‘Pokémon Go’ Fest Rewards: Free Lugia and PokéCoins finally start rolling out for event attendees

In spite of Niantic’s best efforts, they were forced to take a loss on July 22’s Pokémon Go Fest in Chicago. As part of a mea culpa for the way the event went down, Niantic promised not only to refund attendees’ money but also to give them a complimentary Gen 2 Lugia and about $100 worth of in-game currency, or 14,500 PokéCoins.

Niantic has already begun rolling these rewards out, and we’ve got more information on them below.

Pokémon Go Fest: You won’t be able to check your Lugia’s stats until you power it up

On the Silph Road thread talking about the rollout of the rewards, players noticed something odd about their complimentary Lugias — specifically when players tried to check their IVs.

“Mine came in as CP 2019 with 15 Attack, 15 Defense and an HP of 133,” wrote thephlyingmonkey. “All the IV checkers are stating that it is an impossible combination.” Players quickly figured out that you need to power your Lugia up at least once using the 15 candies provided before you’re able to assess its IVs. The results left players pleasantly surprised. Multiple players reported their Lugias as having 98% perfect stats.

“Seems like gifted Lugias all have above 93% IVs,” wrote asura152. One player questioned why Niantic didn’t just give everyone a perfect IV Lugia for attending the event, but given how difficult legendary raids are, we’re not going to look a gift Pokémon in the mouth.

Pokémon Go Fest: The complimentary PokéCoins could drastically increase your quality of life in-game

The real prize for Fest attendees is the $100 worth of PokéCoins that are set to land in your account. If you’ve received your Lugia but not your 14,500 PokéCoins, restart your app and they should be deposited.

To get a comparable amount just from gym battling under the new system, you’d need to earn the max amount of PokéCoins (50) per day for 290 days. So “windfall” only scratches the surface of what you’re able to do with it.

If you live in an area with a lot of PokéStops, it would be prudent to spend some of those coins on increasing your backpack’s storage. For 1,000 coins you can get an extra 250 units of space, perfect for making sure you’re not throwing regular PokéBalls in the trash to make room for better items.

The Ultra Box might not be a bad idea either — it comes with premium raid passes, Pinap Berries, incense and lure modules. Whether you’re planning on doing heavy raiding or want to catch as many Pokémon as possible to justify your expanded Pokémon storage, it’s got a little something for everyone.

Or you could just blow it all on incubators and Lucky Eggs for maximum hatchery. The choice is yours.

More Pokémon Go news, updates, tips and tricks

Raids are here — and not just for ordinary Pokémon. Check out our coverage of the legendaries now in-game, Lugia and Articuno. If that’s not enough, check out our tips for making the most of raids and what counters you should focus on finding, as well as what to do with the Golden Razz Berries and TMs you find after completing them. Find out what went wrong at the Pokémon Go Fest in Chicago while you wait for the debut of theEuropean Safari Zones in August and September. Finally, check out some reporting on the issues plaguing rural players a year after launch, how the game created a spacefor black female gamers and how Pokémon Go can continue to build its community.