December 2020 events and community days for Pokémon GO

It may be hard to believe, but 2020 is almost over. That means we just have one more month of events in Pokémon GO! Check out what’s in store as we wrap up the year.

December Research Breakthrough encounter

From Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, January 1, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8), Trainers will have a chance of encountering either Lapras or Unovan Darumaka in Research Breakthrough encounters, and catching either will reward bonus XP.

The Legendary Pokémon Kyurem returns to raids, and Mega Abomasnow arrives in Pokémon GO

The Legendary Pokémon Kyurem will be appearing in five-star raids from Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, January 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8). Don’t miss your chance to encounter the Boundary Pokémon!

In addition, Mega Abomasnow will be appearing in Mega Raids beginning Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m PST (GMT −8). Mega Blastoise, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Pidgeot, and Mega Houndoom will all be leaving Mega Raids. Following that, Mega Raids will be featuring Mega Charizard X, Mega Gengar and Mega Abomasnow.

Pokémon Spotlight Hours

In the month of December, Pokémon Spotlight Hour will take place every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. local time, and each hour will spotlight a different Pokémon and special bonus!

    • Tuesday, December 1, 2020: Seel will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for evolving Pokémon.
    • Tuesday, December 8, 2020: Swinub will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Stardust for catching Pokémon.
    • Tuesday, December 15, 2020: A surprise Pokémon will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for catching Pokémon.
    • Tuesday, December 22, 2020: Snorunt will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for transferring Pokémon.
    • Tuesday, December 29, 2020: Snover will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for evolving Pokémon.

Double Catch XP bonus ends Thursday, December 31, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. local time

As part of our huge GO Beyond update in December, we’ll be increasing the level cap to 50! To help Trainers level up during this time, a double Catch XP bonus has been live since Wednesday, November 18, 2020, at 1:00 p.m., and it’ll stay in effect until Thursday, December 31, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. local time.

More exciting feature updates

Managing your Pokémon is about to become much easier with the introduction of Pokémon tagging and other general search updates. Pokémon tagging will allow you to create different colored tags, apply them to Pokémon, and use them to filter Pokémon in your collection. The Pokémon search function will also be updated to allow for enhanced usability. When you tap into the search bar, a new screen will appear with recommended search terms, such as Pokémon Type, Region, Buddy Level, Shiny, and more.

In addition, there will be other events to look forward to as well! See below.

Season of Celebration

The Season of Celebration will run from Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, March 1, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. local time! Here’s a look at what you can look forward to.

    • During this Season, you can expect to participate in a series of in-game events celebrating different regions of the Pokémon world, including Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos!
    • During this Season, Trainers can expect to see different Pokémon in the wild more often! In addition, you can expect to see different Pokémon appearing in the wild depending on which hemisphere you’re in.
    • Different Pokémon will be hatching from Eggs! Growlithe and Wingull will be hatching from 2 km Eggs, and Baltoy and Ducklett will be hatching from 5 km Eggs. Shinx will be hatching from the 5 km Eggs you receive from Adventure Sync rewards instead of Ducklett. Seel, Aron, and Elgyem will no longer be hatching from Eggs.
      • Pokémon appearing more often in the northern hemisphere this Season include Alolan Sandshrew, Alolan Vulpix, Seel, Lapras, Teddiursa, Winter Form Deerling, and more!
      • Pokémon appearing more often in the southern hemisphere this Season include Growlithe, Shuckle, Electrike, Burmy, Darumaka, Summer Form Deerling, and more!
    • Mega Charizard X, Mega Gengar, and Mega Abomasnow will be the only Pokémon appearing in Mega Raids throughout December! Different Mega-Evolved Pokémon will be appearing in Mega Raids in the new year, so keep a lookout!
    • Mega Charizard X will be more powerful during the first half of December! Other Mega-Evolved Pokémon may become more powerful at different times throughout the Season of Celebration, so stay tuned for updates.

And that’s not all! Here are some other events you can expect to happen during this Season.

    • December Community Day: As we say goodbye to 2020, let’s take a look back on the Community Days we shared together. This year, our final Community Day event will be held on Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2020. Throughout the event, Pokémon featured in Community Day events throughout 2019 and 2020 will be appearing more frequently in the wild and in raids, so this event will be a great time for you to catch Pokémon featured in any Community Day events you may have missed! Stay tuned for more details soon!
    • GO Battle League Season 6: Starting with Season 6, the GO Battle League will expand from 10 to 24 ranks, and the top four ranks will have all-new names and corresponding badges. The expanded ranks will be accompanied by a totally new reward structure, which gives you more opportunities to earn exclusive rewards through ranking up. You can expect the GO Battle League rewards to be tied to the theme of the current Season, too! Season 6 begins Monday, November 30, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8). Learn more here.
    • Kalos Celebration event: From Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. to Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time, Pokémon originally discovered in the Kalos region will be appearing in the wild, hatching from Eggs, and appearing in raids for the first time! You can also look forward to exclusive Field Research and Timed Research during this event. Stay tuned for more details soon!
    • More coming soon! Even more fun winter- and holiday-themed events will be tap-tap-tapping their way toward you soon! Stay tuned for details.

WOW! That’s a lot to keep track of! As usual, there will be a two-day Community Day event featuring returning Pokémon from this year and last year. Any returning shinies that you’d like to catch more of? Or maybe you missed evolving and didn’t get the exclusive move! Let us know in the comments or on Discord!