'Pokemon Go' to Bring Back Missing Pokemon for Holidays

A missing Pokemon is returning to Pokemon Go for the holidays.A promotional email sent out by [...]

A missing Pokemon is returning to Pokemon Go for the holidays.

A promotional email sent out by Pokemon Go earlier today confirmed that Delibird, the Ice-type "Present" Pokemon, will be returning to the game later this month. Delibird is the closest thing the Pokemon franchise has to a holiday mascot as the Pokemon sports a Santa Claus-like color scheme and tosses explosive presents from a sack attached to its back.

Delibird was one of Pokemon Go's first "problematic" Pokemon and wasn't added to the game until last December, months after nearly every other "Gen 2" Pokemon had been added to the game. The issue was likely two-fold; first, Delibird's signature "Present" move could both heal and damage opponent Pokemon and secondly, Pokemon Go likely wanted to keep the Pokemon for the holiday seasons.

While the Pokemon made an appearance last December, it disappeared at the conclusion of the holiday event and hasn't been seen since.

The confirmation that Delibird will be returning in the coming weeks was the first confirmation that Pokemon Go would be having a holiday event. Although it's not exactly a surprise (Pokemon Go has hosted events in both 2017 and 2018), the game has kept relatively quiet about event plans for the rest of the year. Instead, Pokemon Go has focused on announcing their new PvP battle feature, which will allow players to battle in 3 v 3 Pokemon battles for the very first time. This largely completes the list of original requests fans had for Pokemon Go and caps off a very busy and successful year for the mobile game.

2016's holiday event featured increased spawns of certain Pokemon, while last year's holiday event featured the addition of Water- and Ice-type Pokemon from the Hoenn region. Both events also included the release of special "Santa Hat" Pikachu, which will likely reappear as part of this year's event. We'll have more news about the upcoming holiday event when it's announced.

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