Niantic has announced that the Community Day for April 2020 will take place on April 25th, 2020 and will feature Abra. Players will also be able to participate anywhere including at home.

Abra Community Day rescheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2020

Trainers, We’ve made some temporary changes to Community Day to make it easier for you to participate from anywhere you play, including at home. We’d like to introduce you to Community Day: Play at Home Edition.

Date + Time
Rescheduled from March, April Community Day will still feature Abra, the Psi Pokémon. The event will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time—yes, you’ll have an additional three hours of Community Day gameplay to enjoy!

Features
Remember our previous Abra Community Day announcement? From that, the following will still be happening.

• Abra will be appearing more frequently in the wild.
• If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny Abra.
• Evolve Abra during the event or up to two hours afterward to obtain an Alakazam that knows an exclusive attack. We’d like to announce here that that exclusive attack will be the Fighting-type Fast Attack Counter!
• For US$1 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency), you’ll be able to unlock a Community Day–exclusive Special Research story—Investigating Illusions! Complete it for 13,000 Stardust, a Poffin, a Rocket Radar, and other rewards. Stay tuned for when tickets go live! The ticket to this Special Research story event is nonrefundable. Subject to applicable law and the exceptions set forth in the Terms of Service.

We're continuing to prioritize Pokémon GO experiences that can be enjoyed in individual settings. Here are some things we’re temporarily changing for Community Day: Play at Home Edition.

• As mentioned above, Community Day will now run for six hours instead of the regular three.
• The bonus will now be 3× Catch Stardust. This will be the perfect time to collect Stardust and power up your Pokémon for the GO Battle League!
• Instead of Lure Modules, Incense will last for three hours for the duration of the event.
• Buddy Pokémon with a Buddy Level of Great Buddy or higher will bring you helpful items, such as Poké Balls, throughout the event. To take full advantage of this bonus, check out this help center article to learn how to get to Great Buddy with your buddy.
• There’ll be a special one-time purchase April Community Day bundle, featuring an Elite Charged TM, 30 Ultra Balls, three Super Incubators, and three Incense for 1,280 PokéCoins.
• Take a snapshot during Community Day for a surprise!

Just because the community is physically apart doesn’t mean we can’t spend Community Day together! Join us on Twitter for 24 hours of Abra-themed coverage, and use the #PokemonGOCommunityDay hashtag to connect with other Trainers while you play! Please be aware of your surroundings when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change.

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/post/communityday-april2020

YouTube Clip - Abra Community Day: Play at Home Edition

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51OgXFKiU3A

Niantic has announced new changes to Pokémon GO in order to facilitate people staying at home.

New ways to raid, power up your Pokémon, receive Gifts to send out, and more

Trainers, We’re excited to announce upcoming changes to Pokémon GO. In our continued efforts to prioritize Pokémon GO experiences that can be enjoyed in individual settings and from home, you’ll soon be able to enjoy the following.

• With a Remote Raid Pass, you can access Raid Battles you can see on the Nearby screen from wherever you are.
• You’ll receive a bonus Field Research task daily without having to spin a PokéStop.
• As you run low on Gifts, your Buddy Pokémon will venture to nearby PokéStops and bring some Gifts back for you to send out to your friends.
• You’ll be able to power up your Pokémon to the desired CP by using all the required Candies and Stardust at once.
• After using a Star Piece, Lucky Egg, or Incense, you’ll be able to use more of the same item to extend the item’s effect beyond the usual 30-minute limit. No more waiting for an item effect to expire before you can use another one!
• Look out for other updates, including improved battle-screen design.

Access Raid Battles that show up in your Nearby view
With a Remote Raid Pass, an upcoming new item, you’ll be able to join any Raid Battle you can see on the Nearby screen or that you can tap on the map. Only one Remote Raid Pass will be required to join each raid, and you’ll be able to hold a limited amount of Remote Raid Passes at a time. Twenty Trainers can join the same Raid Battle, with a limited number of Trainers using a Remote Raid Pass. Raid Battles that you complete with a Remote Raid Pass will count toward any raid-related research tasks or achievement medals.

At launch, Trainers battling in raids remotely will have the same attack power as Trainers who are able to battle at the raid location in person. At a later time, the attack power for Trainers battling remotely will be reduced. Afterward, a Trainer battling at the raid location in person will have higher attack power than a Trainer battling remotely.

We’ll be making adjustments to this feature over time, including changes to the number of Trainers who can join remotely, the ability to invite friends to raids regardless of their location, and the mentioned adjustment to attack power for Trainers battling in a raid remotely. We’ll announce all changes and improvements via official channels, so please stay tuned for further announcements and updates to this feature.

