The new year is just a few hours away and Niantic has a number of events lined up in Pokémon Go to help players greet their 2020. According to Gamespot, some of these events will include the return of a Legendary Pokémon, a new Research Breakthrough reward, and the debut of new Gen 5 Pokémon. In the first event of the new year, Niantic has a new Special Research questline involving Team Rocket. The event will end with players battling Giovanni, the villainous leader of Team Rocket, just like in the December Special Research Breakthrough. If players defeat him, they will have a chance at capturing the Shadow Legendary Moltres.
The next event being added for the first month of the new year is a new batch of Field Research tasks. Players who achieve a Research Breakthrough during the month of January will have the chance to encounter a special Lapras that can have either Ice Shard or Ice Beam. Along with those events, players will also be able to participate in the Adventure Sync Hatchathon from January 2nd through 16th. Players who participate will be able to receive special rewards such as Rare Candies, a Unova Stone, and Stardust. Players will also be able to hatch and catch wild Pokémon wearing party hats during the event.
Players should also be on the lookout for Heatran from January 7th to February 4th as this legendary will be available for encounters during this period. If players look hard enough, they may even be able to find his Shiny form. Niantic’s December events haven’t ended yet, so players still have a chance to catch Virizion until January 7th. Niantic has also teased that more Pokémon from the Unova Region are on their way to Pokémon Go. Little more is known at the moment but more information will likely be revealed at a later date.