Updated May 9, 2017: After being extended an extra day the Pokémon Go "Worldwide Bloom" grass-type event is over and all your spawns and lures, back to normal.
Pokémon Go held its Worldwide Bloom Event from May 5 to May 9, where grass-type Pokémon like Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Sunkern, spawned at an increased rate. Also, Lures were extended a full six hours all weekend. Here's how it all played out!
New: Latest Pokémon Go Updates | Next Pokémon Go Event
Hot: Best movesets | Best Power-Ups | Find rares | Catch bonuses
Guides: Pokémon Go tips + tricks | Pokémon Go cheats
May 9, 2017: The Pokémon Go grass-type event is over
After quietly extending the Pokémon Go grass-type event an extra day, it's finally ended. Not every region seems to have benefitted from the increased spawn rate, which is a shame, but now every region should be back to normal.
At least until next time!
Pokémon Go events: What's next?
May 8, 2017: The Pokémon Go grass-type event is... still going?
Pokémon Go has seemingly extended the grass-type event an extra day. Whether it was an attempt to make up for the server problems on Friday or just a random act of kindness, grass-types are still spawning at heightened levels — at least where they're spawning at all. Likewise, Lures are still lasting the full six hours.
Either way, don't look take a gift day for granted. Just go out and enjoy!
May 6, 2017: Help, PokéStops aren't spinning and Pokémon can't be caught, what's going on?
Looks like, just after the event starters, Pokémon Go started to crack down on Pokémon snipers (location spoofer accounts that teleport to 100% IV Dragonite, Tyranitar, etc.) and accidentally locked a lot of legitimate players out of PokéStops and catches. Pokémon Go has since reverted the changes so PokéStops and catches should be working again for everyone.
Here's the longer explanation, Niantic support's comment, and more:
Pokémon Go update: Spinner bug fixed, possibly caused by crackdown on cheaters
TL;DR: What should you do now, now, now?
- Catch Venusaur, or catch and evolve Bulbasaur and Ivysaur, to complete your Gen 1 Pokédex.
- Catch Exeggcute to evolve Exeggutor with Solar Beam to take on Blissey (and Vaporeon) in Gyms.
- Catch Tangela to complete your Gen 1 Pokédex.
- Catch Maganium, or catch or evolve Chikorita and Bayleef to complete your Gen 2 Pokédex.
- Catch Sunkern (and get a Sun Stone evolution item) to evolve Sunflora to complete your Gen 2 Pokédex.
- Catch and evolve any other Pokémon you might be missing for your Pokédex, and Kanto and Johto medals.
- Stock up on Tangela to evolve Tangrowth in Gen 4.
- Catch and evolve any as many grass-types as you need to get gold in the Gardener medal and receive a 1.3x bonus towards catching all future grass types.
Also and most importantly: Get out, enjoy, take your family and friends and Have FUN!
What is this Pokémon Go grass-type event of which you speak?
Here's what Pokemon Go announced:
Professor Willow's research into Pokémon habitats around the world has uncovered some interesting findings. His initial reports indicate that we'll see an influx of Grass-type Pokémon sometime this weekend. These Pokémon will appear in the wild more frequently starting the afternoon of May 5, but only for a short period of time. We anticipate that Pokémon will return to their normal habitats on May 8, 2017 PDT.Help us contribute to Professor Willow's ongoing research by catching as many Grass-type Pokémon as possible this weekend. While you're out with friends and family, don't forget to document your findings using the Pokémon GO AR camera and share your screenshots on social media using #PokemonGO.
And Lures will last for 6 hours?
For the duration of the event!
To help you catch your favorite Grass-type Pokémon this weekend, Lure Modules will last for six hours for the entire weekend! pic.twitter.com/LHPbVmZpLVTo help you catch your favorite Grass-type Pokémon this weekend, Lure Modules will last for six hours for the entire weekend! pic.twitter.com/LHPbVmZpLV— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) May 4, 2017May 4, 2017
When does the grass-type event start and end?
Here are the official times:
- Start: Friday, May 5, 2017 (presumably at 1 p.m. PDT / 4 p.m. EDT?)
- End: Monday, May 8, 2017 (presumably at 1 p.m. PDT / 4 p.m. EDT?)
For the previous couple of events, Pokémon Go gave specific start and end times. Not so for the grass-type event. Those previous events started and ended at 1 p.m. Pacific Time, so that's the best guess for the one as well.
Do you have to be near grasslands or grass spawns to benefit from the increased rate?
Reports are mixed. Pokémon Go uses "biomes" to determine what type of Pokémon spawn in which areas.
The Valentine's event was frustrating for those outside Porygon or Chansey biomes because spawn rates barely changed.
The Water Festival, though, had increased spawns for everyone, everywhere.
The grass-type event seems somewhere in between. Most people seem to have significant grass-type spawns but a few do not. It could just be a glitch or it could be intentional. Either way, traveling to an area that has the increased spawns, if one is close by, could be the best solution for now.
How do the increased spawns work?
