The Pokémon Go Lunar New Year event has its own Timed Research Tasks to complete. As with almost every in-game event, the Timed Research Tasks act as a list of objectives to achieve that are themed around the event. In the case of Lunar New Year, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger, and to celebrate this, Niantic has released Shiny Litleo for trainers to hunt down. Its normal form has been in the game since the debut of Kalos Pokémon, but this is the first time its Shiny form was made available.
The Lunar New Year 2022 event in Pokémon Go will take place from Tuesday, February 1, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to Monday, February 7, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. local time. During this period, there's an increased chance for Pokémon to appear Lucky while trading. Lucky Pokémon only take 50% of the Stardust required to power up moves, making them incredibly valuable. Not only that, but trainers are rewarded double the Stardust for opening gifts. Using a Star Piece is a great way to earn even more Stardust during this event.
There are two different Timed Research Tasks available for the Lunar New Year event. The first is available for free and will be present in the player's 'Today' tab without any additional steps. The second is the Catch Challenge, which was given to players who purchased a ticket to the Pokémon Go Johto Tour before February 10th. It's tied to the Season of Heritage event happening to celebrate the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. There's still a chance to unlock this Timed Research, but the ticket costs about $11.99. This is the complete list of tasks for this event.
Pokémon Go Lunar New Year Timed Research Tasks
Friendship Challenge
- Send 5 Gifts and add a sticker to each: Torchic encounter.
- Trade 3 Pokémon with a friend: Corphish encounter.
- Send 15 Gifts to friends: Darumaka encounter.
- Send Gifts 3 days in a row: Unown encounter.
- Reward: Unown encounter, 1,000 XP, and 1000 Stardust.
Catch Challenge
- Catch 10 Pokémon: 10 Poké Balls.
- Catch 25 Pokémon: 15 Great Balls.
- Catch 25 Fire-type Pokémon: 20 Ultra Balls.
- Catch 10 different species of Pokémon: Litleo encounter.
- Rewards: Espurr encounter, 1,000 XP, and 1000 Stardust.
It's important to clear these out before the event is over. On the bright side, the Litleo that players encounter from completing these has the chance to appear Shiny. Shiny Pokémon typically appear more frequently from clearing out these Timed Research challenges. Not only that, but the premium challenge that is unlocked from purchasing a Pokémon Go Johto Tour ticket requires trainers to capture 600 Pokémon. The reward for doing this is a Noibat Hat avatar item and tons of smaller items like Potions and Poké Balls.
Pokémon Go is available now on iOS and Android.