What is a Community Day and Spotlight Hour?

Pokémon GO frequently holds events where players can catch multiple of the same Pokémon in a specified allotment of time. These events are known as Community Day and Spotlight Hour. While they are similar, these two types of events vary slightly with how long and when players can acquire the specified Pokémon listed. 

  

First, I will go into detail about Spotlight Hour. During Spotlight Hour, trainers can collect a specified Pokémon (sometimes more than one!) between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. The event will run at the trainers' local time. The Pokémon that spawn during Spotlight Hour will not have increased shiny odds. But, since there are more of them at once than usual, you will have a higher chance of catching one that way than normally in the wild. Plus, trainers will get the opportunity for a bonus during the event, such as increased XP for catching Pokémon or decreased distance required to hatch eggs. These bonuses are usually not the same every time.

Community Day is similar to Spotlight Hour, except the duration is longer and the event typically has more yields. A Community Day typically takes place on a Saturday or Sunday once a month. On the specified day of the event, a trainer can catch the featured Pokémon from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in their local time. Like Spotlight Hour, the spawn rate of the specified Pokémon will be much higher than usual. But, during a Community Day, the rates for a shiny are increased. The usual odds for catching a shiny in Pokémon Go is about 1 in 500. The rate for Community Day is about 1 in 25, making the event a great opportunity to catch shiny Pokémon to add to your collection. Additional Research Tasks are also available during Community Day for those who plan on catching many Pokémon during the event. These Research Tasks will give things like Pokéballs, incense, and additional encounters with the featured Pokémon. The tasks will also guide the trainer to evolve the featured Pokémon which will usually have a featured move. These special moves can be learned for free during Community Day, which would otherwise require an Elite Charged or Fast TM, depending on the move. While Community Day runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., the event doesn’t technically end there. After the aforementioned catching period, the featured Pokémon can appear in bonus raids at gyms, allowing the trainer to continue to catch it. Plus, after a trainer wins the raid at the gym, the same Pokémon will spawn around the gym for an additional 30 minutes.