8 January 2026

Pokemon GO Reveals New Shiny Debut for Precious Pals Event

By newsgame

Pokemon GO will soon host a new Buddy Pokemon event called Precious Pals, and it will be marked by the debut of Shiny Fidough in the mobile game. Pokemon GO players will have an opportunity to earn additional hearts by walking with their favorite Pokemon, and they have better odds at finding specific Shiny critters while the Precious Pals event is active.

Known as the Puppy Pokemon, Fidough first appeared in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Fidough’s cute design and Fairy-type characteristics made it an instant hit with Pokemon fans. Fidough evolves into Daschbun at level 26, where it gains a significant boost to its high defense stat and makes it a handy Fairy Pokemon to have in Paldea. In Pokemon GO, Fidough first appeared in January 2025 during the Fidough Fetch event. Evolving Fidough into Daschbun in Pokemon GO simply requires 50 Fidough Candies. Upon evolving into Daschbun, the canine Fairy Pokemon can use attacks like Fire Fang and Play Rough to throw off opponents.

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Shiny Fidough is Coming to Pokemon GO in Late January

Once Pokemon GO‘s upcoming High Zaptitude event concludes in January, trainers will have another event to prepare for shortly after. Shiny Fidough will make its debut in Pokemon GO‘s Precious Pals event, and it will be featured alongside other Shiny Pokemon. Pokemon GO‘s Precious Pals event is part of the similarly-named Precious Paths season. Precious Pals starts on Tuesday, January 20, at 10:00 AM local time, and ends on Sunday, January 25, at 8:00 PM local time.

Once Precious Pals begins, Shiny Fidough and Shiny Daschbun will be available in Pokemon GO for trainers to add to their collections, with the latter available via evolution. Pokemon GO players will also have an increased chance of finding a Shiny Goldeen via Egg hatching and wild encounters during the Precious Pals event. Additionally, Shiny versions of Pokemon like Zorua, Wimpod, and Espurr will appear via wild encounters. Plus, hatching a 2 km Pokemon Egg can also give trainers a chance to catch the Shiny versions of baby Pokemon like Togepi, Riolu, and Happiny.

Pokemon GO Precious Pals Event Bonuses (January 20 to 25, 2026)

pokemon-go-precious-pals-2026-banner-goldeen-espurr-fidough

Additional Candy XL when walking with your Buddy Pokemon.
Earn additional hearts with your Buddy Pokemon.
Increased chance to encounter Shiny Goldeen.
Increased chance to hatch Shiny Goldeen and Shiny Fidough.
Limited-time Evolution requirement: Evolve Eevee into Sylveon after earning 20 hearts with Eevee as your buddy.*
Limited-time Evolution requirement: Evolve Pancham into Pangoro after catching 10 Dark-type Pokemon with Pancham as your buddy.*
Limited-time Evolution requirement: Evolve Pawmo into Pawmot after exploring 5 km with Pawmo as your buddy.*
*These Evolution requirements will return to the usual requirements on Sunday, January 25, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time.

The evolution requirements for Pokemon like Eevee and Pancham will also be relaxed during Precious Pals. While evolving an Eevee into a Sylveon in Pokemon GO would normally require 70 Hearts via the Buddy Pokemon system before using 25 Eevee Candy, Precious Pals will reduce the Heart requirement to 20 while the event is active. Likewise, evolving Pancham into Pangoro will temporarily require catching 10 Dark-type Pokemon (down from 32), and evolving Pawmo into Pawmot will require walking just five kilometers (down from 25 km) instead. Ergo, trainers looking to add Sylveon, Pangoro, and Pawmot to their Pokemon GO collections should wait until Precious Pals is active to make it easier to manage.

Shiny Pokemon That May Appear During Precious Pals

2 km Eggs

Goldeen
Togepi
Happiny
Riolu
Fidough

Wild Encounters

Goldeen
Zorua
Wimpod
Fidough
Espurr

Precious Pals will also have Paid Time Research that can be unlocked by purchasing the Precious Pals Ultra Ticket Box for $4.99 once the event goes live. Precious Pals will also overlap with the month-long January 2026 Pokemon GO Pass event, which will give trainers the opportunity to encounter the Legendary Pokemon called Dialga. Ergo, Pokemon GO trainers can earn several rewards simultaneously after purchasing the January 2026 GO Pass and the Precious Pals Paid Time Research ticket. Event-themed Field Research Tasks and Collection Challenges will also be available for all Pokemon GO players to complete during Precious Pals.

While Pokemon GO is still running low on new critters to add to the game, trainers may not have to wait much longer for news about the Pokemon franchise’s immediate future. With Pokemon GO turning 10 years old in 2026, and the Pokemon series celebrating its 30th anniversary throughout the year, time will tell what surprises The Pokemon Company and Scopely have planned.