The coronavirus continues to sweep the globe, with lots of countries and governments recommending people stay indoors to prevent the spread of the virus. In the world of video games, mobile developers Niantic are also doing their part to stop players from venturing out into the world and potentially catching or spreading the coronavirus.
Mobile game Pokémon GO! might usually depend on people walking around and catching Pokémon, but Niantic has seemingly changed-up the formula to allow people to play without leaving their homes.
Along with cancelling a number of community raid events, Niantic has also recently introduced an online multiplayer platform, GO! Battle League. Within Battle League, there’s now the chance to catch legendary Pokémon, Thunderus. It’s an incredibly rare opportunity, and means you can keep adding to your Pokédex without leaving your couch.
To snag your own you’ll need to win two premium online matches against other opponents.
It marks one of the very first occasions where a legendary creature can be added to your collection without having to go to a raid. For those in areas hit heavily by coronavirus, it’s a great gesture to see that people can still keep playing their favourite games. Nice job, Niantic!
It’s not clear how long Thunderus will be available for. Over on Twitter, the official GO! account writes: “This month just got more LEGENDARY! Trainers now have a chance to encounter Thundurus as a Legendary Pokémon reward encounter in the #GOBattle League until further notice.”
As for the coronavirus itself, the World Health Organisation has not yet decided whether or not the outbreak can be classed as a pandemic.
A representative from the WHO recently stated the following: “I have said it before and I’ll say it again: WHO will not hesitate to describe this as a pandemic if that’s what the evidence suggests, but we need to see this in perspective.
“Of the 88,913 cases reported globally so far, 90% are in China, mostly in one province. Of the 8,739 cases reported outside China, 81% are from four countries. Of the other 57 affected countries, 38 have reported ten cases or less. Nineteen have reported only one case and a good number of cases have already contained the virus and have not reported in the last two weeks.”
Find out more from the WHO right here.
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo