Pokemon GO Spotlight Hour Schedule (December 2025)

Spotlight Hours are weekly events in Pokemon GO that feature a specific Pokemon for players to catch and earn some special bonuses while they are at it. Every Tuesday, you’ll be able to catch featured Pokemon as much as you can, hunt down some good IVs, shinies, and stack up on plenty of candies.

December 2025 brings a lot of cool Pokemon for trainers, featuring some of the best ice-type and holiday-themed ones. Let’s go through the spotlight hours happening this month in Pokemon GO and tips to maximize the most out of them.

December 2025 Spotlight Hour Schedule

December 2025 brings five Spotlight Hours, each with unique Pokemon and bonuses. Here’s the complete schedule:

Spotlight Pokemon	Date	Time	Spotlight Bonus
Cranidos*	December 2	6 PM to 7 PM local time	2X Transfer Candy
Shieldon*	December 9	6 PM to 7 PM local time	2X Catch XP
Mienfoo*	December 16	6 PM to 7 PM local time	2X Catch Candy
Spheal*	December 23	6 PM to 7 PM local time	2X Evolution XP
Delibird*	December 30	6 PM to 7 PM local time	2X Catch Stardust

Note:

The * sign indicates that the shiny version of a Pokemon can be encountered.

Next Pokemon GO Spotlight Hour: Cranidos

The next Pokemon GO spotlight hour will feature the Rock-type Pokemon Cranidos. It will be held on December 2, 2025, from 6 PM to 7 PM local time.

During the Spotlight Hour, the spawn rate for Cranidos will be highly increased. Cranidos will spawn near Poke Stops, Gyms, Routes, and in the wild. You can even use an Incense or a Lure Module at a Poke Stop to further increase the spawn rate. To top it off, you’ll get twice as many candies for transferring Pokemon during the Spotlight Hour.

Cranidos Shiny Rate in Spotlight Hour

While Spotlight Hours boosts the spawn rate of a Pokemon, it doesn’t increase its shiny rate. The shiny rate for Cranidos is the standard base rate of 1 in 512. However, due to the increased spawn rate during the Spotlight Hour, you’ll have more chances to find a shiny one.

Getting a shiny is very random and depends on your luck. We recommend clicking on every Cranidos you see, so that the encounter is marked on the Pokedex. That way, you won’t miss out on any Cranidos, as each one can be a shiny.

Should you catch Cranidos in Pokemon GO?

Rampardos, the evolved form of Cranidos, is one of the best rock-type PvE attackers in Pokemon GO. With a very high attack, Rampardos boasts strong DPS (Damage Per Second), competing with Tyranitar and Rhyperior, with high TDO.

While Rampardos has a very high DPS, you should be careful, as it has a very low TDO (Total Damage Output), due to its very low Defense stats. Due to the same reason, it isn’t a great choice in trainer battles.

How to Prepare for Pokemon GO Spotlight Hour: Best Tips Explained

Preparing for a Pokemon GO Spotlight Hour is quite similar to preparing for any Community Day or a one-day event. To get ready for them, there are several things you should do:

• Check your item storage: Make sure that you have enough Poke Balls to catch plenty of Pokemon during the event. Regular Poke Balls work fine, but Great and Ultra Balls make catching Pokemon much easier.
• Clear out your Pokemon storage: You’ll be catching lots of Pokemon during the hour, so having enough space is essential. Consider transferring the rare ones you don’t need before the event starts. If there is a 2x Transfer Candy bonus, then you can prepare your Pokemon storage 5 minutes in advance and transfer them all right when the clock hits 6 PM. This way, you can make use of the bonus and save a lot of time.
• Save items related to bonuses: If you want to maximise the spotlight hour bonuses, then save up your Star Pieces for Stardust bonuses or Lucky Eggs for XP bonuses. To get a lot of candies during the Candy bonuses, stock up on normal and Silver Pinap Berries. Normal Razz Berries and Golden can help with difficult catches.
• Boost Spawns: Make sure to use an Incense or Lure Module on a Pokestop to attract even more Pokemon. These items work normally during the Spotlight Hour, but spawn extra of the featured Pokemon. Use Pokecoins to purchase them, if you lack any.
• Complete catch-related tasks and medals: Certain field research or special research tasks require you to catch a lot of Pokemon, especially a particular type. Spotlight Hours are a great help in completing them. You can even complete your medals due to increased spawns.
• Use Mega Pokemon bonuses: While a Pokemon is Mega-Evolved, you can get additional XP and Candy when catching a Pokemon that shares a type with it, or for any raid boss caught. Similarly, high and max-level mega-evolved Pokemon also increase the chance to obtain Candy XL.

Whether you’re trying to build up resources, hunt shinies, or expand your roster, Pokemon GO Spotlight Hours provides a decent opportunity to do so. Make sure that you bookmark our article, so that you don’t miss out on December 2025 Spotlight Hours.