Lots ofPokemonfans can probably remember the frenetic summer of 2016 whenPokemon GOreleased, prompting millions of fans to head outdoors, searching for their favorite superpowered creatures in the real world.Pokemon GOhas come a long way since then, receiving constant updates and expansions over time. It’s gone from a simple game about filling the Kanto Pokedex to an ambitious game featuring battles, Team Rocket, and the vast majority of Pokemon in existence.Pokemon GOis almost unrecognizable from its version at launch, but in the best possible way, thanks to everything Niantic has done to improve it.
That doesn’t meanPokemon GOis free from flaws. Just like any good game, there are still some areas where Niantic could step up and make some improvements. One of those areasinvolvesPokemon GO’s eggs. Eggs are one of many great ways that the game encourages fans to enjoy the outdoors, rewarding fans with free Pokemon after walking a certain distance. Unfortunately, the longest distance eggs in the game, 12-kilometer eggs, aren’t really worth the investment, requiring a ton of investment from players, but frankly, they don’t pay off the way that they ought to after all the effort.
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The Problems with Pokemon GO’s 12K Eggs
There are a couple of things that lie at the heart of the 12K egg issue. One of them is how hard it is to obtain them. Also referred to as ‘Strange’ eggs, they can only be obtained by defeating a Team Rocket leader other than Giovanni. That means players who want one of these eggs have to grind their way through Team Rocket grunts until they can finally challenge a Leader. Once they get there, they might find themselves struggling to obtain the egg at all, becausethe Team Rocket leader battlescan be pretty difficult. Even a whole list of advantageous type matchups often isn’t enough to overpower them due to the massive CP of the Pokemon used by these leaders. New players interested in getting 12-kilometer eggs might get discouraged by the barrier of entry and avoid looking for them altogether.
After a player manages to secure an egg, there’s still the issue of what they’ll get out of it. 12 kilometers is no small amount of distance to walk with an egg, even with the help of Incubators, which can be hard to come by without spending money inPokemon GO’s shop. Even after they hatch the egg, fans might be disappointed by what they get. Although there are definitely a couple of rare Pokemon on the list made a little easier to acquire by the eggs, not all of them are worth it. For instance, a Qwilfish won’t exactly get fans far. Others, like Skorupi, just aren’t quite as rare as all the effort involved in hatching a 12K egg would suggest. Overall,Pokemon GO’s 12-kilometer eggsseem like they have a pretty low payoff for anyone who tries to collect them. Maybe they deserve a buff.
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Options for Improving 12K Eggs
The most obvious way to improve ‘Strange’ eggs is by adding some more enticing options to the egg pool. There’s plenty of rare Pokemon worth adding to the pool. For instance,Unown are famously near-impossible to findinPokemon GO,so why not put them in the 12K egg pool to add to the pool’s reputation for focusing on rare Pokemon? Unown wouldn’t be out of place alongside Deino and Sandile. In fact, it might be best to outright replace mundane Pokemon in the egg pool, such as Skorupi and Qwilfish with rare Pokemon like Unown. Considering the level of effort required in hatching these eggs, the leastPokemon GOcould do is ensure fans get a good reward.
On a similar note, Niantic could also consider adding a very small chance to find region-locked Pokemon in 12K eggs. Region-locked Pokemon have existed since the beginning ofPokemon GO.While the idea is exciting, it can also be frustrating tothe die-hard collectors amongPokemonfans. Not everyone gets the chance to travel around the world in search of Pokemon. It’d be great to have even the slightest chance of getting rarities like Kangaskhan or Mr. Mime from these eggs, no matter where in the world players are.
Alternatively, Niantic could stick with the same pool of Pokemon, but vastly increase Candy rewards from hatching the 12K egg. The problem with certain Pokemon coming exclusively from the egg is that their Candies will be impossible to findifPokemon GOplayers can’t catch themin the wild. That means players have to either walk even more to grind for Candy, or they’ll have to spend all their precious Rare Candy in one place. Reliably huge Candy rewards would make rare Pokemon in these eggs feel much more valuable, putting players closer to achieving their rare Pokemon’s maximum potential.
Pokemon GO’s Oddest Reward
The ‘Strange’ eggs are a good idea on paper. It makes sense that players who can bestTeam Rocket’s strongest trainersshould get a special item with exclusive rewards. The problem is in the execution. The Pokemon available in the pool aren’t necessarily more impressive than the Pokemon in much more common 10K eggs, even though getting Strange eggs is such a bigger ordeal. This is especially important as parts of the world continue to quarantine due to COVID-19. Getting a 12K egg from a Team Rocket leader in a hot air balloon isn’t a great reward for fans who can’t walk around much.
Rather than getting rid of the 12K eggs altogether, Niantic should reassess them and apply some buffs, whether it’s throughthe available Pokemon, Candy payout, or some other means. As of now, they just don’t feel like very satisfying rewards compared to some of the other items players can earn. On the contrary, they demand a ton of time, energy, and resources fromPokemon GOplayers and give very little in return. Hopefully, Niantic becomes aware of this issue and makes some changes soon. An update toPokemon GO’s Strange eggs would certainly make fans a lot more compelled to take on Team Rocket.
Pokemon GOis available now on Android and iOS.
