Pokemon Go January 2025 Events: Raids, Spotlight Hours, Community Day, And More

Pokemon Go trainers can anticipate an action-packed January 2025 filled with diverse events and fresh content. The ongoing Dual Destiny season maintains its momentum by introducing multiple new Pokemon species and enhanced battle opportunities throughout the month.

This month’s calendar showcases significant debuts including the pastry-inspired Fidough and the powerful Mega Gallade transformation. Players will encounter revamped raid rotations, special Spotlight Hours, and two Community Day events that provide excellent catching and evolving opportunities.

Beyond the standard monthly activities, January brings back fan-favorite seasonal celebrations. The annual Fashion Week returns with stylish costume Pokemon, while Lunar New Year festivities offer culturally themed encounters. Additionally, the Steeled Resolve event introduces new challenges and rewards for dedicated trainers.

January’s raid lineup presents diverse challenges across multiple difficulty tiers. Strategic planning is essential to maximize your raid pass efficiency and capture rates throughout the month.

January’s special events provide unique catching opportunities and exclusive rewards. Each event features distinct mechanics and Pokemon pools that require specific preparation strategies.

January’s featured Community Day stars Sprigatito, the Grass-type starter from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. This event typically features three-hour increased spawns, exclusive moves for evolution, and bonus catching rewards.

Spotlight Hours occur weekly with featured Pokemon and rotating bonuses. These Tuesday evening events provide excellent opportunities to stock up on candy, hunt for shinies, and complete evolution requirements.

Seasoned trainers should focus on resource optimization and strategic participation throughout January’s event lineup. Prioritize events that offer Pokemon or rewards aligning with your collection goals and battle team needs.

Common mistakes include overcommitting raid passes on less valuable bosses and neglecting inventory management before major events. Always clear storage space before Community Days and stock up on essential items like Pokeballs and berries.

For time-limited events like Mega Gallade Raid Day, coordinate with local communities to maximize completions. Use apps like Discord or Campfire to organize raid trains and ensure you can participate in the most rewarding activities.

Consider consulting our Class Guide for team composition strategies that can be adapted to Pokemon Go raid scenarios. Understanding role specialization significantly improves raid success rates.

January Raid Schedule

Pokemon Go kicks off 2025 with an impressive raid rotation that brings back some of the most sought-after legendary Pokemon. This strategic scheduling gives trainers multiple opportunities to capture powerful additions to their battle teams throughout the month.

Legendary enthusiasts will appreciate the return of Palkia, both Attack and Defense Forme Deoxys, and Dialga. These time-space legendaries offer distinct battle advantages in both PvP and PvE scenarios. Meanwhile, Mega Raid bosses present excellent evolution opportunities with Mega Lopunny, the debut of Mega Gallade, and Mega Medicham appearing throughout January.

A particularly intriguing element this month involves the mystery Pokemon appearing in Max Battles, creating anticipation among the player base. Additionally, Shadow Registeel makes weekend appearances as special Shadow Raid bosses, requiring coordinated team efforts for successful captures.

Max Battles

January 6-13

• Machop – Excellent fighting type for gym battles
• Gastly – Ghost-type evolution chain potential
• Krabby – Water-type with Kingler evolution
• Cryogonal – Ice-type with seasonal relevance
• Wooloo – Newer generation normal-type

January 13-20

• Squirtle – Classic starter with community day move potential
• Machop – Repeat appearance for candy farming
• Gastly – Additional ghost-type opportunities
• Krabby – Continued water-type availability
• Cryogonal – Consistent ice-type presence

January 20-27

• Charmander – Fire starter with elite charged moves
• Mystery Pokemon – Creates engagement speculation
• Beldum – Psychic/steel type with Metagross evolution
• Cryogonal – Persistent ice-type option
• Scorbunny – Newer generation fire-type starter

January 27-February 3

• Bulbasaur – Grass starter with Frenzy Plant potential
• Mystery Pokemon – Final January mystery encounter
• Cryogonal – Month-long ice-type availability
• Grookey – Latest generation grass starter
• Wooloo – Normal-type completion opportunity

Five-star Raids

January 4-16

• Palkia – Dragon/water type with spatial control abilities

January 16-24

• Deoxys (Attack Forme) – Excellent glass cannon for raids
• Deoxys (Defense Forme) – Tanky psychic type for PvP

