Pokémon Go January Spotlight Events: Everything You Need to Know

Pokémon GO's January spotlight events are the first set of releases for the new year.

Niantic announced the upcoming events for January in a blog post at the end of December. The first event began Jan. 1 and will end Feb. 1. It's a fairly straightforward event that lets players catch Chansey through research breakthroughs. Meaning, completing research that leads to a catchable Pokémon will have the possibility of offering a Chansey. 

Pokemon GO January Spotlight Events: Everything You Need to Know

The Pokémon GO January spotlight events are not just limited to a Chansey though. More changes are set to release throughout the month, like the five-star raids and mega raids that will be happening on select days. The legendary Pokémon will be available only for a short time, here’s the comprehensive list:

Legendary Raids and Mega-Evolutions Raids in January

• Ho-oh: Jan. 1-5
• Genesect: Jan. 5-12
• Heatran: Jan. 12-19
• Kyogre and Groudon: Jan. 19-26
• A Surprise Pokemon: Jan. 26
• Mega Charizard Y, Mega Blastoise, and Mega Abomasnow: The entire month. From Jan. 5- Jan. 12 Mega Charizard Y will become stronger.

Additionally, Jan. 19 will bring a brand new Mega-Evolution to the game, and Mega Venusaur and Mega Houndoom will be added to raids. 

While the New Year’s Event will be ending on Jan. 4, it will be replaced immediately by the Unova Celebration event on Jan. 5. Each week will celebrate a different Pokemon region and have Pokemon from those regions appear more often.