January 2020's Pokemon Go Events Feature New Gen 5 Pokemon, A Returning Legendary, And More

2020 has begun, and Pokemon Go is kicking off the new year with a variety of in-game activities. Niantic has outlined some of the events it has lined up for the hit Pokemon mobile game in January, and they include the return of a Legendary, a new Research Breakthrough reward, the debut of new Gen 5 Pokemon, and more.

First, Niantic has rolled out another new Special Research questline revolving around the villainous Team Rocket. Like December's Team Rocket Special Research, this questline will culminate in a battle with Team Rocket boss Giovanni, and if you can defeat him, you'll earn a chance to capture another Shadow Legendary Pokemon, Moltres.

A new month also means a new batch of Field Research tasks to complete. Each time you achieve a Research Breakthrough in January, you'll encounter a special Lapras with either Ice Shard or Ice Beam. The last time you could get a Lapras with either of these attacks was back in 2018, making this another chance to add one to your collection if you missed it the first time around.

On top of that, the Adventure Sync Hatchathon event is back until January 16. During that time, you'll be able to earn rewards like extra Stardust, Rare Candies, and a Unova Stone--which is useful for evolving certain Gen 5 Pokemon--by walking certain distances. You'll also be able to hatch and encounter wild Pokemon that are wearing party hats during the event.

Shortly after the Hatchathon kicks off, the Legendary Pokemon Heatran will make its return to Pokemon Go. You'll be able to find the Lava Dome Pokemon in five-star Raids from January 7 to February 4, and this time around, you'll also have a chance to encounter its Shiny form.

Finally, Niantic is teasing that some more new Pokemon will begin appearing in Pokemon Go soon. The developer has hinted that more Pokemon originally discovered in the Unova region are on their way to the mobile game, although it hasn't shared any more details beyond that, so it remains to be seen which new Gen 5 monsters will debut next month.

You can read more details about Pokemon Go's January events on the game's official website. In the meantime, you have until January 7 to catch the game's current Legendary, Virizion. Pokemon Go's January Community Day is also set for Sunday, January 19, and the featured Pokemon will be Piplup. You can catch up on more Pokemon Go news below.