January 24-February 6

• Dialga – Steel/dragon type with temporal powers

Mega Raids

January 4-16

• Mega Lopunny – Fighting type with bonus candy for normal types

January 16-24

• Mega Gallade – Debut appearance with psychic/fighting typing

January 24-February 6

• Mega Medicham – Psychic/fighting type with PvP relevance

Shadow Raids

Weekends in January

• Shadow Registeel – Steel type with purified potential

January Spotlight Hours

Pokemon Go’s weekly Spotlight Hour events provide consistent engagement opportunities every Tuesday evening. These one-hour windows from 6-7 PM local time offer both Pokemon collection opportunities and resource acceleration through special bonuses.

Each featured Pokemon selection serves specific strategic purposes. Some offer shiny hunting opportunities, while others provide candy farming for powerful evolutions. Understanding each Pokemon’s battle relevance helps prioritize which Spotlight Hours deserve your focused attention.

January 7

• Featured Pokemon: Voltorb and Hisuian Voltorb – Electric types with regional variations
• Bonus: 2x catch Stardust – Excellent for powering up Pokemon

January 14

• Featured Pokemon: Roselia – Grass/poison type with Roserade evolution
• Bonus: 2x catch XP – Great for level grinding

January 21

• Featured Pokemon: Paldean Wooper – Poison/ground type with regional form
• Bonus: 2x catch candy – Essential for evolution requirements

January 28

• Featured Pokemon: Yungoos – Normal type for completion purposes
• Bonus: 2x transfer candy – Helps clear storage efficiently

Fidough Fetch

Pokemon Go launches the new year with the Fidough Fetch event running from January 3-7. This canine-themed celebration introduces the fairy-type Pokemon Fidough alongside its evolution Dachsbun.

Shiny hunters will appreciate the increased odds of encountering shiny Voltorb and Electrike throughout the event duration. The global challenge system encourages worldwide trainer collaboration to unlock progressively better rewards.

Field Research tasks during this event focus on catching and evolving dog-like Pokemon, providing additional encounter opportunities and resource gains.

Wild Pokemon

• Growlithe – Fire type with Arcanine evolution
• Voltorb – Electric type with increased shiny odds
• Snubbull – Fairy type with Granbull evolution
• Poochyena – Dark type with Mightyena evolution
• Electrike – Electric type with Manectric evolution
• Lillipup – Normal type with Stoutland evolution

Global Challenge Rewards

Level 1 Reward

• 2x XP for catching Pokemon – Excellent for experience farming

Level 2 Rewards

• 2x Stardust for catching Pokemon – Resource accumulation boost
• Additional Field Research tasks – More engagement opportunities
• Fidough and Dachsbun debut – New Pokemon introduction

Level 3 Rewards

• 2.5x XP for catching Pokemon – Enhanced experience gains
• Additional Field Research tasks – Continued task availability
• Additional wild Pokemon: Hisuian Growlithe and Greavard – Regional variants and new additions

Level 4 Reward

• 2.5x Stardust for catching Pokemon – Improved resource farming

Level 5 Rewards

• 3x XP for catching Pokemon – Maximum experience multiplier
• 3x Stardust for catching Pokemon – Top-tier resource bonus

Level 6 Rewards

• 4x XP for catching Pokemon – Ultra experience opportunity
• 4x Stardust for catching Pokemon – Peak resource accumulation

Sprigatito Community Day

The first Community Day of 2025 features Sprigatito, the grass-type starter from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. This event runs from 2-5 PM local time on January 5, providing ample opportunity to catch multiple specimens and potentially encounter the shiny variant.

Beyond the increased spawn rates, trainers can complete free Field and Timed Research tasks, plus access a paid Special Research story. Event bonuses include triple Stardust and double candy for catching Pokemon, making this an efficient resource farming session.

The exclusive move opportunity is particularly valuable. Any Floragato evolved into Meowscarada before 10 PM local time learns Frenzy Plant, a powerful grass-type charged attack that significantly enhances battle performance.

Fashion Week

Fashion Week returns as an annual celebration from January 10-19. This event combines cosmetic appeal with practical gameplay benefits through special bonuses and exclusive encounters.

