Prior to the introduction of the Field Research system, the only way to catch legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO was to defeat them in raids. Niantic has since given rural players and those who don't play Pokemon GO in a large group a chance to catch legendary Pokemon by adding them as Field Research Breakthrough rewards, which are earned by completing a total of seven Field Research challenges on different days. And now the company has revealed that 2019 will bring with it some new legendary Pokemon for the Field Research Breakthrough box.

In a recent tweet, Pokemon GO developer Niantic stated that January and February will both give players the chance to catch "several" legendary Pokemon through Field Research. It stopped short of revealing all of the legendary Pokemon that will be part of the Field Research Breakthrough rewards in January and February, but it did confirm that both Lugia and Ho-Oh, the legendary birds from Gen 2, will be part of the lineup.

It's hard to say which other legendary Pokemon will be added as Field Research Breakthrough rewards in January and February, but it's clear by Niantic's language that Lugia and Ho-Oh won't be alone. It's possible that the legendary Pokemon included in December's box will carry over to January and February, but there's also a chance that some legendary Pokemon will be making their Field Research debuts over the next couple of months.

While most all of the first- and second-generation legendary Pokemon have already been in the Field Research Breakthrough box, it has yet to include any legendary Pokemon from Gen 3. Niantic hasn't announced anything, but it would make sense for it to start including third generation legendary Pokemon as Field Research Breakthrough rewards, such as Groudon, Kyogre, and maybe even Rayquaza in 2019.

In the meantime, some fans online have expressed disappointment that Lugia and Ho-Oh are being featured as the next Field Research Breakthrough rewards. After all, both of them have been included in legendary raids on multiple occasions, as recently as this month, and hardcore players have likely added dozens of them to their collection by now. Hopefully the other legendary Pokemon included in 2019's Field Research are a little more exciting.

Pokemon GO is out now for iOS and Android mobile devices.