Pokémon GO: First Bird Pokémon Arrives!

Pokémon GO is heating up with a pair of exciting events! First up is the Catch Mastery event, running March 16th from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time. This event, part of the larger Might and Mastery event and overlapping with the Festival of Colors, focuses on Archen, the First Bird Pokémon.

Catch Mastery: Archen Takes Flight!

Get ready to encounter increased wild spawns of Omanyte and Kabuto, with a chance to snag their Shiny forms. Archen itself will be available as a Field Research reward, boasting an increased Shiny rate. Maximize your XP gains by landing Nice Throws or better, and Curveballs will also yield double XP. A Timed Research taskline will challenge you to catch Rock-type Pokémon, rewarding you with up to 40 Archen encounters (10 sets of tasks).

Mega Absol Raid Day: Unleash Brutal Swing!

Next, mark your calendars for Mega Absol Raid Day on March 23rd, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time. Absol is getting a powerful upgrade: the new Charged Attack, Brutal Swing! This attack will be permanently added to Absol's moveset, dealing 55 power in Trainer Battles and 65 power in Gyms and Raids.

To help you conquer these Raids, the Remote Raid Pass limit will be temporarily increased to 20 from March 22nd at 5:00 p.m. PDT to March 23rd at 8:00 p.m. PDT. You can also collect up to five additional free Raid Passes from spinning Gym Photo Discs, giving you a total of six for the day.

Haven't joined the fun yet? Download Pokémon GO from the Google Play Store!

And while you're here, check out our news story on the upcoming St. Patrick's Day event: "This St. Patrick’s Day, Watcher of Realms Is Bringing the Four-Leaf Clover’s Song Event."