Pokémon Go welcomes winter with Shiny Cryogonal in Catch Mastery: Ice event

This snowflake won't melt—unless it's hit with a Fire-type move.

A Cryogonal stares towards the screen while floating in a frozen tundra. The Pokémon Go logo and the "Timeless Travels" season logo are present in the bottom right corner of the picture.
Image via Niantic

A chill is riding through the air, meaning Ice-type Pokémon must be afoot. And they’ll be found aplenty over the next few weeks, particularly with new Pokémon Go events celebrating the changing of the season.

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Niantic has provided the full details on the Catch Mastery: Ice eventPokémon Go’s first event of the winter season—celebrating the plethora of Ice-type Pokémon that have been discovered over the past three decades. The event will only last from 10am to 8pm local time on Dec. 9, so players will have to brave the cold to get their hands on some rare (and possibly Shiny) Pokémon and rewards.

The official art of Cryogonal, the Crystallizing Pokémon.
Cryogonal floats around frozen wastelands, freezing opponents instantly with chains of ice. Image via The Pokémon Company

As the name of the event suggests, players will be tasked with catching as many Ice-type Pokémon as they can in the event’s duration, complete with bonus experience for landing nice, great, or excellent throws. The overworld will be overrun with spawns of Snorunt and Bergmite, both of which have increased chances to be Shiny and are vital to completing Timed Research.

Cryogonal will also be featured in this event, though only as a reward for completing event-exclusive Field Research tasks, Timed Research, and paid Timed Research. Each of the Timed Researches is identical and will include 40 encounters with Cryogonal, for a total of 80 if the paid research is purchased. Starting with this event, Cryogonal can be found in its Shiny coloration and, just like Snorunt and Bergmite, will have its Shiny odds increased within the event duration. 

Since the Catch Mastery: Ice event focuses heavily on catching Pokémon rather than battling, there will not be any unrevealed Pokémon featured in Raids, nor will there be any changes to the Egg pool. After the event concludes, Snorunt, Bergmite, and Cryogonal will go back to being rare spawns normally limited to snowy days, though they could be featured once more in any of the upcoming events set to take place in Pokémon Go throughout December and beyond.

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Ethan Garcia
Ethan Garcia is a freelance writer for Dot Esports, having been part of the company for three years. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Magazine Journalism from Syracuse University and specializes particularly in coverage of League of Legends, various Nintendo IPs, and beyond.