Honestly, the end of the year in Pokémon GO usually feels like a predictable routine of Ice-types and festive hats. But Pokémon Holiday Part 1 in December 2024 actually shook things up in a way that caught a lot of long-time players off guard. It wasn't just about catching another Pikachu in a coat. It was about the debut of Cetoddle’s shiny form and a massive shift in how Niantic handles seasonal bonuses.
If you weren't grinding the Max Battles or checking every single Bergmite, you missed the start of one of the most mechanically dense windows in the game's recent history.
What Actually Happened During Pokémon Holiday Part 1
The event kicked off on December 18, 2024. Most people expected the usual fluff, but the introduction of Shiny Cetoddle was the real draw for the hardcore collector community. It’s a subtle shiny, sure, but in a game where "new" often just means "old Pokémon with a different hat," a fresh shiny release for a Gen 9 powerhouse like Cetitan is a big deal.
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Niantic also leaned heavily into the "Winter Wishes" timed research. This wasn't just a "walk 5km" kind of thing. You basically had to choose your own path. Do you want double XP for catching? Or do you want double Stardust? Most high-level players I know went straight for the Stardust. It's the bottleneck of the game. If you're trying to power up a Master League team, you need every single drop of purple dust you can get your hands on.
The Raid Scene and the Power Creep
Raids were... interesting. We saw the return of Regice, which, let's be real, isn't breaking the meta anymore. But the Mega Raid slot was occupied by Mega Glalie. If you don't have a solid Ice-type attacker for Rayquaza raids or other Dragon-types, Mega Glalie is your best friend. It’s a glass cannon, but in the snowy weather boost? It shreds.
What most people didn't realize was the significance of the Max Battles. 2024 was the year of Dynamax, and the holiday event integrated Power Spots into the winter landscape. It felt a bit cluttered. You had Rockets, you had Raids, and you had Power Spots all competing for your attention on the map.
The Spawns: Trash or Treasure?
You've got your usual suspects: Spheal, Swinub, and Snover. But the real MVP of the spawn pool was Wiglett. Wait, Wiglett in a holiday event? Yeah. It was a weird choice, but seeing that long little guy popping up in the snow felt like a fever dream.
Swinub is always the one to hunt. Mamoswine remains one of the best non-legendary attackers in the entire game. If you aren't checking every Swinub for a hundo (100% IVs) or a high-stat Shadow, you’re playing at a disadvantage. During Part 1, the spawn density for Swinub was boosted significantly in certain biomes, making it the prime time to farm XL Candy.
Costume Fatigue is Real
Let's talk about the hats. We got the Holiday Attire Pikachu and the Holiday Outfit Delibird again. It’s a bit much, isn't it? Every year the storage space gets tighter, and every year we get another Pikachu that can't evolve. Some collectors love them. I personally find them a bit of a burden unless they can be shiny. Luckily, the shiny rates for the event-specific costumes seemed slightly boosted in the 2km eggs, though Niantic never gives us the exact percentages. We have to rely on crowdsourced data from groups like The Silph Road's spiritual successors to even guess.
Dealing with the Winter Wishes Choice
The branching research is where people usually mess up. They see "Double XP" and get excited. Don't do it. Unless you are below Level 40, XP is a vanity metric.
Go for the Stardust.
The Stardust bonus applied to every catch during the event window. When you factor in the Star Piece you should be running during the spotlight hours, you could easily clear 100,000 Stardust in a single evening. That’s the difference between a Level 40 Pokémon and a Level 50 Pokémon when those XL candies start hitting.
Why Part 1 Set the Stage for Part 2
Part 1 is always the appetizer. It’s designed to drain your Pokéballs and Great Balls before the "real" rewards hit in Part 2. In 2024, the transition was seamless but brutal on the resources. We saw a lot of players complaining about the lack of Berries.
Why? Because the catch rates for festive Pokémon are notoriously lower than standard spawns. That Delibird? It’s going to jump out of the ball three times. That Pikachu? It’s going to deflect your curveball. It’s a resource sink.
The Missing Links: What We Didn't Get
Some people were holding out hope for a surprise Black Kyurem or White Kyurem debut. It didn't happen. Instead, we got a very stable, very predictable Ice-type focused week. This is where the community gets split. Some love the reliability; others find it boring. But from a mechanical standpoint, the introduction of Cetoddle’s shiny form kept the engagement high enough to bridge the gap to the New Year’s event.
Navigating the Post-Event Slump
Once Part 1 wrapped up, the transition into Part 2 usually brings more "humanoid" ice types like Jynx or more elaborate costumes. The smart play was to save your high-IV Swinubs and wait for an evolution window that might grant Ancient Power, though that's more of a niche PvP move these days.
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Most trainers forget to clear their egg inventory before Part 2 starts. If you’re still holding 7km eggs from Part 1, you’re going to hatch those old pools instead of the new stuff. It’s a rookie mistake. Clear them out. Walk those 2km and 5km eggs off while the bonuses are active.
Practical Steps for Future Holiday Events
Don't just catch everything blindly. Use the search string "age0" to quickly filter your catches from the day and check for IVs. If it’s not a 3-star or a PVP-relevant spread (low attack, high defense/HP for Great League), bin it.
- Prioritize Swinub and Cetoddle. These are the only two spawns that have long-term utility in the current meta.
- Choose the Stardust path. Always. Experience points come and go, but Stardust is the currency of power.
- Save your Daily Adventure Incense. Use it during the "Snowy" weather in-game if possible. It increases the chances of pulling those rare Galarian Birds, which look aesthetic as heck against the winter map background.
- Stack your Field Research. Look for the "Catch 5 Ice-type Pokémon" tasks. They usually reward Shellder or Snover, both of which provide extra Stardust upon catch.
The Pokémon Holiday Part 1 isn't just a festive distraction. It's a strategic window to prep your roster for the upcoming competitive seasons. If you played it right, you ended the week with a pile of Stardust and hopefully a pink-spiked Cetitan. If not, there's always the next winter solstice to try again. Keep your storage open and your portable chargers warm; the cold drains phone batteries faster than a Shadow Ball hits a Psychic-type.
For those looking to maximize their gains, focus on the 2km egg pool during the overlap between Part 1 and Part 2. The baby Pokémon like Smoochum and Elekid often carry the "best" shiny odds during these specific calendar windows, making them the primary target for serious shiny hunters. Clear your storage, set your buddies to fetch gifts, and keep moving. The winter events are a marathon, not a sprint.