Pokemon GO players complain of missing Dragon-types in Lunar New Year event

While it is not common for players to think too heavily regarding many of Pokemon GO's events, the recent Lunar New Year event has disappointed many. This is due to the event being themed around Dragon-type Pokemon with too few monsters spawning.

The event may mark the debut of the new Dragon-type, Drampa, but with it using the subtitle of "Dragons Unleashed," many players cannot help but feel that was a massive overstatement on Niantic's part, given the rather disappointing spawn table. Here is what the community has to say on this matter.

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Reddit reacts to Pokemon GO's underwhelming Dragon-type event

"Dragons" unleashed? byu/HeatPwnz inTheSilphRoad

This issue was brought up on the Silph Road subreddit, a community dedicated to the more "hardcore" and statistical aspects of Pokemon GO. In their post, they show their nearby menu with no Dragon-type Pokemon detected, with the exception of the Pokestop Showcase for Drampa. They then express their disappointment with Niantic's misleading event name in their post title.

Comment byu/HeatPwnz from discussion inTheSilphRoad

Many issues players have are tied directly to the event's spawn table. Of all the common spawns listed on the Pokemon GO website for the event, only two of the six are Dragon-types. While Skrelp does evolve into Dragalge, a Dragon-type, Skrelp itself is a Poison/Water-type.

Comment byu/HeatPwnz from discussion inTheSilphRoad

Another user made the observation that the event did have Dragon-type Pokemon, but most were only available through Raid Battles. This can be an issue for many players as not everyone lives in a densely-populated city rich with Raid locations and fellow trainers to fight alongside. Understandably, this can be very disheartening for players in rural areas.

Comment byu/HeatPwnz from discussion inTheSilphRoad

Another user pointed out some details from the event's spawn table, which may explain why it is so underwhelming in terms of its spawns. Given the color theme of the Lunar New Year celebration being red and gold, many of the monsters that can spawn reflect this rather than the theme of the Year of the Dragon.

This would explain why a majority of the encounters many players are seeing are Magikarp, Fennekin, and Shuckle. Each of these creatures is red and yellow, meaning they appropriately fit the color aesthetic of the holiday and Pokemon GO event.

Comment byu/HeatPwnz from discussion inTheSilphRoad

With many of the Dragon-types being locked behind Raids or field research tasks that require the completion of Raids, many players have given up hope of finding their desired dragons during this Pokemon GO event. However, there is one saving grace, which comes in the form of the global challenges present during the event.

By participating in gameplay during the event, players can contribute to a global challenge goal that takes the entire playerbase into account, rewarding the community upon reaching certain milestones. These rewards include event-exclusive moves upon evolving certain creatures, more wild encounters, and more Raid Bosses.