Pokemon Go Sinnoh event: Date & time, Shiny Buizel, raids, Heatran

Daniel Megarry
Pokemon Go Sinnoh event 2021

Pokemon Go is continuing its celebration of fan-favorite regions with a week-long focus on Sinnoh, including an increased chance at catching Shiny Buizel.

2021 will see the wildly-popular Pokemon franchise celebrate its 25th anniversary with some extra-special events including a Pokemon Go Tour celebration of the region that started it all, Gen 1’s Kanto, in February.

In the build-up to the 25th-anniversary event, Niantic have announced that there will be a weekly celebration of other regions in the game to increase anticipation and give fans more content to enjoy.

Following a week focused on Unova, attention now turns to the region of Sinnoh, which made its debut in 2006’s Diamond and Pearl on the Nintendo DS.

Pokemon Go Sinnoh event
Sinnoh will be celebrated in Pokemon Go in January 2021.

Pokemon Go Sinnoh celebration event features

The Sinnoh celebration event brings with it a number of features to look forward to. Like other events, there will be certain Pokemon that appear more frequently, including the Gen 4 starter trio Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup.

There will also be an increased chance to catch a Shiny Buizel in the game, which is good news for trainers looking to add a rare version of the cute water-type otter Pokemon to their collection.

You can see the full list of features below:

  • Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Bidoof, Cranidos, Shieldon, Combee, Buizel, Drifloon, Glameow, Purugly, Hippopotas, Skorupi, and Snover will appear more frequently in the wild.
  • Lucky trainers might experience a Shiny Buizel encounter.
  • Kricketot, Budew, Cranidos, Shieldon, Bronzor, Bonsly, Hippopotas, and Croagunk will hatch from 5km Eggs.
  • Event-exclusive Field Research tasks will reward players with Stardust and lead to encounters with Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Cranidos, Shieldon, and Buizel.

Pokemon Go Unova event raid details

A number of Pokemon will be appearing in raids during the event, including Mega Charizard Y, Mega Blastoise, and Heatran. See the full list below:

  • One-star raids: Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Shinx, Buizel, and Gible
  • Three-star raids: Lopunny, Hippowdon, Toxicroak, and Lumineon
  • Five-star raids: Heatran
  • Mega raids: Mega Charizard Y, Mega Blastoise, and Mega Abomasnow
Heatran Pokemon GO
Heatran will appear in 5-star raids during Pokemon Go’s Sinnoh event.

Pokemon Go Sinnoh event collection challenge

With so many Sinnoh Pokemon appearing during the event, there will of course be a Collection Challenge that players can complete. You can view these in the Today View section of the app.

You’ll need to catch Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Cranidos, Shieldon, Combee, Buizel, Shadow Stunky, and Shadow Snover. Completing the challenge will bag you some Stardust, a Magnetic Lure, and 15 Ultra Balls.

Pokemon Go Sinnoh event start date and time

The Sinnoh celebration event kicks off in the Pokemon Go app on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, at 10 AM local time and runs until Sunday, January 17, 2021, at 8 PM local time.

That means you’ve got six days to stock up on any Sinnoh Pokemon you’re missing, do your best to catch a Shiny Buizel, and complete any challenges the game brings your way.

Niantic have also announced that the following week will celebrate the Hoenn region from Tuesday, January 19, 2021, to Sunday, January 24, 2021. There will be more information on that soon.

About The Author

Daniel graduated from university with a degree in Journalism and English Language, before spending five years at GAY TIMES covering LGBTQ+ news and entertainment. He then made the switch to video game journalism where he produces news, features, and guides for Pokemon, Fortnite, Nintendo, and PlayStation games. Daniel also has a passion for any games with queer representation.