A complete guide to events that take place in Pokémon GO during the month of March, 2021. Highlights include new GO Rocket Special Research, Therian form legendaries in raids, a surprise Mega-evolution and 4 yet-to-be-detailed events.
Additionally, Niantic will be testing Bonus Hours throughout March, as a new event format and there are changes coming to XL Candy. A lot of the events correspond with the beginning of a new Pokémon GO season – Season of Legends – so be sure to read up on it as well.
New Team GO Rocket Special Research
Giovanni and Team GO Rocket are back, and they’ve obtained more Shadow Pokémon —including Shadow Legendary Pokémon. Giovanni will be using the following Shadow Legendary Pokémon at different times:
- March 2021: Shadow Articuno
- April 2021: Shadow Zapdos
- May 2021: Shadow Moltres
The new Team GO Rocket Special Research will become available on Sunday, February 28, 2021, at 12:00 a.m. local time. Play through this Season’s new Team GO Rocket Special Research to earn a Super Rocket Radar and take down Giovanni!
There will be other opportunities to earn Super Rocket Radars at the beginning of each month this Season, so stay tuned for more information!
March Research Breakthrough encounter
Gible
From Monday, March 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8) to Thursday, April 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), you’ll encounter Gible in Research Breakthrough encounters.
March Pokémon Spotlight Hours
Pokémon Spotlight Hour will take place every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. local time. Each spotlight hour features a different Pokémon and a special bonus.
| Date | Pokémon | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| March 2, 2021 |
Krabby
|
2x Candy for transferring Pokémon |
| March 9, 2021 |
Drowzee
|
2x XP for evolving Pokémon |
| March 16, 2021 |
Voltorb
|
2x Stardust for catching Pokémon |
| March 23, 2021 |
Surskit
|
2x XP for catching Pokémon |
| March 30, 2021 |
Slugma
|
2x Candy for catching Pokémon |
March Bonus Hours
Niantic will be testing Bonus Hours throughout the month of March. These tests will take place on the listed Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. local time, and each one will feature a unique bonus:
| Date | Bonus |
|---|---|
| March 4, 2021 | GO Rocket Hour Team GO Rocket Balloons will be appearing more frequently. |
| March 11, 2021 | Mega Bonus Hour: Candy You’ll earn more Candy when you catch Pokémon that share a type with your active Mega-Evolved Pokémon |
| March 18, 2021 | Mega Raid Hour Mega Raids will be happening more frequently |
New Legendary Pokémon in five-star Raids
The following Legendary Pokémon will be appearing in five-star raids throughout March:
| Pokémon | Date, time and shiny |
|---|---|
Landorus (Incarnate)
|
|
Tornadus (Incarnate)
|
|
Thundurus (Incarnate)
|
|
Thundurus (Therian)
|
|
Tornadus (Therian)
|
Starting Tuesday, March 30, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time |
March Mega Raids
- Mega Blastoise, Mega Pidgeot, and Mega Ampharos will be featured in Mega Raids from Monday, March 1, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. to Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- Mega Houndoom, Mega Abomasnow, and a surprise Mega-Evolved Pokémon will be appearing in Mega Raids starting Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
March Community Day
Fletchling
Join us on Saturday, March 6, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time for a fiery Community Day featuring Fletchling.
Evolve Fletchinder (the evolved form of Fletchling) during the event or up to two hours afterward to get a Talonflame that knows the attack Incinerate.
For more information, be sure to check out this article: Fletchling Community Day (March 2021)
Weekly free bundles
Every Monday in March, a free one-time bundle containing 10 Ultra Balls, 10 Razz Berries, and a Remote Raid Pass will be available in the shop.
Candy XL updates
Niantic is introducing some updates to Candy XL that will help acquiring this resource in Pokémon GO be more fun and accessible:
- Trading Pokémon will have a chance of rewarding a Candy XL for the Pokémon you’ve traded. The chance of receiving a Candy XL will increase the greater the distance between Pokémon catch locations is.
- Walking with your Buddy Pokémon will now have a chance of earning you a Candy XL.
- Catching Legendary, Mythical, or evolved Pokémon is now guaranteed to reward you with Candy XL.
Upcoming new events in March
Look out for more details coming soon for these events.
Searching for Legends — From Tuesday, March 9, 2021, to Sunday, March 14, 2021, join us as we begin our journey to search for Legendary Pokémon! And what better way to sniff out these Legendary Pokémon than with the Compass Pokémon, Nosepass? Who knows—if you’re lucky, you may even encounter a Shiny Nosepass!
Incense Day: Psychic-Type and Steel-Type — We are hearing reports that on Sunday, March 14, 2021, more Psychic-type and Steel-type Pokémon will be attracted to Incense, including Beldum!
Charge Up! — From Tuesday, March 16, 2021, to Monday, March 22, 2021, get amped for an event where Electric-type Pokémon will make their Pokémon GO debut!
Weather Week — From Wednesday, March 24, 2021, to Monday, March 29, 2021, experience a whirlwind of weather-themed Pokémon appearing in the wild and new avatar items, all to celebrate the Therian Formes of Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus coming to Pokémon GO.
A Special Raid Weekend event featuring Legendary Pokémon will take place on Saturday, March 27, 2021, through Sunday, March 28, 2021.
