Pokémon Go Dual Destiny hemisphere Pokémon, seasonal spawns and end date

Pokémon Go Dual Destiny start and end date: When will the Season of Dual Destiny end?

Dual Destiny has a start time of Tuesday 3rd December at 10am (local time) and will end on Tuesday 4th March at 10am (local time). Season 21 of the Go Battle League will be running throughout this time period too, containing the three leagues and a variety of special cups.

These start and end dates continues the change made to the traditional Pokémon Go Season start time which began in the Max Out Season. In the past Seasons typically began on the first day of a month, but, since these days for Max Out and Dual Destiny both fell on a Sunday, they have been moved to a weekday. Just make sure you take this change into account when planning your Pokémon Go activities!

The Dual Destiny Season is here! It brings the Holiday Part 2 event with it. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

Dual Destiny bonuses in Pokémon Go

There are three season-long bonuses running throughout the Dual Destiny Season of Pokémon Go. The first sees everyone being able to obtain one extra Raid Pass per day by spinning Gym Photo Discs. The other two bonuses are both Stardust based, with every player earning extra Stardust from opening Gifts and Team Rocket battles.

Finally from Tuesday 3rd December to Tuesday 4th March, you'll be able to earn the following Pokémon from Research Breakthroughs: Alolan Raichu, Pancham, Furfrou, Hisuian Avalugg, Jangmo-o and Frigibax.

Dual Destiny roadmap in Pokémon Go

Much of the Dual Destiny roadmap for Pokémon Go is still under wraps, but let's take a look at everything we know so far!

First off, there will be a Dual Destiny Special Research quest running throughout the Season. This will begin on Tuesday 3rd December at 10am (local time) and will be unlockable until Tuesday 4th March at 9:59am (local time). As always, this Special Research quest will be released in stages throughout Dual Destiny meaning you can either play it alongside these updates or wait for the full quest to be released.

If you've got money to burn, then you can also purchase the Dual Destiny: Eggs-pedition Access ticket for this season. This will unlock additional bonuses, such as receiving an Incubator with your first PokéStop or Gym spin every day, and Timed Research quest. Just remember - this purchase will be nonrefundable and you can not use Poké Coin.

What is a new Pokémon Go season though without new Pokémon? Well, despite being clearly themed around Pokémon Black, White, Black 2 and White 2, Dual Destiny promises to bring more Gen 8 Pokémon to the game. (Which is great, because we've all seen a lot of Gen 5.) At the time of writing, we know that Sinistea and Polteageist - the tea-themed Ghost-types - will be arriving in Pokémon Go during the Just My Cup of Tea event. Hopefully we'll see more Gen 8 releases in the future…

Dual Destiny will also see more new Pokémon arrive in Max Battles. For Dynamax Pokémon, we know Machop and Krabby will be making their debuts. (Remember - these Pokémon can be evolved, so you'll also be able to get Dynamax Machoke, Machamp and Kringler.) While, when it comes to Gigantamax Pokémon, we'll see the debut of Gigantamax Lapras! (More about that release down below.)

The offical Pokémon Go X (previously Twitter) account has also hinted at the upcoming release of Gigantamax Orbeetle who has a UFO look.

Shadow Raids will also see some new Pokémon arrivals, with Shadow Regirock, Regice and Registeel all making appearances in five-star Shadows Raids. The shiny versions of their Shadow forms will also be debuting at the same time.

Moving onto the events occurring throughout Dual Destiny, let's start with the last - Pokémon Go Tour: Unova. This is the fifth event in the Go Tour series and, as the name suggests, focuses on the Unova region and the Gen 5 Pokémon who make their home there. There will be two in-person events - one in New Taipei City in Taiwan, another in Los Angeles in the USA - on Friday 21st February to Sunday 23rd February. Meanwhile, the global event is running on Saturday 1st March and Sunday 2nd March.

During Go Tour: Unova, you'll be able to catch a shiny Meloetta via a new pay-to-play Masterwork Research quest. The event also marks the release of shiny Deerling - one shiny form for each season! Not to forget about the release of shiny Maractus, Sigilyph and Bouffalant. Alongside these shiny releases, habitat hours will (of course) make a return, new costume Pikachus, a host of bonuses and both Reshiram and Zekrom will be in five-star raids.

Going back to the beginning of the season, Just My Cup Tea opens Dual Destiny - running from Tuesday 3rd December at 10am (local time) to Saturday 7th December at 8pm (local time). It marks the release of Sinistea and Polteageist in Pokémon Go, with Sinistea arriving via one-star raids. There will also be a Timed Research quest, Collection Challenges, event-exclusive research tasks and Pokémon like Greavard appearing more frequently in the wild.

After this, we'll have the Aspiring Dragons Research Day between 2pm to 5pm (local time) on Saturday 7th December. During this event, you'll be able to collect event-exclusive field research rewarding you with Horsea, Trapinch, Swalbu and Skrelp encounters. Spearow, Yanma, Carvanha, Dwebble, Ducklett and Binacle encounters will also be appearing be appearing in the wild. Finally, there will be a pay-to-play Timed Research quest.

Next up - and I mean that literally, because it's happening the day after the above event - is the Gigantamax Lapras Max Battle Day between 2pm to 5pm (local time) on Sunday 8th December. As the name suggests, this event sees the release of Gigantamax Lapras with that Pokémon appearing in Max Battles throughout the event. There will also be a number of bonuses, including the Max Particle limit being increased to 1,600 and Power Spots refreshing more frequently. This event also includes the release of Max Mushrooms - a new item which will cause all of your moves in Max Battles to deal double damage for a limited time. Finally, there will be a pay-to-play Timed Research quest and additional bonuses.

