December is shaping up to be a busy month for Pokémon Go. After last month’s events, which included the Terrakion raids currently ongoing until December 17, Niantic has announced several new events coming to the app this month. These events will include Team GO Rocket research tasks, hatching Eggs, Legendary Raids, and some holiday events to finish out the year.
First on Niantic’s list is a Team GO Rocket update. A new Special Research mission, A Challenging Development, is available this month. Players who defeat the infamous Team Rocket boss Giovanni within the month of December will have the chance to rescue Shadow Zapdos from his evil clutches.
Next, Niantic revealed that “different Pokémon” will begin hatching from Eggs without much explanation. This seems to mean that Pokémon that haven’t typically hatched from Eggs will begin doing so, but we’ll all find out what this exactly means when this event starts next Monday, December 16.
After Terrakion leaves five-star raids on December 17, the Grass and Fighting Type Gen V Legendary, Virizion, will take its place in raids until January 7, 2020, at 1 PM PT—its first appearance in raids.
Virizion won’t be the only Pokémon appearing for a limited time in raids. Gen II bird Legendaries, Lugia and Ho-Oh, will be returning to five-star raids for a Special Raid Weekend from 1 PM PT on Friday, December 20, to 1 PM PT on Monday, December 23, concurrent with the Virizion raids.
During the final Saturday of 2019—December 28—there will be a “special winter weekend event.” From 11 AM to 7 PM local time, Glacial Lure Modules will last two hours and attract more Ice Type Pokémon, including Lapras, Delibird, and Cubchoo. If you evolve an Eevee into Glaceon using a Glacial Lure Module during the event, that Glaceon will know the Charged Attack Last Resort. Regice will briefly return to raids and players can receive up to two additional Raid Passes when spinning Photo Discs at Gyms during this time frame.
The biggest event of the month is the holiday event, which will include new Pokémon in costumes, new Ice Type Pokémon, new Field Research exclusive to the event, winter-themed clothing options for trainer avatars, and some bonuses. This event will run from midnight on Tuesday, December 24 to midnight Wednesday, January 1, 2020, local time.
The lucky few Pokémon who will don winter costumes include Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu, who will all be wearing beanies, and the reindeer Pokémon Stantler, who will be wearing jingle bells. Ice Type Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild, such as Sneasel, Delibird, Snorunt, and Cubchoo, who will be making its Pokémon Go debut. You can also hatch event-related Pokémon from 7 km Eggs during this time, such as Alolan Sandshrew, Alolan Vulpix, Pichu wearing beanies, and Stantler wearing jingle bells.
You’ll also be able to find Raichu wearing beanies and Stantler wearing bells in two-star raids. Glacial Lure Modules will attract the Ice Type Cryogonal, who will also be making its debut in the game. The event-exclusive Field Research tasks will give players another chance to encounter some of the event Pokémon, such as Pikachu wearing beanies. It also appears some Ice Type Pokémon will be appearing as Shadow Pokémon in Team GO Rocket battles, such as Delibird. Lastly, Shiny Stantler wearing bells and Shiny Snover will begin appearing in the wild.
Throughout the entire event, you can open up to 40 gifts a day, double the usual amount. You’ll also be able to carry 20 gifts in your inventory at once, which is twice the usual number. You’ll also receive one free single-use Incubator every day during the event by visiting a PokéStop.
The rest of the bonuses vary by day. From December 24 to 25, you’ll earn double candy from catching and transferring Pokémon. From December 26 to 27, you’ll receive double the stardust from catching Pokémon. From December 28 to 29, you’ll earn double the XP from catching Pokémon. From December 30 to January 1, any Eggs placed in Incubators during this time will hatch at half their normal distance.
Make sure to check out the details of this weekend’s Community Day event, which will be bigger and longer than usual Community Day events.