Rare monsters incoming?

Pokémon GO will help bring the past to life in conjunction with Big Heritage, the UK heritage organisation, via a special event in the ancient English city of Chester, it has been revealed.

On the weekend of Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd of July, special activities will take place across the city, including events at Chester Castle, open to the public for the first time in 20 years. "Fun trail" activities are planned as well as "in-game and real-world surprises" for Pokémon GO fans. These events tie in with the annual Chester Heritage Festival.

Historical sites in the city will be turned into PokéStops, while Big Heritage will also be working with schools across the Cheshire and Merseyside regions to encourage youngsters to learn more about their local area via the wonders of popular monster-catching smartphone app. 

Niantic CEO and founder John Hanke said:

I am incredibly excited about this partnership linking local history and Pokémon GO.  We love the idea of using mobile games as a motivation for families to play outside together and perhaps to learn something interesting while they are at it!

Big Heritage founder Dean Paton said:

We are so excited about working with Niantic Labs, who are true innovators in their field, and as passionate as we are about getting people exploring and learning about the world around them. It’s a genuine coup for Chester to be the ‘test bed’ for some amazing new ideas, and we hope we can use the game based on the iconic and beloved Pokemon brand as a tool for helping more people get excited about the past.

If you're based in the UK and live nearby, you can register your interest by dropping by the Facebook page for the event.