Want to give this new feature a try? Keep a look out for a 1 PokéCoin bundle that will feature Remote Raid Passes, coming soon to the shop! At launch, Remote Raid Passes will be available to buy individually at the special discounted price of 100 PokéCoins.

Receive one daily bonus Field Research task
At midnight every day, you’ll receive a bonus task without having to spin a PokéStop! These tasks will be different from Field Research tasks you receive from PokéStops and will focus on activities that you can complete from home. If you don’t have an open Field Research slot, then a fourth slot will open up to accommodate the bonus task for you. However, if all four Field Research slots are filled, you won’t receive the bonus task.

Your Buddy Pokémon will bring you Gifts to send if you start to run low
Gifts are an important way to stay in touch with friends and share items. Your Buddy Pokémon wants to help you wherever it can, so it’ll soon be able to bring Gifts to you! As you run low on Gifts, your buddy will start going to nearby PokéStops to get more for you. You’ll see a notification above your buddy’s portrait when it’s returned with Gifts in hand (or paw). A buddy of any Buddy Level will be able to do this for you!

Power up your Pokémon faster
Currently, powering up your Pokémon can take quite some time. With this update, you’ll be able give your Pokémon all the Candies and Stardust needed to power it up to your desired CP level at once. Now you can focus more of your time on honing your battle skills in the GO Battle League!

Activate multiple Star Pieces, Lucky Eggs, and Incense at a time to extend effect durations
Trainers who enjoy playing Pokémon GO for extended periods of time and optimizing active bonuses will soon be able to rest easy. Each Star Piece, Lucky Egg, and Incense still has a 30-minute duration, but this update will allow you to activate more Star Pieces, Lucky Eggs, or Incense before the items’ effects have worn off, which will extend the durations of the items’ effects. You’ll be able to activate 200 of each item at once, but be careful! Once an item is activated, it will disappear from your Item Bag and cannot be returned. Use your items wisely!

Other updates
Here are some other updates to Pokémon GO that you’ll be able to experience soon.

• Battle screens have been polished. The way HP bars appear will be updated to be consistent across battle systems. Pokémon types will also now appear on the battle screen, along with text that tells you whether a move is super effective or not very effective.
• The shop icon in the Poké Ball menu will soon show a notification if there are updated boxes or new items in the shop.

Thank you, Trainers
As we work to continue improving your gameplay experience, we wanted to express our gratitude for your continued support. Our team is working hard to address your feedback, as well as create new and exciting gameplay that can be enjoyed both from home and when we’re able to go out and explore together again.

Please be aware of your surroundings when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change.

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/post/raidbattleupdate-april2020

Niantic has announced that on Friday, April 10th, 2020, the GO Battle League leaderboard will launch. To celebrate the launch of the GO Battle League leaderboards, a GO Battle Day: Marill will take place on Sunday, April 12th, 2020!

View globally ranked Trainers with the GO Battle League leaderboard, and celebrate with GO Battle Day: Marill!

Trainers, Ever wanted to see who’s at the top of their game in the GO Battle League? On Friday, April 10, 2020 (PDT), you’ll be able to with the launch of the GO Battle League leaderboard on PokemonGOLive.com! The leaderboard is launching just after the GO Battle League changes from Ultra League to Master League, giving you an opportunity to see where you and others might stand right after the GO Battle League switches to a new format.

Here’s what you can expect from the GO Battle League leaderboard.

• It will show the top five hundred Trainers in the world and their Trainer nicknames, teams, ranks, ratings, and total matches.
• Rankings are based on the previous day’s in-game ratings for Trainers rank 7 and up. The leaderboard is scheduled to update between approximately 8:00 p.m. UTC and 10:00 p.m. UTC every day. (Note that leaderboard updates may be delayed by things such as maintenance.)
• Trainers with active disciplinary action or inappropriate Trainer nicknames will be excluded without prior notice.

Celebrate the launch of the GO Battle League leaderboards with GO Battle Day: Marill on Sunday, April 12, 2020! This brand-new event will feature Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokémon, and activities related to the GO Battle League. This Water- and Fairy-type Pokémon evolves into Azumarill—a popular Pokémon in the Great League!

The more GO Battle League battles you win from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time during the event, the more chances you’ll have to encounter Marill! During this time frame, Marill will appear as a guaranteed Basic Reward after your first and third wins. Use a Premium Battle Pass, and Marill will appear after every win as a guaranteed Premium Reward! Trainers will also receive 2× Catch Stardust for catching Marill during this time period. Please note that the encounters that serve as rewards for ranking up, such as the Pikachu Libre encounter at rank 10, will stay the same.