The third event we currently have details on is the Necrozma Fusion Raid Day running between 2pm to 5pm (local time) on Saturday 14th December. As the name suggests, this event sees the return of Dawn Wings Necrozma and Dusk Mane Necrozma in raids - the first time they've returned since their debut during this year's Go Fest. It's the perfect time to experinment with the Fusion mechanic if you were a free-to-play player during Go Fest 2024 and obtain the Necrozma Adventure Effects.

Here's a full rundown of the confirmed events we know about so far in Dual Destiny:

• Just My Cup of Tea - Tuesday 3rd December to Saturday 7th December
• Aspiring Dragons Research Day - 2pm to 5pm (local time) on Saturday 7th December
• Gigantamax Lapras Max Battle Day - 2pm to 5pm (local time) on Sunday 8th December
• Young and Wise - Tuesday 10th December to Saturday 14th December
• Necrozma Fusion Raid Day - 2pm to 5pm (local time) on Saturday 14th December
• Holiday Part 1 - Tuesday 17th December to Sunday 22nd December
• December Community Day 2024 (Every Pokémon featured in the 2024 Community Days) - 2pm to 5pm (local time) on Saturday 21st December and Sunday 22nd December
• Holiday Part 2 - Sunday 22nd December to Friday 27th December
• Charged Embers Hatch Day - 2pm to 5pm (local time) on Sunday 29th December
• New Year's 2025 - Monday 30th December to Wednesday 1st December
• January Communty Day - Sunday 5th January
• January Community Day Classic - Saturday 25th January
• February Community Day - Sunday 9th February
• Go Tour Unova - TBC

At the time of writing, the Pokémon featured in the January and February Community Days are yet to be announced. Dual Destiny will also most likely include the Valentine's Day event.

You'll also be able to partake in Season 21 of the Go Battle League during Dual Destiny, with the Fantasy, Holiday and Love Cups all making a reappearance along with many others. Meanwhile, PokéStop Showcases will be running from Mondays to Wednesdays and over the weekends.

Here's the first round of Spotlight Hours for Dual Destiny:

• Tuesday 3rd December - Sableye and double Catch Stardust
• Tuesday 10th December - Murkrow and double Catch XP
• Tuesday 17th December - Slugma and Bergmite and double Catch Candy
• Tuesday 24th December - Holiday Ribbon Delibird and double Transfer Candy
• Tuesday 31st December - Togetic and double Evolution XP

Now let's look at the Mega Evolution lineup for December:

• Mega Banette - Tuesday 3rd December to Thursday 12th December
• Mega Latios - Thursday 12th December to Thursday 19th December
• Mega Latias - Thursday 19th December to Thursday 26th December
• Mega Abomasnow - Thursday 26th December to Saturday 4th January

Our next list is the five-star raid lineup for December:

• Chill Drive Genesect - Tuesday 3rd December to Thursday 12th December
• Altered Forme Giratina - Thursday 26th December to Friday 4th January

Huh... There's a gap in this lineup... I wonder what might await us...

The final list is for the Max Monday - a new weekly event added during November 2024 - lineup for December:

• Monday 2nd December - Dynamax Squirtle
• Monday 9th December - Dynamax Krabby
• Monday 16th December - Dynamax Charmander
• Monday 23rd December - Dynamax Cryogonal
• Monday 30th December - Dynamax Bulbasaur

A new range of winter-themed stickers will be for sale in the in-game shop or available from spinning PokéStops or opening Gifts.

Finally, the trailer for Dual Destiny hints at a rework to the Pokémon Go Pokédex. Along with the return of Dawn Wings Necrozma, Dusk Mane Necrozma and Unbound Hoopa.

Dual Destiny hemisphere Pokémon, seasonal and biome spawn changes

Dual Destiny brings changes to which Pokémon spawn in the northern and southern hemisphere, including which creatures appear in the Pokémon Go biomes:

Dual Destiny egg pool changes in Pokémon Go

Dual Destiny also marks a number of changes to the various egg pools in Pokémon Go. Though it should be noted that the lists below are incomplete. (So there's still some hope for Toxel returning to 10km eggs.) It's also important to remember that certain in-game events also change the egg pools for a limited time.

Thanks to the Gift Exchange on Routes, there's also two different egg pools for 7km eggs so, depending on which Pokémon you want, it's worth checking whether you need a 7km egg from opening a Gift from a friend or obtaining it via the Gift Exchange.

What are seasons in Pokémon Go?

Originally introduced in December 2021, seasons are in-game periods of time which last for three months and tie together various events with a theme. During this time, a selection of new features and quality of life changes can also be added to Pokémon Go.

This includes:

• Changes to how Pokémon spawn season-to-season, which may see some creatures appearing more regularly or become rarer in the wild for limited time periods.
• Changes to egg pools and raids.
• Northern and southern hemisphere-specific spawning, coinciding with the real world season themselves.
• Highlight specific Mega Evolutions, giving them a power boost throughout the season.
• Different Deerling forms.
• A new Go Battle League season, which will be the same length as the season itself.
• XP boosts for completing specific activities, such as five-star raids for example.
• Introduce other general quality of life improvements.
• A range of in-game events.
• New Pokémon.
• Occasionally, new features and season long research quests.

If you'd like to learn about past Pokémon Go seasons, visit our pages on the Max Out Season, Shared Skies, World of Wonders and the Season of Timeless Travels.

Hope you'll enjoy Dual Destiny!