Winter Holidays 2018 is a special two week long event in Pokemon GO, lasting from December 18th to January 2nd 2018. Increased Ice type spawns, a free Incubator every day and special baby Pokemon in 7KM eggs will be available through the entire event. Additionally, the 2018 Holidays event is special as every four days a new bonus will be activated, replacing the bonus that was previously active.
Event Info graphic
Winter Holidays effects
Global effects (lasting from Dec 18 – Jan 2nd)
Throughout the event Ice type Pokemon spawns are increased and Delibird is making a reappearance. If you’re lucky, you can even catch a shiny Delibird! Additionally, Trainers will earn a free single-use Incubator once per day via spinning a Photo Disc on a PokéStop which can be used to hatch old and new baby Pokemon from the 7KM eggs!
Increased Ice spawns feature the following Pokemon:
Jynx
|
Sneasel
|
Swinub
|
Snorunt
|
Spheal
|
Snover
|
Delibird
|
Other new spawns include:
Finneon
|
Bronzor
|
Croagunk
|
Skorupi
|
Spawns to Capitalize On:
-
Sneasel
It can evolve in this generation to Weavile, a fun to use Dark and Ice type Pokemon! With many Psychic raid bosses in our near or distant future, it could be worth it to add one of these to your line up! -
Swinub
While not yet evolvable (please Niantic, now would be the perfect time!!) Swinub, moreso its evolution Piloswine, will be able to evolve into the monster of an Ice type, Mamoswine. Many people already love their Ice Beam Mewtwo, but if Rayquaza ever returns, we hope to have these monsters by our side!
-
Snorunt
Like Swinub, Snorunt has a future evolution coming in Froslass. Difference is, Froslass is not an excellent Pokemon that you need to have 6 of on your team. We also know nothing about Mega Evolution or if it will be in these games, but Glalie does get a Mega Evolution. The special thing about Snorunt is it’s availability as a shiny! To get the whole line of shinies, you will need three shiny Snorunt! After a while you no longer need to catch them, but definitely keep clicking on them to see if you come across a shiny!
-
Snover
This is a new Pokemon, so of course you want to grab them! Nothing more exciting than that black shadow on your nearby! This Ice/Grass type Pokemon evolves once into Abomasnow! Sadly, this Pokemon is not an amazing one either, but like Glalie, it does get a Mega Evolution in the main games.
-
Bronzor
Croagunk
Skorupi
Finneon
Newcomers to the battlefield!! We have some unexpected arrivals after the event start!! None of these Pokemon are fantastic, but they all evolve once, and are good collectors items! They seem rare so if you see one, go get it!!
-
Delibird
Shiny Delibird has been confirmed, get out there and get it!!
And here are the new and old baby Pokemon which are available from 7KM eggs collected between December 18 and January 2nd:
Chingling
|
Mantyke
|
Munchlax
|
Azurill
|
Smoochum
|
Riolu
|
Eggs are more finicky than spawns, seeing as you can never choose what you get! Make sure to grab your egg after 1pm PST on the 18th, otherwise it will not contain event Pokemon. If you are not aware by this point, the way to get 7km eggs is by opening gifts from your friends with an open egg slot! You can only open 20 gifts per day, and eggs are not guaranteed from each gift, so play your cards carefully, especially if you plan to hatch a lot of eggs! Make sure you do not spin stops with open egg slots, or you have a chance to receive a non 7km.
Chingling, Mantyke and Munchlax are all new Pokemon that are only available in these eggs, and Riolu, though available before, has been extremely rare. Smoochum is in there for fun, and it seems Azurill has been confirmed shiny!! Alolans and other babies should be available in these eggs as well, making the pool a wide variety. We hope these new Pokemon will have boosted rates for a bit!
Here’s a little look at our new shiny, Azurill and family! You can only obtain these by hatching shiny Azurill and evolving:
 |
 |
 |
The brilliant yellow is a must have!!!
The best time to hatch eggs is the entire event, to ensure you get what you want, but there is a bonus towards the end of the event, running the short span of December 30th-January 2nd, of half hatching time. That would be a good time to use any normal incubators lying around, to make them more efficient. Super incubators would be a good use for the whole event.
In addition to the featured Pokemon, shiny Delibird and free Incubators, you will also be able to catch a special Pikachu wearing a festive hat until January 2nd:
| Shiny Delibird | Festive Pikachu |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Time-limited effects
The following Winter Holiday effects last for four days, starting on December 18th, 1:00 PM PST and continuing through January 2nd. Effects switch places always at the same time – 1:00 PM PST.
| Bonus | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 2x Candy for catching and transferring Pokemon | Dec 18 | Dec 22 |
| 2x Stardust for catching Pokemon | Dec 22 | Dec 26 |
| 2x Experience for catching Pokemon | Dec 26 | Dec 30 |
| 2x faster Incubator hatching speed | Dec 30 | Jan 2 |
All of the effects stack with additional item buffs. For example, using a Starpiece during the time that the 2x Stardust bonus is active will result in a 3x more Stardust per catch (Starpieces give a 1.5x bonus effect).
The current boxes in the shop give great items for all these bonuses! You can read about those boxes here. We are not sure if these boxes will leave at the start of the event in just a few hours, nor what they will be replaced with, but these boxes are solid!
**IMPORTANT TIP**
Have a switch or have a friend with access to a switch console and Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee? Be sure to get your Meltan box by sending a Pokemon from your Go account to their switch via bluetooth (you have to be close together) to the Go Park in Fushia City. Open the Meltan box between the 18th and 22nd of December to receive double catch candy! That could be 12 candy per Meltan if you carefully pinap them! (They can run!!)
Special effects
- On December 18th: Delibird-themed sweater, earmuffs, gloves, and boots available in the Style Shop. Pricing is still not known.
- On December 18th: Cresselia leaves the Tier 5 raids. Destroying our speculation of the Lake Trio (Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit), Heatran has been announced as the next raid boss! But we are not complaining. Click here for our Heatran Raid Guide!
 |
| Fire/Steel |
- On December 18th, we’re expecting a raid boss shakeup, similar to how raid bosses changed during other events .
Notes: Players are reporting early incubators from their first spin of the day⚠️
