A new event in Pokémon GO is launching this weekend featuring fighting-type Pokémon and is sure to give the skills of trainers worldwide a stretch. Everyone is invited to the Catch Mastery event on March 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., local time. For the duration of this event, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are going to appear more frequently in the wild. Trainers lucky enough could even encounter a Shiny version.
These are the event bonuses:
- An increased chance of encountering Shiny Hitmonlee, Shiny Hitmonchan, and Shiny Hitmontop.
- 2× XP for successfully catching Pokémon with:
- Nice Throws
- Great Throws
- Excellent Throws
- Curveball Throws
Here are the other activities trainers can do during the upcoming event:
- Field Research Task Encounters
- Tasks focused on Poké Ball throwing accuracy are available.
- The Pokémon Hitmontop is available to encounter when the Field Research tasks are completed.
- Trainers have a chance to hatch The Pokémon Tyrogue from 7 km Eggs collected during the event.
- Timed Research focused on Poké Ball throwing accuracy is available throughout the event.
- Complete 10 sets of research tasks to encounter 40 Hitmontop in total.
Something Big is Happening
This July, a device called Pokémon GO Plus + will be released, pairable with the game. The device allows trainers to play Pokémon GO without the need to keep their eyes on their phone. This means they'll be able to automatically throw Poké Balls at wild Pokémon or even automatically spin PokéStops to get items, to name a few. It's also going to be possible to switch between throwing Great Balls or Ultra Balls at the press of a button.
Once the Pokémon GO Plus + is paired with Pokémon GO, trainers can take on Special Research as well, which lets them encounter Snorlax wearing a nightcap.
By the way, Pokémon GO Plus + can be used to track sleep as an added function. Trainers can simply press the center button and place it by their pillow. With regards to tracking sleep, the Pokémon GO team revealed new features are planned to be added in the future and these will use sleep data.
Pokémon GO is available on Android and iOS.