'Pokémon Sun and Moon' news: Second global mission goes live

The second "Pokémon Sun and Moon" Global Event is now live, promising larger rewards for a more modest goal.

Compared to the first international contest, the latest event requires a slightly less lofty goal for players. Earlier this month, the first Pokémon Global Event tasked players to catch 100 million Pokémon starting Nov. 29 to Dec. 13. However, the final count fell very short of that goal, with only 16.5 million creatures captured in total.

According to reports, the second event requires a more realistic number of Pokémon. Players around the world must catch or defeat 1 million Pokémon, but they must all be discovered using the game's new Island Scan feature.

Island Scan is a tool that enables players to find rare Pokémon across Alola. It can be accessed after using the QR Reader at least five times. Upon scoring 100 points with the QR Reader, the feature immediately unlocks. Common Pocket monsters are worth 10 points while catching special ones gives players 20. After successfully unlocking the feature, users are allowed to use it once a day to locate unique Pokémon. To help players who are still trying to unlock Island Scan, the Pokémon Company is giving out five special QR codes which can be found here.

Nintendo Insider points out that the Alola Pokédex QR Code patterns can be viewed in the players' Pokédex whenever they catch a Pokémon. Any particular QR Code pattern found in the real world is counted as a Wonder QR Code, while Special QR Code patterns are specifically assigned to a certain Pokémon (i.e. Magearna QR Code pattern).

After amassing 100 points, players must select Island Scan and hold the R or A button to make the tool detect a special Pokémon. Users are required to go to the location and search for the creature as soon as possible. Every Pokémon that appears will depend on the island the player is exploring and which day of the week it is.