Pokémon Go December 2025 Event Guide: Paldea Debuts, Holiday Raids & Community Day Rewards

A New Season and Paldean Pioneers

December kicks off with the start of the "Precious Paths" season, setting a thematic stage for a month of discovery. The first major discovery comes swiftly with the Journey to Paldea event, running from December 2 to 9. This event marks the long-awaited arrival of Pokémon from the Paldea region, beginning with the Rock-type Nacli.

The event isn't just about one new face, however. Trainers can challenge Paldean Tauros in 3-star raids. This isn't a simple regional variant; it comes in three distinct, region-exclusive forms: the standard Combat Breed, the fiery Blaze Breed, and the aquatic Aqua Breed. Catching them all will require coordination with friends across the globe or strategic use of Remote Raid Passes.

To aid in the hunt, the event offers substantial bonuses: 2x XP for winning Raids and evolving Pokémon. Furthermore, trainers hunting for powerful Dragon-types will want to take advantage of the increased shiny odds for both Larvitar and Bagon during this period.

December's Raid & Battle Extravaganza

December's raid schedule is a masterclass in power progression, offering both classic legends and formidable new challenges.

Five-Star Raids: A Dragon-Type Dream

The lineup is a Dragon-type enthusiast's dream, featuring premier attackers for your roster.

• Until December 4: The Swords of Justice (Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion) wrap up their run.
• December 4–13: Kyurem* arrives. A top-tier Ice-type attacker when powered up, its shiny form (*) is available.
• December 13–22: The iconic Reshiram* takes over, serving as one of the game's premier Fire-type raid attackers.
• December 22–31: Zekrom* closes the month as a dominant Electric-type force.

The asterisk (*) indicates a shiny form is available, with the standard raid shiny rate being approximately 1 in 20.

Mega Raids: Powerful Seasonal Allies

Mega Raids provide powerful seasonal allies. The rotation begins with Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Medicham, and Mega Garchomp (until Dec 4), moving to Mega Gyarados* (Dec 4–13), Mega Abomasnow* (Dec 13–22), and the fittingly frosty Mega Glalie* (Dec 22–31) for the holiday season.

Special Battle Formats

Beyond standard raids, two special battle formats demand attention.

• Shadow Raids: Shadow Heatran returns to weekend Shadow Raids, offering a persistent, challenging target.
• Max Battles: A weekly rotation will feature Dynamax versions of Darumaka, Cryogonal, Kabuto, Spheal, and Omanyte.

The raid climax arrives on Sunday, December 14, with the Gigantamax Snorlax Max Battle Day (2:00–5:00 PM local time). This 6-star difficulty encounter features a Gigantamax Snorlax with increased shiny odds. The lucrative bonuses include an increased Max Particle limit (1,600), 8x Max Particles from Power Spots, and the allowance for two additional Special Trades that day.

The December Community Day & Spotlight Hours

The annual December Community Day is a two-day catch-up bonanza, scheduled for December 6–7. This event features all Community Day Pokémon from 2025, giving everyone a chance to fill gaps in their shiny collections or stock up on Candy for powerful evolutions.

The event-wide bonuses are staggering: 2x XP, Stardust, and Catch Candy on all catches. This is compounded by 1/2 Egg Hatch Distance, extended Incense and Lure Module durations, and reduced trade Stardust costs. Notably, the event also introduces temporary evolution requirement reductions, making it easier to evolve Eevee into Espeon, Umbreon, or Sylveon, and to evolve Floette and Pawmo.

Complementing the weekend festivities are the weekly Spotlight Hours (every Tuesday, 6:00–7:00 PM local time):

• Dec 2: Cranidos (2x Transfer Candy)
• Dec 9: Shieldon (2x Catch XP)
• Dec 16: Mienfoo (2x Catch Candy)
• Dec 23: Spheal (2x Evolution XP)
• Dec 30: Delibird (2x Catch Stardust)

Winter Holidays & Ringing in the New Year

The holiday spirit takes over in the latter half of December with a two-part Winter Holiday celebration, packed with costumed Pokémon and shiny targets.

Part 1 (December 18–24) introduces new costumed Pokémon: holiday-attired Sudowoodo and Charjabug. The festive 7km Eggs will offer increased chances for shiny festive Pichu and Cubchoo.

Sandwiched in the middle is the Celestial Research Day on December 20 (2:00–5:00 PM local time), focusing on Field Research tasks that reward encounters with Lunatone and Solrock, both with increased shiny odds.

Part 2 (December 24–29) brings more debuts, including the Rock-type Rolycoly and a holiday-attired Dedenne. This segment boosts shiny odds for festive Stantler and the new costumed Dedenne.

The holiday fun continues with a Winter Weekend (December 27–28), a mini-event featuring no daily limit on Go Points, bonus daily quests, and increased shiny odds for the coveted holiday-hat Eevee.

As the clock counts down, the New Year's 2026 Celebration (December 31 – January 4) begins. Look out for party-attired Pokémon like Bulbasaur, Jigglypuff, Hoothoot, and Pikachu. The event offers 2x XP and Stardust from Raid Battles, with increased shiny odds for the party top hat Pikachu.

December 2025 is a month of abundance for Pokémon Go trainers, perfectly blending new discoveries from Paldea with classic holiday cheer and powerful raid targets. By planning around this month's dense schedule—from Community Day bonuses to legendary Dragon raids—you can fill your Pokédex, power up your teams, and stockpile resources. Looking ahead, January 2026 is expected to continue the momentum on these "Precious Paths," with events like a Piplup Classic Community Day and the anticipated debut of Klawf already on the horizon.