Happy New Year! It’s time to celebrate the Lunar New Year and usher in the Year of the Rabbit. Niantic is celebrating the holiday again in Pokémon GO and bringing a variety of rabbit-themed Pokémon into the wild, Raids, task rewards, and more. A selection of red Pokémon will be featured too, including Darumaka.
Get all the details for the Lunar New Year 2023 event with our guide below:
Pokémon GO’s Season of Mythical Wishes – Lunar New Year 2023
Begins: Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
Ends: Monday, January 23rd, 2023 at 8 p.m. your local time.
Pokémon featured – Buneary, Mega Lopunny, Shiny Darumaka, and more
For this year’s Lunar New Year event, there won’t be any new Pokémon debuts (added to the game for the first time, new Shiny additions, or Costume reveals). Instead, red Pokémon and rabbit-themed Pokémon will be featured. It is the year of the rabbit, after all!
Rabbit Pokémon that’ll be available during the event include Azumarill, Buneary*, Mega Lopunny*, Riolu*, Bunnelby*, and Diggersby.
One notable feature of this event is that the chance rate for encountering a Shiny Darumaka* has been increased.
Note: Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
Event Bonuses
- 2× Stardust from opening Gifts
- Increased chance to encounter Shiny Darumaka
- Increased chance to become Lucky Friends
- Increased chance for Lucky Pokémon in trades
- One additional Special Trade can be made for a maximum of two per day
- One of the following bonuses selected from the Lucky Wishes Timed Research:
- Hatch Distance Bonus: exact bonus has yet to be announced
- XP Bonus: exact bonus has yet to be announced
- Stardust Bonus: exact bonus has yet to be announced
Event Boxes
A list of event boxes will be added here once the event is live.
Wild Encounters
- The following Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild: Ponyta*, Magmar*, Magikarp*, Slugma*, Numel*, Combee*, Buneary*, Fennekin*, and Bunnelby*.
- If you’re lucky, you might encounter the following Pokémon: Flareon and Darumaka*.
Note: Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
Eggs
The following Pokémon will be hatching from Eggs that are obtained during the event:
- 7 km Eggs
- 1-Egg Rarity: Chingling, Riolu*, Darumaka*, Galarian Darumaka*, and Scraggy.
Note: Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might hatch a Shiny one!”
Raids
The following Pokémon will be appearing in Raids:
- One-Star Raids: Hisuian Voltorb, Shinx*, Darumaka*, and Galarian Darumaka*.
- Three-Star Raids: Flareon, Shuckle*, Blaziken*, Druddigon*, and Diggersby.
- Five-Star Raids: Regice* (See Additional Notes).
- Mega Raids: Mega Lopunny(See Additional Notes).
Additional Notes:
- Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
- Regice* will be available after the event (in Raids), until Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Mega Lopunny* will be available after the event (in Raids), until Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
Timed Research – Lucky Wishes
A branching Timed Research quest called Lucky Wishes will be active during the event. Regardless of what route is chosen, all will give Trainers the same item rewards and catch encounters (Magikarp*, Azumarill, Combusken, Darumaka*, Galarian Darumaka*, and Bunnelby*). The only difference is which event bonus will be active. Trainers may only pick one of the three:
- Hatch Distance Bonus: exact bonus has yet to be announced
- XP Bonus: exact bonus has yet to be announced
- Stardust Bonus: exact bonus has yet to be announced
A complete list of tasks for all routes and the rewards will be shared here once the event is live.
Field Research Tasks
There will be event-exclusive Field Research Tasks available and the rewards include the following Pokémon encounters: Charmander*, Paras*, Cyndaquil*, Torchic*, Chimchar*, Combee*, Buneary*, Tepig*, Darumaka*, Galarian Darumaka*, Fennekin, Bunnelby*, and Litten. These Field Research Tasks can be found when spinning PokéStops (and acquired if you have an open slot in your Field Research menu) when the event is active.
A complete list of tasks for all routes and the rewards will be shared here once the event is live.
Note: Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
Stickers
There will be an assortment of event-themed stickers featuring various Pokémon. You can get them by spinning PokéStops, opening Gifts, and/or purchasing them from Pokémon GO’s in-game shop (with PokéCoins) during the event. Images of the stickers will be added once the event is live and/or Niantic releases the promo image.
Avatar Items
New avatar items themed after Lunar New Year will be released during this event. They will be available for purchase (with PokéCoins) via the in-game shop. These avatar items will still be available to purchase after the conclusion of this event.
The new avatar items are the following: Red Lantern Backpack.
