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.

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Have you had your eye on something over at PokemonCenter.com, but didn't want to cough up the cash for shipping? Now's the time to move that item into your online cart and make the purchase. For a limited time, PokemonCenter.com is going to offer free shipping on all orders. No matter what you're grabbing or how expensive it is, you won't have to pay a penny extra to get the merch to you. Sift through the store to see what tickles your fancy here.

We recently talked about Pokemon Sword and Shield players cheating in online battles/tournaments by hitting the power button on their Switch at the right time in order to miss out on losing points in battles. Pokemon Co. is apparently well aware of the issue, and they're ready to dish out bans for cheaters. Check out their full statement on the matter.

“We truly thank you for supporting Pokemon Sword and Shield.

From now on, if we determine that players abuse this bug for their own gain in online battles and tournaments, we will not hesitate to temporarily ban or even permanently ban players from accessing online play in Pokemon Sword and Shield.”

Niantic has been updating Pokemon GO like crazy, and they have yet another feature to reveal today. The latest update includes a new approach to the game's Battle League. If you lose all 5 matches in a set, you can continue playing in that same set until you win a match for up to 15 losses, after which you'll move to the next set.

Pokemon Masters has been updated to Ver. 1.8.5.28962035. Check out the full patch notes for this update below.

- Bug fixes and improvements implemented.
- Fixes the following issue: certain area info selection screen banners for the Main Story Chapter 23 and Chapter 24 (Normal) displayed rewards that are not actually obtainable.

Players got their first taste of mighty Pokémon V and Pokémon VMAX in the recent Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield expansion. The latest expansion, Sword & Shield—Rebel Clash, brings even more of these incredible cards to the table, including Pokémon VMAX featuring the final Evolutions of the three first partner Pokémon of the Galar region. Take a look at some of the awesome cards that will be available when Sword & Shield—Rebel Clash arrives on May 1, 2020.

Rillaboom VMAX

Depicted in the midst of chest-pounding fury, Rillaboom VMAX is not a Pokémon to be trifled with. This furious Pokémon VMAX is primed and ready to unleash incredible damage with its Max Beating attack. Not only does this vicious attack hit for 130 damage, but you can also choose to discard up to 3 Grass Energy from Rillaboom VMAX when you use it, adding 50 damage for each card you discard. That's up to 280 damage from a single Max Beating! Talk about lowering the 'boom.

Cinderace VMAX

Your opponent had better be wary if they go up against your Cinderace VMAX. Thanks to its Counter attack, this fiery final Evolution of Scorbunny can dish back whatever it takes. If Cinderace VMAX takes damage from an attack during the previous turn, Counter returns that damage—plus 30 more. To really turn up the heat on the other player, use the Max Pyro Ball attack, which does a respectable 170 damage and makes the target Burned. Cinderace VMAX could prove to be a hot addition to your Fire-type deck.

Inteleon VMAX

Don't underestimate Inteleon's strength, despite its wiry frame—its devious smirk provides a hint of the power hidden within. Inteleon VMAX can dish out damage to multiple targets or chip away at your opponent's Active Pokémon's HP—and its Energy. The Max Bullet attack hits your opponent's Active Pokémon for 160 damage and 1 of their Benched Pokémon for 60 damage. Hydro Snipe only does 60 damage, but it lets you send an Energy attached to your opponent's Active Pokémon back into their hand. They'll have a hard time building up their offense if that Energy keeps getting reset!

Dragapult VMAX

The sly-looking Dragapult VMAX is the odd one out in this roundup (since it's not a first partner's Evolution), but it's one tough customer. Its Max Phantom attack is a nod to Dragapult's tendency to launch Dreepy from its horns like missiles—this attack hits your opponent's Active Pokémon for 130 damage and also lets you put 5 damage counters on their Benched Pokémon however you like. Will you pile all that damage on one unfortunate Pokémon, or will you spread out the punishment? No matter what you choose, your opponent will be sorry they messed with Dragapult VMAX.

Check back later as we reveal more of the fantastic cards you'll find in Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield—Rebel Clash, and be ready when the expansion releases May 1, 2020.

"A state of emergency was declared in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka. If left unchecked, 80,000 people will be infected within a month. Pokémon staff across the world have made staying connected a reality. Work and enjoy your time at home." https://t.co/kuaXrtMRoq

— Robert Sephazon (@Sephazon) April 7, 2020

Nintendo TOKYO is closed due to a state of emergency over coronavirus, and Kirby Cafe TOKYO has done the same. Now Pokemon Co. is joining in with the temporary closures as well.

All Pokemon Center and Store locations in Japan are shutting down as of April 8th, 2020 in order to combat coronavirus. There is no timeframe for the locations when it comes to returning to normal business hours. Hopefully these efforts will help speed up the recovery process, and people will be able to return to normal activity in the near future.

Pokemon GO players are doing a lot of playing from home during self-quarantine, and Niantic is thrilled to see so many people doing their best to flatten the curve. That's why they want to reward players who are stuck at home, unable to visit real-life PokeStops.

If you happen to be one of those players, Niantic wants to send you a special virtual gift package for Pokemon GO. All you have to do is add them as a friend (9484-2295-3675), and they'll make sure you get one of their packages. You'll have 24 hours to open the package, so don't wait too long to see what you got!

The following changes have been made to Pokémon GO until further notice.

Rotating 1 PokéCoin bundles in the shop! New 1 PokéCoin bundles will be available in the shop each week as one-time purchases. The contents of these bundles change weekly, so be sure to get what is available each week. Right now, a new 1 PokéCoin bundle is available for you that contains the following.

Ultra Balls × 20

Pinap Berries × 15
You can access the above bundle from now until Monday, April 13, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).

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