Pokemon Go Lunar New Year event brings debut of Minccino and more

Niantic have announced the Pokemon Go 2020 Lunar New year event which includes the addition of new Gen 5 species among exciting bonuses.

The upcoming event had been teased in a not so subtle fashion by the official Pokemon Go Twitter account. Starting on January 17 they tweeted a smiley of the moon which has been eclipsing daily ever since. Following the smiley of the fully covered moon, it was only a matter of time until the event was confirmed.

The Lunar New Year is the start of a new year in the lunar or lunisolar calendar. While it is celebrated across the world, it’s widely celebrated by people of Chinese heritage and is therefore also known as the Chinese New Year.

There are 12 Chinese Zodiac animals used to represent years on a continual basis. 2019 was the Year of the Pig, which is why Spoink was featured heavily in last year’s event. 2020 is the Year of the Rat.

The event’s announcement was also obvious because this time last year, the 2019 Lunar New Year event took place. This started on February 4, with the Lunar New Year officially taking place on February 5.

The Lunar New Year takes place on January 25 in 2020. This is why the event starts earlier on January 24 and will run until February 3.

Influx of red Pokemon

Several red Pokemon will be appearing more in the wild. These include Charmeleon, Vulpix, Parasect, Voltorb, Jynx, Magmar, Magikarp, Flareon, Slugma, Wurmple, Corphish, Kricketot and Foongus.

• Read More: How long does it take to get to Level 40 in Pokemon Go?

There’s more though, one of the most famous red Pokemon is actually red at all. Shiny Gyarados in its famous dark red may appear in the wild. That’s not only a super rare Pokemon but in its shiny form, too!

There will also be some red Pokemon featured in 7km eggs such as Shuckle and Foongus. These eggs will also feature the debut of Darumaka, the Zen Charm Pokemon.

Minccino Limited Research

Minccino and Cinccino are making their Pokemon Go debuts! The Gen 5 species will be available as part of some limited time special research.

• Read More: Full list of released Gen 5 species in Pokemon Go

It has also been discovered that the Chinchilla Pokemon can evolve into Cinccino using an Unova Stone. Minccino can be found in other ways, too.

It will be available in 5km eggs and will continue to do so once the event finishes. If you’re really lucky you may even encounter it in its shiny form.

Bonuses

As with all Pokemon Go events there are a couple bonuses for trainers to make the most of. The bonuses for the Pokemon Go Chinese New Year special event are as follows:

• Gifts may contain Rare Candies
• There will be a higher chance of becoming Lucky Friends upon trading Pokemon
• Traded Pokemon will also have an increased chance of becoming Lucky