Trainers earn double Stardust for catching Pokemon throughout the event duration. Additionally, players at level 31 or higher receive doubled candy XL acquisition rates, accelerating the process of maxing out Pokemon for competitive play.

Shiny hunters have increased chances of encountering costumed versions of Kirlia, Butterfree, and Dragonite. These costumed variants offer both collection value and battle utility.

Wild Pokemon

• Diglett wearing a fashionable costume – Ground type with cosmetic appeal
• Skitty – Normal type with Delcatty evolution
• Buneary – Normal type with Lopunny evolution
• Blitzle wearing a fashionable costume – Electric type with Zebstrika evolution
• Furfrou – Normal type with multiple trim variations
• Bruxish – Water/psychic type with niche battle uses
• Kirlia wearing a fashionable costume – Psychic/fairy type with evolution options

Raids

One-star

• Shinx wearing a fashionable costume – Electric type with Luxray evolution
• Minccino wearing a fashionable costume – Normal type with Cinccino evolution
• Furfrou – Additional normal-type encounter opportunity

Three-star

• Butterfree wearing a fashionable costume – Bug/flying type with cosmetic variation
• Dragonite wearing a fashionable costume – Dragon/flying type with costume variant

Mega Gallade Raid Day

Mega Gallade makes its grand debut through a dedicated Raid Day on January 11. From 2-5 PM local time, Mega Gallade appears as a Mega Raid boss, offering both Mega Energy and increased shiny encounter chances.

Beyond the raid boss itself, Pokemon Go implements several quality-of-life improvements for this event. The Remote Raid Pass storage limit temporarily increases to 20, while trainers can obtain up to five additional free Raid Passes by spinning gym Photo Discs.

Fashion Week: Taken Over

Team Go Rocket disrupts the fashion festivities with a hostile takeover from January 15-19. This disruption introduces the poison-type Pokemon Shroodle, available through 12 km eggs starting with this event. Evolution into Grafaifai requires 50 Shroodle candy.

Increased Team Go Rocket grunt activity at PokeStops provides more Shadow Pokemon capture opportunities. New Shadow variants include Taillow, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Trubbish, and Bunnelby.

The Special Research story culminates in a Giovanni confrontation, offering trainers the chance to rescue Shadow Palkia. This represents a significant opportunity to add a powerful shadow legendary to your collection.

Ho-Oh Shadow Raid Day

Fashion Week concludes dramatically with a Ho-Oh Shadow Raid Day on January 19. From 2-5 PM local time, trainers can challenge Shadow Ho-Oh in raids with enhanced shiny encounter probabilities.

Beyond capture opportunities, trainers can use Charged TMs to teach this legendary Pokemon the powerful Charged Attack Sacred Fire.

The raid pass distribution system provides up to five additional free Raid Passes through gym Photo Disc spins during the event window.

Steeled Resolve

The Steeled Resolve event runs from January 21-26, introducing Rookidee and its evolutionary line Corvisquire and Corviknight to Pokemon Go.

Increased wild spawns include Paldean Wooper, Shieldon, and Carbink, providing excellent opportunities for candy farming and shiny hunting.

Wild Pokemon

• Clefairy – Fairy type with Clefable evolution
• Machop – Fighting type with evolution chain
• Totodile – Water starter with community day move potential
• Marill – Water/fairy type with Azumarill evolution
• Hoppip – Grass/flying type with evolution line
• Paldean Wooper – Regional variant with unique typing
• Shieldon – Rock/steel type with Bastiodon evolution
• Bunnelby – Normal type with Diggersby evolution
• Carbink – Rock/fairy type with defensive capabilities
• Mareanie – Poison/water type with Toxapex evolution

Raids

One-star

• Lickitung – Normal type with Lickilicky evolution
• Skorupi – Poison/bug type with Drapion evolution
• Pancham – Fighting type with Pangoro evolution
• Amaura – Rock/ice type with Aurorus evolution

Five-star

• Deoxys (Attack Forme) – Glass cannon psychic type
• Deoxys (Defense Forme) – Defensive psychic variant
• Dialga – Steel/dragon legendary

Mega

• Mega Gallade – Psychic/fighting Mega evolution
• Mega Medicham – Psychic/fighting Mega option

Eggs

2 km

• Shieldon – Rock/steel fossil Pokemon
• Carbink – Rock/fairy defensive type
• Mareanie – Poison/water type with evolution
• Rookidee – New addition with flying/steel evolution

Ralts Community Day Classic

The second Community Day of January features Ralts on January 25. From 2-5 PM local time, this psychic/fairy type appears more frequently in the wild.

