Pokemon Go Special Weekend Event Now Live

Between the ongoing Lunar New Year and Shiny Meltan events, this week has certainly been a busy one for Pokemon Go players, and now yet another event is underway in the mobile game. This weekend only, Niantic is holding a special friendship event, which offers players extra bonuses for sending gifts and trading Pokemon.

All weekend long, players' friendship levels will increase twice as quickly as normal. Moreover, the amount of Stardust you need in order to trade Pokemon with friends has been reduced by half, and the amount of Candy you'll receive for each trade is doubled.

The friendship event runs from now until 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on Monday, February 11. You can read more about it on the official Pokemon Go website. This is an especially good time to trade Pokemon in the game; not only has the Stardust requirement been reduced, but as part of the aforementioned Lunar New Year event, you have a much higher likelihood of receiving a Lucky Pokemon in trades.

The Lunar New Year event is scheduled to run until February 13. Until then, Spoink and other Pokemon that correspond with the Chinese Zodiac, such as Electabuzz, Dratini, and Mareep, will appear much more frequently in the wild, and you'll have your first chance of encountering a Shiny Spoink.

The Meltan event, meanwhile, is scheduled to end on March 4. Until then, you'll have a chance of finding a Shiny Meltan each time you open the Mystery Box. Additionally, the time you need to wait to open the Mystery Box again has been reduced by three days.

Next week, Niantic is hosting this month's Community Day. The event takes place on Saturday, February 16 and features Swinub, a Ground/Ice Pokemon originally from Gold and Silver. On top of that, players will receive triple the normal amount of Stardust for catching Pokemon.