Pokemon GO Holiday 2024: Should You Pick Spark or Sierra?

This guide goes over everything you need to know about the choice between Spark and Sierra in the Pokemon GO Holiday 2024 Timed Research.

Should You Choose Spark or Sierra in Pokemon GO?

In the Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 event, players will get to choose between Spark and Sierra in the exclusive branching Timed Research. The differences between the two are minimal: namely, Spark focuses on Ice-types and Sierra focuses on Fire-types.

Pokemon GO Holiday 2024 Part 1 Timed Research

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research: Step 1

Players who log in between Tuesday, December 17 at 10:00 am and Sunday, December 22 at 9:59 am (local time) will receive access to the “Holiday Part 1” event exclusive Timed Research. The research is split into three different steps. You need to complete the first step before you can decide between Spark and Sierra. The first step tasks and rewards are as follows:

The rewards for completing all of step 1’s research tasks are:

• 1000 Stardust,
• and 1000 XP.

Depending on your location, you can likely complete all three tasks in one fell swoop, since many Fire- and Ice-type Pokemon have their encounter rates increased for the duration of the event. Many of these Pokemon are also required for completing the various event Collection Challenges going on at the same time.

Fire- and Ice-Type Pokemon With Increased Encounter Rates

The following Pokemon are either Fire- or Ice-type and have an increased encounter rate in the wild during the Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 event, listed in National Pokedex order:

• Alolan Sandshrew,
• Swinub,
• Delibird (Holiday Costume),
• Numel,
• Snover,
• Darumaka,
• Litleo,
• and Bergmite.

As a bonus, you can catch Cryogonal as a reward for completing the “Catch 20 Ice-type Pokemon” Field Research task.

Choosing Between Spark and Sierra

After you complete the first step of the Holiday 2024 Timed Research, you’ll be prompted to choose between helping Spark or tracking Sierra. The key difference between the two routes is that Spark focuses on Ice-types and has an Alolan Vulpix encounter reward, while Sierra focuses on Fire-types and has a Shadow (Kantonian) Vulpix encounter reward. Otherwise, the rewards of the two branching paths are the same. 

Should You Choose Spark or Sierra?

We recommend you choose Spark, since Alolan Ninetales is more effective in the Pokemon GO Great and Ultra League than both regular and Shadow Kantonian Ninetales thanks to its unique Ice and Fairy typing. Kantonian Ninetales, on the other hand, has a lot of competition as a pure Fire-type Pokemon. This is also a good opportunity to get Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales in your Pokedex if you don’t have them already. However, if you already have a 3- or 4-star Alolan Ninetales and want a Shadow Vulpix and Ninetales for your Pokedex, there’s no harm in choosing Sierra for the Shadow Vulpix encounter reward.

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research: Step 2

The Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research has slight differences between the tasks and rewards starting with step 2 based on whether you choose Spark or Sierra.

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research: Step 2 (Spark)

The Spark path step 2 Timed Research tasks and rewards are as follows:

The rewards for completing all of step 2’s research tasks are:

• An encounter with Alolan Vulpix,
• and 2000 XP.

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research: Step 2 (Sierra)

The Sierra path step 2 Timed Research tasks and rewards are as follows:

The rewards for completing all of step 2’s research tasks are:

• An encounter with Shadow (Kantonian) Vulpix,
• and 2000 XP.

How to Take Snapshots in Pokemon GO

To take a snapshot of a Pokemon, just follow these steps:

• In an encounter, tap the camera outline in the top center of the screen to enter snapshot mode. (This can be a little hard to see with the current winter-themed environments.)
• When you’re ready to take the snapshot, tap the circular camera button at the center bottom of the screen.

You can tap the trash can button on the lower left of the screen afterwards to delete the screenshot if you don’t want to keep it. It will still count towards completing the Timed Research tasks—you can tell because a notification will pop up in the lower right of the screen once the snapshot is taken. If you want to keep the snapshot, just tap the checkmark icon on the lower right of the screen after the notification disappears after a few seconds.

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research: Step 3

Like step 2, there are slight differences between the Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research step 3 based on whether you choose Spark or Sierra.

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research: Step 3 (Spark)

The Spark path step 3 Timed Research tasks and rewards are as follows:

The rewards for completing all of step 3’s research tasks are:

• An encounter with Sandygast,
• 3000 XP,
• and 2000 Stardust.

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research: Step 3 (Sierra)

The Sierra path step 3 Timed Research tasks and rewards are as follows:

The rewards for completing all of step 3’s research tasks are:

• An encounter with Sandygast,
• 3000 XP,
• and 2000 Stardust.

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research: Hidden Step

After you complete step 3 of the Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 timed research, both paths get an additional hidden step with one simple task: claim your reward of 2500 XP, and pick up an extra 2500 Stardust.

Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research Time and Dates

The Pokemon GO Holiday Part 1 Timed Research will be active from Tuesday, December 17 at 10:00 am until Sunday, December 22 at 9:59 am (local time). Make sure you accept all your rewards before December 22 at 9:59 am or you will lose access to them.

After you’ve completed your research tasks in Pokemon GO and are waiting for part two of the event to start, you can work on getting Vulpix in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to complete your Pokedex for a shiny Meloetta reward.