Pokemon Go Reveals Lunar New Year Event and Gigantamax Max Battle Day

The Year of the Snake is officially upon us, and Pokemon Go will be celebrating with a new event at the end of the month. The Lunar New Year event will begin on Wednesday, January 29th at 10 a.m., and will run through Sunday, February 2nd at 8 p.m. local time. During the event, players will have an increased chance of becoming Lucky Friends, and will have an increased chance of obtaining a Lucky Pokemon in a trade. The event will focus largely on Pokemon with elongated bodies, from those with names that spell “snake” backwards, to those the Pokedex describes as “rock snakes.” The following Pokemon will be found in the wild:

• Darumaka
• Dratini
• Dunsparce
• Ekans
• Gyarados
• Onix
• Snivy

During the event, players will have an increased chance of encountering Shiny Ekans. The Shiny version of Ekans gives it a more realistic color scheme, abandoning the deep purple body for an olive green color. The normal yellow in the Pokemon’s eyes, rattle, and belly are retained, however. It’s a nice contrast to the Poison-type Pokemon’s normal coloration, and Pokemon Go players will want to keep their eyes open while they’re playing during the Lunar New Year event.

As is often the case with Pokemon Go events, Niantic will be selling Paid Timed Research for $2.00. This time around, that price will get players two Lucky Eggs and an Incubator. They’ll also get encounters with both Ekans and Nosepass. Paid Timed Research cannot be purchased by using PokeCoins. Throughout the event, players can also expect a collection challenge, PokeStop Showcases, and more.

While the Lunar New Year event is happening, Pokemon Go players can also look forward to a Gigantamax Kingler Max Battle Day. On Saturday, February 1st between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time, Gigantamax Kingler will be appearing in six-star Max Battles. During that time, all Power Spots will be hosting Gigantamax Battles, and will refresh more frequently. The collection limit on Max Particles will also be increased to 1,600, and players will receive 8x the Max Particles from Power Spots.

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This will mark the first time that Gigantamax Kingler has been made available in Pokemon Go. Gigantamax Battles have proven to be a big challenge for players since their arrival last season, so players should be well-prepared ahead of time, with either some of the Gigantamax Pokemon they’ve managed to catch, or Dynamax. A powered up Dynamax Venusaur with Max Overgrowth should help, and players tackling these battles together should plan on using some of the newly added Max Mushrooms for some extra assistance. Hopefully Gigantamax Kingler doesn’t prove to be too difficult for players to obtain!

Are you excited for the Lunar New Year event in Pokemon Go? Do you plan on looking for Shiny Ekans while those Shiny odds are increased? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!