Analysis: How to get the most from the ‘Pokemon Go’ Lunar New Year event
Yearly event celebrates holiday by showing off red Pokemon and others inspired by creatures of the Chinese zodiac. Trainers also have the chance to get Lucky Friends and Lucky Pokemon.
The Lunar New Year is one of the best events on the “Pokemon Go” calendar, mostly because of the spawn variety and the bonuses handed out during the celebration. That’s no different in 2021 as Niantic marks the Year of the Ox from 10 a.m. Feb. 9 to 1 p.m. Feb. 14. The bash features red Pokemon, lucky bonuses and the debut of Mega Gyarados.
The last one comes at surprise because the Atrocious Pokemon doesn’t have correlation a subdued either. Gyarados red is the type of red that’s loud like a fire alarm going off. That red Gyarados will be a sough-after prize in the wild and it will hopefully be a prize for lucky trainers who participate in the Mega Raids, which include Gyarados as well as Mega Pidgeot and Mega Ampharos. Is Mega Gyarados worthwhile? According to data miners, its Mega-Evolved stats make it less of damage dealer compared to Mega Blastoise, but Gyardos’ bigger bulk would make it more useful in raids. It could last longer, giving other players the boost needed when they’re short a trainer or two in raids.
It’s definitely good idea to do enough to tally the 200 Mega Energy needed for the evolution. Mega Gyarados has versatility plus it looks cool. I’d create a team with Zekrom, Mega Ampharos, Raikou or Zapdos to take it on. I’d spice up those picks with Shadow Raikou, Shadow Magnezone, Shadow Electivire or Shadow Zapdos. The shadow versions of the Pokemon pack more of a punch but they’re also flimsier than their normal counterparts.
As in previous years, red Pokemon will be more prevalent in the wild. They include the following:
Krabby (shiny available)
Goldeen (shiny available)
Magmar (shiny available)
Magikarp (shiny available)
Miltank (shiny available)
Meditite (shiny available)
Gyarados (shiny available)
Tepig
It’s nice that players will have plenty chances to catch shiny variants but keep an eye out for Magikarp, Meditite and Gyardos because they’re all great in PvP if they’re evolved. Miltank, Krabby and Goldeen will be sought-after because those shiny variants are rare.
The event-exclusive Field Research will reward players with an odd mix of Pokemon that include Meowth, Alolan Meowth, Galarian Meowth, Meditite and Miltank. All of those Pokemon can be shiny save for Galarian Meowth. Speaking of which, Galarian Meowth and Miltank is the reward players should be looking for because they’re less common than the others. Plus, Galarian Meowth can be surprisingly good in PvP.
The 5km eggs have plenty of diversity because the Pokemon hatching from them are associated with the Chinese zoadiac. They include the following:
Rattata (shiny available) corresponds with the rat
Ekans (shiny available) corresponds with the snake
Mankey (shiny available) corresponds with the monkey
Ponyta (shiny available) corresponds to the horse
Mareep (shiny available) corresponds to the goat/sheep/ram
Houndour (shiny available) corresponds to the dog.
Torchic (shiny available) corresponds to the Rooster.
Bagon (shiny available) corresponds to the Dragon.
Buneary (shiny available) corresponds to the Rabbit.
Miltank (shiny available) corresponds to the Ox.
Tepig corresponds to the Pig/Boar. It’s also cooler than Spoink.
Litleo corresponds to the Tiger. A few years ago, they used Electabuzz for this, which was kind of weird.
When it comes to raids, the standouts are Latios and Latias. If players don’t have a shiny version of either, the event running from 10 a.m. Feb. 9 to 9 a.m. Feb. 20 is good time to get both. If trainers only have time for one, make it Latios because it’s more useful in raids and PvP because it has the Charged Move Dragon Claw. The only other raid I would consider is Miltank at the three-star level because of the chance of getting a shiny version.
The star of the Year of the Ox is Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokemon. It has timed questline tied to it, and the Pokemon can also be shiny. It will be important to trainers who don’t live in North America, where Tauros is a regional Pokemon.
Luck plays a central role in the Lunar New Year celebration as players have increased chance of becoming Lucky Friends during the event. On top of that, trainers will also see an increased chance of lucky Pokemon coming from trades. This could be a good time to trade bad IV Pokemon in hopes of increasing their stats. To facilitate this, Niantic is boosting the trade range to 40km from 1 p.m. Feb. 8 to 1 p.m. Feb. 15. Lastly, players will find more Poke Balls in gifts to friends. It might be smart to stock up with Pokemon Go Tour: Kanto on the horizon.