Pokémon GO developer Niantic has detailed the upcoming holiday event in the game, and if you’re looking forward to facing the cold this winter, there are plenty of delights to discover.
The main news revolves around a Pokémon that has not yet appeared in Pokémon GO, as the Vanilla Gel-type will appear in nature for the first time. Other highlights include a set of special Pokémon for costumes, new field research, and a rotation for eggs and raid battles.
Here are the full details:
Date + Time
Tuesday, December 22, 2020, 8:00 a.m. to Thursday, December 31, 2020, 10:00 p.m. local time
Characteristics
- Pokémon with holiday costumes: Pikachu, Delibird and Cubchoo with new festive-themed costumes will appear in Pokémon GO.
- Pokémon that appear in nature: Delicious Ice-type Pokémon will appear more often in nature, such as Spheal, Snover and more. Vanillite, the Pokémon Fresh Snow, will debut in Pokémon GO.
- Pokémon born from eggs: Seel, Swinub, Smoochum, Snorunt, Snover and Vanillite will hatch from 5km of eggs.
- Pokémon appearing in Raid Battles: Alolan Sandshrew, Dewgong, Jynx, Sneasel, Swinub, Walrein, Cubchoo and Cryogonal will appear in raids. If you’re lucky, you might even come across a Shiny Jynx. Don’t forget: Mega Abomasnow will appear in Mega Raids and will be even more powerful throughout the event.
- Exclusive field research of events: Enjoy exclusive field research tasks for events that will reward you with the opportunity to find Pokémon like Vanillita and Cryogonal.
- Winter-themed avatar items coming to the store: To help you dress up for the holiday season, you can expect Greedent Sweater, Whimsicott, Winter Boots, and Winter Coat avatar items.
- Get stickers with festive themes from PokéStops, Gifts and the store. You can find stickers with Alolan Vulpix, Croagunk, Whimsicott and more during the event. You won’t be able to get these stickers once the event is over, so get them while you can.
- There will be exclusive boxes for events in the store during the event. Check out the game store for more information.
- Rewards for the exclusive AR event mapping task: Complete AR mapping tasks to get Abomasnow Mega Energy and meet Snorunt.
Bonuses
Take note, coaches! You will benefit from different bonuses throughout the event.
From Tuesday, December 22, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. to Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 10:00 p.m. local time
- Open more gifts each day: For the duration of the event, the number of gifts you can open daily will increase to 45.
- Bring more gifts: During the duration of the event, the number of gifts you can carry in your item bag will increase to 40.
There’s also a special winter event during the last weekend of December, so if all of the above isn’t enough, check this out:
Date + Time
Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. to Sunday, December 27, 2020 at 10:00 p.m. local time
Characteristics
- Regice returns to the raids! Did you miss capturing a Regice the last time it appeared in raids? This is your chance to catch the Iceberg Pokémon.
- Rewards for the exclusive AR event mapping task: Complete AR mapping tasks to gain incense and more.
- Pokémon were more often attracted to incense: Delibird, Snorunt, Spheal, Snover, Cryogonal and Cubchoo.
Will you go out in the cold to catch some new types of ice for your Pokédex? Stay safe.