Pokémon Go Valentine's event guide

Updated February 15, 2017: The Pokémon Go Valentine's Day Event is over! Time to evolve the best of what you got and transfer anything that's not so hot.

Pokémon Go has announced their first Valentine's Day Event! It runs from February 8 to February 15, 2017, and includes extra candy, more pink Pokémon, and Lures that last six hours.

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There's a Pokémon Go Valentine's Day event?

Finally, right? Here's the announcement from Pokémon Go:

When does the Pokémon Go Valentine's event run?

It runs all week. Here are the exact dates and times:

• Starts: Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.
• Ends: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.

UPDATE: Pokémon Go has announced that the 6-hour Lures — but NOT the increased spawns or Candy — are being extended until Saturday, February 18 at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET.

Give or take server change and propagation time, of course.

Pokémon Go also sometimes starts early and ends late just to avoid any potential delays. If you're uncertain whether it's started or ended, transfer a common Pokémon like Pidgey and see how many candies you get.

Break down the double candy for me, would you?

Of course! While the Pokémon Go Valentine's even is on, the new candy rates are:

• Catch a Pokémon in the wild: 6 candies.
• Hatch a Pokémon Egg:
  • 2KM: 10 to 30 candies.
  • 5KM: 20 to 42 candies. -10KM: 32 to 64 candies.
• Trade a Pokémon to Professor: 2 candies.

You'll also get candy twice as fast for walking a Buddy Pokémon, so:

• 1 km Buddies will award candy every 0.5 km.
• 3 km Buddies will award candy every 1.5 km.
• 5 km Buddies will award candy every 2.5 km.

Candy is what you need to evolve and power up your Pokémon, so the more the better.

Best Pokémon to evolve and power up for Gyms

So, you REALLY want to hatch Pokémon Eggs during the event?

If candy is your thing, absolutely. 10 KM Eggs especially could reward you with whopping numbers of candy, up to 64 per hatch. You'll more likely get something near the median 48, but that's still a lot. A lot a lot.

I hatched two Dratini eggs right after the event started and now have my second Dragonite. So, I'll be walking all week.

Best ways to hatch Pokémon Go Eggs faster

What are the "pink" Pokémon that are spawning in higher numbers?

So far, Pokémon Go has announced, and numerous players have reported seeing, increased numbers of:

• Chansey
• Clefairy
• Clefable
• Exeggcute
• Jigglypuff
• Wigglytuff
• Slowpoke
• Slowbro
• Lickitung
• Porygon
• Mr. Mime (EU)

Porygon? Chasey? Where do I find them?!

Right? Sadly, unlike the Halloween event, not every pink Pokémon appears to be spawning in every area. Instead, they seem to be sticking to their usual "biomes" (habitats). So, that's where you'll need to look.

• Chansey: Desert and arid areas
• Slowpoke/Slowbro: Near rivers, lakes, seaways
• Porygon: Industrial and retail areas, including shopping malls

Where to find rare Pokémon in Pokémon Go

What about the Gen 2 babies?

Gen 2 babies can still only be hatched from Pokémon Eggs, but during the event there'll be a greater likelihood of hatching:

• Cleffa
• Igglybuff
• Smoochum

During the Holiday Event that greater likelihood wasn't huge but it was apparent. So, depending on how many Pokémon Eggs you go through, you'll probably get at least one of each. But you probably won't get five of each.

How to hatch Cleffa, Igglybuff, Smoochum, and other Gen 2 babies

Can this help you get ready for Gen 2 evolutions like Blissey and Porygon2?

Absolutely! While it looks like you'll need "evolution items" for some Gen 2 Pokémon, like Porygon2, you may not for others, like Blissey. Either way, having increased spawns and double candy gives you a huge opportunity to stock up.

Here's a guess for how much candy you'll want to store up for the increased spawns:

• 50 Porygon for Porygon2
• 50 Chansey for Blissey

And for double candy in general:

• 100 Zubat candy for Crobat
• 100 Oddish candy for Bellossom (split)
• 100 Poliwag candy for Politoed (split)
• 25 Eevee candy for Espeon (split)
• 25 Eevee candy for Umbreon (split)
• 50 Slowpoke candy for Slowking (split)
• 50 Onix candy for Steelix
• 50 Scyther for Scizor
• 100 Horesea for Kingdra

To cover your split evolution bases, you'll really want 3x to 5x for those Pokémon:

• 300 to 500 Oddish candy for Bellossom (split)
• 300 to 500 Poliwag candy for Politoed (split)
• 75 to 125 Eevee candy for Espeon (split)
• 75 to 125 Eevee candy for Umbreon (split)
• 150 to 250 Slowpoke candy for Slowking (split)

If you want to look even further out, double candy could also potentially help you prepare for Gen 4 evolutions, whenever those enter the game:

• Magneton to Magnezone
• Lickitung to Licklicky
• Rhydon to Rhyperion
• Happiny (baby) to Chansey
• Tangela to Tangrowth
• Mime Jr. (baby) to Mr. Mime
• Electabuzz to Electivire
• Magmar to Magmortar
• Eevee to Leafeon
• Eevee to Glaceon
• Porygon2 to Porygon-Z
• Munchlax (baby) to Snorlax
• Togetic to Togekiss

What you'll need to evolve Gen 2 Pokémon

Six hour Lures. Seriously?