In addition, all day on GO Battle Day: Marill (from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time), you’ll be able to complete 20 sets of GO Battle League battles, up from the regular 5 sets, for a total of up to 100 battles.

Stay tuned for more details on other in-game events happening in April!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/gobattleleague-leaderboards/

The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo revealed the Mythical Pokémon Zarude’s signature move, Jungle Healing. High resolution artwork and screenshots from the press release have been added to an Imageboard thread.

MYTHICAL POKÉMON ZARUDE HAS A SIGNATURE MOVE

​​​​​​ Zarude is a Dark- and Grass-type Pokémon that can grow vines from the back of its neck, its wrists, and the soles of its feet at will.


Name: Zarude
Category: Rogue Monkey Pokémon
Height: 5′11″
Weight: 154.3 lbs.
Type: Dark/Grass


Once Zarude reaches Lv. 90, it can learn Jungle Healing, a unique move only it can learn. In this Grass-type status move, the Pokémon wraps its vines around trees, absorbs their energy, and then releases that energy combined with its own. Healing power radiates around the area and heals both Zarude and its ally Pokémon—restoring their HP and curing them of any status conditions.


Zarude is only available in the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield video games and can’t be encountered in regular gameplay. Having released in November 2019, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are the latest titles in the core Pokémon video game series and are available on Nintendo Switch™ systems.

Niantic has announced the April 2020 Pokémon Spotlight Hours which will take place every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. local time.

April 2020 Pokémon Spotlight Hours

Trainers, Thank you for all your feedback on Pokémon Spotlight Hour and Mystery Bonus Hour. We’re continuing to test these minievents, and we’re happy to report that we’ll be combining them into one weekly event for the month of April. We wanted to provide some information on this combined event in advance so you can prepare.

For the month of April, Pokémon Spotlight Hour will take place every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. local time, but this time around, both a Pokémon and a special bonus will be featured! For each Pokémon Spotlight Hour, you can expect a different Pokémon and bonus.

• Tuesday, April 7, 2020: Purrloin will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for catching Pokémon.
• Tuesday, April 14, 2020: Magnemite will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for catching Pokémon.
• Tuesday, April 21, 2020: Wobbuffet will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for transferring Pokémon.
• Tuesday, April 28, 2020: Pidgey will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for evolving Pokémon.

Please be aware of your surroundings when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change. Let’s GO!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/post/april-spotlight-hour

Niantic has announced that the first spring event for 2020 will take place from Thursday, April 9th, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. until Thursday, April 16th, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time.

Spring into spring with Pokémon GO!

Trainers, Spring has sprung for those of you in the northern hemisphere, and what better way to celebrate than with a springtime event! Buneary joins the celebration by wearing a flower crown, while egg- and spring-themed Pokémon are appearing more often in the wild! Pokémon Eggs just got eggs-tra special too, as Pichu and Togepi with flower crowns will be hatching from them.

We're continuing to prioritize Pokémon GO experiences that can be enjoyed in individual settings. You’ll receive 1/2 Hatch Distance when Eggs are placed into Incubators until further notice, so be sure to turn on Adventure Sync and make every step count.

Date + Time
From Thursday, April 9, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Thursday, April 16, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time

Features

• The following Pokémon will be appearing more often in the wild: Exeggcute, Chansey, Mareep, Marill, and Torchic. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Exeggcute!
• Buneary wearing flower crowns and Pikachu wearing flower hats will also be appearing in the wild! If you’re lucky, you might encounter Shiny ones, too!
• The following Pokémon will be hatching more often from 2 km Eggs: Pichu wearing a flower crown, Togepi wearing a flower crown, Happiny, Munchlax, Tyrogue, Chingling, and Riolu.
• All Eggs received from Gifts during the event will be 2 km Eggs.
• There will be event-exclusive Field Research tasks that reward encounters with Alolan Exeggutor, Azumarill, and—if you’re extremely lucky—Audino!
• A Togepi-themed bag and hoodie will be available in the in-game shop!

Bonuses

• 2× Hatch Candy
• Lucky Eggs will last for one hour

And remember that as mentioned above, a 1/2 Hatch Distance bonus is ongoing until further notice—which means it will be applied during this event! Just make sure to place your Eggs into Incubators while the bonus is running.

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/post/springevent2020

HBO has announced they will offer hundreds of hours of free programming for a limited time on HBO NOW and HBO GO, without a subscription, starting on Friday, April 3rd, 2020. The Pokémon Detective Pikachu movie was highlighted as one of the movies that will be available for free.

