Pokémon GO: Journey To Paldea Event & Rewards Guide

Pokémon GO Nacli debut Pokémon from Journey to Paldea event with featured Pokémon Smoliv and Pawmi

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The first event in Pokémon GO for December 2025 is "Journey to Paldea", which introduces new Pokémon, Raid Bosses, and rewards for the various activities you do. Alongside different Research, you can catch featured Pokémon to expand your collection, adding some new creatures debuting for the first time. Since this event is for a limited time, you should be ready to participate in everything you can for the best results.

Just like past events, Journey to Paldea will start with several ongoing bonuses you can explore. As long as the event lasts, you'll earn twice the XP from winning Raid Battles and evolving different Pokémon on your roster. With the number of leveling changes in Pokémon GO from this year, this extra experience is more than welcome as you engage with the event.

Journey To Paldea Event Schedule

Take One Week To Experience Featured Content

Pokémon Go Road to Paldea graphic with event times and debut Pokémon

The Journey to Paldea event starts on December 2, 2025, and lasts until December 9, 2025, lasting a full week for all players. The event begins at 10 AM local time, ending at 8:00 PM local time on the final day. The event bonuses last until the final time, but there are some changes in Journey to Paldea that make its features stand out from past event schedules.

Players that start the Journey to Paldea event can choose to spend around $1.99 on Paid Timed Research, which provides event-exclusive tasks with unique rewards until the event ends.

Throughout Journey to Paldea, different Pokémon will be featured each day, rather than just one group being in the spotlight during the entire event. Although some Pokémon will always be highlighted, the featured Pokémon of the event will alternate on each day from two separate groups.

For example, Group A will be featured on December 2, 4, 6, and 8, while Group B will have their time to shine on December 3, 5, 7, and 9. This makes participating on each day of the event more important, or at least show up on the days when the featured Pokémon are ones you want to catch.

All New Pokémon Debuts & Wild Spawns During Journey To Paldea

Rock-Type Family Shows Up With Other Rare Appearances

Pokémon GO Nacli, Smoliv, and Pawmi featured Pokémon in Journey to Paldea event

One Pokémon is debuting during the Journey to Paldea event — Nacli. This Rock-type Pokémon, unsurprisingly, made its first appearance in the Paldea Region of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, fitting the theme of this event well. To continue that theme, other Paldean Pokémon are showing up more frequently in the wild, including:

Smoliv (Grass/Normal-type)
Pawmi (Electric-type)

These Pokémon can show up as Shiny, depending on the normal Shiny odds present in Pokémon GO. However, these two creatures are not the only ones that are spawning more in the event, as six more Pokémon are rotating in the spotlight. The table below goes over which Pokémon are also appearing more often, including which days of the event their spawn rates increase:

Pokémon Groups

Featured Pokémon

Increased Spawn Rate Dates

Group A

Larvitar (Rock/Ground-type)
Drifloon (Ghost/Flying-type)
Skrelp (Poison/Water-type)

December 2, 4, 6, and 8

Group B

Bagon (Dragon-type)
Misdreavus (Ghost-type)
Clauncher (Water-type)

December 3, 5, 7, and 9

Any of these Pokémon can be found as Shiny, but the Shiny versions of Larvitar and Bagon show up far more in the event as an extra bonus. Journey to Paldea's rotating variety of Pokémon will keep you guessing, even if you use in-game items to attract them on specific days.

The inclusion of Nacli as the debut Pokémon of Journey to Paldea means that you can get Nacli Candy to evolve it. Enough Nacli Candy can evolve Nacli into Naclstack, and eventually Garganacl, two stronger Rock-type creatures.

These Pokémon are set to appear alongside any featured Pokémon from the December Community Day, another event happening at the same time as Journey to Paldea. On December 6 and December 7, Community Day Pokémon are set to show up often from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM local time, adding to the number of pocket monsters you can hunt down for your growing collection.

All Raid Bosses During The Journey To Paldea Event

Five Different Challenges Divided By Your Region

Blaze Breed And Aqua Breed Paldean Tauros in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

While it may seem like there are only a few Raid Bosses in Journey to Paldea, the challenges available are more diverse than you might think. There are three 3-Star Raids present in the event, with two Pokémon showing up for everyone who participates. At the same time, one of the Raid Boss Pokémon is different depending on your region, transforming into another breed based on what part of the world you're playing from.

The table below goes over every Raid Boss, their weaknesses, and what Pokémon work best as counters against them:

Raid Boss (Type)

Region

Weaknesses

Best Counters

Paldean Combat Breed Tauros (Fighting-type)

Iberian Peninsula

Fairy, Flying, Psychic

Alakazam
Gallade
Toucannon
Staraptor
Salamence

Paldean Blaze Breed Tauros (Fire/Fighting-type)

Eastern Hemisphere

Flying, Ground, Psychic, Water

Rayquaza
Swampert
Garchomp
Salamence
Alakazam

Paldean Aqua Breed Tauros (Water/Fighting-type)

Western Hemisphere

Electric, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Psychic

Sceptile
Alakazam
Toucannon
Therian Forme Thundurus
Gardevoir

Dondozo (Water-type)

Everywhere

Electric, Grass

Regieleki
Sceptile
Electivire
Kartana
Venusaur

Bombirdier (Flying/Dark-type)

Everywhere

Electric, Fairy, Ice, Rock

White Kyurem
Diancie
Rhyperior
Mamoswine
Magnezone

Raid Bosses like Bombirdier and Dondozo in Pokémon GO have a chance to be Shiny when you battle them, but none of the Paldean Tauros variants have alternate forms. You'll likely only ever encounter one type of Paldean Tauros during the event, so make sure to capture one from the Raid battle, as it'll likely be an exclusive you won't see again for a long time.

Every Journey To Paldea Challenge & Reward

Collection Goals Allow You To Gain Automatic Encounters

Pokemon BDSP Poke Radar Exclusive Bagon Larvitar

Like many events, Journey to Paldea allows you to complete Timed Research to unlock more encounters with the event's featured Pokémon. The most common example of this is through Collection Challenges, which ask you to catch a certain number of Pokémon while the event is ongoing. Doing this will ensure you encounter one of the spotlighted Pokémon, especially the debuting Nacli.

Those who opt for Paid Timed Research for more rewards will be able to work through two Premium Battle Passes for a variety of items. This Research, much like its free version, also unlocks unique encounters, mainly with Larvitar, Bagon, and Nacli.

Similar to defeating Team Rocket leaders, this event also rewards Stardust to players who meet various Research goals. This in-game currency will help you buy new cosmetics or valuable items like Incense, which will help you attract more of the featured Pokémon in Journey to Paldea.

Any tasks that aren't completed before December 9, 2025, will expire the moment the event ends. Anyone looking to gain every reward possible from Journey to Paldea will need to pursue Research quickly, whether it's to catch more Pokémon or defeat powerful Raid Bosses in this Pokémon GO event.

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