Seriously. The New Year's event was only one hour so six hours, by comparison, seems ridiculous. But don't look a gift Lure in the mouth.

Just drop them at Magikarp spawns near the water and hope for Dratini.

How to catch rare Pokémon in Pokémon Go

So, should I max out my storage and start mass trading my superfluous 'mons?

Yup, you'll get the 2x trade in bonus for each one. If you have any beloved — or simply amazing — Pokémon you don't want to risk trading in by accident when the binge begins, star them now to avoid mistakes later. Then, as you catch, do all your trades and clear out as much storage as you can so you can go catch more Pokémon, get the 2x catch bonus again, and not have to worry about any annoying "storage full" errors when you're in the think of things.

You can also buy extra Pokémon storage in the Shop if you really want to stock up.

What about items, should I max out my bad too?

You're going to want max PokéBalls to catch max Pokémon during 2x candy time. That means you'll need to either buy bag upgrades if you have the cash, or go on a Gym train-up/take-down spree. That way you can use your best attackers, position your best defenders, and heal everyone up to reduce your potion and revive count, freeing up more space for balls and incubators. (Better to use them then ditch them, right?) Plus, it'll get Gyms out of your system for a while so you can concentrate on candy during the event.

So, if you're going to go for catches, make sure you have room for all the tools you'll need to catch 'em!

Stock up on Pokémon Eggs and Incubators

10 KM Eggs, like Dratini, Snorlax, or Lapras will give you from 32 to 64 candy during the event. That's why you'll want to hit up as many PokéStops as possible to stock up on as many Pokémon Eggs as possible. And then you'll want to stuff them into Incubators and hatch as many as possible.

Yes, Incubators cost money and disappear after three uses, but with eggs offering 2x candies as well, if you were ever going to splurge, now's the time. After all, if you're walking while candy is doubled, you might as well hatch 9 eggs at a time instead of just 1.

So, if you have any extra cash to spend, spend it on Incubators and reap the candy whirlwind.

Should you prioritize 5 KM Buddies?

Normally, walking a Dratini or Togepi isn't very efficient. That's because you need 5 km for every candy, making it a long, long road to the 100 candies you need to evolve a Dragonite or even the 50 you need to get a Togetic.

For the event, though, you'll get 2 candies every 5 km. It's still not speedy, but it's much speedier than usual, and depending how far you travel every day, you could make a dent during the course of the week.

So, if you need candy to evolve, or even to power up rare Pokémon like Snorlax or Lapras, make that Pokémon your Buddy and get walking!

Should you evolve now or wait until after the event?

If you get an incredible Pokémon — like off the charts stats (IV) — then go for it. Otherwise wait and see. You can always get better Pokémon to evolve, so there's no need to rush.

Will any of this help you get your medals?

There are medals for each type of Pokémon and, as you work your way to silver and gold, you get catch bonuses for those types.

• Bronze (10): 1.1x
• Silver (50): 1.2x
• Gold (200): 1.3x

If you don't already have a gold for any of the types of Pokémon that have suddenly become more common during the Valentine's event, now's your time to get them. So, for example, catch all the Clefables and Jigglypuffs you can to get your Fairy Tale Girl gold!

Getting out and walking to hatch double candy eggs and spinning stops to get more eggs can also push you over the top for Jogger, Breeder, and Backpacker medals.

How to get every medal in Pokémon Go

Same day as the bi-weekly nest migration, coincidence?

Almost certainly. Nest migrations occur on alternate Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET). They're seemingly random, so you never know what you're going to get. Could be Omanyte. Could be Rattata.

If you get nests for the Pokémon you need, or nests that are just plain cool, hit them as often as you can during the event and enjoy the double candy while it lasts.

How to find Pokémon Go nests near you

Pokémon Go is crushing my battery lately, any help there?

The last update was brutal for me as well. iPhones were designed to last roughly 8-10 hours while browsing the web or checking email. They weren't designed to last that long while keeping the screen on constantly with GPS and data running. (And it looks like they're now running off the audio API, Facebook style, which should be a big no no...)

But, who wants to run out of juice when 2x candy bonuses are falling out of the clouds?

So, if you're going to be out long, and you're going to be out late, you're going to want a battery case or, better still, a portable power pack. That way you can stay charged while you go, twice, three times, even four times longer than normal!

My current favorite is the mophie Power station, because it has two charging ports and tons of capacity.

Best pocketable power banks to charge your iPhone on-the-go

Dude, it's freezing cold outside, how do you play?

I live in Montreal, Canada, so I feel you. Or I would if I wasn't too frozen to feel. First, if you're going out, go out with friends and family. Valentine's Day is a time for couples, sure, but it's also a great time for everyone you care about. Not only is outdoor gaming safer, especially at night, it's considerably more fun.

Then, once you're out, here's what you do:

How to play Pokémon Go in the winter without freezing

Any Pokémon Go Valentine's event questions?

If you have any questions about Pokémon Go or the Valentine's event, drop them in the comments below.