Pokémon Go Hoenn Event - bonuses, end date and everything we know

Pokémon Go's Hoenn event is the next 'catchup' style event to come to the game, allowing you to stock up on any of those Gen 3 monsters you might have missed so far.

It's not the most elaborate of events, but nevertheless here's a quick rundown of all the essential details, including the Hoenn event end date and time, all known bonuses, and anything else you should know.

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Pokémon Go Hoenn event start time

The Hoenn event started on January 15th 2019, and once again follows the same rules as most Pokémon Go events in terms of start times.

In other words, it started at:

• UK: 9pm (BST)
• Europe: 10pm (CEST)
• East Coast US: 4pm (EDT)
• West Coast US: 1pm (PDT)

Pokémon Go Hoenn event end date

The Hoenn event ends on January 29th 2019, at the same times as above, with Niantic this time opting to give us official word on specific end times themselves in advance.

Pokémon Go Hoenn event bonuses, rewards and details

The Hoenn Event brings quite a range of bonuses and changes to the game, so starting January 15th here's a look at what you can expect:

• Boosted Gen 3 spawns - Pokémon such as the Gen 3 starters Treeko, Torchic and Mudkip will all appear more frequently, as well as plenty of other Hoenn-based Pokémon.
• Returning Raid bosses - Kyogre and Groudon, some of the best Pokémon in Pokémon Go, return as Legendary Raid bosses, as well as the return of other Gen 3 raid bosses to return to lower tiers, too.
• Field Research highlighting Gen 3 Pokémon - These include evolving three Wurmple for an encounter with Trapinch, hatching 2 Eggs for a Nosepass and catching ten Zigzagoon or Taillow for 1000x Stardust.
• Hoenn Pokémon in 7km Eggs - Expect an 'increased chance' of hatching them from 7km Eggs. We've updated our Pokémon Go Egg chart now we know the changes.
• Exclusive move from Breloom - A slightly odd one: if you evolve a Shroomish in Breloom during the event, the Breloom will learn an exclusive move, Grass Knot, much the same as how exclusive moves work for Community Day, it seems. This will make Breloom the best Grass-type for DPS (damage-per-second), according to calculations by players like eric654256 on reddit, but be aware that DPS is much less relevant in PvP battling, where total damage output before a Pokémon faints is more useful and Breloom's low defenses hold it back! Breloom's also confirmed as having this move if you catch it from a Raid.
• New Shinies - A couple more Gen 3s to add to the Shiny Pokémon list: Shiny Zigzagoon, Taillow and even Groudon can now be found.
• Hoenn cosmetic items in the store - New avatar clothing items, "inspired by Team Magma and Team Aqua - the original villains of the Hoenn region in Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire" can be purchased once the event's started, too.

The Wild Area 2024: Global event is this weekend! Throughout it you can catch Pokémon during the habitat hours, use Safari Balls, catch Mighty Pokémon, battle Gigantamax Toxtricity, obtain both Toxtricity Forms and catch a Studded Jacket Snorlax. If you've purchased an event ticket, you can also complete the An Accomplished Trainer quest. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

What is Hoenn? Details on Pokémon's third region and why this Hoenn event's happening:

Hoenn is the home of Gen 3's Pokémon and, of course, is the third region we were introduced to via the original mainline Pokémon games.

Why a Hoenn event now, though? Well, the first event like this - the Kanto Week back in 2018 - was designed to help players complete their Gold and Silver badges for the Kanto region, as they were included in the Special Research tasks in the hunt for Kanto's Mythical Pokémon Mew.

With Hoenn, however, there's still no sign of its remaining mythical Pokémon, Jirachi, which we can probably expect to arrive in the game via similar methods to the mythical Mew, Celebi and Meltan before it. Maybe this Hoenn event is a sign that it's coming soon? Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.