Pokémon Go Piplup Community Day guide: best movesets and start times

Piplup's Pokémon Go Community Day takes place on Jan. 19 at varying times, depending on what hemisphere you live in.

Players in the Northern Hemisphere will have their event active from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in their local time, and players in the Southern Hemisphere will have their event from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. in their local time.

Piplup will spawn in abundance, with an highly increased chance to spawn Shiny.

How do I get a Shiny Piplup?

Since Piplup will be popping up everywhere, just tap every Piplup you see until you get a Shiny one. You'll find one sooner or later, as the Shiny rate on Community Days is boosted to about a one in 24 rate.

Image: Niantic via Polygon What special move does Empoleon learn?

Empoleon will learn Hydro Cannon when evolved during the Community Day period. Keep in mind that you cannot use a TM to get this move — you have to evolve your Piplup during this time period.

How do I make the most of this Community Day?

Use your Incubators during the event period to have egg hatch distance lowered by a fourth. Grabbing a handful of high IV Piplup also won't hurt, as it's a pretty strong water-type attacker when paired with Hydro Cannon.

Pair your Hydro Cannon move with Waterfall to get a great water-type attacker. It falls behind Kyogre, Kingler, and Swampert, but if you don't have any of those, this is a great substitute.

If you're deciding which Shiny Piplup to evolve at the end of the day, try using one of the new search strings. Sort your 'mons by "recent" using the lower right icon, then type "4*" in the search box at the top. This will let you know if you have any 100% IV Piplup. Most people won't be so lucky, so next you'll want to type "3*" in the search box, which will show you any recent 'mons that are 80% or above. Appraise these to see which one is best and then evolve your new buddy!