As a live service game, Pokemon GO has been keeping trainers connected with one another for over seven years now. In that time, Niantic has continually expanded the game from the barebones “catch and collect” app it started as, adding many fan favorite features and events.

Raids, PvP leagues, special research, spotlight hours, seasonal quests, and the recent Pokemon showcase contests are just a smattering of the content Niantic has introduced over GO’s lifespan. But one of the most enduring traditions of Pokemon GO is the monthly Community Day: an event created to highlight specific Pokemon evolutionary lines, giving trainers a chance to stockpile candy and unlock rare special moves.

The first Pokemon GO Community Day event took place all the way back at the beginning of 2018, meaning Pokemon GO has had over 60 Community Day events! Niantic has even created the “Community Day Classic,” aiming to give newer players a chance at capturing Pokemon from some of the original Community Day events.

With so many Community Days having come and gone, it’s time to look back at which Pokemon were best served by their spotlight event. Here are some of the pocket monsters that got the best Pokemon GO Community Days.

10. Pikachu – January 2018

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Pikachu is the face of the Pokemon franchise. It only made sense that Niantic would pick the electric mouse mascot to kick off the first Community Day.

Pikachu isn’t really a viable Pokemon for PvP or raiding, but I’d be remiss to leave him off this list. Not only was the first Community Day a foundational stepping stone of what was to come, but Niantic paid homage to one of the best variants of Pikachu – Surfing Pikachu – by having every wild Pikachu found during the event know the exclusive water-type move Surf.

Pikachu was an iconic pick, and the move was a cute reference. This was a sign of greater things to come!

9. Eevee – August 2021

August 2021 wasn’t the first time Eevee was queued up for a Community Day feature. In fact, the first Eevee Community Day was almost exactly three years prior to this event.

The first Eevee Community Day in 2018 was a decent showing but lacked much of what made these events so special. Usually, the featured Pokemon is able to get a special move during evolution – one that players can’t normally use TMs for under normal circumstances. At the time, Eevee had three evolutions released in Pokemon GO: Flareon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon. These evolutions would be granted the Last Resort charged move during the event.

The return of Eevee Community Day in 2021 heralded a much more robust event, featuring even more Eeveelutions than before. Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, Leafeon, and Sylveon were all given special charged moves during the event window. Even the original Eeveelutions were shown some more love, getting a new set of event-exclusive charged moves, as well.

Evolution lines have had Community Day reprisals in the past – that’s why Niantic has started the Community Day Classic events – but none have outshone the original event quite like the second Eevee Community Day did.

8. Teddiursa – November 2022

Players were left scratching their heads when the Teddiursa Community Day was first announced, but this event turned out to be a very fun surprise from Niantic.

During this Community Day, Teddiursa’s new final evolution, Ursaluna, was introduced to Pokemon GO. Ursaluna was only added to the Pokemon universe with Pokemon Legends: Arceus, so players weren’t expecting the monster to arrive on the mobile app so soon. Niantic even temporarily shipped a “full moon” during the event so Ursaring would be able to evolve no matter what.

Ursaluna is a tanky Pokemon with lots of power, and this Community Day was a fun surprise. This was a rare event that proved the folks over at Niantic still have some tricks up their sleeves to this day.

7. Fletchling – March 2021

As a regional bird, Fletchling might seem like a Pokemon that wouldn’t make the cut for this list. It’s cute, sure, and the dual-type Fire/Flying combo makes Talonflame a fun pocket monster to get a hold of. But surely Fletchling can’t be that special, right? It doesn’t even have a Mega like Pidgeot does…

What Fletchling does have, though, is massive potential in certain PvP cups. At level 50, a perfect Talonflame comes in at 2493 CP, just squeezing under the bar for use in the Ultra League. Usually, Pokemon GO players look for low attack IVs and higher defense and HP IVs in their PvP Pokemon, as this is the winning combo for getting powerful Pokemon at the right power thresholds. 

Since Talonflame needs to be level 50 in order to be viable for PvP, the Fletchling Community Day was a great way to stockpile all those XL candies to close in on that benchmark. The evolution line also got a great Community Day move, with the fast attack Incinerate being added to the move pool.

Talonflame is a tough Pokemon to get the required stardust and candy for, but Niantic helped make the investment into this PvP monster much easier with a great Community Day event.

6. Rhyhorn – February 2020

Niantic was running some unique Community Day events in 2020… necessitated by COVID-19. Truly, they were a bit of a mixed bag. When a decent chunk of the playerbase can’t get out and walk around, how can you run a really special event? Niantic’s creative solution was to let players have some input on what Pokemon would be featured during certain Community Day events.

