In the immortal words of Robert Smith from The Cure, “It’s Friday. I’m in love.” Yeah, the fact the week is ending is pretty neat, but it’s more so because a lot happened today in the Pokémon scene.
Three new Pokémon—Scatterbug, Spewpa, and Vivillon—debuted in Pokémon Go, along with a new mechanic. The Winter Holiday Part One also took off, and it’s cool as ice. In other news, Charizard the Unrivaled has returned to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for another hectic stint. And if you’ve already caught one, fear not. Plenty of amazing rewards up for grabs.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy a breakdown of all the exciting Pokémon news that happened today as we race toward the weekend.
Scatterbug, Spewpa, and Vivillon squirm into Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go trainers were spoiled with not one but three new debuts today. Scatterbug, Spewpa, and Vivillon have been added to the game, much to the delight of Bug-type trainers. The most exciting part, however, was that along with them came 18 different Vivillon forms with unique patterns on their wings, and a new (and kind of complex) mechanic to catch them.
Essentially, you need to find and catch Scatterbug by pinning postcards received via gifts from trainers in certain regions into your Postcard Book. Each region has a different habitat, and depending on what that is, Scatterbug will evolve into Vivillon with a different form.
You can find all the details here.
Pokémon Go Winter Holiday Part One is in full flight
That wasn’t the only exciting thing in store, either. The Winter Holiday Part One event, which kicked off on Thursday, Dec. 15, is now in full swing. It’s set to run until Friday, Dec 23.
Trainers will be able to catch Mega Glailie and Shiny Bergmite in Raids, as well as have a chance to encounter the following Pokémon more frequently in the wild:
- Pikachu (Winter Carnival Outfit)
- Spheal (Holiday Scarf)
- Swinub
- Delibird
- Snorunt
- Snover
- Vanillite
- Cubchoo
- Bergmite
Trainers can also earn encounters with the following Pokémon by completing field research tasks:
- Pikachu (Winter Carnival Outfit)
- Alolan Vulpix
- Seel
- Shellder
- Jynx
- Sneasel
- Stantler (Winter Holiday Outfit)
- Spheal (Holiday Scarf)
- Glaceon (Undersea Holiday Outfit)
- Crabrawler
Trainers will also earn an additional 50 percent XP from Raid Battles, and they’ll be able to store up to 40 Gifts. And for $5, they can complete the event-exclusive Timed Research to earn:
- 2x Incubators
- Incense
- Abomasnow Mega Energy
- Event themed Pokémon encounters
- Event-themed avatar pose
Charizard is back with a vengeance
Forget about The Empire Strikes Back. It’s a classic, no doubt, but it’s more than 40 years old.
Charizard the Unrivaled, on the other hand, is striking back in the here and now in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The imposing dragon is stomping and thrashing about in Tera Raids from now until Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3.59 pm PST. If you failed to catch one the first time, now’s your chance to collect the famous ‘mon.
If you did catch one, you won’t be able to catch it again. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take part, help others catch one for themselves, and earn rewards in the process.
Friday is the best day of the week, and it lived up to that title today. The fact it’s the end of the week played a part, but we’re also set up for a pretty eventful and fun weekend thanks to Niantic and Nintendo.
It doesn’t matter whether you play Go, Scarlet and Violet, or both—there’s plenty to see, catch, and do. It’s the perfect way to enjoy your hard-earned time off.