Beyond the increased spawns, trainers can complete themed Field and Timed Research tasks. Event bonuses include extended lure module and incense durations, enhancing catch opportunities.

The exclusive move opportunity remains available until 10 PM local time. Any Kirlia evolved into Gardevoir or Gallade learns Synchronoise, a psychic-type charged attack with strategic battle applications.

Lunar New Year

Pokemon Go celebrates the Lunar New Year from January 29-February 2. Honoring the year of the snake, serpentine Pokemon including Ekans, Onix, Gyarados, and Dratini receive increased wild spawn rates.

Egg enthusiasts benefit from enhanced shiny Nosepass odds from 2 km eggs during this celebration.

Event-themed Field and Timed Research tasks provide engagement opportunities, alongside a new Collection Challenge and paid Timed Research questline.

Trade mechanics receive special attention with increased Lucky Pokemon probabilities, making this an excellent time for strategic trading sessions.

Wild Pokemon

• Ekans – Poison type with Arbok evolution
• Onix – Rock/ground type with Steelix evolution
• Gyarados – Water/flying type with Mega evolution potential
• Dratini – Dragon type with Dragonite evolution
• Dunsparce – Normal type with Dudunsparce evolution
• Snivy – Grass type with Serperior evolution
• Darumaka – Fire type with regional variants

Eggs

2 km

• Makuhita – Fighting type with Hariyama evolution
• Nosepass – Rock type with Probopass evolution
• Meditite – Fighting/psychic type with Medicham evolution
• Duskull – Ghost type with Dusknoir evolution
• Skorupi – Poison/bug type with Drapion evolution

Pokemon Go initiates its monthly raid refresh with an exciting lineup of powerful creatures for dedicated trainers to pursue. The rotation brings back multiple legendary Pokemon that have proven popular within the competitive battling scene.

This month’s legendary roster includes the space-time duo Palkia and Dialga, alongside the versatile Attack and Defense Forme Deoxys variants. These returning champions offer both collection completion opportunities and meta-relevant battling capabilities for PvP and raid scenarios.

Mega Raid enthusiasts can anticipate challenging encounters against Mega Lopunny, the newly introduced Mega Gallade making its debut appearance, and Mega Medicham. Each Mega Evolution provides unique type advantages and bonus candy opportunities for catching same-type Pokemon.

Additionally, mysterious Pokemon will emerge in Max Battle encounters throughout January, while Shadow Registeel appears as exclusive weekend Shadow Raid bosses. These special events require strategic preparation and optimal team coordination for successful captures.

January 27-February 3

January 24-February 6

January 24-February 6

The staggered scheduling creates overlapping availability windows that require careful planning. Attack Forme Deoxys appears for a limited one-week period, while other legendaries maintain longer two-week availability, allowing trainers to prioritize their raid pass allocation effectively.

Weekend Shadow Raids featuring Shadow Registeel present unique challenges, as these encounters cannot be completed solo and demand coordinated group efforts. Proper counter preparation with Fighting-type Pokemon like Conkeldurr and Machamp significantly increases success probabilities.

Pokemon Go’s weekly Spotlight Hour events maintain their January schedule, presenting curated Pokemon selections accompanied by valuable in-game bonuses. These Tuesday evening occurrences deliver concentrated farming opportunities.

Each Tuesday from 6-7 PM local time, specific Pokemon receive dramatically increased wild spawn rates. This concentrated appearance window enables efficient Pokedex completion and substantial candy stockpiling for evolution and power-up purposes.

Beyond the enhanced spawn rates, participants earn rotating hourly bonuses including double catch XP, increased Stardust yields, or extra candy rewards. Strategic trainers plan their week around these events to maximize resource acquisition and collection progress.

