5 ‘Pokemon Go’ March events worth your time and money

If February was all about hatching eggs in "Pokemon Go," March will be focused on raids.

Recently, Niantic revealed its monthly schedule for the game and it's chock-full of special raids for the weekends. March will be dominated by Thundurus, which is a decent legendary raid boss. Its Therian forme has the potential to be better, so it's best to save raid candy for that.

Although the current legendary boss isn't raising the needle, the weekends' tier 5 raid bosses definitely will. That's what trainers should concentrate on this month. If players don't get the Pokemon they're looking for, they shouldn't worry or have fear of missing out aka FOMO. As Niantic has shown, these Pokemon and their shiny versions do return occasionally. With that said, here are the top five "Pokemon Go" events that are worth your time and money for March.

1. Team Go Rocket Takeover/Darkrai Raid Weekend — 8 a.m. March 6 to 10 p.m. March 9This is the big one. Darkrai came out last October and it is arguably the best Dark-type Pokemon currently in the game. (Let's not cover shadow Pokemon yet.) Its second time around will feature a shiny variant that looks gorgeous. Being a mythical Pokemon, it can't be traded (as far as I know) making this even more valuable to catch. For the best chance at beating Darkrai make sure to have a lineup heavy in fighting-type Pokemon such as Conkeldurr, Lucario and Machamp. In addition, the Team Go Rocket takeover will happen and that means more poison- and dark-type Pokemon will appear, including the debut of shiny Skorupi. Absol, a Pokemon that only appeared in raids and eggs, will be available in the wild, and yes, they can be shiny, too.

2. Altered Forme Giratina weekend — 8 a.m. March 13 to 10 p.m. March 16When Altered Forme Giratina came out, there was collective shrug from the community. Sure, it was a creepy-looking pocket monster, but it's place in the meta wasn't that great. With the advent of the Go Battle League, it has turned into a much-desired Pokemon, especially when it comes to the Ultra and Master league divisions. Once again, the shiny version of this Pokemon will be available and it's gold and blue coloring make it stand out. Have a team of dragons such as Rayquaza, Palkia, Dragonite and Salamence ready with dragon moves. They have the bulk to keep up the attacks.

3. Psychic Spectacular Event/Lugia weekend — 8 a.m. March 27 to 10 p.m. March 10This event has something for everyone. It will introduce several Unova Pokemon, including Solosis and Gothita. In addition, Pokemon such as Drowzee and Baltoy will be available. Both have rare shiny versions with the laternate color of Baltoy having its debut. The Pokemon that players should get is Lugia. But wait, hasn't that boss been out a few times? Yes, it has but it never had its signature move Aeroblast. In this weekend's event, Lugia will have that move available, making a dominant Pokemon in Go Battle League's Master division even more powerful. It will be worth it to grab a least one of them. Plus, this will be another chance to catch the shiny version.

4. "Mysterious"/Cobalion Raid weekend — 8 a.m. March 20 to 10 p.m. March 23Niantic was vague with this event. That knocks this down a peg, but what we do know is that the shiny version of Nincada will be debuting. It's not a must-have Pokemon but it is something to keep an eye out for if you're a completionist. The bigger news is the double catch and hatch stardust. This will happen after the launch of season 1 of Go Battle League, and right about then, players will be needing some dust to power-up Pokemon for battling. In addition, Karrablast and Shelmet will be availabe in 5km eggs. This event will also see the debut of shiny Cobalion. The Iron Will Pokemon will make its return and though it wasn't sought-after in its first go-around, the addition of the exclusive move — Sacred Sword — could bump up its place in the rankings.

5. Rocket Take-over Day — 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. March 7With the advent of shadow-boosted Pokemon, this three-hour event has a higher importance than the Abra Community Day on March 15. During this window, players can find more Team Go Rocket grunts to battle as well as opportunities battle the Team Go Rocket leaders — Sierra, Cliff and Arlo. This is a chance to catch dark Pokemon you may have missed, including shiny versions and advance the quests to get shadow Entei this month. All of this makes this event is a must for collectors. Lastly, players will be able to use their charge TM to replace a Shadow Pokemon's exclusive move, Frustration. The shadow boost that was just introduced makes some shadow versions more viable and increases their importance in the ranking, but at the same time, the drawback with these Pokemon is that they cost a ton of stardust to evolve and power-up.