What Will Happen During Pokemon Go's Holiday Event?

Christmas is just a few days away, which means that it's almost time for another Pokemon Go event.

Niantic has already confirmed that Pokemon Go is having an event for the holiday season, but we're still waiting to hear an official announcement with a start date and some hints as to what the new event will entail.

Luckily, there are some clues in Pokemon Go's code that indicate what will happen in Pokemon Go's next event. And we can always look back at last year's event for some other hints as to what will happen next year. Here's what we DO know will happen in Pokemon Go's Christmas event along with what we think could happen next!

Delibird

Let's get the obvious expectation out of the way first: Delibird is coming to Pokemon Go. There are multiple hints that the holiday-themed bird will soon be arriving in Pokemon Go, ranging from secrets embedded in Pokemon Go's datafiles to teases hidden in plain sight.

When Pokemon Go added several new moves to its databases to prepare for its "Gen 3" launch, they also included the "Present" attack, Delibird's signature move. Delibird literally throws wrapped presents out of its sack-like tail, which can either hurt or harm its opponents.

Pokemon Go also put a little easter egg in its new Christmas loading screen. As you can see below, an obscured Pokemon is tossing a Christmas present into the air. And while we don't have the best look at the Pokemon, it's round torso looks a lot like Delibird.

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(Credit: @mickytoosh)#PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/D6nHFvGsQg

— Reversal (@ReversalYouTube) December 6, 2017

Baby Pokemon

During last year's event, Pokemon Go gave players an increased chance to hatch eggs containing Baby Pokemon. At the time, Pokemon like Togepi and Pichu were the only "Gen 2" Pokemon in the game, and were seen as relatively rare. As part of the event, Pokemon Go also distributed special one use incubators to help players run through their eggs a bit quicker for more chances of grabbing those Baby Pokemon.

This year, there's two new Baby Pokemon in Wynaut and Azurill. And while we've seen a few people hatch Azurill, Wynaut seems particularly rare.

Giving players a chance to hatch Wynaut and Azurill might not seem particularly exciting on its own, but it could be a fun part of the holiday event when coupled with Delibird and perhaps a few more special incubators (like maybe a single use Super Incubator).

Increased Starter Pokemon

Last year, Pokemon Go increased the spawn rates of Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and their respective evolutions during the second half of their holiday event (which coincided with New Year's Day). Fast forward to this holiday season and there's now nine Starter Pokemon, as the Johto and Hoenn starters were both added to the game.

We could see increased spawns of all the Starter Pokemon, or maybe just Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile. After all, the focus on "Gen 2" Pokemon is coming to an end, so giving them a farewell event might be a great way to make sure that players have their Pokedex filled before they focus on a new batch of Pokemon.

The Return of Santa Hat Pikachu

Santa Hat Pikachu was the first "special" Pikachu to make an appearance in Pokemon Go, spawning all around the world for the entirety of the game's first holiday event. Since then, we've seen several other costumed Pikachu make one-off appearances, but so far Santa Hat Pikachu has yet to reappear....except in the occasional Pokemon Gym.

It's time for Santa Hat Pikachu to make its glorious return to the game. After all, there are plenty of players who haven't had the chance to catch one of these rare Pokemon, and it would make sense given the time of year.