Alright folks, so December Community Day 2024 just rolled around again, right? Everyone knows it’s the big one, where all the past featured Pokémon pop up everywhere. But hey, me? I wanted the really sneaky ones, the rare spawns they sometimes slip in under the radar. Found out later folks were posting about surprise encounters like Deino and Golett. Gotta get me those!
Getting Ready Was Half the Mess
Woke up a bit later than planned, honestly. Scrambled to grab my phone, power bank, and that comfy hat. Opened the game, already seeing the usual suspects like Larvitar and Bagon flooding the nearby sightings. Pretty neat, but I knew that wasn’t the prize.
Checked my local Discord quick. Saw chatter like “Anyone spotted the purple guy?” and “Weird ground-type near the park?” – bingo. Meant people were seeing those rare spawns popping up here and there. So, my plan? Time to get moving.
Hit the Streets and Hope
Hopped in the car, drove to the big shopping plaza downtown. Parked up, grabbed my coffee, and started walking. Kept my eyes glued to the screen:
- Spam-clicked on every spawn point, fast as I could.
- Paid super close attention to the silhouette on the radar before it popped in. Anything vaguely weird or dragon-looking, I sprinted towards it. Seriously, almost tripped over a curb chasing a shadow.
- Completely ignored all the super common CD stuff. Let the Mudkips and Beldum just sit there.
- Noticed a pattern pretty quick – these rare spawns seemed to love lured spots. Anything within sprinting distance of a PokéStop with an active lure? Made a beeline.
- Weather changed too! We got windy weather later in the afternoon. Suddenly saw way more dragon-like outlines showing up. Made sure I was scanning extra hard then.
What Worked (and What Didn’t)
After wandering for a solid two hours:
- Driving around aimlessly? Total bust. Waste of gas. Found zero rares just circling blocks.
- Lures were GOLD. Seriously. Three of my rare catches popped up right under incense or at stops people had dropped lures on.
- That silhouette trick was clutch. Saw the weird, bulky shape of Golett a few times before it actually appeared. Saw one Deino outline disappear because I was too slow – almost cried.
- The last 15 minutes were frantic magic. Dunno why, but right as the event was ending? Boom! Spotted a wild Gible near the fountain I was passing. Pretty pumped about that.
Missed that purple Deino everyone was buzzing about earlier. Still kinda salty. But overall? Scored one Golett and one Gible. Not a huge haul, but felt pretty good finding them amidst all the chaos.
Learnings for Next Time
Alright, here’s my takeaways if you wanna try this madness next December:
- Forget the hype, watch the outlines. Be ready to run at weird shapes.
- Bring extra battery. No joke, my phone almost died chasing down that Gible.
- Park your butt near clusters of lures. Don’t wander too far off the beaten path.
- Use the weather boosts. When the weather changes, drop everything and hunt hard.
- Don’t get distracted! So easy to tap that easy shiny Charmander, but you gotta resist.
Was it efficient? Heck no. Felt like a scramble. But finally seeing that Golett pop? Totally worth it. Hope this helps someone snag those hidden gems next year! Now I gotta rest these feet.
