Pokémon GO is enticing players to get outside and celebrate the season with a new Winter Holiday Event, of which Part 1 will lead up to just before Christmas and offer bonuses to XP, gift storage, stickers, and more. Part 1 will begin Thursday, December 15, and run until Friday, December 23 at 10 AM local time. The event will be packed with content such as Cobalion 5-Star Raids, new Shiny Pokémon, Mega Glalie, holiday outfitted Pokémon, and exclusive Timed Research for players to participate in for all sorts of holiday goodies, including an avatar pose.

Traditionally, Pokémon GO features special holiday tasks and rewards as a way of celebrating the festive season. This year, Niantic is putting the two-part winter event inside the Season of Mythical Wishes event which will occur in individual but related sections until March 1, 2023. Some bonuses, such as the ability for trainers to send and open more gifts each day, earn extra candy per trade, and XL candies for each trade when above level 31, will be in effect throughout Mythical Wishes, while others will be specific for Part 1 of the Winter Holiday event.

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Pokémon GO's Holiday 2022 Event Raids & Items

During a timeframe of a little over one week, players will have the chance to complete Field Research tasks, paid Timed Research tasks (if they so choose), participate in Raids, and catch wild encountered Pokémon specific to Pokémon GO's Winter Holiday Event. These will include opportunities to battle the Mega Glalie as well as find and catch Pokémon GO's new Shiny Bergmite, both of which make their debut during this event. There will be special avatar items and stickers available in the in-game store as well as bonuses to XP and related to gift giving.

Pokémon GO's Holiday Avatar Items, Bonuses, & Stickers

Pokémon GO trainer bonuses in Part 1 will include getting 50% more XP for winning raid battles and being able to store up to 40 gifts at a time. New event-themed stickers will be available for purchase or received from spinning PokéStops and opening gifts from friends. Additionally, players who want to dress their character for the holiday event will find the new avatar items listed below available in the in-game shop both during and after the event.

• Holiday Pajama Top
• Holiday Pajama Bottoms
• Holiday Pajama Slippers
• Holiday Hat
• Holiday Beard
• Holiday Suit
• Gifting Pose

Holiday Pokémon GO Raids & Wild Encounters

Making its Mega debut in Pokémon GO, Mega Glalie Raids will be occurring until January 1. Meanwhile, Five-Star Raids during Part 1 will bring the return of Cobalion with a special featured Sacred Sword attack that is uniquely available if caught during this event. The One- and Three-Star Raids will have a lineup that includes some classic favorites wearing holiday attire included in the mix.

Sticking with the overall motif, the holiday and winter-themed Pokémon listed below are those which will be appearing as wild encounters during Part 1 of the Winter event. All of them have Pokémon GO Shiny variants except for Vanillite and Cryogonal. The last three listed, Vulpix, Stantler, and Cryogonal will appear less often than the others.

• Pikachu wearing a Winter Carnival outfit
• Swinub
• Delibird
• Snorunt
• Spheal wearing a holiday outfit
• Snover
• Vanillite
• Cubchoo
• Bergmite
• Alolan Vulpix
• Stantler wearing a holiday outfit
• Cryogonal

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Pokémon GO's New Holiday Shinies Are Bergmite & Avalugg

For the first time in Pokémon GO, Bergmite and its evolved form, Avalugg have the possibility of being Shinies. The Ice-type Pokémon from the Kalos Region joined the game as only its non-Shiny version in 2021's winter event. Now, both Shiny variants are entering the Pokédex bearing yellow accents to distinguish them. Shiny Bergmite will be in the rotation for One-Star Raids, found in wild encounters, and able to be hatched from 7 km eggs.

Pokémon GO's Paid & Free Holiday Research Events

During Part 1 of the Winter Event, Pokémon GO will include another paid Research event that offers two incubators, one incense, Abomasnow Mega Energy, various event Pokémon encounters, and an event-themed avatar pose as its rewards. For $5.00 (USD) players can purchase a ticket for themselves or gift it to a friend to provide access to the exclusive Winter Event Timed Research. The Timed Research tasks must be completed, and all rewards claimed, before Saturday, December 31 at 8 PM local time.

It is important to note that the paid Timed Research is separate from the Field Research, which all trainers will have access to during Pokémon GO's Winter Event Part 1. Completing tasks for the Field Research will reward players with the following:

• Pikachu wearing a Winter Carnival outfit
• Alolan Vulpix
• Seel
• Shellder
• Jynx
• Spheal wearing a holiday outfit
• Crabrawler
• Stantler wearing a holiday outfit
• Sneasel
• Glaceon Wearing an Undersea Holiday Outfit

Pokémon GO Eggs Could Provide A Shiny Smoochum Or Sneasel

During Part 1 of the Winter Holiday event, Pokémon GO will change 7 km Pokémon eggs to have the possibility of hatching the Crabrawler, Bergmite, Amaura, Sneasel, or Smoochum. Of these, Smoochum, Sneasel, and Bergmite each have the possibility of having their Shiny variant hatch, which is a further inducement for players to get out and go for a walk.

Holiday events in video games are often memorable favorites for many players, and Pokémon GO continues to provide its players with fun, festive content while staying with its overall goal of encouraging people to exercise by providing rewards for distance walked. Avatar items allow players to dress their character in festive gear, which can spread just a little more cheer. And, of course, who can resist an adorable Pikachu dressed in a seasonal outfit?

More: Pokémon GO: How To Catch Ditto (December 2022)

Sources: Pokémon GO, The Poke GO Hunter/Twitter