5 rare Pokemon to catch in Pokemon GO New Year's 2024

Five Rare Pokemon featured in Pokemon GO New Year event
Darumaka and Ribbon Jigglypuff (Image via Niantic)

New content, bonuses, shinies, and rare creatures will be available with the start of the Pokemon GO New Year’s 2024 celebration. Players are excited to catch multiple Party Hat costumed critters, cute Baby Pokemon, and Ultra Beasts. Along with these species, there are bonuses one can reap benefits from. This event will introduce two new additions, Ribbon Jigglypuff and Ribbon Wigglytuff, with their shiny variants.

Debutants like these, rocking customed wear, are rare finds because they don’t usually appear unless they are featured Pokemon. That’s not all. One-, three-, and five-star raids will return with several unique species, and there is no better time to bag rare Pokemon than the New Year’s 2024 event.

Note: This list is subjective and reflects the writer's opinion.


Xurkitree, Pheromosa, and 3 other rare Pokemon to capture in Pokemon GO New Year's 2024

1) Buzzwole

Buzzwole (Image via The Pokemon Company)
Buzzwole (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Buzzwole came to Pokemon GO's Raid Battle through the GO Fest 2022 Finale event. After its introduction, it barely made its appearance in the game. Fortunately, the Pokemon GO New Year’s 2024 will return the Ultra Beast in five-star Raids once again.

Although it was available in the past in Special Research/Timed Research, the creature was nowhere to be found in Raids. This makes Buzzwole a rare addition, and players should grab the opportunity to catch it.

Despite the beast's arrival after so long, many will not be fortunate enough to encounter it. This is because it will appear in the Americas and Greenland. Players living in other parts of the world will have to wait for events featuring it in the near future.


2) Xurkitree

Xurkitree (Image via The Pokemon Company)
Xurkitree (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The next rare creature that players will have a chance to catch is Xurkitree, which will return in Pokemon GO New Year’s 2024. Like Buzzwole, the Ultra Beast did not appear in raids for a long time. It debuted through GO Fest 2022 Sapporo and was available in the Sapporo - City Experience research questline's fourth step.

Xurkitree is a region-exclusive Pocket Monster. The last time players saw this Ultra Beast in Raids was during the GO Fest 2022 Finale in August. It has been more than a year since fans got a chance to capture it.

Unfortunately, the creature will only appear in Pokemon GO five-star raids in the Asia-Pacific region. Trainers from the Americas, Greenland, Europe, and the Middle East must wait patiently for the entity to emerge in their location. Hopefully, the developers might organize a future event that will allow everyone to catch this rare Pokemon.


3) Pheromosa

Pheromosa (Image via The Pokemon Company)
Pheromosa (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pheromsa will be in the five-star raids in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. Battle enthusiasts residing in those locations will have a chance to encounter and even beat it with the proper counters. Niantic has strategically managed this New Year event by hosting different Raids in different parts of the world.

Pheromosa will take over the gym as a boss during Pokemon GO New Year’s 2024. Players last witnessed the critter in the GO Fest 2022 Finale. Since it appears infrequently, and it is a region-exclusive species on top of that, it has become a super-rare monster.

Developers often come up with new ideas to make exclusive creatures encounterable for everyone. Similar to Kartana and Celesteela Raids of 2023, they may do something in the future for the featured powerhouses of January 2024.


4) Ribbon Jigglypuff and Ribbon Wigglytuff

Ribbon Jigglypuff and Ribbon Wigglytuff (Image via Niantic)
Ribbon Jigglypuff and Ribbon Wigglytuff (Image via Niantic)

Pokemon GO New Year's 2024 will see the debut of Ribbon Jigglypuff and Ribbon Wigglytuff. They are included in the rare Pokemon list because players do not know when the creature will resurface. This is a good opportunity to add them to one's collection, but one must catch and evolve a Ribbion Jigglypuff to get a Ribbon Wigglytuff.

Jiggypuff is a pretty creature, and the new costume, Ribbon, enhances its appeal further. Not only is the monster a cutie, but it is also rare. Ribbion Jigglypuff will spawn in the wild, meaning activating Lure Modules and Incense is the best way to come across this Normal and Fairy-type Pokemon.

Players can also find Igglybuff in 7 KM Eggs, but the hatched critter will not have worn any wears. This should not be a big concern since the Candies one will get from hatching eggs will help Ribbon Jigglypuff evolve into Ribbon Wigglytuff.


5) Darumaka

Darumaka sprites (Image via The Pokemon Company)
Darumaka sprites (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon GO New Year's 2024 event will feature the Unova Monster in the wild encounter. Along with it, players will also find New Year Hat Hoothoot. Finding a Darumaka in the wild is a rare sight. However, it was readily available before the Dragonspiral Descent event held in December 2021.

Everything changed when the Festival of Lights 2022 in October made an adjustment to Darumaka's appearance. The creature could only be spotted in the wild by activating Incense during that event. A few months later, the Lunar New Year 2023 took place, which featured the Pokemon as a wild encounter for the second time after the adjustment.

Since then, many events have been held, and none of them returned Darumaka. However, the New Year is almost upon us, and Pokemon GO players look forward to catching it in January 2024.

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