Pokémon Go celebrates the Year of the Pig with Lunar New Year bonuses

The Lunar New Year has brought us into the Year of the Pig, and Niantic is celebrating with an in-game Pokémon Go event. Twelve Pokémon representing the Chinese Zodiac will appear in increased numbers, while catching, evolving, and trading Pokémon will bring special bonuses.

The event kicks off today and will run until Feb. 13 at 1 p.m. PT. Expect to find the pig-like Pokémon Spoink more than usual — it’s the Year of the Pig, after all. Shiny versions of Spoink will also be available in the wild, and they’re pretty dang cute, so keep an eye out for them.

Filling out the rest of the Poké-Zodiac are Rattata, Ekans, Mankey, Ponyta, Electabuzz, Dratini, Mareep, Miltank, Torchic, Poochyena, and Buneary. (I’m honored to have my Zodiac animal, the Rooster, represented by the adorable Torchic.) Catching any of these — or any Pokémon in general — will result in twice the experience, as will evolving Pokémon. And when trading a Pokémon with someone, players have a higher chance of receiving a Lucky Pokémon in return.

Niantic/The Pokémon Company

This is the second big Pokémon Go update in as many weeks; most recently, Niantic added more Sinnoh-region monsters to the game.