In Pokémon GO the first spotlight hour of the year is waiting for you. What it contains, you can read here.
When does the spotlight hour start? The spotlight hour starts on January 6, 2026, at 6:00 PM. As usual, a specific Pokémon will be in the spotlight and will appear everywhere. At 7:00 PM, it will be over and the Pokémon from the current event “The Right Trick” will appear again.
Which Pokémon is in the spotlight? Schmerbe is the first spotlight Pokémon on January 6. It originally comes from the Ruby and Sapphire games. The Water and Ground-type Pokémon has an evolution, Welsar.
What bonus is active? Starting at 6:00 PM today, you will receive double XP for every catch you make for one hour.
Is there a Shiny Schmerbe? Yes, you can catch Schmerbe as a Shiny as well. However, the chance of it appearing is not increased, so you will need a lot of luck.
How strong is Schmerbe and the bonus?
This is how strong Schmerbe is: Unfortunately, not very strong. The Pokémon is not even close to making it onto the list of the strongest monsters in Pokémon GO. And its evolution Welsar also doesn’t do much in terms of combat. This applies to both Raids and Gyms as well as PvP.
In the Super League, Welsar can be used, and it can win some matches there, but there are many other Pokémon that currently outperform it.
Is the bonus worth it? Double XP is always helpful when you are still on the way to level 80. The bonus also applies to all Pokémon you catch during the event today, not just Schmerbe. So, for example, you can also get more XP from Raids.
What you should consider: There might even be more XP on top of that today, as the event “The Right Trick” also brings double XP as a bonus. It is currently unclear whether the XP bonuses will stack during the spotlight hour. If they do, you would actually get four times the XP per catch. However, this remains to be seen.
What’s next in Pokémon GO? It is cold outside, and walks need to be well planned if you want to catch Pokémon. To let you know when it’s worth going out, we have summarized all the events of the current month for you. You can find our list with all dates here: All events in January 2026 in Pokémon GO.
