The next season of Pokemon Go, Forever Forward, begins Tuesday and runs through early September, which means we have an idea of what content will be available for trainers leading up to the game’s 10-year anniversary in July.

For starters, Go Fest is arguably the biggest event of the year, and this year’s event will feature the debut of Mega Mewtwo X and Y. To celebrate an extra-special year, Go Fest global will have an extra hour of gameplay and be free for the first time.

Usually, people have to buy a paid ticket to receive special research rewarding a mythical Pokemon, an increased chance of encountering shiny Pokemon during the event and other additional bonuses. But this year, those perks are free for all trainers who log in from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time July 11 and 12.

A lot of people have mixed feelings about this year’s Go Fest because there’s going to be about 50 different raid bosses in five-star raids, which is worrisome to many rural communities that don’t have many gyms, since those gyms might feature Pokemon like Heatran instead of the new Mega Mewtwo versions, which are then going to require a minimum of 12 trainers to defeat.

I am fortunate enough to not have that worry because I will obtain Mega Mewtwo earlier than most next weekend at Grant Park in Chicago during the in-person Go Fest experience, and I live in an area where there are several large communities to play the game with in Altoona, Johnstown and State College.

While I recognize the initial worries, we won’t know how spread out the raid boss spawns will be until the day of the event, and I suspect we’re going to get free mega energy for Mewtwo as part of either the free timed research or through the Go Pass.

We don’t know all of the details yet, and I think complaining about the unknown before it even happens is counterproductive and makes the fun of playing Pokemon Go a lot less magical. Instead of giving focus to the fear of uncertainty, I choose to be excited and hopeful about the potential opportunities that lie ahead.

Having the advantage of obtaining Mega Mewtwo early is going to be huge because we know the weekly “double-time Sunday” event is being replaced by “scenic Sunday,” in the Forever Forward season. The new event will feature more Pokemon while following routes and allow buddy Pokemon to earn candy after walking less than the normal required distance while following routes.

This is potentially huge because Pokemon that have already been mega evolved typically earn mega energy in addition to candy when you set them as your in-game buddy and explore a certain number of kilometers together.

Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo require walking 20 kilometers together in order to earn a candy, so in theory, setting Mega Mewtwo as my buddy and walking less than that amount on any given Sunday should also yield mega energy more quickly.

The more mega energy you earn for free, the less money you have to spend to obtain it from raids, so I think this will be a nice feature heading into Go Fest in July.

In addition, a new bonus is being added to the “showcase Tuesday” events, allowing trainers to enter up to five showcases at one time instead of three.

Trainers win showcases by entering their large Pokemon into community contests, and the top three trainers with the biggest-size Pokemon get cool items, such as lure modules that attract additional Pokemon to a Pokestop, for free.

Obviously, the more opportunities you have to obtain valuable items for free, the nicer it is for players who are willing to participate in these events each week. I don’t always find the time to participate in weekly events, but I am looking forward to this new season, which will also feature the debut of Mega Skarmory and Mega Raichu X and Y.

There are so many fun and exciting things to look forward to, it will be September before we know it. That’s exciting because schools will be back in session, and the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays will be upon us.

For Pokemon Go players, this truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520 and mchurella@altoonamirror.com