‘This ain’t an Ultra Unlock’: Pokémon Go players hate Niantic’s Go Fest hangover so far

Pokémon Go’s 2024 Ultra Unlocks have been a big disappointment in the eyes of the community, and it’s a statement we couldn’t agree with more.

Ultra Unlocks are unique events that occur after Pokémon Go Fest comes to an end and are supposed to be big inclusions of new Pokémon. In recent years, we have had things like Galar Pokémon suddenly appearing in 2021 and, more recently, last year, getting Galar starters and more.

So when this year’s Ultra Unlocks turned out to be a few standard events, trainers were rightfully a bit upset.

Since July 15, Niantic has been slowly revealing the Ultra Unlock content for the next couple of weeks, with the first event, Better Together, starting July 17 and Strength of Steel beginning July 25. Both events add either a singular Pokémon or Shiny into the game, which is a far stretch from the wealth of content we got in previous years.

With every post, the chorus of fans venting their disappointment only gets louder, with one fan summarizing what we all feel: “This ain’t no ultra unlock. This is a normal event.”

It feels like even the final Ultra Unlock, set to start in August and focusing on the long-awaited Mega Lucario, can’t save what has been a disappointing set of events from Niantic HQ.

Fans were hopeful that this year’s Ultra Unlock would match the highs of previous years. Most were hoping to finally see the long-awaited inclusion of the eighth generation of Pokémon or have some amazing pocket monsters like Aegislash appear.

It all feels a little lackluster, and it’ll take a monstrous effort from Niantic to get fans to wake up from their Go Fest hangover.