Every December brings a Pokémon GO Christmas event to close out the year. Find out everything there is to know about release dates and new seasonal content.
The Holiday season is always full of events for Pokémon GO and the latest season, Mythical Wishes, is no different. With all the spooky fanfare drawn to a close from this year's Halloween event, there will be three months of non-stop activities, including this year's in-game Christmas event, Winter Holiday.
Though it's not usually as large as GO Fest or Community Days, the Christmas festivities always offer the perfect opportunity for themed-Pokémon and Ice and Water types that are hard to find year-round. This article will cover when you expect the Christmas event 2022 to begin in Pokémon GO and what content could appear.
23rd December 2022 Update: We've updated this article to reflect the launch of the Winter Holiday Part 2 event on 23rd December 2022 at 10 am local time. We'll endeavor to provide more updates once more reliable information is available.
Pokémon GO Christmas Event 2022 Latest News
23rd December 2022: The Winter Holiday Part 2 Begins In Pokémon GO
Niantic has launched the Winter Holiday Part 2 event globally, and it features several Eeveelutions wearing Holiday-themed hats and a free Timed Research, Winter Wishes.
15th December 2022: The Winter Holiday Part 1 Begins In Pokémon GO
Trainers can participate in various in-game activities, including new wild and Raid encounters. Additionally, new Field and Timed Research tasks are available to obtain and complete to earn various rewards, including items and Pokémon encounters.
1st December 2022: A New Festive Pokémon GO Loading Screen Drops
Still no further details on what Niantic has planned for their festive event, but we have a new winter-themed loading screen available in Pokemon GO. It features Pikachu, Eevee, Spheal, Snorunt, and Pidove in a snowy, urban setting.
You can take a closer look just below:
28th October 2022: Someone May Be Getting A New Hat...
Pokémon GO dataminers have uncovered a new seasonal hat (below) that one of our favorite Pokémon may be wearing this Holiday Season. Our money's on Pikachu or Eevee.
Pokémon GO Christmas Event 2022 – Start Dates & Times
Following the launch of the brand new season, Mythical Wishes, on 1st December 2022, several dataminers revealed that there would be Holiday-themed season events arriving to Pokémon GO. While developer Niantic has yet to announce any new information or updates on these events, we do know the dates these events will occur.
The Winter Holiday event, similar to this year's Halloween event, will be split into two parts, with the first arriving in-game on 15th December 2022 at 10 am local time. The event will conclude on 23rd December 2022 at 10 pm local time, the same day as the start of the Winter Holiday Part 2 event at 10 am local time.
This event will conclude with the New Year's 2023 event on 31st December 2022, at 8 pm local time; however, another Holiday-themed event will take place during this period. The Winter Wonderland event is reported to start on 24th December 2022 at 10 am local time before the Christmas magic runs its course on 25th December 2022 at 8 pm local time.
These dates corroborate our previous predictions of the main Christmas event being split into two parts, with another limited-time event occurring around Christmas Day. As stated before, we're awaiting confirmation of these events, dates, and times; we'll provide updates on the latest news on the Pokémon GO Christmas events.
Pokémon GO Christmas Event 2022 – New Seasonal Content
In 2021, there were two parts to the Holiday event split between two different weeks. Each week offered up some slightly different encounters, research challenges, and Collection Challenges. Bergmite even made a debut to recognize the cold days ahead.
This year, we can confirm a Raid Hour event featuring Cobalion will take place during the Winter Holiday events, alongside a Spotlight Hour for Bergmite, who debuted during last year's Holiday events.
Speaking of Cobalion, the Pokémon will also appear in a 5-star Raid between 15th and 23rd December 2022, and Kyurem will be returning in 5-star Raids between 23rd December 2022 and 1st January 2023. Glalie will receive a Mega Raid focus taking place in-game from 15th December 2022 before disappearing from Raids on 1st January 2023.
Many, if not all, these Pokémon will have a Shiny form for Trainers to encounter on the dates mentioned above; however, regarding what seasonal items, like Stickers and Avatar Items, emotes, and rewards you can earn from these events have yet to be announced.
That concludes our article on everything we know about the upcoming Christmas-themed events for Pokémon GO. In the meantime, check our official Season of Mythical Wishes landing page for the latest news and updates.
