Back in December 2020, Pokémon GO developer Niantic announced that they will be rolling out a huge number of changes and updates with their ‘Go Beyond’ update, including new Pokémon, Seasons, higher levels, and several quality-of-life changes. This morning, the developer announced that the first major update is coming to the title on 1 March 2021, with a small portion of it starting on 28 February 2021. This update is going to bring a pretty substantial number of changes, so let’s take a look at them.
Starting on 28 February 2021, it seems that Giovanni and his grunts are getting ready to make another attempt and have been scheming behind the scenes. Even more, they have a new arsenal of Shadow Pokémon at their beckon. This time, Giovanni is using a new set of legendary Shadow Pokémon, which will have the following schedule:
- March 2021: Shadow Articuno
- April 2021: Shadow Zapdos
- May 2021: Shadow Moltres
There is also going to be a new Research Breakthrough Encounter. From Monday, 1 March 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST to Thursday, 1 April 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PDT, you’ll encounter Gible in Research Breakthrough encounters.
You can also catch a new set of legendary Pokémon in raids. The schedule for the new raids are as follows:
- Incarnate Forme Landorus will be appearing in five-star raids from Monday, 1 March 2021, at 8:00 a.m. to Saturday, 6 March 2021, at 8:00 a.m. local time. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!
- Incarnate Forme Tornadus will be appearing in five-star raids from Saturday, 6 March 2021, at 8:00 a.m. to Thursday, 11 March 2021, at 8:00 a.m. local time. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!
- Incarnate Forme Thundurus will be appearing in five-star raids from Thursday, 11 March 2021, at 8:00 a.m. to Tuesday, 16 March 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!
- Therian Forme Thundurus will be appearing in five-star raids from Tuesday, 16 March 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Tuesday, 30 March 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- Therian Forme Tornadus will be appearing in five-star raids starting Tuesday, 30 March 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
Additionally, the following Mega-Evolved Pokémon will be appearing in Mega Raids.
- Mega Blastoise, Mega Pidgeot, and Mega Ampharos will be featured in Mega Raids from Monday, 1 March 2021, at 8:00 a.m. to Tuesday, 16 March 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- Mega Houndoom, Mega Abomasnow, and a surprise Mega-Evolved Pokémon will be appearing in Mega Raids starting Tuesday, 16 March 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
March will also feature a new set of Pokémon Spotlight Hours where a different pocket monster will be front and center every Tuesday at 6 p.m. local time, giving you the opportunity to catch the Pokémon and receive some pretty helpful bonuses. The schedule for March is as follows:
- Tuesday, 2 March 2021: Krabby will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for transferring Pokémon.
- Tuesday, 9 March 2021: Drowzee will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for evolving Pokémon.
- Tuesday, 16 March 2021: Voltorb will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Stardust for catching Pokémon.
- Tuesday, 23 March 2021: Surskit will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for catching Pokémon.
- Tuesday, 30 March 2021: Slugma will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for catching Pokémon.
Niantic also announced that starting in March, they will be testing a new feature called ‘Bonus Hours’ where each test will feature a unique bonus should you participate. The schedule for the Bonus Hour feature is as follows:
- Thursday, 4 March 2021: GO Rocket Hour — Team GO Rocket Balloons will be appearing more frequently. Be on the lookout, Trainers!
- Thursday, 11 March 2021: Mega Bonus Hour: Candy — You’ll earn more Candy when you catch Pokémon that share a type with your active Mega-Evolved Pokémon.
- Thursday, 18 March 2021: Mega Raid Hour — Mega Raids will be happening more frequently.
Then, on Saturday, 6 March 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time Niantic will be holding a fiery Community Day featuring Fletchling. Evolve Fletchinder (the evolved form of Fletchling) during the event or up to two hours afterward to get a Talonflame that knows the attack Incinerate.
Last but not least, Niantic announced a series of events that will be happening through the month of March and to keep an eye out for further information about the following events:
- Searching for Legends: From Tuesday, 9 March 2021, to Sunday, 14 March 2021, join us as we begin our journey to search for Legendary Pokémon! And what better way to sniff out these Legendary Pokémon than with the Compass Pokémon, Nosepass? Who knows… if you’re lucky, you may even encounter a Shiny Nosepass!
- Incense Day: Psychic-Type and Steel-Type: We are hearing reports that on Sunday, 14 March 2021, more Psychic-type and Steel-type Pokémon will be attracted to Incense, including Beldum!
- Charge Up!: From Tuesday, 16 March 2021, to Monday, 22 March 2021, get amped for an event where Electric-type Pokémon will make their Pokémon GO debut!
- Weather Week: From Wednesday, 24 March 2021, to Monday, 29 March 2021, experience a whirlwind of weather-themed Pokémon appearing in the wild and new avatar items, all to celebrate the Therian Formes of Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus coming to Pokémon GO.
- A Special Raid Weekend event featuring Legendary Pokémon will take place on Saturday, 27 March 2021, through Sunday, 28 March 2021.
It looks like March is shaping up to be a huge month for Pokémon GO. It is jam-packed with stuff to do each week. As I have mentioned previously since the ‘Go Beyond’ update, Niantic has been putting a huge amount of effort into the title and it looks like they’re not showing any signs of slowing down.