‘Pokemon GO’ update: Gen 2 Special Evolution items are rarer than believed; Niantic reveals download figures

If latest reports are to be believed, “Pokemon GO” players are having a hard time finding the Gen 2 Special Items. Ironically, the fancy evolutions are the biggest draw of the Gen 2 update and this requires Special Items. The item drops are random and there have been reports of players catching evolution items during a seven-day PokeStop streak. There is no guarantee that players will obtain the items even after such hunting. There are many who haven’t gotten anything at all since the update launched, while some have had the items outside of streaks.

According to Kotaku Australia, Pokemon GO Hub, via a video shared on YouTube by Trainer Tips, has compiled data relating to PokeStop drops. Many have found the figures shocking. This is because, out of 23,700 recoded item drops, evolution items appeared less than one percent of the time. While these figures are simply suggestive, they give a general idea as to how rare the “Pokemon GO” Evolution Items are. The rarity was however expected to some extent. Niantic wants players to keep spinning stops.

Making the Special Evolution Items rare is also Niantic’s strategy to keep players engaged, that will in turn, add to the longevity of the game. Players can get PokeBalls though. Express feels that this could also be a signal of more bonuses coming in some time. Players are expecting a double Candy event. Those who are not aware of the “Pokemon GO” Special Items and what they do, here’s a list. They include Dragon Scale, King’s Rock, Metal Coat, Sun Stone and Upgrade.

Dragon Scale is used to turn a Seadra into a Kingdra. This requires 100 Horsea Candies. In order to evolve Poliwhirl into a Politoed, “Pokemon GO” players need the King’s Rock and 100 Poliwag candies. Fifty candies can turn Slowpoke into Slowking. Players can change Scyther into Scizor and Onix into Steelix with Metal Coat and 50 candies. The Sun Stone is mighty helpful for Grass-type fans and transforms Gloom into Bellossom with 100 Oddish candies. Upgrade helps in smoothening out edges by changing Porygon for a Porygon 2 with 50 candies.

Meanwhile, it is being widely reported that “Pokemon GO” has already crossed 650 million downloads. Niantic announced the news during the Game Developers Conference today in San Francisco. In September 2016, this figure stood at 500 million. Stay tuned on IBT AU for more updates on Pokemon games.