New Pokemon Go Buddy Event Brings Out Some Region-Exclusive Pokemon

Pokemon Go developer Niantic has announced another new event for the popular Pokemon mobile game. Starting tomorrow, April 21, the developer is holding a buddy event, which will bring out rare Pokemon and offer extra in-game bonuses for a limited time.

Throughout the event, Pokemon like Alolan Meowth, Chansey, Eevee, Feebas, Lillipup, and Joltik will appear in the wild and hatch from eggs much more often than usual. You'll also have your first chance to encounter Woobat--which was previously available as February's Research Breakthrough reward--in the wild.

Other Pokemon you'll be able to find during the event are Volbeat and Illumise. These two monsters are notable because each is normally only found in certain regions; Volbeat only appears in Europe, Asia, and Oceania, while Illumise is exclusive to the Americas and Africa. During the event, however, both Pokemon will be spawning around the world, and you'll have a chance to encounter Shiny versions of them.

On top of increased Pokemon spawns, some event-exclusive Field Research tasks will be available during the buddy event. There will also be a variety of bonuses. Throughout the event, your buddy Pokemon will bring you gifts more often, and it'll take half the normal amount of distance to earn buddy candy and hearts. You'll also earn twice the usual amount of Stardust for evolving Pokemon, whether or not it's set as your buddy.

The buddy event runs until 10 PM local time on April 27. You can read more about it on the official Pokemon Go website.

In the meantime, Niantic recently held Pokemon Go's first Incense Day event on April 19. The developer has also rescheduled the delayed Abra Community Day. The event was originally slated to take place on March 15, but it will now occur on April 25, and it will run for six hours instead of the usual three. You can learn more in our April 2020 Community Day guide.