Pokemon Go has officially revealed Piplup, one of the franchise's most popular starters, for the Community Day Classic 2026 January release. The massively popular monster-catching mobile game has given fans plenty of excitement over the past few months, introducing plenty of new Pokemon and shiny variants. Pokemon Go is gearing up to launch a brand new holiday event later this month, adding some festive Pokemon variants like Sudowoodo and Charjabug. However, Scopely is now looking after the holidays for one of the Community Day 2026 events.
Community Days are some of the most popular recurring events Pokemon Gousually comes once a month. Pokemon GoThree-hour Community Day events will focus on one specific Pokémon and its evolution, including increased spawn rates and special rewards for evolving the event's Star Pokémon. Community Days are also one of the best times for players to breed shiny variants of specific Pokemon, with the event offering increased rates for their main Pokemon in addition to boosted spawns. Now, Pokemon GoThe latest Community Day Classic event features one of the most popular starter Pokemon from the Sinnoh region.
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January 4, 2026 from 14:00 to 17:00 local time
Pokemon Go confirmed that Piplup will play in the first Community Day Classic game in 2026. Piplup will benefit from better spawning and shiny rate during the Community Day Classic event, with special Field Research missions also providing bonuses like Stardust, Great Balls, and more Piplup encounters. Players who evolve their Piplup to Empoleon during the event will also receive a special move on their fully evolved Pokemon that boasts Hydro Cannon as a charged attack. The Community Day Classic event in January 2026 will take place during the first weekend of January and will run from 14:00 to 17:00 local time on January 4th.
Piplup's increased spawn rate isn't the only benefit players will get from catching a Penguin starter Pokemon. Players will be motivated to go out and play during the tournament Pokemon Go event, with the hatch distance for eggs reduced to just 25% of their normal distance. Incenses will also be boosted during the event to last three hours instead of the typical one hour duration, though the boost does not apply to Pokemon GoDaily Adventure Incense. Lure Modules will also be doubled during the Community Day Classic, with players able to benefit from increased Lure Module spawns for one hour.
The upcoming Piplup Community Day Classic will join another Community Day event in January, similar to the Pokemon starter. Pokemon GoJanuary's Community Day event is scheduled just a few weeks later on January 18th, where fans will be able to find Grookey in increased numbers in the wild. The eighth-generation starter Pokemon will similarly see an opportunity for players to pick up the elusive Shiny variant of the Grass Pokemon during January's Community Day. Grookey's evolution will also receive a special move for players who evolve it into Rillaboom during the event, which will feature the Pokemon's signature move, Drum Beating.
Pokemon GoNew Community Day events will begin in 2026 after a busy end to 2025 for the mobile game. Pokemon Go recently held its year-end Community Day event during the first weekend of December, including every Pokémon featured in Community Days throughout 2025. Scopely also added the long-requested “Forever Friends” status in December, which allows fans to trade with each other remotely after reaching a goal Pokemon Gothe highest level of friendship. WITH Pokemon Go continuing to implement new Pokemon and highly requested features, players should have a lot to look forward to in 2026.
- Released
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July 6, 2016
- Engine
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Unity
- Multiplayer
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Online multiplayer, online co-op
