Grookey Community Day (January 2026): Bonuses, Shiny Odds, and Frenzy Plant Rillaboom

The first Community Day of 2026 stars Grookey, the Chimp Pokémon! Join the event on Sunday, January 18, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time to enjoy 3× Catch Stardust, increased Grookey spawns, and a chance to encounter Shiny Grookey.

Evolve Thwackey during the event—or up to four hours afterwards—to obtain Rillaboom with the exclusive Charged Attack Frenzy Plant Grass.

January Community Day Bonuses

• (*) While most bonuses are only active during the three-hour event period, these bonuses will be active from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time.
• (**) excluding Daily Adventure Incense. Activate during the event for bonus duration.

Infographic

Featured Pokémon: Grookey

Grookey

On Sunday, January 18, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm local time, Grookey will appear more frequently in the wild. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Grookey! Grookey is a Grass type Pokémon in Pokémon GO, which is boosted by Sunny weather.

Evolve Thwackey (Grookey’s Evolution) during the event or up to four hours afterward to get a Rillaboom that knows the Grass type Charged Attack Frenzy Plant.

Shiny Grookey Odds and Comparison

The odds to get a Shiny Grookey are 1 in 20 (5%) during January Community Day. Here is a quick comparison between regular and Shiny Grookey, Thwackey and Rillaboom.

Regular	Shiny
Grookey	Grookey
Thwackey	Thwackey
Rillaboom	Rillaboom

How to evolve Grookey into Thwackey, into Rillaboom

Pokémon	Conditions	Evolution
Grookey	25× Grookey Candy	Thwackey
Thwackey	100× Grookey Candy	Rillaboom

Move Availabilty updates

Rillaboom

Frenzy Plant is Rillaboom’s Community Day Move

Rillaboom will learn Frenzy Plant when evolved during the event hours and for up to four hours afterwards.

Drum Beating

Starting with the event and continuing afterwards, Rillaboom will be able to learn the Charged Attack Drum Beating. This Grass-type Charged Attack has 60 power in Trainer Battles and lowers the opposing Pokémon’s Attack by one stage, and 115 power in Gyms/Raids.

Drum Beating Grass

• Trainer Battles: 60 power and lowers the opposing Pokémon’s Attack by one stage.
• Gyms and raids: 115 power

Best Mega Evolutions for Grookey Community Day

Try to get a Grass type Mega Pokémon to at least a high level, or even Max level, to enjoy the bonuses that having that Pokémon Mega evolved during the event can give you. Be sure to Mega Evolve for extra Candy from catches!

Grookey Max CP Chart

This table shows Grookey’s maximum Combat Power on every level, from Level 1 to Level 50. In wild encounters, Grookey can be caught from Level 1 – 30, and if weather boosted, from Levels 6 – 35. Grookey is boosted by Sunny weather.

Field Research

January Community Day–themed Field Research will be available! Catch Grookey to earn rewards such as Stardust, Great Balls, additional encounters with Grookey, and more!

You may even find Field Research that leads to encounters with Grookey that have a Special Background—if you’re lucky!

Task	Rewards
Catch 3 Grookey	Grookey chance for special background
	5× Great Ball
	2× Ultra Ball
	2× Pinap Berry
	500× Stardust
Catch 5 Pokémon while in a party	Grookey chance for special background
Catch 50 Pokémon	Grookey chance for special background

Grookey Community Day Special Research Story

For US$1.99 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency), you’ll be able to access the Grookey Community Day–exclusive Special Research. Complete this research for even more rewards including:

Grookey Special Research (1/3)

Task	Reward
Catch 3 Pokémon	Grookey
Catch 5 Pokémon	Grookey
Catch 7 Pokémon	Grookey
Make 7 Nice Throws	20× Ultra Ball
Make 5 Great Throws	1× Star Piece
Make 5 Curve Balls	1× Incense

Rewards

Grookey Special Research (2/3)

Task	Reward
Catch 3 Pokémon	Grookey
Catch 5 Pokémon	Grookey
Catch 10 Pokémon	Grookey
Use 3 Berries to catch a Pokémon	20× Ultra Ball
Use 5 Berries to catch a Pokémon	1× Charge TM
Use 7 Berries to catch a Pokémon	1× Silver Pinap Berry

Rewards

Pecking Order Special Research (3/3)

Task	Reward
Catch 3 Pokémon	Grookey
Catch 5 Pokémon	Grookey
Catch 10 Pokémon	Grookey
Spin 3 PokéStops or Gyms	20× Ultra Ball
Spin 4 PokéStops or Gyms	1× Rocket Radar
Explore 1km	1× Premium Raid Pass

Rewards

Showcases

Grookey and Rillaboom Showcases take place during the Community Day weekend. Available from 2026/01/17 (Sat) 10:00 until 01/18 (Sun) 20:00.

Shop Offers

Grookey Community Day Ultra Ticket Box

An Ultra Community Day Box featuring five Ultra Balls and one Special Research ticket will be available on the Pokémon GO Web Store during the event for US$1.99 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency).

Tips and Tricks for Community Day

Don’t catch Pokémon before the event starts

Pokémon you have not caught before the event starts can turn into Grookey, which means it is best to arrive at your spot early and wait to catch it until the event starts.

Restart the app before the event

Be patient – there will always be errors and bugs at the start of the event. It is best to restart the app in most, if not all, cases.

Don’t forget to spin PokéStops

Remember PokéStops give out quests that are very beneficial on Community Day, giving you rewards for Stardust, Great and Ultra Balls, and Pinap Berries, all things that can help you if your stocks are low. Don’t complete any field research from PokéStops that are in the area where you are playing your community day.

Don’t activate lures before the event starts

To ensure that you have Lures up the entire duration, do not set your lures before the start of the event, as those will only last 30 minutes. The Lure has to go up after the event has started to last for three hours. Not to mention it will block the boosted CD spawns from spawning until it has depleted.

Use Incense

Use Incense to attract even more Pokémon to you while you’re out hunting. If you are wondering, yes, Incense can spawn Community Day ‘mons, that can be shiny. There is no reason why you should avoid Incense if you have it.

Don’t forget to enjoy the event

• Chat with your fellow Trainers and grow your local Pokémon GO community. Make good use of the QR code feature to make some new friends!
• Promote the new Pokémon GO features and events to Trainers who are just starting their adventure or haven’t been playing for a while. People are coming back around due to trading, new Pokémon, PvP, the numerous events, and these community-based events.
• Most importantly, have fun, get some shinies, and hope for no game-breaking glitches!

Looking for other trainers to play with?

If you’re looking for other Trainers in your area to trade, battle, or join raids with on Community Day, check out the Niantic Community Day map! Here you can find Community Ambassador events and Community Parks.

Community Ambassadors run Pokémon GO events for their communities that receive support by Niantic. If there are no Community Ambassadors near you, you can also search Campfire by downloading the app and find other local meetups in your area.

Community Parks are areas in your city that are historically popular places for Community Day. These parks may be a fun place to play with your local community while enjoying some fresh air.*

*Popular locations are provided for informational purposes only. Niantic is not hosting or operating official or unofficial events at these locations.