Pokémon Go rotates region exclusives in a cool nod to original games
As Christmas event concludes.
Pokémon Go's Christmas event concluded last night with an unexpected surprise for fans: the rotation of two creatures' in-game region exclusivity.
Upon waking this morning, players found the two recently-released Pokémon Seviper and Zangoose had suddenly switched their region availability.
The snake-like Seviper and feline mongoose Zangoose launched as part of Pokémon Go's first Gen 3 update back in early December.
Both creatures are region exclusives - available on opposite sides of the world. The exact dividing line can be seen on the map below.
Now, Seviper and Zangoose have switched sides - a nod to the creatures' feud for territory in the original Pokémon games and TV show.
The two species' are famous for their rivalry - as described in all their various Pokédex entries throughout the series.
So if you live in Europe and are bored of Seviper, you now have Zangoose to catch. And the opposite is true if you're reading this across the pond.
Electric Pokémon duo Plusle and Minun, which share the same region exclusivity, have not switched. Perhaps they will be reunited for Valentines?
The end of the Christmas event has meant the disappearance of Santa Hat-wearing Pikachu and the normalisation of boosted Gen 3 spawns. Festive penguin Delibird still seems to be available, although in drastically rarer numbers.
Next up for Pokémon Go will be the release of whale-like legendary Kyogre, alongside further Gen 3 species. We're expecting the former when current Legendary Groudon stomps off on January 15th.