The Lunar New Year event is ending in Pokémon GO. Let’s take a look at what worked and what didn’t work with this event.
What worked on that Pokémon GO Event
- Miltank: Shiny Miltank debuted just two events during the Johto celebration, but it was a little difficult to find in the jungle. During this event, the best chance of catching one was looking for a Field Research task or an invasion, although Miltank’s Shiny rate did not appear to be increased. The best part of the 2021 Lunar New Year event in Pokémon GO it was how he performed Miltank in the jungle most commonly and even during Tuesday’s Spotlight Hour.
- Timed survey: What Niantic announced as a timed survey focused on Tauros ended up being a way to earn Mega Gyarados energy for free. It was a simple but fun questline, with rewards far more valuable than recent offers from Timed Research.
- Friendship bonuses: Current friendship bonuses are included in two events, starting with the 2021 Lunar New Year event and going through the annual Valentine’s Day event, scheduled to start on Sunday. The bonuses increased the chances of luck with friends, increase the chances of a deal being lucky, increasing the distance of negotiation and more fruits of gifts. While the last thing is something that absolutely nobody requested, the rest of these bonuses are some of the best available at Pokémon GO.
What didn’t work in this Pokémon GO Event
- Same as last year: Outside of the above, there was nothing new added to the spawn pool. The main advantage was a Gyarados capable of shining in nature, which was the same main advantage as last year. The problem with that is that Gyarados is also in Mega Raids, which would make him able to shine in all kinds of encounters anyway, so this repeated main feature looks less interesting in 2021 than in 2020 … especially considering the damn Magikarp Community Day made brilliant Gyarados in a Pokémon that most trainers have. With no new Pokémon Unova or Kalos, no costumes, no Shiny releases and nothing truly unique added to the game, it’s hard not to look at this event as a less engaging repeat of last year’s Lunar New Year Event.
General
Pokémon GO was in a strange place recently with a series of monotonous events, but the bonuses, the generous Timed Search and the second chance of a Shiny Miltank saved this one. The wild spawns may have been mostly boring, but other than that, it was a fun game week.