2021 is just around the corner now, and Pokemon Go is kicking off the new year in a big way. Developer Niantic has outlined a variety of events it will be hosting in the first month of 2021, including a New Year celebration, new Pokemon Spotlight Hours, and lots of Legendary Raids. You can read more about January’s biggest Pokemon Go events below.
New Year’s Event
Niantic is ringing in 2021 with a New Year’s celebration, which kicks off at 10 PM local time on December 31 and runs through January 4. Throughout the event, you’ll be able to catch a variety of festive Pokemon. Pikachu that are wearing New Year’s hats will appear in the wild, while party hat-wearing versions of Raticate, Wobbuffet, and Wurmple will be featured in one-star Raids. Slowpoke wearing 2020 glasses will also be available; evolve it into Slowbro and it’ll be wearing 2021 glasses.
Those aren’t the only special Pokemon appearing during the New Year’s event. Complete Field Research tasks and you’ll be able to encounter party hat Eevee, while Shiny Wynaut may hatch from 2 km eggs. There will also be New Year’s-themed avatar items in the game’s style shop, and the following bonuses will be active throughout the event:
- 2x hatch Candy
- 2x hatch Stardust
- 1/2 hatch distance
Legendary And Mega Raids
Niantic is bringing a handful of Legendary Pokemon back to the game throughout January 2021. The following monsters will appear in five-star Raids during their specified dates:
- January 1-5: Ho-Oh
- January 5-12: Genesect (w/Burn Drive)
- January 12-19: Heatran
- January 19-26: Groudon and Kyogre
- January 26: A “surprise Pokemon”
In addition to the Legendaries, Niantic is shaking up the Mega Raid bosses for January. Mega Charizard Y, Mega Blastoise, and Mega Abomasnow will appear in Mega Raids for the first part of the month. Then, beginning January 19, a new Mega-Evolved Pokemon will debut in Raids, and it’ll appear alongside Mega Venusaur and Mega Houndoom.
January Research Breakthrough Encounter: Chansey
As usual, Niantic will begin offering a new set of Field Research tasks and rewards starting January 1. A new Research Breakthrough encounter will also be available. Each time you achieve a Research Breakthrough in January 2021, you’ll earn a chance to catch the rare Chansey.
Pokemon Spotlight Hours
Every Tuesday evening in January, Niantic will spotlight one specific Pokemon and bonus for one hour. These spotlight events will all run from 6-7 PM local time. You can see the full schedule below:
| Date | Spotlight Pokemon | Special Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| January 5 | Lillipup | 2x catch Stardust |
| January 12 | Drifloon | 2x catch XP |
| January 19 | Shroomish | 2x catch Candy |
| January 26 | Phanpy | 2x transfer Candy |
January’s Community Day is set for January 16, and the featured Pokemon this time will be Machop. Throughout the event, Machop will appear in the wild much more frequently than normal, and you’ll have a chance to catch a Shiny Machop with a little luck.
As usual, you’ll be also be able to get an event-exclusive move during January’s Community Day. Power up Machop’s evolved form, Machoke, into Machamp up to two hours after the event ends and it will learn the Dark-type attack Payback. Finally, you’ll earn triple the usual amount of Stardust for catching Pokemon during the event, and any Incense you use will last for three hours.
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