Niantic have announced their plans for December 2021 in Pokemon Go; including upcoming Spotlights, events, and community day.
From December 1st until early January 1st, players can find Deino from Research Breakthrough encounters, along with the weekly 1 PokéCoin bundles. 5 Star raids will include Legendary Pokemon Reshiram, Zekrom (until December 16th), and Kyurem (December 31st). All of them also have a chance to be Shiny for the first time in Pokemon Go.
The above will also be the star of Raid Hours; 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (all times are local time to the player). Reshiram and Zekrom will both appear on December 1st, 8th, and 15th. Kyurem will meanwhile appear December 22nd and 29th. Mega Raids will include Mega Steelix (until December 23rd), Mega Abomasnow (December 23rd to January 7th). Again, both of them have a chance to be shiny.
The Spotlight Hours feature a particular species of Pokemon spawning in high-numbers every Tuesday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Each of these include other bonuses for Candy, Stardust, and XP during that time. What’s more all of them can be shiny. They include:
- December 7th: Electabuzz | 2× Transfer Candy
- December 14th: Magmar | 2× Evolution XP
- December 21st: Snover | 2× Catch XP
- December 28th: Cubchoo | 2× Catch Candy
The final Community Day of the year will be held December 18th and 19th. Pokemon from prior Community Days in 2021 will appear more frequently, while Eggs and Raids can have Pokemon from Community Days in 2020. Certain Pokemon may also gain exclusive moves when they evolve during the event. You can find the full details and the Event Bonuses here.
Finally, the game’s upcoming events were detailed. While the Season of Heritage may at first seem inspired by the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the event is actually inspired by Johto, the region of Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal.
Players are tasked with helping the Team Leaders open a giant ancient door. It should be noted that while everyone can do December’s Timed Research; January and February’s will only be available via pre-purchasing the Pokemon GO Tour: Johto ticket before January 10th, 2022. You can find the full details on the rewards, hats, and missions during the Season of Heritage here.
The first major event within the season will be Swinub Incense Day. Not only will Swinub be attracted by using Incense during this time, but if fully evolved into Mamoswine, it will learn the Charged Attack Ancient Power. Ice and Ground-type Pokemon will also spawn more frequently around that time. You can find the other upcoming events below.
- Season of Heritage: A new Season begins on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time! Embark on a journey inspired by the past as we run-up to Pokémon GO Tour: Johto. The Season of Heritage ends on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- Swinub Incense Day: On Sunday, December 5, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Swinub will be attracted more frequently to Incense. Additionally, both Ice-type and Ground-type Pokémon will be attracted to Incense throughout the day.
- Dragonspiral Descent: An event inspired by the Unova region’s Dragonspiral Tower will take place from Tuesday, December 7, 2021, to Sunday, December 12, 2021. More details to come!
- Pokémon GO Holidays Part 1 and Part 2: The Pokémon GO Holidays event returns on Thursday, December 16, 2021, and runs until Friday, December 31, 2021! Look forward to costumed Pokémon, Ice-type Pokémon appearing more frequently in the wild, event-exclusive Field Research, winter-themed avatar items, and a bonanza of bonuses!
