Sure, Thanksgiving is a time to cherish your friends and family... but if you're going home for the holidays, it might also be a time when you want to play "Pokemon Go," because let's be real: The nostalgia is strong at this time of year. If you've been wondering whether there's a "Pokemon Go" Thanksgiving event, though... well, I've got some complicated news for you. On the plus side, there is something special already planned and ready for this upcoming week; however, it's not strictly a Thanksgiving event, despite the fortuitous timing — likely due to the fact that this upcoming Thursday is only Thanksgiving in the United States. ("Pokemon Go" is an international phenomenon, remember? Not everyone will be celebrating a holiday this week.)
First things first: The details. According to Niantic, "Pokemon Go" users will be able to double the amount of Stardust and XP they receive when completing in-game actions between Nov. 23 and Nov. 30 — that is, the day before Thanksgiving Day through the following Wednesday.
, but actually begins the day before Thanksgiving and runs through the entire weekend. Specifically, Niantic says that the event will run from Nov. 23 at 00:00 Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) to Nov. 30 at 00:00 UTC. If you're on the East Coast, this translates to 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 22 and 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 29.
Again, though, it's worth noting that Niantic doesn't actually refer to this as a "Pokemon Go" Thanksgiving special, which separates it a little from the "Pokemon Go" Halloween special that allowed users to double their candy amounts by catching, hatching, and trading Pokemon at the end of October. That said, though, the spirit of the November event still seems to be about giving thanks. Reads the blog post about it:
It has been an incredible experience since we launched Pokémon GO a few short months ago in July. We are passionate about creating experiences that encourage exploration and promote exercise. We are humbled that hundreds of millions of you around the world have joined us on this journey. So we would like to say thank you — and what better way to say thank you than to celebrate our community.
Giving thanks and celebrating community is always good, whether is falls on Thanksgiving or not.
Although it isn't clear how many other fun holiday events we can expect to see in the future, I have a feeling user response will be pretty big, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more specials and events as the year goes on. And hey, in the meantime, this new event might help you close the year out right — whether by meeting up with fellow "Pokemon Go "players, or just playing solo to get some much needed breathing room from your family, post-turkey coma.
Happy Pokemon catching, everyone!
Images: Giphy (2)
