Pokemon GO reveals New Year event bonuses and rewards

Pokemon GO We've revealed the upcoming New Year's event for players and highlighted all the bonuses and details you can expect, including pocket monsters in unique costumes. As a live service title for mobile users, Niantic is constantly adding new features and seasonal content. Pokemon GO Players who log in frequently This includes special holiday events that only happen once a year.

In fact, December 2025 has already proven to be a busy month for players overall. Earlier this month, Pokemon GO They held an annual end-of-year Community Day to bring in different Pokémon throughout the year and give players another opportunity to catch them. December 2025 Pokemon GO It also includes other limited-time events in Max Raid battles like Darumaka and Cryogonal, more 5-star raids, and a new special spotlight event to check out. As expected, Niantic has also brought back a special New Year's event for players to participate in.

Pokemon GO Announces Classic Pokemon for Community Day in January 2026

relevant

Pokemon GO's January 2026 Community Day Classic features fan-favorite starters

Pokémon GO's first Community Day Classic event in 2026 will give fans a chance to pick up one of the franchise's most popular starter Pokémon.

Pokemon GO New Year Event Start and End Times

Local time: December 31, 2025, 10:00 AM – January 4, 2026, 8:00 PM local time

Starting the first day of the new year, Pokemon GO The year-end event begins at 10 AM locally for all players. When the New Year's event begins, players will see festive fireworks explode from the game's skybox, earn double XP and earn double Stardust in raid battles. Of course, this event comes with costumed Pokémon you can catch, including a special Pikachu wearing a star hat, both in the wild and during raids.

But that's not all! Wild encounters may also include Party Hat Bulbasaur, a ribbon wearing Jigglypuff, and New Year's Party style Hoothoot. Of course, it's unlikely that these encounters will be shiny variants, so players have the opportunity to add them to their collection of shiny Pokémon. Field research assignment rewards may lead to these special encounters.

The party atmosphere extends to a variety of raid encounters during the New Year event, including a 1-star raid featuring Party Hat Wurmple and Party Hat Pikachu. The 3-star raid also provides party hats for encounters with Raticate, Nidorino, Gengar, and Wobbuffet. The lucky exchange in a trade has also been increased from 35 to 45. Not only that, if a player trades Pokemon GO This is an archived creature from 2020, with guaranteed luck until the limit is reached and is permanent.

Lastly, for players who want to invest a little more into the game, Niantic is offering a limited-time research for $1.99, which allows players to get one additional raid pass on a spinning photo disc. That means a total of 2 per day instead of the regular 1. The time-limited research includes two Premium Battle Passes, 3,000 Stardust, and an encounter with a New Year-themed Top Hat Pikachu. The in-game store will also sell Blessphalon boots for players' avatars to wear.

However, that event is still a few weeks away, so players will have more content coming as soon as this week. Pokemon GO's Winter Holiday begins on December 18 and adds costumed creatures such as Sudowoodo, Charjabug, Eevee, Dedenne, and festive versions of Vikavolt. Charjabug looks like a wrapped present, and Sudowoodo, a rock Pokémon, is dressed to resemble a Christmas tree. Swinub, Snorunt, and Spheal will also make appearances, and players can earn new winter-themed avatar gear. Eggs also have a higher chance of hatching Ice types such as Smoochum, Cryogonal, and Snom.