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The holidays are in full swing and the year 2021 is beginning to wrap up. Pokemon Go is a part of the celebration, featuring several events and features that can help you get the most out of the yuletide season.
Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, there’s a lot of winter fun to be had in PoGo over the next several days. From the return of Mega Abomasnow to some new features, here’s what’s up in Pokemon Go throughout this week.
December Community Day Part 2
December 19 from 11am to 5pm local time (some bonuses run at differing times)
Depending on when you’re reading this, the second half of December’s Community Day may have already wrapped up. However, for those who are in the middle of the event (or those who live in areas where it hasn’t yet started), here’s what to expect on day two:
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Pokemon from 2021’s various Community Days will be spawning in the wild
- Their special CD moves will be available upon evolution (and Eevee caught during the event will know Last Resort)
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Some spawns took place yesterday and some are exclusive to today
- Sunday spawns: Eevee, Duskull, Shinx, Tepig, Oshawott
- Lures and Incense will both last three hours
- Eggs will require half the walking distance to hatch
- You'll earn double Stardust and XP for catches
- You can make an extra special trade each day and trades will cost 25% less Stardust
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Pokemon from 2020’s Community Days will feature in eggs and Raids
- Their special CD moves will also be available upon evolution
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Special Research, Timed Research, and Field Research tasks will all be available
- Field Research tasks will reward Mega Energy for Mega Charizard, Mega Beedrill, Mega Gengar, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Altaria
For all the specific details on December’s Community Day, check out our full guide on the event.
Pokemon Go Holidays 2021 Event Continues
All week
Part 2 starts December 23 at 10am local time
The annual holiday event is continuing this week, though it’s switching over to Part 2 on Thursday. We’ve got a full guide on the details for both parts that you can check out for all the nitty-gritty info.
Part 2 Details
Part 2 of the holiday event has a lot more going on than Part 1. First of all, here’s what runs for both parts:
- Open up to a maximum of 45 gifts per day
- Hold up to a maximum of 40 gifts in your inventory
- Team GO Rocket Grunts will have more Ice- and Water-type Pokemon on their teams
- Special holiday stickers will drop from PokeStops and gifts (they'll also be in the shop for purchase)
- Mega Abomasnow will enjoy a CP boost for the duration of the event
- The in-game shop will have new avatar items and event bundles
- New Pokemon will be available, including Holiday Spheal and Holiday Glaceon
- Returning holiday Pokemon will also be available including Santa Hat Pikachu, Holiday Delibird, Holiday Cubchoo, and Holiday Stantler
And here’s what’s available during Part 2:
- Bergmite and Avalugg make their Pokemon Go debut
- PokeStops will drop a free Incubator once a day
- 7km eggs obtained during the event will drop wintry Pokemon including Swinub, Smoochum, Bergmite, Galarian Darumaka, Cryogonal, and Holiday Cubchoo
- Field Research tasks, Raids, and wild spawns will feature event-themed Pokemon
- Timed Research will be available, leading to encounters with Galarian Mr. Mime
- A Winter Wonderland mini-event will be available, featuring a Collection Challenge (more on that later)
Part 2 and the Holidays 2021 event in general both wrap up on December 31 at 8pm local time.
Holiday Cup
December 16 at 4pm EST to December 31 at 4pm EST
As part of the festive celebrations, a special limited-time tournament is available in the Go Battle League: The Holiday Cup. Here are the rules:
- Pokemon must have 1,500 CP or lower
- Only the following types are permitted: Electric, Flying, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Normal
Winter Wonderland Mini-Event Collection Challenge
Trade distance bonus: December 24 at 1pm EST to December 27 at 1pm EST
Collection Challenge: December 25 at 10am to December 26 at 8pm local time
Another feature of the Holidays 2021 event is the Winter Wonderland mini-event, which is only available for a few days.
