January in Pokémon GO usually feels like a warm up month. People are still recovering from December events, some are playing more casually, others just log in out of habit. This time, though, January doesn’t really let you coast. Between a meaningful Community Day, solid raid rotations, and a quieter but useful buddy focused event, the month ends up feeling surprisingly complete. What makes it interesting is not just one headline event. It’s how everything fits together without stepping on each other’s toes. You have reasons to grind, reasons to raid, and reasons to slow down and clean up your storage and teams. That balance is rare, and it’s worth talking about. ## Why the Grookey Community Day Is More Than Just Another Starter Event On January 18, from 2 pm to 5 pm local time, Grookey takes over the map. On paper, it looks like a standard starter Community Day. Increased spawns, shiny availability, boosted bonuses, and a special move tied to evolution. But the difference here is what Grookey turns into and how useful that evolution actually becomes. Evolving Thwackey into Rillaboom during the event, or within the four hour window afterward, gives you Frenzy Plant. Anyone who has played Pokémon GO for a while already knows what that means. Frenzy Plant is not just good. It’s one of those moves that immediately changes whether a Pokémon is worth investing in or not. Before this event, Rillaboom sat in an awkward spot. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exciting either. You could use it, sure, but there was always something better. Frenzy Plant fixes that problem almost instantly. The event bonuses help a lot too. Extra Stardust, extra Candy, higher Candy XL chances for higher level players, longer Incense, better Lures. It creates that familiar Community Day rhythm where everything you do feels efficient, and efficiency is half the fun in this game. ## Rillaboom in PvE and the Reality of Its Role There’s a tendency in Pokémon GO discussions to jump straight to extremes. Either a Pokémon is top tier or it’s dismissed entirely. Rillaboom doesn’t fit neatly into either category, and that’s actually a good thing. With Frenzy Plant, Rillaboom becomes a legitimately strong Grass type attacker for raids and PvE content. It doesn’t suddenly replace the absolute best options in the game, but it clearly outperforms many commonly used Grass types that players rely on out of convenience. That matters because not everyone has perfect teams filled with legacy moves, shadows, or maxed out megas. For a lot of players, Rillaboom with Frenzy Plant becomes a reliable, accessible upgrade. Something you can build during a single event and actually use afterward without regret. Drum Beating also joins Rillaboom’s move pool permanently after the event. It’s a nice addition and situationally useful, but the real story remains Frenzy Plant. That’s the move that defines this Community Day. ### Gigantamax Rillaboom and Max Battles Max Battles add another layer to Rillaboom’s value. Its Gigantamax form performs extremely well, especially with its exclusive G Max Drum Solo attack. In that format, Rillaboom stands out as one of the strongest Grass type options available. Community Day is the perfect time to prepare for that. Even if Max Battles aren’t your main focus right now, collecting Candy and Candy XL while they’re easy to get is just smart long term play. Pokémon GO has a habit of making yesterday’s preparation tomorrow’s advantage. ## Mega Sceptile and Thundurus Set the Raid Tone Outside of Community Day, January stays busy thanks to raids that are actually worth your passes. From January 16 to 25, Mega Sceptile returns to Mega Raids. That alone makes the rotation notable. Mega Sceptile is still one of the strongest offensive Grass type megas in the game. It boosts Grass type damage for the entire group and delivers excellent damage itself. If you raid with friends or even semi organized groups, having access to a well built Mega Sceptile makes a real difference. At the same time, Thundurus in its Incarnate Form appears in five star raids. It remains a solid Electric type attacker and gives players another chance at its shiny form. It may not be the flashiest legendary anymore, but it’s still useful, especially for players who don’t chase every single raid rotation. Together, these raids pair nicely with the Community Day. You build Grass attackers, you boost them with a Mega, and you put them to work almost immediately. That sense of continuity is something the game doesn’t always get right. ## Precious Pals and the Slower Side of the Game After the intensity of raids and Community Day, the Precious Pals event shifts the focus. Running from January 20 to 25, it leans into the buddy system, walking, and evolution mechanics rather than raw combat power. The bonuses tied to Buddy Candy XL and reduced evolution requirements don’t sound dramatic, but they quietly help with some of the most time consuming progress in the game. Pokémon that normally feel annoying to evolve suddenly become manageable, and long term projects move forward without much stress. Fidough gets special attention during this event, including shiny availability, which adds a bit of charm. Precious Pals isn’t about hype. It’s about maintenance, and every long term player knows how important that is. ## How January Comes Together as a Whole What stands out about this stretch of events is how intentional it feels. You start with meaningful raids, move into a Community Day that actually upgrades a Pokémon’s usefulness, and then slow things down with an event that helps you organize and improve what you already have. There’s no pressure to do everything, but there’s always something worthwhile happening. Whether you play casually or optimize every Stardust spent, January offers value without burning players out. And honestly, that’s the kind of month Pokémon GO needs more often. ## Common Questions Players Are Actually Asking A lot of players wonder if Grookey Community Day is worth their time. If you care about PvE at all, the answer is yes. Frenzy Plant alone makes it worthwhile. Others ask whether Rillaboom is now a top tier Grass attacker. Not quite, but it’s good enough that investing in one or two doesn’t feel wasteful. Mega Sceptile still comes up a lot in discussions, and the answer hasn’t changed. It’s absolutely worth having, especially if you raid regularly. Thundurus tends to split opinion. It’s not essential, but it’s still relevant, particularly for players building Electric type teams. And Precious Pals often gets overlooked, even though it quietly helps with some of the slowest progress systems in the game. ## Sources [https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/pokemon-go-january-community-day-featuring-grookey](https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/pokemon-go-january-community-day-featuring-grookey) [https://www.bristoledition.org/blog/2026/01/16/a-powerful-january-takes-shape-in-bristol-mega-sceptile-thundurus-grookey-and-precious-pals/](https://www.bristoledition.org/blog/2026/01/16/a-powerful-january-takes-shape-in-bristol-mega-sceptile-thundurus-grookey-and-precious-pals/) [https://pokemongohub.net/post/meta/grookey-community-day-your-go-to-pve-guide/](https://pokemongohub.net/post/meta/grookey-community-day-your-go-to-pve-guide/)