Press Release - HBO Encourages Viewers to #StayHomeBoxOffice with Hundreds of Hours of Free Programming

New York, NY, April 2, 2020 -- To provide some entertainment relief for those doing their part to keep everyone safe and healthy in this time of social isolation, HBO is making almost 500 hours of top programming available to stream for free for a limited time on HBO NOW and HBO GO–without a subscription–starting this Friday, April 3. The list of free programming includes every episode of nine iconic HBO series such as The Sopranos, Veep, Six Feet Under and The Wire; major Warner Bros. blockbusters from HBO’s current catalog like Pokémon Detective Pikachu, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and Crazy, Stupid, Love; and 10 riveting HBO documentaries and docu-series including McMillion$ and The Case Against Adnan Syed.

All of the programming will be available to stream without a subscription starting Friday by downloading the HBO NOW or HBO GO apps or by visiting HBONOW.com or HBOGO.com. The content will also be made available for free via participating distribution partners’ platforms in the coming days. This is the first time HBO has made this volume of programming available outside of the paywall on HBO NOW & HBO GO.

Source: https://pressroom.warnermediagroup.com/us/media-release/hbo-0/stayhomeboxoffice/hbo-encourages-viewers-stayhomeboxoffice-hundreds-hours-free-programming

Niantic has announced the details for the April Fool 2020 event which takes place from Wednesday, April 1st, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Tuesday, April 7th, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time

Tricky Pokémon event starts soon!

Trainers, Do you consider yourself a prankster? Do you like how Foongus tricks Pokémon into thinking it’s a Poké Ball? Do you love how Sudowoodo mimics a tree to avoid being attacked? This April we are celebrating Tricky Pokémon with some well-known pranksters and masters of disguise will be making an appearance!

Date + Time
From Wednesday, April 1, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time

Features

• Pokémon known to be pranksters and masters of disguise will also be appearing more often in the wild, such as Gastly, Haunter, Voltorb, Sudowoodo, Aipom, Croagunk, and Foongus. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Sudowoodo or a Shiny Croagunk!
• Stunfisk, the Trap Pokémon, will make its Pokémon GO debut! For the duration of the event, Stunfisk will be available as Field Research task reward encounters and—if you’re extremely lucky—in the wild.
• After the event ends, Stunfisk will no longer hatch from 5 km Eggs. You’ll be able to encounter Stunfisk as Field Research task reward encounters or, if you’re very lucky, in the wild.
• The following Pokémon will be hatching more often from 5 km Eggs: Aipom, Wynaut, Bonsly, Croagunk, and Stunfisk.
• Event-exclusive Field Research tasks will be available. Depending on the task, you might receive a reward encounter with a Sudowoodo, Croagunk, or Stunfisk!
• Take a snapshot and see who appears!
• Ditto will be appearing more frequently in the wild during the event, so be sure to catch Pokémon that Ditto are known to transform into! We also have reports of Ditto transforming into more Pokémon species than before, and it seems this phenomenon will persist after the event ends.

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/post/trickypokemon2020/

Niantic has announced that they have temporary changed the Gym interaction distance which has been doubled.

Temporary changes to Pokémon GO: Gym interaction distance has been doubled

Trainers, As we develop ways to team up in Raid Battles from home, we’ll be making a temporary change to Gym interaction distance.

The distance from which you can interact with Gyms has been temporarily doubled, allowing you to be farther from Gyms and other Trainers as you challenge Raid Bosses. This change also allows you to spin Photo Discs at Gyms if you are within the doubled distance; however, it will not change the distance required to spin Photo Discs at PokéStops.

As we continue to prioritize updates to Pokémon GO features and experiences that make the game more accessible and enjoyable, be sure to follow us on social media, opt in to receive push notifications, and subscribe to our emails to stay updated on these temporary changes and more in the coming weeks.

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/gyminteractionupdate-20200331/

Niantic has announced that the Thundurus and Cobalion events have been extended until Tuesday, March 31, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7). Raid Hour has been canceled until further notice. Our list of COVID-19 canceled Pokémon Events has been updated with this announcement.

Updates to events: Thundurus and Cobalion extended, Raid Hour canceled

Trainers, The following events have been canceled, postponed, or changed.

• Thundurus in five-star raids: This event has been extended until Tuesday, March 31, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
• Cobalion in five-star raids and as GO Battle League rewards: This event has been extended until Tuesday, March 31, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
• Raid Hour (every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. local time): This event has been canceled until further notice.

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/updates-20200327/