Alright, Let’s Talk About That Pokemon Go January Event
So, January rolled around, and like always, I was curious what Niantic had cooked up for us in Pokemon Go. The in-game news popped up, and I saw the announcements for the January events. My first thought was, “Okay, another month, another grind, let’s see if it’s any good.” I’m always a bit skeptical, you know? Sometimes these events are amazing, other times they’re just… there.
Getting Ready for the Grind
First things first, I had to do some prep. My Pokemon storage was, as usual, bursting at the seams. So I spent a good hour or so transferring a bunch of Pokémon I’d been hoarding – you know how it is, “maybe I’ll need this for a trade someday.” Yeah, right. Cleared out a good couple hundred slots. Then, item bag check. I made sure I had a decent stock of Poké Balls, especially Great Balls and Ultra Balls, because you never know what might pop up. I also tried to stack up some Pinap Berries for that extra candy, especially with the Community Day looming.
The Main Event: Community Day Madness
The big highlight for January was supposed to be the Community Day. I think it was Spheal this time around, or something similar, one of those Ice-types. Anyway, the day came, and it was freezing outside, typical January weather. But, duty calls, right? I bundled up, grabbed my power bank, and headed out.
I usually hit up the local park, it’s got a good number of Pokéstops and Gyms. For the first hour, it was pretty decent. Spheals everywhere, as expected. I was tapping on every single one, hoping for that shiny sparkle. My fingers were getting numb, not gonna lie. I did manage to snag a few shinies, which was a relief. Nothing spectacular in terms of stats for the shinies, mostly just trophy catches. Evolved my best one right before the deadline to get the special move, of course. That’s always a bit of a rush.
- Caught about, oh, maybe 150 Spheal in those three hours.
- Managed to get 5 shinies. Not bad, but I’ve had better luck on other Com Days.
- Walked a good 5 kilometers, despite the cold. My toes were not thanking me.
One thing that kinda bugged me was the catch rate. Some of those little guys were surprisingly jumpy and kept breaking out of balls, even with Great Throws. Wasted a fair bit of my ball stash there.
Other January Bits and Bobs
Outside of the Community Day, the rest of January’s event felt a bit… mixed. There were supposed to be increased spawns of certain Ice and Steel types, which I did see. Picked up a few Beldums and Piplups here and there, which was nice for the candy. The special research for January was okay, pretty standard “catch X Pokémon,” “spin Y Pokéstops” kind of tasks. Nothing too exciting, but it gave me something to do on my daily walks.
I also tried a few of the event-themed raids. The Tier 5 boss, I think it was Regice or something wintery, was a tough one. My usual group wasn’t always available, so coordinating remote raids was a bit of a pain. Plus, using up those remote raid passes gets expensive, you know?
So, What’s the Verdict on January?
Overall, the January event in Pokemon Go was… alright. It wasn’t the most mind-blowing month, but it wasn’t a total dud either. The Community Day was the main draw, and while it was cold, getting a few shinies always feels like a win. The rest of the month’s bonuses were fine, kept me logging in, but didn’t exactly have me jumping out of bed in excitement.
I guess my biggest takeaway was that I got some more Ice-type Pokémon, which I was a bit low on. And hey, any excuse to get out and walk a bit, even in the cold, is probably a good thing. Would I do it all again? Probably. I’m a sucker for this game, what can I say? But I do hope February brings something a little more thrilling. We’ll see!
