Pokémon Go announces January Events!

Pokemon Go banner
Pokemon Go banner (Image credit: Niantic)

What you need to know

  • The Egg Hatchathon Event will be returning January 2-16.
  • New Team GO Rocket Special Research will be coming in January.
  • Heatran will return to Raids and Lapras with the moves Ice Shard and Ice Beam will come to Research Breakthrough Rewards.
  • More Unova Region Pokémon will make their debut.

Today, Niantic announced January 2020's Pokémon Go Events and it's going to be a busy month for all you Pokémon Trainers! In addition to January 2020's Community Day, Trainers will be able to look forward to the return of the Egg Hatchathon Event. For two whole weeks, players will be rewarded with extra Stardust, Rare Candies, and even an Unova Stone for walking certain distances with Adventure Sync. Pokémon wearing party hats with also be hatching from Eggs and spawning in the wild. The Hatchathon will run from January 2 til January 16, 1 PM PST.

Team GO Rocket will continue making trouble (double trouble even!) with new Special Research. This Special Research will allow Trainers to track down the elusive Giovanni once again. This time, he will have a Shadow Moltres for players to rescue and purify. For players who have yet to complete December or November's Special Research, you can still challenge Giovanni for a chance at a Shadow Moltres and move on to the new Special Research next month.

From January 7 until February 4, 1 PM PST, players can challenge Heatran in Legendary Raids. The Legendary Lava Dome Pokémon will even have the potential to show up shiny, so don't miss out on your chance at this one! For each Wednesday that Heatran has taken over Legendary Raid Battles, it will take over virtually every gym for Legendary Raid Hours as well. A new Research Reward Breakthrough will be added as well in the form of Lapras that knows Ice Shard and Ice Beam!

Most exciting of all, however, more Unova Pokémon will be making their debut in Pokémon Go! While we do not yet know which Unova Pokémon will premier next, there aren't too many who haven't made their way into the game, so if your favorite has yet to be released, there's a good chance it will be coming soon!

That's all the news for now but be sure to check back often. As soon as the next update drops, we'll have every detail for you, and be sure to check out our many Pokémon Go guides to up your game!

Casian Holly

Casian Holly has been writing about gaming at iMore since 2019, but their real passion is Pokémon. From the games to the anime, cards and toys, they eat, sleep, and breathe all things Pokémon. You can check out their many Pokémon Go and Pokémon Sword and Shield guides and coverage here on iMore.