It’s no Met Gala but “Pokemon Go” will be holding its own fashion-centric event from 10 a.m. Sept. 21 to 8 p.m. Sept. 28. The Fashion Week celebration will feature seven pocket monsters in costumes and the debut of Furfrou, the Poodle Pokemon.

That’s a fitting creature for the event. The Kalos region is based on France and the European nation’s biggest city is one of the fashion capitals of the world. What’s notable is that the addition of Furfrou introduces the new form-change mechanic in “Pokemon Go.” It costs 10,000 Stardust and 25 Furfrou candies, and lets players change the appearance of the doglike Pokemon.

Think of it as an outfit change from the base natural trim. Some options such as the Matron and Dandy trims are available globally, but the cooler-looking ones such as Kabuki and Pharaoh trims are only available when players are in Japan and France respectively. It’s a way for Niantic to add a regional touch to a Pokemon that’s available around the world.

COLLECTOR’S PARADISE
Most of the creatures featured in Fashion Week won’t necessarily be great in raids or even as good pieces for Go Battle League teams. They may not have the most substance but they do have the style. The seven costumed Pokemon exist for collectors. Pokemon with outfits are sought-after because they appear for a limited time. Sometimes these variants such as Strawhat Pikachu or Pikachu visor Kanto starters don’t return at all. They’re one shots.

While getting a normal costumed Pokemon is good for the collection, the real prizes will be shiny costumed Pokemon. These are some of the rarest prizes in the game. Players will be able to get costumed Butterfree, Sneasel and Blitzle for the first time. Previous, costumed pocket monsters such as Smoochum, Kirlia, Shinx and Croagunk will also return.

Catching them will be another matter. Costumed Kirlia, Blitzle, Croagunk and Butterfree will appear in the wild. Costumed Sneasel and Shinx will be in one-star raids while Butterfree and Kirlia will be targets in three-star raids. As for costumed Smoochum, it will appear in 7km eggs along with Alolan Meowth, Glarian Meowth and costumed Shinx.

Interestingly enough, Fashion Week also serves as the debut for shiny Blitzle. It will appear without the costume after the event. This is notable because normally customed Pokemon cannot be evolved. After the celebration, the variant of the Electrified Pokemon won’t be as widely available.

TIME TO GET MELOETTA
For those who didn’t participate in Pokemon Go Fest 2021, Fashion Week offers a chance to catch Meloetta via Special Research quest. If players have already caught the Melody Pokemon, the tasks offer a chance to get more Meloetta candy. In addition, the next part of the Season of Mischief Special Research story arrives and Niantic included an interesting tidbit about Pokemon who can change their appearances. If creatures other than Furfrou can alter their outfits or forms, that would be notable indeed. Does this have a connection other Pokemon?

On the battle front, players will encounter Fashionable Trainer NPCs. Challenging them will earn rewards. It’ll be a welcome change from the Team Go Rocket battles of the past few years. The only other time that has happened is during Pokemon Go Fest 2020, when real-life players and their hand-picked teams acted as challengers.

Lastly, Fashion Week comes with freebies and sales on avatar items. Players will be able to earn a free Furfrou Wig avatar item if they complete a Timed Research quest line. If they don’t complete the task before the event ends, they can uby it later. The event-themed tasks will also offer players a chance at costumed Pokemon.

On top of that, new items such as Hoopa Bangles will be available in the shop along with discounts to other items. If you spend money on making your avatar stand out, this is the event for you.