All The Deets About Eggstravaganza on "Pokemon Go"

Easter: a time for family, friends, self-reflection, Cadbury Creme Eggs, and of course, Pokemon.

This week, Niantic, the company behind the wildly popular augmented reality game, announced that from April 13 to April 20 they would be celebrating the arrival of spring with the “Pokemon Go” Eggstravaganza. This is the latest of Niantic’s “Pokemon Go” events, which have included a New Year’s starter hunt, a Valentine’s Day event, and last month’s extremely successful Water Festival.

“What is Eggstravanza?” you may be asking yourself. Well, it’s what I like to call my breakfast every morning, but it’s also a week-long period during which “Pokemon Go” players will be able to hatch a wider variety of rare Pokemon from 2km eggs, buy Lucky Eggs for 50 percent off, and earn double experience points (XP) for each egg you hatch, or quadruple the experience points with a Lucky Egg. This means that instead of a Rattata or a *shudder* Pidgey, hatching a 2km could give you something far more rare, like a Larvitar or a Lapras. And 5km eggs will now hatch Chikoritas, Cyndaquils, and Totodiles, which previously didn’t hatch from any eggs.

Those of you eager to take advantage of this limited time event are going to need some good shoes, and will probably end up dropping some cash.

“The simplest advice here is also the most obvious,” one Forbes writer suggests. “Spend some money on egg incubators and hatch as many as you can at once. That’s why this event works from the developer’s perspective: it’s a strong incentive for in-game purchases.”

Some players have been criticized the fact that the event is focused on hatching eggs instead of hunting for eggs, meaning that trainers are more likely to end up wandering around the same areas instead of discovering new locations in the process of pursuing of a rare catch.

If the Eggstravaganza seems underwhelming to some, it may be because Niantic is gearing up to drop a big update. In an interview with Japanese website K-tai Watch, Niantic’s Asian General Manager Yoshiji Kawashima said that a huge event is planned for summer 2017. Many believe the update will include expanded Team systems, a revamped Gym system, and require trainers to feed their Gym Pokemon with berries. Niantic is also said to be working on a wearable AR device, but that’s farther down the line.

Until then, the Eggstravaganza seems like as good a reason as any to get outside and finally enjoy the spring weather.