Complete guide to Pokemon Go Holiday Part 1 event with exclusive debuts, bonuses, and strategic gameplay tips
Holiday Part 1 Event Overview
Pokemon Go’s festive Holiday Part 1 celebration brings exciting new content as one of the final major events of 2024, featuring the highly anticipated debut of Shiny Sandygast alongside a holiday-themed Dedenne making its first appearance.
Niantic has unveiled comprehensive details for the Holiday Part 1 event, marking a significant seasonal celebration that introduces Shiny Sandygast to the game for the first time, along with a specially costumed Dedenne variant and numerous other festive surprises.
Although the Dual Destiny season recently launched, the holiday period approaches rapidly, prompting Pokemon Go to divide its winter festivities into two distinct parts to maximize player engagement throughout December.
This initial holiday installment delivers multiple debuts, special costumed Pokemon appearances, abundant wild encounters, refreshed egg hatch pools, and exclusive Field Research tasks. Review the complete details below to optimize your event participation and capture every available opportunity.
The Holiday Part 1 event commences on Tuesday, December 17, at 10:00 AM local time and concludes on Sunday, December 22, 2024, at 9:59 PM local time. This provides nearly six full days of festive gameplay across five complete days and partial start/end days.
Event Bonuses & Strategic Benefits
Throughout the holiday celebration, Pokemon Go trainers can leverage these valuable bonuses to accelerate their progress:
Pro Tip: Combine the double XP bonus with Lucky Eggs during community catch sessions to quadruple your experience gains. The reduced egg distance works exceptionally well when paired with adventure sync, allowing you to hatch more eggs while performing daily activities.
Avoid This Mistake: Don’t waste your regular incubators on 2km eggs during this event. Focus your limited-use incubators on 7km and 10km eggs to maximize the distance reduction benefit across more valuable hatches.
Pokemon Debuts & Wild Encounters
Niantic continues expanding its collection of costumed Pokemon annually, with another festive addition arriving this holiday season.
Dedenne adorned in special holiday attire makes its debut during the Holiday Part 1 event and fortunate trainers may encounter its sparkling Shiny variant as well.
Additionally, Shiny Sandygast enters the game for the first time and appears in wild encounters alongside these featured creatures:
Pokemon marked with an ‘*’ symbol may appear as Shiny versions.
Hunting Strategy: Focus on areas with high spawn density like parks and shopping centers during event hours. Use Incense while walking to maximize encounters with the new Shiny Sandygast. Remember that weather boosts can increase spawn rates for certain Pokemon types, so check your local forecast.
Raid Encounters & Battle Strategy
Between December 17, 2024, and December 22, 2024, raid rotations will feature these special Pokemon as raid bosses:
Pokemon marked with an ‘*’ symbol may appear as Shiny versions.
Raid Preparation: Most holiday raid bosses are 1-3 star difficulty, making them soloable for experienced trainers. Stock up on raid passes from daily free bundles and research tasks. For Glaceon raids, bring strong Fire, Fighting, Rock, or Steel types like Machamp, Rhyperior, or Metagross to quickly defeat them.
Advanced Tip: Coordinate with local trainers through Discord or Campfire to maximize raid efficiency, especially for targeting specific shiny costumes. Remember that raid hours typically occur Wednesday evenings from 6-7 PM local time.
Egg Hatching & Pokemon Pool
The 7 km egg pool undergoes temporary rotation during the Holiday Part 1 event. These Pokemon become available from 7 km Eggs during this period:
All listed Pokemon except Charcadet may appear as Shiny variants.
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Hatching Efficiency: With the 50% hatch distance bonus, 7km eggs only require 3.5km to hatch. Use this opportunity to clear egg inventory and stock up on gift eggs from friends. Prioritize opening gifts when you have empty egg slots to maximize costume Pokemon acquisition.
Warning: Avoid using paid incubators on 7km eggs unless you’re specifically hunting for shiny costumed babies. The hatch pool is relatively small, so duplicate risk is high after obtaining the costume variants you need.
Research Tasks & Challenges
Special event-themed Field Research tasks become available during the celebration. Completing these tasks will reward encounters with featured event Pokemon.
Additionally, an exclusive Timed Research becomes accessible for US $2.00 (or equivalent local currency). This premium research offers these completion rewards:
Trainers can complete catch-focused and raid-oriented Collection Challenges to earn Stardust, Poke Balls, and Great Balls.
Similarly, numerous Showcases appear at various PokeStops where participants can enter event-themed Pokemon for competition.
Research Strategy: Prioritize Field Research tasks that reward encounters with new costumed Pokemon or shiny-eligible species. The paid Timed Research typically offers better value than individual raid passes if you complete both parts of the holiday event.
Showcase Tip: Save your largest costumed Pokemon for Showcase competitions. XXL or XXXL variants often score higher points. Check multiple Showcases since you can only enter each Pokemon in one competition at a time.
PokeStop Showcases & Store Deals
Trainers seeking additional items can purchase either of two special bundles from the Pokemon Go Web Store:
Note that players may purchase only one of each bundle type per account.
That completes our comprehensive guide to Pokemon Go’s Holiday Part 1 event. Stay informed about ongoing activities including Pokemon Go Spotlight Hours, Community Days, and current Raid Boss schedules to maximize your gameplay experience.
Bundle Evaluation: The combined event ticket bundle typically offers the best value if you plan to participate in both holiday parts. Storage upgrades are always valuable for collectors, but consider whether you need immediate expansion or can wait for free upgrades from level milestones.
Final Pro Tip: Use the last few hours of the event to complete any unfinished research tasks and make final attempts at shiny hunting. Event-exclusive Field Research disappears when the event concludes, so claim your rewards before time expires.
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