February 2020 featured potentially the best of these democratically selected pocket monsters: Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokemon. The month stood out as one of the best in a year of pretty underwhelming Community Day offerings: Abra, Seedot, Weedle, and Porygon were particularly disappointing.

Rhyperior is still one of the best raiding Pokemon, with strong Rock and Ground type moves backed up by devastating base stats and STAB bonuses. The Community Day move, Rock Wrecker, is one of the best Rock-type moves in the game.

Rhyperior is an absolute beast, and Rock Wrecker makes him even stronger. For that reason, Rhyhorn Community Day still shines as one of the better events Niantic ran during 2020.

5. Larvitar – June 2018

Johto’s resident pseudo-legendary evolution line culminates in a ferocious Rock/Dark dual-type attacker. Tyranitar’s impressive base stat spread means that Larvitar Community Day was hotly anticipated.

This stone behemoth got a fantastic Community Day move in the form of Smack Down, a fast attack with higher damage per second than any of Tyranitar’s other regular moves. As a Rock-type move, it benefits from the STAB bonus. Paired off with the Stone Edge charged move, Tyranitar becomes one of the fiercest non-shadow Rock-type raiders in the game.

Sometimes, Johto Pokemon fall through the cracks and end up missing out on the love they deserve. That certainly wasn’t the case in June 2018.

4. Deino – June 2022

The pseudo-legendary from one of the most beloved Pokemon generations of all time wasn’t ever going to go under the radar. Funnily enough, Hydreigon has some rough weaknesses that hold it back from being the best of the best. Still, Deino Community Day was where this evolution line really got its chance to shine.

This event introduced the best DPS move combination for Hydreigon, enabling the pseudo-legendary pocket monster to become a fantastic Dark-type raider. The Bite fast attack was already a great move to build up chip damage and generate energy, and then the Community Day added the best charged move that Hydreigon has in the form of Brutal Swing.

Bite quickly builds energy for Brutal Swing, allowing Hydreigon to relentlessly pester the enemy with charged attacks. Any raid boss weak to Dark-type attacks will surely fall to the onslaught of a high level Hydreigon.

Deino Community Day did what Community Days do best: give a cool Pokemon a cool move that makes them more viable than they ever were before.

3. Dratini – February 2018

The first pseudo-legendary Pokemon ever, it only makes sense that Dratini would be featured in one of the first Community Day events. Pikachu was a great proof of concept… but Dratini was a great way to really build up some hype.

Literally dubbed “The Dragon Pokemon,” Dratini was one of the strongest Pokemon in the game back in 2018. There was no Fairy-type, no level 50 cap, and Dragon-types were reigning over the game. Giving Dragonite the Draco Meteor charged attack was massive at the time. It wasn’t strictly better than Outrage in PvP, but it shredded through all other content. 

Listen, shiny Dragonite might be ugly, but it was an ugly behemoth, one that could mess up any Pokemon standing in its way. In 2023, Dragonite might not be the best pick anymore, but it’ll still maul just about any of Pokemon GO’s content with no problem. Dratini Community Day deserves respect for setting the bar for what these events could really shape up to be.

2. Beldum – October 2018

This pseudo-legendary had its Community Day at the tail end of 2018, and it stands the test of time as one of the most important Community Days in Pokemon GO history. Beldum has always been a unique pseudo-legendary, after all – it’s a non-Dragon type Pokemon with a killer base stat spread.

This Community Day made Metagross easily available to all players, but perhaps more importantly than that, it gave the Pokemon its most iconic move. This event was the first time that Meteor Mash was added to Metagross’ move pool, which would become a staple for the pocket monster moving forward.

Nothing compares to Meteor Mash! There have been several events since 2018 where trainers have been able to acquire the coveted elite charged move for their Metagross, but it all traces back to a great Beldum Community Day.

1. Gible – June 2021

Garchomp was one of the most hotly anticipated pseudo-legendaries of all time, and it’s safe to say that Pokemon GO players were eagerly awaiting the moment that this pocket monster would become more easily accessible to the casual audience.

While Gible’s evolution line might not have very noticeable shinies, the landsharks still have some of the most visually interesting designs in Pokemon history. With the addition of Earth Power into Garchomp’s move pool, the Pokemon became one of the best Ground-type attackers in the game.

Dragon-type Pokemon are always a welcome addition to any Pokemon GO player’s roster, and this dual-type monster definitely had one of the most hyped-up Community Day events in Pokemon GO history.

What was your favorite Pokemon GO Community Day event? What evolution line do you hope gets featured in an upcoming Community Day? Let us know in the comments down below!