Pokémon GO launched its first largest Pokémon event in the northern east Tōhoku region of Japan, which was affected by a devastating earthquake and tsunami back in 2011, causing thousands of deaths and irreparable damages to buildings. In an effort to help those still in need, Pokémon GO app creator Niantic decided to support the disaster-stricken areas by attracting Pokémon trainers to catch the rare Pokémon Lapras.

Lapras' spawn rate was boosted significantly like the common Pokémon Pidgey.

The Lapras event was held from November 11th~21st, 2016 in the four prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima, and Kumamoto. Gathering 10,000 more visitors from all over the world, the event ultimately brought in a total of over 2 billion yen (20 million USD) to the economy, according to the Miyagi Prefectural Government.

Although the number of Pokémon trainers has been decreasing, the power of Pokémon Go is still strong with consistent updates like the Christmas hat version of Pikachu.

With a single move from Niantic, any place can become an amusement park.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.