Pokémon GO January Special Events Announced

If you’re resolving to get some more steps in 2020 than 2019, Pokémon GO has you covered with new special events. There’s Team Rocket goons to battle, new raid Pokémon, a special variant Pokémon and more coming next month.

First off, for the entire month of January, players will be able to Conduct Special Research missions against Team Rocket. You could, of course, just run around and fight Team Rocket goons for fun, but if you remember to check in with Professor  Willow first, you’ll get extra rewards. These types of research missions have become a replacement for some of the older models of Pokémon GO quests that revolved around catching Pokémon and making sending gifts to friends in the app.

Also, for the entire month but more specifically from Wednesday, January 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Saturday, February 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST, players will be able to find and catch Lapras that know the Ice Shard and Ice Beam attacks. The last time that this particular variant of the Water/Ice-type Lapras could be encountered in Pokémon GO was 2018.

In addition to the variant Lapras, Heatran will be appearing in Pokémon GO raids starting Tuesday, January 7, 2020, at 1:00 p.m.and ending Tuesday, February 4, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST. Specifically, the Fire/Steel type will show up in five-star raids.

For players who prefer to hatch their Pokémon, the Adventure Sync Hatchathon special event is returning the game. During the Hatchathon, Pokémon GO players are rewarded with extra Stardust, Rare Candies, and an Unova Stone if you walk a certain distance. Also, some Pokémon wear hats during the event.

And finally, the Pokémon GO team is teasing the next additions to the game. According to the game’s blog, the next Pokémon coming to the game will be from the Unova region. 

Remember to stretch after your walks and keep hydrated in the new year.

Stephen Krusel

Stephen Krusel, known as Sven Kroosl to some, has played video and tabletop games since 1987 and has written about the gaming industry since 2008. He has yet to be convinced that Final Fantasy Tactics is not the pinnacle of gaming.