Advanced players utilize these hours to farm specific Pokemon for PvP IV spreads or shiny hunting, making optimal use of the temporary spawn concentration. Proper preparation includes clearing Pokemon storage space and stocking up on Pokeballs beforehand.

Successful January raiding demands strategic team composition tailored to each boss’s typing and moveset. For Dragon-type legendaries like Palkia and Dialga, Ice and Fairy-type counters such as Mamoswine, Galarian Darmanitan, and Togekiss deliver optimal performance.

Common mistakes include inadequate type preparation, poor dodge timing, and insufficient healing item reserves. Veteran trainers recommend practicing dodge patterns against lower-tier raids before attempting legendary encounters.

Resource optimization involves prioritizing remote raid passes for time-sensitive encounters while saving premium passes for weekend events with bonus rewards. The Weapons Unlock principles of strategic resource allocation apply similarly to Pokemon Go raid pass management.

Timing strategies should account for local raid activity patterns – early morning and late evening raids often have fewer participants, while lunch hours and weekends typically feature larger groups. Coordinating with local communities through Discord or Campfire ensures adequate raiding parties for shadow and legendary encounters.

For comprehensive battle preparation, consult our Complete Guide to team composition fundamentals that translate well to Pokemon Go raiding mechanics.

Pokemon Go’s Steeled Resolve celebration kicks off January 21-26, bringing exciting new content for trainers. This event marks the debut appearance of Rookidee and its evolutionary line, including Corvisquire and the formidable Corviknight, making it essential for completionists.

During this period, wild spawns will feature boosted rates for Paldean Wooper, Shieldon, and Carbink, while raid enthusiasts can encounter Pancham, Amaura, and multiple Deoxys forms. The Deoxys lineup includes both Attack Forme and Defense Forme variants, offering strategic raid opportunities for different playstyles. For optimal results, focus on completing Field Research tasks that reward encounters with these featured Pokemon.

• Deoxys (Attack Forme)
• Deoxys (Defense Forme)

Event strategy should prioritize capturing multiple Rookidee to ensure you have enough candy for full evolution. Raid coordination with local groups becomes crucial for taking down Deoxys efficiently, especially considering its different forme strengths and weaknesses.

The second Community Day of January occurs on January 25, spotlighting the psychic-type Ralts. This event provides another opportunity to stock up on Ralts candy and secure powerful evolved forms for your battle roster.

From 2-5 PM local time, Ralts will appear abundantly in the wild, accompanied by themed Field Research and Timed Research tasks. Key bonuses include extended lure module and incense durations, significantly increasing your catch potential during the three-hour window.

Critical timing note: Any Kirlia evolved into Gardevoir or Gallade before 10 PM local time will automatically learn Synchronoise, a psychic-type Charged Attack exclusive to this Community Day. This move enhances both Pokemon’s psychic-type coverage, making them more versatile in battle scenarios. Plan your evolution schedule carefully to avoid missing this limited-time opportunity.

Common mistake alert: Many trainers forget that evolution must occur before 10 PM, not just capture. Set reminders to evolve your best IV Ralts specimens during the post-event window to secure this exclusive move.

Pokemon Go’s annual Lunar New Year festivities run from January 29-February 2, celebrating the year of the snake with themed content and bonuses.

In keeping with the serpent theme, wild spawns will feature increased appearances of snake-like Pokemon including Ekans, Onix, Gyarados, and Dratini. Egg hatching gets a special boost too, with improved shiny odds for Nosepass from 2 km eggs, making this an ideal time to stock up on incubators.

The event includes comprehensive research components: themed Field Research, Timed Research tasks, a new Collection Challenge, and a special paid Timed Research questline. Bonus features include elevated chances of obtaining Lucky Pokemon through trades, which is perfect for resource optimization and building your perfect team.

Advanced strategy: Coordinate trade sessions with friends during the event to maximize Lucky Pokemon acquisition. The increased trade luck combined with serpent-type spawns creates excellent opportunities for building competitive battle teams. Don’t overlook the Collection Challenge, which often rewards rare items or Pokemon encounters.

Time management tip: Allocate approximately 2-3 hours daily to complete all research tasks and capitalize on the boosted trade luck, which can significantly enhance your overall game progress.

No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Pokemon Go January 2025 Events: Raids, Spotlight Hours, Community Day, And More