Dusk Form Lycanroc finally joins Pokémon Go, with one big limitation

The long wait for one of Alola’s most popular Pokémon is finally coming to an end, with Niantic introducing Dusk Form Lycanroc to Pokémon Go in the new Lustrous Odyssey event—though there is one big twist players might not like.

From Jan. 6 to 10 at 8pm local time, Lustrous Odyssey continues the Timeless Travels season’s trend of using Legendary-adjacent terms without a clear connection to the Pokémon. In this case, the only element of the event tied to Palkia and the Lustrous Orb (if that is what Niantic is invoking) is the increased appearance of certain Hisuian species like Hisuian Growlithe and Sneasel.

The main draw for this specific event, however, is the long-awaited introduction of the special Dusk Form Lycanroc, which was previously unavailable. Unfortunately, the method to evolve a Rockruff into its third form is not looking to be as consistent as Midday or Midnight Lycanroc.

Based on the wording in Niantic’s official blog post about the new Pokémon, only certain Rockruff will be available to evolve into a Dusk Form Lycanroc. This matches up with the main series method, where only Rockruff with the Own Temp Ability will evolve into the special form when the sun is setting in the player’s system time. The exact wording for Pokémon Go is “Starting with this event, some Rockruff that Trainers hatch or encounter will be able to evolve into Dusk Form Lycanroc instead of Midday Form or Midnight Form Lycanroc.”

Rockruff will appear in one-star raids and 2km, 7km, and Adventure Sync Eggs during the event. Any Rockruff you catch or encounter through these methods will have a certain chance at evolving into a Dusk Form Lycanroc—though it is not a guarantee.

As of now, it looks like evolving a Rockruff into a Dusk Form Lycanroc is going to be based on if you get lucky and encounter one capable of reaching that special stage. It should still only require 50 Rockruff Candy. However, it is currently not confirmed if you will need to hit the evolve button during an in-game sunset in a similar fashion to how you evolve Ursaring into Ursaluna in Pokémon Go.