiday schedule are rather annoyed at this outcome, this shouldn't distract the community from the fact that trainers in rural areas may never have the chance to participate in Elite Raids. Players have pointed out the flaws in this variety of Raid Battles ever since their debut with Unbound Hoopa.

A recent screenshot from the Pokemon GO thread

In addition to the unfortunate holiday schedule, these waves of once-in-a-lifetime raids are happening fairly early on in the day and mandatorily require trainers who wish to attend to be present, which means that they cannot be accomplished remotely. With the Elite Raids scheduled for 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, and 5:00 pm local time, numerous trainers will be unable to participate due to real-life factors such as having to work or take care of their children.

Overall, the unfortunate timing of Pokemon GO's upcoming wave of Raid Battles seems to stem from a fundamental flaw with the game's Elite Raids system. With this being the third wave of Elite Raids to hit live servers, it's unclear if Niantic will respond to the changes that their playerbase is demanding.