Legendary Pokemon GO Release Date Events Are Here!

The event dates for Legendary Pokemon releases in Pokemon GO have been revealed – and they're right on schedule. As previously reported (in anonymous tipster form) here on SlashGear, the next two Legendary Pokemon will be released during events in Europe and Japan. That means it's going to be at least one situation in which a horde of Pikachu carry in either an electric or a fire-type legendary bird Pokemon with much celebration in tow.

On the back of Pokemon GO Fest in Chicago came the first two Legendary Pokemon. Lugia was first – as he's essentially the herald of the rest of the Legendary Bird Pokemon in the series. He was also released in celebration of the first year of full-on Pokemon action in the game Pokemon GO – one year since the app was officially released for iOS and Android.

Then there was Articuno, so chosen because of the amount of Team Mystic (Blue Team) players that contributed to the challenges presented at GO Fest. As Team Mystic generally has the most users in any given area, so too did it make a whole lot of sense that they'd contributed the most to capturing the requisite number of Pokemon during the event. After them came Team Valor, then came Team Instinct.

Users will find that the first Legendary Pokemon in the trio of Legendary Bird Pokemon will be available through the 31st of July, 2017. The next Pokemon on the Legendary List to be released will be Moltres of Team Valor, and that Pokemon's release will begin the same day as Articuno leaves – July 31st. The next switchover will be for Zapados of Team Instinct, which will occur on August 7th, and that monster will be available for one full week.

• Articuno (Team Mystic) released on Saturday, July 22 and available through Monday, July 31.• Moltres (Team Valor) to be released on Monday, July 31 and available through Monday, August 7.• Zapdos (Team Instinct) to be released on Monday, August 7 and available through Monday, August 14.

Niantic has not yet revealed how long Lugia will be available – and it's possible that by the time you read this, Lugia may already be gone. While Niantic has indicated that these Legendary Pokemon may never be available again, there's always a chance. THOUGH, considering the number of Pokemon that could be in the game and haven't yet seen the light of day – we might be in for a long wait!

Make sure your eyes have seatbelts before you head into Pokemon GO Central on Facebook, because they're about to be taken for a RIDE. That's SlashGear's community hub for the game, newly formed! Stick close to the beating heart of the action right down in the guts of Facebook.