Niantic has unveiled their planned events for Pokemon GO in March.

The month’s events include new special research related to Shadow Entei, the appearance of Thundurus in 5-Star Raids, Stardust events, and more. Notably, the events may vary in certain countries like Japan, South Korea, and Italy, likely due to Coronavirus concerns.

You can read the full update below:

Trainers,

Get ready for a changeup of Research Breakthrough encounters, Legendary Shadow Pokémon, and Legendary Pokémon in raids coming this March! This month is chock-full of events and Pokémon both returning and debuting as well as a ton of Stardust bonuses.

1. Save Shadow Entei from Giovanni
2. March Research Breakthrough encounter: Ferroseed with bonus Stardust
3. Thundurus bolts into five-star raids
4. A month of Legendary Special Raid Weekends
5. A mysterious weekend event is coming…
6. A Team GO Rocket global take-over is imminent!
7. The Psychic Spectacular returns with new faces
8. Pokémon Spotlight Hour and Mystery Bonus Hour

Note: In-game events for March may vary in the following areas until further notice. Players in these areas can stay tuned to our channels for updates.

• Japan
• South Korea
• Italy

Save Shadow Entei from Giovanni

If you’ve completed your most recent set of Team GO Rocket Special Research, then you’ll have access to March’s Team GO Rocket Special Research, The Shadowy Threat Grows. This time, you’ll be tasked to defeat Team GO Rocket, its leaders, and Giovanni once more for a chance to rescue the Legendary Shadow Pokémon Entei! Be sure to finish this Special Research by the end of March.

Team GO Rocket never rests, Trainers, and neither can we! Be on the lookout for new Team GO Rocket Special Research from Professor Willow every month. For more information, please see our help center article.

March Research Breakthrough encounter: Ferroseed with bonus Stardust

It’s time to plant the seeds of success this spring! From Sunday, March 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8) to Wednesday, April 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), the Thorn Seed Pokémon, Ferroseed, will be available as a Research Breakthrough encounter, and it’ll come with bonus Stardust! Ferroseed’s evolved form, Ferrothorn, can be a powerful contender in Trainer Battles, including those in the GO Battle League!

Thundurus bolts into five-star raids

Starting Monday, March 2, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −7), Thundurus, the Bolt Strike Pokémon, will be in five-star raids! This Pokémon, originally discovered in the Unova region, will be making its Pokémon GO debut. It’s said that Thundurus flies around the Unova region firing off lightning bolts from the spikes on its tail, so watch out for this Electric- and Flying-type Legendary Pokémon!

Get ready to take it on with Pokémon that know Ice- and Rock-type attacks!

A month of Legendary Special Raid Weekends!

Every weekend this month will feature a different Legendary Pokémon in five-star raids! For the entire month of March, you’ll receive an attack boost when you raid with friends.

• Darkrai Special Raid Weekend will happen from Friday, March 6, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, March 9, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Darkrai!
• Altered Forme Giratina Special Raid Weekend will happen from Friday, March 13, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, March 16, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Altered Forme Giratina!
• Cobalion Special Raid Weekend will happen from Friday, March 20, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, March 23, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time. These Cobalion will know the event-exclusive attack Sacred Sword. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Cobalion!
• Lugia Special Raid Weekend will happen from Friday, March 27, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, March 30, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time. These Lugia will know the event-exclusive attack Aeroblast. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Lugia!

A mysterious weekend event is coming…

From Friday, March 20, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, March 23, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time, you can look forward to the following features, Stardust bonuses, and more.

Features

• Normal-, Fire-, Water-, Electric-, and Ice-type Pokémon will be appearing more often in the wild. * Nincada will also be available! It will be appearing in the wild and hatching more often from 5 km Eggs. If you’re lucky, you might encounter or hatch a Shiny one!
• Karrablast and Shelmet will be hatching more often from 5 km Eggs.
• One-star to four-star Raid Battles throughout the weekend will feature various Bug- or Steel-type Pokémon.

Bonuses

• 2× Catch Stardust
• 2× Hatch Stardust

This weekend event will also be accompanied by a brand-new Special Research story event! More details to come.

A Team GO Rocket global take-over is imminent!

Odd things are afoot, Trainers. The professor and team leaders have been following Team GO Rocket’s movements and noticed that they’re planning something big. We don’t know all Team GO Rocket’s plans yet, but we do have the following details to share.

• From Friday, March 6, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, March 9, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time
• Poison- and Dark-type Pokémon will be appearing more often in the wild, as well as other Pokémon that are related to Team GO Rocket.
• We have reports that Absol is one of the Pokémon that will be appearing in the wild!
• Regardless of how you come across it, any Skorupi you find could be Shiny—if you’re lucky!
• On Saturday, March 7, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time
  • We have word that another Team GO Rocket global take-over will happen! Team GO Rocket Grunts will be making a push to seize even more PokéStops. Sierra, Cliff, Arlo, and even Giovanni himself will also be more active, so you might run into them more easily if you keep your Rocket Radar or Super Rocket Radar equipped.
• We’ve noticed that Shadow Pokémon rescued from the Team GO Rocket Leaders have had a chance of being Shiny. While the Team GO Rocket Leaders have switched up their teams since they first appeared, during this take-over, you’ll be able to rescue all six of the Shadow Pokémon that Trainers have seen left behind by the Team GO Rocket Leaders.
• During the take-over, you’ll be able to use a Charged TM to change a Shadow Pokémon’s exclusive attack, Frustration, to other Charged Attacks that that Pokémon can learn normally. Please note that if you purify the Shadow Pokémon afterward, it will still learn Return, replacing the attack learned via the Charged TM.
• Defeating Team GO Rocket Grunts and Leaders will earn you twice the usual Stardust.
• Turn on your in-game music—the Team GO Rocket music will be playing!

The Psychic Spectacular returns with new faces

We’ve used Future Sight, and one thing is for certain—the Psychic Spectacular is coming back! From Friday, March 27, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, March 30, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time, you can look forward to the following.

Features

• More Psychic-type Pokémon first discovered in Unova will make their Pokémon GO debut! During the daytime, you’ll be able to encounter Solosis, the Cell Pokémon, in the wild, and during the evening, you’ll instead encounter Gothita, the Fixation Pokémon! Solosis and Gothita will be available after the event in the wild and in 5 km Eggs.
• The following Psychic-type Pokémon will be hatching more often from 2 km Eggs: Abra, Drowzee, Ralts, Spoink, Baltoy, Wynaut, Beldum, Gothita, and Solosis.
• If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Baltoy!
• Psychic-type Pokémon will be featured in raids, and you’ll see them more often in the wild.
• Enjoy Psychic Spectacular Field Research throughout the event period.

Updates to Pokémon Spotlight Hour and Mystery Bonus Hour

Thank you, Trainers, for all your feedback on these experimental events! For the month of March, we are happy to report that we’ll continue testing these new ideas, but we wanted to provide some information in advance so you can prepare for these hour-long minievents that are meant to complement your gameplay.

• Pokémon Spotlight Hour—You can expect a surprising amount of Pokémon appearing in the wild for one hour at 6:00 p.m. local time every Tuesday for the month of March.
• Mystery Bonus Hour—This hour-long minievent will return every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. local time during the month of March. You can expect bonuses for things like Candy, Stardust, or XP. Log in at 6:00 p.m. to see what the Mystery Bonus is!

Be sure to follow us on social media, opt in to receiving push notifications, and subscribe to our emails to stay updated. Let’s GO!

—The Pokémon GO team

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