Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: chansey, Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go

Pokémon GO Announces January 2021 Breakthrough & Spotlights

For those hoping for the return of Legendary Pokémon in the weekly Research Breakthrough in Pokémon GO with the start of 2021, it seems that Niantic has different plans indeed. In their announcement for the upcoming January events for Pokémon GO, they've named Chansey as the Breakthrough reward while also spelling out the details for the month's Spotlight Hours. Let's dive in.

On the official Pokémon GO blog, Niantic wrote:

From Friday, January 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, February 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8), you'll encounter Chansey in Research Breakthroughs.

Ah, so there we are. There was some hope that this non-Legendary take on the box that was literally once called "Legendary Research Breakthrough Box" would return to its glory with 2021, but it seems that we are destined for a future of common Pokémon here. While 2020 prepared us for this loss in many ways, it is still a shame to see such a great feature become as standard as a regular, daily Pokéstop task.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021: Lillipup will be in the spotlight, and you'll earn twice the Stardust for catching Pokémon.

A Shiny-capable Pokémon and the best bonus in the game makes this a worthy Spotlight Hour. Notably, Lillipup has seemed less common in the wild during the Season of Celebration in Pokémon GO.

Tuesday, January 12, 2021: Drifloon will be in the spotlight, and you'll earn twice the XP for catching Pokémon.

Bit of a strange once since Drifloon was recently the focus of a Research Event with a boosted Shiny rate this past October, but anyone who missed this Shiny will get a second chance here. It's also undeniably one of the best Shinies in the game, so there's that.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021: Shroomish will be in the spotlight, and you'll earn twice the Candy for catching Pokémon.

Tuesday, January 26, 2021: Phanpy will be in the spotlight, and you'll earn twice the Candy for transferring Pokémon.

These two are both currently not capable to encounter as Shinies, but remember… Pokémon GO keeps us on our toes. For all we know, Shiny Shroomish and Shiny Phanpy may be released during events leading up to the game. If that doesn't happen, though, trainers should expect these to not be Shiny-capable, as Niantic has never done a full Shiny release for a Spotlight Hour.

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