February is always a packed month for the Pokémon franchise and Pokémon Go won’t change that. Niantic has confirmed at least five events for the month, including the Lunar New Year event and Pokémon Go Tour: Johto.
Go Tour: Johto is the premier event of the month, with players who purchase the event ticket getting to choose between following curated paths based on Pokémon Gold or Silver. Each path will feature version-exclusive Pokémon, while Special Research will net players an encounter with Celebi.
Throughout the entire month, Niantic is adding a Season of Heritage bonus as the story comes to an end. This means players will receive increased Candy XL and double experience from hatching Eggs.
A handful of new Shiny Pokémon are also being added to the game, with Niantic confirming Espurr and Deoxys will be available in their altered colors for the first time. Espurr is featured as the February Research Breakthrough, so you’ll likely be encountering it frequently.
Deoxys will be returning to five-star raids in a new rotation that will let players encounter all of its forms, starting with Normal Forme from Feb. 16 to 19. Here’s the full schedule for those rotations.
- Normal Forme from Feb. 16 to 19
- Attack Forme from Feb. 19 to 22
- Defense Forme from Feb. 22 to 25
- Speed Forme from Feb. 25 to March 10
Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, Ho-Oh will also be returning to five-star raids but exclusively as part of Go Tour: Johto on Feb. 26.
There’s even a small feature update being released in February that will introduce some visual-only changes to Gyms and PokéStops, making them appear slightly different to trainers who view them from within 40 meters, 80 meters, or are out of range.
As for the other events happening in February, the Lunar New Year celebration will run from Feb. 1 to 7, while the Valentine’s Day event will go from Feb. 10 to 14. February Community Day Hoppip was already confirmed for Feb. 12 and the Go Tour: Johto Leadup Event is scheduled for Feb. 19 to 25. More details about those events will be shared in the coming weeks.
