In 2026, the popular Community Days are back in Pokémon GO. Now there is information for the first edition of the upcoming year.
What kind of event is this? The Community Day is a regularly occurring event featuring a monster that appears in large numbers during the event. Additionally, this event offers a significantly increased shiny chance for the featured monster as well as other bonuses.
While the Community Day in December 2025 has just taken place, bringing back all the monsters from the events of 2025, we now have the first information about the Community Day in January 2026. A strong attacker awaits you there.
Strong Monster and Strong Bonuses
What kind of monster is this? Grookey will be the star of the first Community Day of the new year. The Grass-type monster comes from Generation 8 and is one of the 3 starter Pokémon from the main games Sword and Shield.
It can evolve into Thwackey and then into Rillaboom.
When does the event take place? The Community Day with Thwackey will take place on Sunday, January 18, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
How strong is the monster? The final evolution of Thwackey, Rillaboom, is a strong attacker in several aspects. Firstly, it is among the best attackers in Pokémon GO of the Grass type, making it suitable for use in raids.
Moreover, Rillaboom is available in both Dynamax and Gigantamax forms in Pokémon GO. If you need candies for these forms, then this event is the perfect opportunity for you to farm them.
Additionally, Rillaboom will receive 2 exclusive moves during the Community Day. The first is Frenzy Plant, the charged move for all final evolution forms of the Grass starters. This should make the already strong Rillaboom even stronger.
The second is the charged move Drum Beating, Rillaboom’s special move. This attack will deal 115 damage in Gym and Raid battles and 60 damage in the Battle League. Furthermore, the attack will lower the opposing monster’s attack stat by one stage.
This move could strengthen Rillaboom in the Battle Leagues, making it a viable option there. Currently, you should rather avoid Rillaboom in the Battle Leagues.
What bonuses are available during the event? In addition to the exclusive moves, there are a few other bonuses that will be active during the event.
- Significantly increased number of Grookey spawns
- Significantly increased shiny chance for Grookey
- 3 times the amount of catch Stardust
- 2 times the amount of catch candies
- Twice the chance for XL candies for Grookey (from Trainer Level 31)
- Event-activated incense lasts for 3 hours
- Event-activated lure modules last for 1 hour
- Snapshot surprises
- Event field research
- Paid special research
From 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM, the following bonuses will also be active:
- Trading costs 50% less Stardust
- One additional special trade
- Increased chance for Grookey, including shiny variant and special background, through lure modules
There’s still some time until the Community Day starts. But even until then, there are many events happening in the game that will provide you with various content. What they are and when they take place can be found in our overview of all events in December 2025 in Pokémon GO.
