Pokemon GO December holiday events report: As predicted!
Today we're taking a peek at some details released by Niantic about the Holiday Events in Pokemon GO for 2019. This is the first time Niantic's made this series of events official, so they've not revealed ALL the info about each bonus or Pokemon that'll be involved – but we can start our score chart right this minute! Let's start with our predicted date range!
We predicted four events, today Niantic announced four events – sorta! We predicted that the first event would take place December 16-19th, event 2 on December 20-23rd, then event 3 December 24-27, and a New Years event from December 28-31st. Niantic's announced events today actually get split up slightly differently – but stick pretty close to the data we'd originally predicted. Just a few MORE bonuses were added to the final mix!
• EVENT 1: Monday, December 16, 2019, to (UNKNOWN) This isn't so much of an event as it is the beginning of a new age! Niantic suggested that from December 16th and forward, "you can expect different Pokémon to be hatching from Eggs". ALSO Starting on December 17, Virizion, the Grassland Pokémon, will begin to appear in 5-star raids – that'll last until January 7.
NOTE: We got the start date of the initial event period right, but Niantic's thrown a wrench in the mix by making this first event last forever – since it's introducing new Pokemon into the game for the first time!
• EVENT 2: Friday, December 20, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. PST to Monday, December 23, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8) This event will feature a pair of Pokemon superstars. "Lugia and Ho-Oh return for a Special Raid Weekend! Both the Psychic- and Flying-type Lugia and the Fire- and Flying-type Ho-Oh will be available in Raid Battles." Virizion will ALSO be available at this time.
NOTE: We got this one right on – December 20-23! This one is going to be more anticipatory than it is packed with bonuses – that's left for the final mega-event starting on the 24th.
• BIG HOLIDAY EVENT: Tuesday, December 24, 2019, at 12:00 a.m. to Wednesday, January 1, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. in your local time zone. The major event will span the time between the 24th and the 1st, with "Alolan Sandshrew, Alolan Vulpix, Pichu wearing beanies, and Stantler wearing bells" in Pokemon Eggs, the first appearance of Cubchoo, the Chill Pokémon and Cryogonal, the Crystallizing Pokémon. This event will also have Shiny Stantler wearing bells and Shiny Snover, as well as Stantler avatar items – also just as predicted!
• December 24: 2× Catch Candy, 2× Transfer Candy
• December 25: 2× Catch Candy, 2× Transfer Candy
• December 26: 2× Catch Stardust
• December 27: 2× Catch Stardust
• December 28: 2× Catch XP*
• December 29: 2× Catch XP
• December 30: 1/2 Hatch Distance when Eggs are placed into Incubators during this time period
• December 31: 1/2 Hatch Distance
• January 1: 1/2 Hatch Distance
• NOTE: We predicted two distinct events, December 24-27, 28-31, but Niantic's done a bit more splitting up than we've anticipated. We caught on to the Stantler business as well as the fancy Pikachu, to a point – take a peek at our full original predictions to see!
*In addition, on the final Saturday of the year, December 28, Niantic's holding a special 8-hour event in Pokemon GO. That'll be Saturday, December 28, 2019, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in your local time zone.
This event will bring Delibird to the yard, just like we predicted – because Delibird is the best holiday Pokemon of them all! You'll find 2-hour Glacial Lure Module duration that'll draw in "Lapras, Delibird, Cubchoo, and more."
This event will bring a special Eevee evolution, or Eevolution, with Glacial Lure. If you use the Glacial Lure Module trick to evolve Eevee during the event, you'll get a Glaceon with a special charged attack. This charged attack "LAST RESORT" will make sure you're rolling with one of the most rare and powerful Eevee-based Pokemon in the game!
This event will give you two additional Raid Passes (during the event time period, when Photo Discs are spun at Gyms). You'll lose these passes if not used during the event, and you can still only hold one Raid Pass at a time. Regice will be available in raids during this event too!