Pokemon Go March 2021: Shiny Nosepass, Gible Research Breakthroughs, and More

Trainers, March is almost here! There’s lots of new content coming to Pokemon Go next month, including the return of Giovanni, who will be using a different Legendary Shadow Pokemon!

Here’s everything we know about March’s updates and events so far.

Gible Research Breakthroughs

From March 1 at 1 p.m. PT until April 1 at 1 p.m. PT, players will receive an encounter with Gible each time they earn a Research Breakthrough. As a reminder, players earn a Research Breakthrough each time they complete at least one Field Research task on seven different days (this doesn’t have to be seven days in a row).

New Team Go Rocket Special Research

Beginning on February 28 at 12 a.m. local time, players will be able to complete a new Special Research storyline focused on Team Go Rocket. This Research will allow players to earn a Super Rocket Radar and take on Giovanni.

The Season of Legends kicks off in Pokemon Go on March 1. For each month of this Season (March, April, and May), Giovanni will use a different Legendary Shadow Pokemon on his team. Here’s the breakdown:

• March 2021 – Shadow Articuno
• April 2021 – Shadow Zapdos
• May 2021 – Shadow Moltres

While the new Special Research storyline will reward players with one Super Rocket Radar, players will have the chance to earn additional Super Rocket Radars at the beginning of each month during the Season of Legends. This means players should — in theory — have time to collect all three Legendary Shadow Pokemon during the Season.

Legendary and Mega Raids

In a news post, Niantic, the developer of Pokemon Go, revealed the Legendary and Mega-Evolved Pokemon that will appear in Raids in March. Here’s the timeline:

Legendary Raids

• Incarnate Forme Landorus – March 1 at 8 a.m. local time until March 6 at 8 a.m. local time (Incarnate Forme Landorus has the chance to be Shiny)
• Incarnate Forme Tornadus – March 6 at 8 a.m. local time until March 11 at 8 a.m. local time (Incarnate Forme Tornadus has the chance to be Shiny)
• Incarnate Forme Thundurus – March 11 at 8 a.m. local time until March 16 at 8 a.m. local time (Incarnate Forme Thundurus has the chance to be Shiny)
• Therian Forme Thundurus – March 16 at 10 a.m. local time until March 30 at 10 a.m. local time
• Therian Forme Tornadus will begin appearing in Raids on March 30 at 10 a.m. local time.

If we had to guess based on the rest of this timeline, we expect Therian Forme Tornadus will be available until the middle of April 2021, and that Therian Forme Landorus will begin appearing in Tier-5 Raids after that point. We’ll make sure to let you know what happens in April 2021 either way!

Mega Raids

• Mega Blastoise, Mega Pidgeot, and Mega Ampharos – March 1 at 8 a.m. local time until March 16 at 10 a.m. local time
• Mega Houndoom, Mega Abomasnow, and an unannounced Mega-Evolved Pokemon will begin appearing in Raids on March 16 at 10 a.m. local time.

Finally, a Raid Hour event will take place every Wednesday in March from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Each event will feature the Pokemon that is currently featured in Tier-5 Raids at the time. An additional Raid Hour event will also be held on March 15 (that’s a Monday) from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time.

Spotlight Hour Events

There are five Tuesdays in March, which means there are five Spotlight Hour events to look forward to in the month! Each of these events will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Here’s the breakdown:

• March 2 – Krabby will appear more frequently than normal in the wild, and you’ll receive two times the normal number of Pokemon Candy when transferring Pokemon to Professor Willow
• March 9 – Drowzee will be the featured Pokemon, and you’ll receive two times the normal number of experience points when evolving Pokemon
• March 16 – Voltorb will be the star, and you’ll receive two times the normal amount of Stardust when catching Pokemon
• March 23 – Surskit will be featured Pokemon, and you’ll receive two times the normal number of experience points for catching Pokemon
• March 30 – Slugma will be the featured pocket monster, and you’ll receive two times the normal number of Pokemon Candy when catching Pokemon

March Bonus Hours

In March 2021, Pokemon Go will begin testing a new kind of event called a “Bonus Hour.” Similar to Spotlight Hour events, these Bonus Hour events will last for one hour, beginning at 6 p.m. local time. Three of these events will take place in March.

• Thursday, March 4 has “Go Rocket Hour” – Team Go Rocket balloons will appear more frequently than normal
• Thursday, March 11 has “Mega Bonus Hour: Candy” – You’ll receive more Pokemon Candy when you catch Pokemon that share a type with your active Mega-Evolved Pokemon
• Thursday, March 18 has “Mega Raid Hour” – Mega Raids will appear more frequently than normal

Weekly Free Item Bundles

Beginning each Monday in March, players will be able to collect a new, free item bundle from the in-game shop that contains 10 Ultra Balls, 10 Razz Berries, and a Remote Raid Pass.

In-Game Events

So far, Niantic has teased five in-game events that will take place in March. Here’s a preview of each (more details will be released as we get closer to each event).

Search for Legends – This event will take place from March 9 until March 14, and it will focus on Nosepass and Legendary Pokemon. Players may be able to encounter Shiny Nosepass.

Psychic- and Steel-type Incense Day – On March 14, more Psychic- and Steel-type Pokemon will be attracted to Incense for a limited time. This includes Beldum.

Charge Up – The Charge Up event will run from March 16 until March 22. It will focus on Electric-type Pokemon, and will feature new Electric-type Pokemon that will be available in Pokemon Go for the first time.

Weather Week – This event will celebrate the arrival of Therian Forme Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus in Pokemon Go. It will run from March 24 to March 29. During this time, weather-themed Pokemon will appear in the wild, and players will be able to collect new avatar items. Niantic hasn’t said whether those avatar items will be free or premium just yet.

Special Raid Weekend – On March 27 and March 28, a Special Raid Weekend event will be held in Pokemon Go, featuring Legendary Pokemon

Candy XL Updates

Niantic will update the way players can earn Candy XL in Pokemon Go in three ways:

• You’ll have the chance to earn a Candy XL when trading Pokemon. When this happens, you’ll receive a Candy XL for the Pokemon you’re trading away. Niantic said, “The chance of receiving a Candy XL will increase the greater the distance between Pokémon catch locations is.”
• You’ll have the chance to earn Candy XL when walking with your Buddy Pokemon.
• You will be guaranteed to receive Candy XL each time you catch a Legendary, Mythical, or Evolved Pokemon.

Niantic didn’t specify when these changes will go into effect.

Are you excited about the events and updates coming to Pokemon Go in March 2021? Let us know on Twitter at @superparenthq.