Pokemon Go trainers suspected that Niantic was planning a Year of the Pig celebration and they’ve been proven right today.
The Lunar New Year event has been announced and includes some top bonuses for fans on Android and iOS.
One of the highlights of the new Lunar New Year celebrations is the announcement that Shiny Spoinks will be available to catch.
And of course, if you manage to catch a shiny Spoink during the celebrations, you can evolve into a shiny Grumpig.
“Spoink bounces around on its tail. The shock of its bouncing makes its heart pump. As a result, this Pokémon cannot afford to stop bouncing—if it stops, its heart will stop.”
The event has already begun and is also spotlighting 12 Pokémon for special treatment over the coming days.
This includes Rattata, Ekans, Mankey, Ponyta, Electabuzz, Dratini, Mareep, Miltank, Torchic, Poochyena, Spoink, and Buneary appearing more frequently in the wild.
There is also a range of bonuses that trainers can use during the Lunar New Year event.
Current Pokemon Go rewards will be available until February 13, which is when the celebrations are scheduled to end.
Bonuses include 2× Catch XP, 2× XP when evolving Pokémon, and when you trade a Pokémon, there is an increased chance it will become a Lucky Pokémon.
The Lunar New Year event will end at 9pm in the UK on Wednesday, February 13 and is expected to be replaced by another event.
This new event follows a big update made by Niantic regarding how Raids and Trainer Battles are balanced.
Niantic has tweaked HP levels to offset changes to attack power last year, among other changes.
An announcement made by Niantic, explains: “For the Raid Battle changes, the featured Pokémon will now have an HP increase to offset some of the damage increases made to the attacks of other Pokémon in the last year.
“We hope this will provide a greater overall challenge as well as encourage Trainers to group up to win. When it comes to move balance changes and move set additions, we have been keeping an eye on how well some Pokémon are performing in battle compared to others.
“This means adjusting the power of some moves in Trainer Battles and giving Pokémon new moves that improve their success in matches.”