Pokemon Go: Articuno and New Field Research Coming in June

Alola trainers, the news just keeps coming for Pokemon Go.

This week, it was announced there would be Alola forms of Kanto Pokemon coming to Pokemon Go.

Today, trainers learned Larvitar would be the featured Pokemon for the June 16 Community Day.

Now trainers have the opportunity to catch the legendary bird Articuno and add it to their roster.

The Pokemon Go App Twitter account announced that Articuno would be the reward Pokemon for the Field Research events beginning June 1.

Description of Articuno on Bulbapedia.

Articuno is a large avian Pokémon with predominantly blue plumage and large wings said to be made of ice. It has a head crest that consists of three, darker blue rhombus-shaped feathers on its forehead and circular red eyes. Its beak is short and gray, and its long, thin legs are the same color. It has a long, streamer-like tail that is longer than its body and the same shade of blue as its crest.

When Articuno flaps its wings, it can chill the moisture in the air around it, making snow fall. It flies from icy mountain to icy mountain. According to legend, it appears before doomed travelers lost in icy regions. As seen in the anime, Articuno sometimes aids travelers and guides them to safety. Articuno lives in cold, isolated locations, such as mountain peaks.

It’s not really a surprise Niantic would roll out Articuno for the Field Research quests. When the game launched Field Research in April, the reward Pokemon was the legendary fire bird Moltres. This month, the game added Zapdos with electric-centric quests.

This will be welcome news to Pokemon trainers across the world. Prior to the announcement, Articuno was only available during raids for Pokemon Go. 

 

Like Moltres and Zapdos, Articuno was introduced in the first generation of Pokemon games and was found in the Seafoam Islands cave. After traversing through the cave, trainers had to battle Articuno in hopes of catching it.

Since the first generation of games, Articuno has been available in various Pokemon games, most recently in the Ultra Space Wilds in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

Pokemon Go players know Articuno as the mascot for Team Mystic.

Articuno has made appearances in the Pokemon anime. It was a main character in the second Pokemon movie. It also aided Noland in his battle against Ash in the Battle Frontier season of the television series where it battled Charizard and was defeated.

In Pokemon Origins, Red caught an Articuno in the Seafoam Islands. It appeared in Red’s battle against Mewtwo in Cerulean Cave, but it was easily defeated by the psychic Pokemon.

Catching an Articuno will provide trainers an opportunity to complete their Kanto Pokedex. It will also add another water powerhouse to their team.

With Articuno being the third legendary Pokemon for the Field Research reward, it seems like Niantic will have the second generation of legendaries as a part of the questlines – July could bring Ho-oh and August could be the month where Lugia joins the quest lines.

In the fall, Niantic could add the legendary beasts, Entei, Raikou and Suicune to the quest lineup.

There’s also the weather trio – Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza, who could added to the Field Quest research in 2019.

The Field Research has been a fun addition to Pokemon Go and it will be interesting to see where the developers take the concept and how they build upon it.