Pokemon Sun and Moon Players Fail Second Global Mission
By Jasmine Henry 11 January 2017
Pokemon Sun and Moon players fail the game’s second global mission, as they are unable to catch or defeat 1 million Pokemon using the Island Scan feature.
After failing the first global mission, in which they were tasked with catching 100 million Pokemon in two weeks, many were optimistic that Pokemon Sun and Moon players would succeed with the latest challenge. The second global mission saw players use the Island Scan feature to to catch or defeat 1 million Pokemon or more, something which many saw as a substantially easier challenge. Many were confident that together with their fellow players, they would be able to win the reward of 4,034 Festival coins.
Unfortunately, it has now been revealed that Pokemon Sun and Moon players have failed this global mission too. According to Serebii, players were only able to catch or defeat 661,839 Pokemon in total, which is quite a bit short of that 1 million goal. It’s not as spectacular as the previous global mission failure (just over 16 million Pokemon were caught, out of the required 100 million), but it’s still significant. Those who took part will now only get 217 Festival Coins or 434 Festival Coins (if the player has registered their game on the Global Link).
Some may argue that this second global mission failure isn’t too much of a big deal, as Pokemon Sun and Moon players faced at least one barrier to success. As some noted when the challenge was announced, the Island Scan feature isn’t unlocked until later in the game, meaning that those who wanted to take part may have been unable to without grinding through the game first. And although Pokemon Sun and Moon has broken sales records, it’s unclear how many have actually completed the game (including unlocking Island Scan), so the number of participants may have been quite small.
On the other hand, though, some are already suggesting that the global missions should be retired, as “clearly” Pokemon Sun and Moon players aren’t interested in taking part. It’s not that players aren’t enthusiastic, as the weird Pokemon Sun and Moon fan theories and the interest in a Nintendo Switch port show, it’s just that this enthusiasm doesn’t translate well to a global mission in which fans have to work together in their thousands to achieve a goal.
At this point, it’s unclear whether developer Game Freak will take that feedback into account, dropping global missions once and for all. It seems more likely that the company will give it a few more goes, perhaps making the missions’ success criteria as simple as can be. Either way, players looking to get their hands on some sweet Festival Coins should watch this space.
Pokemon Sun and Moon is now available on Nintendo 2DS and 3DS.
