Pokemon Go Players Caught Over 500 Million Magikarp In Latest Event

In the latest Pokémon Go global event, it seems players really did try to catch them all. Fans captured more than half a billion Magikarp in one week.

The Pokémon Go Water Festival event, which kicked off on March 22 and ended March 29, made it much easier for gamers to locate and catch water-type monsters like the tiny blue crocodile Totodile, the classic starter Squirtle, and the wide-eyed Magikarp. Upon the event's completion, players proved their interest in Magikarp, the Pokémon that's been described as the least desirable and saddest of the bunch. Those who participated in the Pokémon Go Water Festival captured more than 589 million Magikarp. The official Pokémon Go Twitter account broke the news on March 31, and congratulated players for their valiant efforts.

Gamers may have had a special motivation to snatch up as many Magikarp as they could during the Water Festival. In addition to seeing more of the aforementioned aquatic creatures over the event's week-long run, Pokémon Go players stumbled upon the shiny version of the "lovable loser" out in the wild. Magikarp's evolution, Gyarados, was also spotted in Shiny red form.

These discoveries were both important (as Gyarados has been noted as the "first canonically recognized Shiny Pokémon") and influential to participation in the event. During the Water Festival, players also came into contact with a handful of the newly announced water-type Pokémon from the Johnto region, but we have a strong feeling the Shiny Magikarp and Gyarados were most fans' main focus.

The Pokémon Go Water Festival seems to have surprised us with new facts about the game and its pocket monsters. Though many have poked fun at Magikarp in the past, it looks like the floppy Pokémon is more viable than we once believed. And now we all know you actually can catch Shiny Pokemon in the on-the-go title. Sounds like a win-win to us.