Pokémon GO unveiled a new event today, as the new update — “Pinch Perfect” — has begun its run from January 6 to January 11. And as familiar players of the game might’ve guessed, this time, it’s all about crustacean and clawed creatures for you to capture and fo battle with.
This event’s main highlight is the debut of Klawf, but it also brings the introduction of the shiny variant for Dhelmise, adding a new special edition monster to Pokémon GO.
For players looking to maximize their progression, the primary gameplay bonus during this window is doubled XP for catching Pokémon. If you are looking to level up quickly, this is a strategic time to use a Lucky Egg in areas with a high density of encounters.
Read on for a full breakdown.
Pokémon GO: “Pinch Perfect” update
Finding Klawf and Shiny Encounters
The orange-skinned and pink-cheeked crustacean will finally come around Pokémon GO, but not in a way that most players are familiar with. First of all, It is important to note that Klawf will not appear as a wild encounter.
Oh, no. In order to obtain this new addition, you must participate in specific Field Research, Timed Research, or Raid events.
That’s not all exclusive news, though: while Klawf remains exclusive to tasks and raids, several other species will get increased spawn rates in the wild. According to official data and community reports, you can expect to see more of the following:
- Boosted Spawns: Corphish, Dwebble, Tirtouga, Archen, and Clauncher.
- Additional Sightings: Sandshrew, Tentacool, Onix, Rhyhorn, Magikarp, Trapinch, and Drilbur.
For those hunting rare color variants, Corphish, Dwebble, and Clauncher have an increased chance of being shiny when encountered in the wild or in raids during this period.
Research Opportunities: Free and Premium
The update introduces several research tracks. Timed Research tasks will rotate every two days, primarily focusing on encounters with species like Dwebble, Corphish, and Clauncher. Completing these free sets generally leads to a Klawf encounter, along with 950 Stardust and 950 XP.
For players willing to spend $1.99, a Premium Timed Research pass is available. This paid track provides additional encounters with the featured species and rewards a Premium Battle Pass and 9,500 XP upon completion. From an objective standpoint, this is primarily useful for those who want more opportunities to hunt for shiny variants.
Raid Schedule Adjustments
The raid pool has been updated to reflect the event’s theme. The main highlight for this part are the Dhelmise encounters in Pokémon GO, which not only increase its regular variant’s spawn rates, but it also debuts, for the first time, the Shiny Dhelmise.
For Pokémaniacs out there, you might remember Dhelmise as a debut from the franchise seventh generation, on Pokémon Sun and Moon.
You can find the following targets in gyms:
- One-Star Raids: Corphish, Dwebble, and Clauncher.
- Three-Star Raids: Dhelmise, Dondozo, and Klawf.
Winning a raid is also a specific requirement for certain Field Research tasks obtained by spinning PokéStops, which can result in an encounter with either Dhelmise or Klawf. Other field tasks involve catching a set number of Pokémon for rewards like Poké Balls or Stardust.
At any rate, this Pokémon GO update will seemingly have a lot of ground to cover, so make sure to have your smartphone app update — or, you know, grab one of those tag things that throws pokéballs for you…
