The unassuming little trash Pokemon managed to showcase everything good about Pokemon Go Spotlight Hours, and we need to see more of it in the future.
In the world of Pokemon Go, the humble Spotlight Hour is a bit like the ugly step-cousin of the glorious Community Day. Spotlight Hour is only (you guessed it) an hour, instead of several hours throughout the day, plus it normally doesn’t signify increased Shiny chances either.
Instead of the big monthly celebration that Community Day has become, Spotlight Hour is just a nice way to go for a walk for an hour, and perhaps take advantage of the occasional bonus, such as double catch Candy, double XP, or various other rewards.
Because it’s usually not as eventful, and also normally involves less-popular Pokemon picks, Spotlight Hour is easy to skip altogether. But, the most recent one showed players exactly what the event could and should offer, with possibly the best one yet.
Don’t forget to pick up your Trubbish
In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s currently Sustainability Week in Pokemon Go, a once-a-year celebration that coincides with Earth Day. This year it’s all about Pokemon that represent our relationship with the natural world, like Combee (save the bees), Drilbur (uhh, stop fracking?), and the gorgeous trash baby Trubbish.
While I might love Trubbish, it’s not a hugely popular Pokemon in the community, but that isn’t the point of Spotlight Hour, that’s what Community Day is for. Instead, Trubbish allowed Niantic and The Pokemon Company to give players a really fun task that perfectly exemplifies the season’s themes.
For one whole hour during sustainability week, players around the world were wandering the globe and picking up Trubbish. Do you realize how lovely that is? We were all picking up trash, and getting a cute Pokemon in the process.
Even Pokemon fans were happy with the event, and its impressive synergy. One fan posted on Reddit to say how great this Spotlight Hour was, saying, “It was fun, it was on message and I wish more events would be as cohesive“.
Now obviously, not every Tuesday is a special day, but we can definitely get creative with it. Spotlight Hour lands on St Patrick’s Day? Let’s get everyone catching Ekans or Seviper. Shrove Tuesday is definitely on a Tuesday, so maybe that’s how we debut Milcery and Alcremie?
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It doesn’t always have to be so on the nose, but it’s been really fun to see Niantic give Spotlight Hour a bit more thought, and the community seems to agree. Hopefully, Trubbish is just the beginning.