The Effect of Day and Night Cycles on Wild Pokémon
Silph Researchers have amassed a data set of over 290,000 spawns since mid-2018 that we used to examine how day and night cycles affect the rarities of wild Pokémon. We found that a surprisingly large number of Pokémon are affected by these cycles!
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Mythbusters Part 3: Event Decay
Many Pokémon GO events have been subject to speculation about "event decay", the idea that event Pokémon spawns become less common near the end of an event. Could there be any truth to these rumors?
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A Guide to Candy XL Part 5: Evolving
Candy XL can be earned by evolving Pokémon. In case you were unaware of this Candy XL source, don't worry — we forgot too! The existence of this mechanic raises the question: is evolution a viable way for travellers to gather Candy XL, or should it be treated as no more than an occasional bonus?
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Exploring Raid Rewards
On August 27, 2020, Mega Raids were introduced, and with them a major overhaul of the Raid Battle system as a whole. Gone are Tier 2 and Tier 4 raids, replaced by new Mega raids and speed bonuses. With all of these changes, we felt it was time to update our previous findings on raid rewards!
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Published:Sep 30, 2021
Team GO Rocket Leaders Update
Since the introduction of Rocket bosses, Silph Road Researchers have allied to battle the combined forces of Jessie, James, Boss Giovanni, and the Team GO Rocket Leader trio of Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra over 12,000 times. Thanks to those researchers’ dedication, we've been able to compile an accurate picture of the rewards travelers can earn, including items and shiny Shadow Pokémon!
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A Look Inside the Daily Free Box
When quality-of-life features were announced in 2020, travelers were excited by the promise of a daily free item box. Silph Researchers noticed that, initially, the Daily Free Box contents would change every ten minutes. Later, the contents became fixed: the items would change at midnight, but only if the previous day’s box had been claimed. Thanks to our Researchers’ careful tracking, we have been able to crack the secrets of this treasure box!
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Everything You Wanted to Know About the July 2021 Map Update
Starting in New Zealand and gradually rolling out to the rest of the world, July saw updated in-game map visuals. Based on data sourced from OpenStreetMap, this update completely changed the way many travelers see the world of Pokémon GO, with new roads, parks, buildings, and water features appearing. But what is OSM? Where does this map data come from and how old is it? What do the different map features actually mean?
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Gift Item Drop Rates: Sticker Update
The introduction of stickers to the Gift pool prompted questions about possible changes to Gift mechanics. Researchers opened 37,493 Gifts to help investigate changes to Gift item drop rates. To take things one step further, we also investigated rumors of certain items being boosted or nerfed during particular time periods!
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Raid Bosses Are Easier to Catch Later in the Encounter
A group of dedicated researchers has been hard at work studying the mechanics of catching raid bosses. They've unearthed a surprising discovery during their research: raid bosses become easier to catch over the course of an encounter!
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Published:Jun 29, 2021
Updated Species from Special Lure Modules
Pokémon GO recently debuted the Rainy Lure Module. In addition to enabling the evolution of Sliggoo, the Rainy Lure attracts Water-, Bug-, and Electric-type Pokémon to PokéStops where it is placed. Silph Researchers observed over 2,000 spawns from special Lure Modules. Along the way, we splashed unexpectedly into changes to the Glacial, Mossy, and Magnetic Lure Module spawn pools!
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