Typically, you get spawns or cluster spawns for common Pokémon like Pidgey, Rattata, Sentrat, Hoothoot, etc.
For the Grass Event, there's a high probability any or all of those common spawns will be replaced with a grass-type spawn instead, like Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Bellsprout, etc.
Same with rare spawns. For the duration of the event, if a Chansey, Porygon, or Snorlax would have spawned, there's a good chance it'll be replaced by a Venusaur, Meganium, or Tangela instead.
That's terrific news for people in water climates who have few to no rare grass-types.
Nearby is only showing common, non-grass types, what's up?
Nearby remains kinda broken, that's what's up.
Since grass-type spawns only replace some of the common spawns, not all of them, and Nearby only shows a small amount of spawns attached to the PokéStops in your immediate vicinity, it can look like nothing but Pidgey and Rattata, even if grass-types are everywhere in between.
The only thing you can do is get out, look around, and check for grass-types directly.
What are the grass-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go?
Pokémon Go has so far introduced the Pokémon first encountered in the Kanto and Johto regions. That means Gen 1 and Gen 2, and includes:
- Bulbasaur
- Ivysaur
- Venusaur
- Oddish
- Gloom
- Vileplume
- Paras
- Parasect
- Bellsprout
- Weepinbell
- Victreebel
- Exeggcute
- Exeggutor
- Tangela
- Chikorita
- Bayleef
- Maganium
- Bellosom*
- Hoppip
- Skiploom
- Jumpluff
- Sunkern
- Sunflora*
Note: Bellosom and Sunflora don't spawn in the wild, like other Pokémon that require an Evolution Item to evolve. So, even though both are grass-type, you won't be able to catch them, even during this event. You'll need to get Sunkern and Oddish and Gloom, and Sun Stones, so you can evolve Bellosom and Sunflora.
Um, are grass-types actually good for anything in Pokémon Go?
Absolutely. The two primary uses are as a hard counter to Vaporeon, which can get to over 3000 CP so still sits on a lot of Gyms, and as a soft counter to Blissey. That's both for taking down rival Gyms, and prestiging up your own Gyms.
Basically, anything that's "tanky", like Venusaur, is a good counter against Vaporeon and other water-types.
Anything that has decent stats and Solar Beam is a good counter against Blissey. That's especially true of Exeggutor.
For a more detailed analysis, see The Silph Road.
Sounds like a great time to get gold in the Gardener medal for grass-types, doesn't it?
It does indeed! If by some chance you haven't gotten your grass-type Gardener gold yet, you should make sure you get it by the end of the grass-type event — and the 1.3x catch bonus it will give you going forward!
How do you find Tangela?!
Tangela seems to be plentiful in some regions, like parts of Australia. Other places, extremely rare. So, if you know areas where the ultra-rare Pokémon usually spawn in your region, stake them that place out.
Better still, if you have a group of friends or even a Facebook group for your city or town, keep in touch so you can crowd-source.
Otherwise, all of this still applies:
Where to find rare Pokémon in Pokémon Go
How do I catch that Meganium?
Ultra-rare Pokémon can be notoriously hard to catch. That's because they have a low catch-rate, high level, or both. You can always catch a bunch of base-levels and evolve them (especially with Pinap Berry!) but if you really want to catch your Venusaur or Meganium, though, here's how to stack your bonuses and catch it as easily as possible:
How to catch rare Pokémon in Pokémon Go
So, you should use all the Pinap and Razz Berries, right?
BERRY EVERYTHING!
At least if you want to make sure you catch, or get even more candy to evolve and power up Venusaur, Victreebell, Exeggutor, and the other big grass types.
Will there be a Sunkern or other grass-type hat like there was a Magikarp hat?
Not so far. Sadness!
What about... Shiny Bulbasaur?
The water event brought Shiny (gold) Magikarp and (red) Gyarados are both live. No word yet on Shiny Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, or Venusaur, but fingers crossed!
Shiny Pokémon: Everything you need to know!
TL;DR: Here it is again!
- Catch Venusaur, or catch and evolve Bulbasaur and Ivysaur, to complete your Gen 1 Pokédex.
- Catch Exeggcute to evolve Exeggutor with Solar Beam to take on Blissey (and Vaporeon) in Gyms.
- Catch Tangela to complete your Gen 1 Pokédex.
- Catch Maganium, or catch or evolve Chikorita and Bayleef to complete your Gen 2 Pokédex.
- Catch Sunkern (and get a Sun Stone evolution item) to evolve Sunflora to complete your Gen 2 Pokédex.
- Catch and evolve any other Pokémon you might be missing for your Pokédex, and Kanto and Johto medals.
- Stock up on Tangela to evolve Tangrowth in Gen 4.
- Catch and evolve any as many grass-types as you need to get gold in the Gardener medal and receive a 1.3x bonus towards catching all future grass types.
Also and most importantly: Get out, enjoy, take your family and friends and Have FUN!
Any Pokémon Go grass festival questions?
If you have any questions about the Pokémon Go grass-type festival, drop them in the comments below!