This event tasks Trainers with trading certain Pokemon to complete a Collection Challenge. You’ll be able to make trades with other Trainers up to 40km away for this event. You’ll need to obtain these Pokemon via trades:
- Swinub
- Snorunt
- Snover
- Vanillite
- Spheal (doesn’t need a costume)
- Cubchoo (doesn’t need a costume)
Finishing the Collection Challenge will award an encounter with Galarian Mr. Mime. There will also be Field Research tasks available that lead to an encounter with Holiday Delibird.
Spotlight Hour and Raid Hour
This week’s Spotlight Hour and Raid Hour events feature Ice-type Pokemon in celebration of winter and the holiday season.
Spotlight Hour: This event runs from 6pm to 7pm local time on Tuesday, December 21. Snover will be in the spotlight and therefore spawning in significant numbers. The special bonus this time around is double catch XP.
Raid Hour: Tier 5 Raids will appear in abundance and they’ll feature Kyurem as the Raid boss. This event runs from 6pm to 7pm on Wednesday, December 22.
Mega Abomasnow Returns to Raids
December 23 at 10am local time
On Thursday with the start of Part 2 of the Holidays 2021 event, the Raid bosses will switch over.
Here’s who is currently in Raids until then:
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Tier 1 |
Tier 3 |
Tier 5 |
Mega |
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Starting on Thursday, this will be the new Raid boss roster:
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Tier 1 |
Tier 3 |
Tier 5 |
Mega |
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News and Reminders
There are a few bits of news this week, including the announcement of the Go Tour locations in February.
>Pokemon Go Tour Locations Revealed
Remember how the Johto Tour event next February has a second day focused on Kanto? Niantic announced that the second day of the event would feature in-person events in certain worldwide locations and those locations have now been revealed. Here’s where the Pokemon Go Tour: Live events will take place:
- Parque Fundidora, Monterrey, Mexico
- Taiwan Lantern Festival, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Yas Bay, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
These events will take place on February 27, 2022 from 11am to 6pm local time. Tickets are $25 or the equivalent in your local currency.
Here’s what you can expect, per Niantic’s blog post:
- Real-world themed habitats each with their own Collection Challenges!
- You’ll be able to complete up to six Special Trades during event hours: 10am-6pm local time.
- You’ll be able to access event-exclusive Special Research.
- Take some snapshots for a surprise!
- Eggs placed in Incubators during the event will require one-quarter the usual walking distance to hatch.
- You’ll earn twice the Candy from hatching Eggs.
- You’ll earn extra Candy from catching featured Pokémon originally discovered in Kanto.
- You’ll get up to nine free Raid Passes from spinning Photo Discs at Gyms.
- You’ll get an exclusive in-game medal.
- Special stickers will be available from PokéStops and Gifts.
- Confetti will be appearing on the in-game map during the event.
- Real-life photo-ops and lounge areas will be available in the park.
- Exclusive merchandise will be available at select locations.
>Shiny Druddigon Makeup Event
When Druddigon first debuted in Pokemon Go, there was an issue where its shiny wasn’t available for a few hours. Niantic Support announced on Twitter that anyone who encountered Druddigon during that time period would receive three free Remote Raid Passes as compensation.
>Storage Increase Available
The storage increases for both Pokemon and items that were announced before are now available. You can increase your Pokemon box storage to 5,500 and your item bag to 4,500.
>Postcard Feature Live
Another announced feature has now been activated in game. You should be able to access the Postcard Book from your inventory or Trainer profile page and use it to see postcards from gifts that you found or received from friends. Check Niantic’s post to read more on how it works.
>Verizon Clothing
Verizon won a vote to have some sponsored clothing available in Pokemon Go. By spinning sponsored PokeStops at Verizon stores, you can obtain a hat and a backpack.
Next Week
There are a few things going on next week that we know about. It’s likely that we’ll see an announcement of the January events next week, so stay tuned!
- Dec 27: GBL changeover to Master League and Master League Classic
- Dec 28: Cubchoo Spotlight Hour
- Dec 29: Kyurem Raid Hour
- Jan 1: January Research Breakthrough begins