The Pokémon GO team

Trainers,

Experience your city in a whole new way! City Spotlight is a new initiative we’ll be launching in select cities that guides Trainers on an adventure through their hometown or a place nearby, highlighting special locations for Trainers to explore while making memories with their Buddy Pokémon—kind of like a treasure hunt! You’ll have the opportunity to discover exciting surprises by exploring the outdoors—all while remaining socially distanced—through individual research tasks, walking-based gameplay, and social-distancing bonuses. We have worked with each city to promote this initiative, and designed the gameplay to be in compliance with local health and safety guid...

UPDATE 11/9/2020: Trainers, we're excited to announce that we're running another set of tests for select Trainers around the world. These new tests will also run until Monday, November 16, 2020. Thank you for your continued support.

Trainers,

Beginning on Monday, November 9, 2020, new tests will be happening in Pokémon GO! We’ll be conducting an XP-rebalancing test for select Trainers in Australia and New Zealand, during which, those Trainers will experience adjustments to the amount of XP they earn from activities such as catching Pokémon, hatching Eggs, evolving Pokémon, and more. This test will run until Monday, November 16, 2020. Additi...

Trainers,

As previously mentioned in the blog post detailing Season 4, Season 5 of the GO Battle League will be shorter than previous seasons at just three weeks long. In addition, ratings will not be used for rank progression this season, and you’ll instead progress through the ranks by winning a certain number of battles. We hope to see Trainers take this opportunity to try out new strategies, test different battle teams, and prepare for Season 6!

Season 4 rewards, Season 5 timeline, and what to expect

When Season 5 begins on Monday, November 9, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8), your end-of-season rewards for Season 4 will be available on the...

Trainers,

For some of you around the world, November marks the beginning of the holiday season! It’s a great time to reflect on what we’re thankful for, such as our community. In celebration of the spirit of community, we’re excited to announce that there will be two separate Community Day events this November, one featuring Electabuzz, the Electric Pokémon, and one featuring Magmar, the Spitfire Pokémon!

Electabuzz Community Day

Date + Time

Sunday, November 15, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time

Features

• Electabuzz will be appearing more frequently in...

Trainers,

The Animation Week 2020 event—based on Pokémon Journeys: The Series—is coming soon to Pokémon GO!

During this event, Pokémon encounters and other content with ties to the two main characters—Ash and Goh—will be available in Pokémon GO. You’ll also be able to participate in event-exclusive Timed Research inspired by the animated series’ storyline!

Date + Time

From Friday, November 6, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Thursday, November 12, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time

Features

• World Cap Pikachu will be appearing in the wild. Some lucky Trainers may even encounter a Shiny one!
• ...

Trainers,

In November, we will be holding Special Weekend events with several special partners.

• Verizon and Grubhub in the United States
• 7-Eleven Mexico in Mexico
• Softbank & 7-Eleven Japan, and Matsumoto Kiyoshi in Japan

What are Special Weekend events?

These are exclusive in-game events that you can access using a ticket that can only be obtained from a participating Pokémon GO partner, either physically or digitally. The ticket contains a code that you can redeem on our ...

Trainers,

This year, spirits will return! In addition to our annual Halloween event in Pokémon GO, we will be celebrating the Day of the Dead for the first time with a special event for Trainers in Latin America.

The Day of the Dead is a holiday observed in Mexico and other parts of the Americas that celebrates the lives and the memory of family and friends who are no longer with us. In Mexican tradition, it’s said that the spirits of the deceased return to the world of the living during this special time to share a joyful celebration with their loved ones, surrounded by candles, flowers, fruit, bread, sugar skulls, incense, and other traditional foo...

Trainers,

Familiar faces return to raids, new feature updates, and more—read on to learn about what’s happening in the world of Pokémon GO this November.

November Research Breakthrough encounter

From Sunday, November 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8), Togetic, the Happiness Pokémon, will be available as a Research Breakthrough encounter.

A month of different Raid Bosses in five-star raids!

Look forward to challenging different Raid Bosses in five-star raids throughout November!

• From Friday, October 23, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) to Thursda...

Trainers,

In celebration of the release of The Crown Tundra, part two of the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass and Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass, an exciting event will take place in Pokémon GO!

Some Pokémon originally discovered in the Galar region will be appearing in the wild!

Date + Time

Thursday, October 22, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. to Friday, October 23, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. PDT (GMT -7)

Features

• Galarian Farfetch’d, which first appeared in Pokémon GO during an event celebrating the release of The Isle of Armor (part one of the Pokémo...

Trainers,

We’re excited to announce that we’re partnering with our friends at Verizon to provide exclusive benefits to Pokémon GO players in the United States! Grow your gameplay even further starting today!

Verizon, America's most reliable network, is now working alongside our teams to provide the best Pokémon GO experience for their users, as well as in-game benefits for all Trainers in the United States. You will soon enjoy enhanced gameplay features (such as Verizon Sponsored PokéStops, Sponsored Gyms, and Sponsored Gifts) and exclusive digital experiences!

Trainers in the United States will be able to experience exciting special...

Trainers,

Egg-cellent work! Thanks to your efforts in helping with Professor Willow in his research, we’ve determined that as the seasons change, different Pokémon are hatching from Eggs. Here’s what we’ve learned.

• The following Pokémon are now hatching from Strange Eggs: Larvitar, Absol, Sandile, Scraggy, Trubbish, Pawniard, Vullaby, and Deino.
• Different Pokémon are hatching from 2 km, 5 km, and 10 km Eggs. Please note that Pokémon that appear in the wild only in specific regions will hatch only from Eggs obtained in those regions.
  • The following Pokémon are now hatching from 2 km Eggs: Zubat, Poliwag, Cubone, ...

Trainers,

An exciting feature is coming! You can soon experience Pokémon GO in a whole new way with AR Mapping tasks.

Certain PokéStops will have a special design indicating that you’ll receive an AR Mapping task when you spin them! The task will require you to complete an action either at the PokéStop where you received the task or at another PokéStop within a certain radius. Complete the task by heading on over to the AR scanning screen and exploring the area around you. This task will count as your daily Field Research task.

Trainers level 20 and up will have access to this new feature beginning on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7). This feature will not be available to Niantic Kids accounts at launch. In the future, parents will have the option to toggle this feature on for Niantic Kids accounts. Stay tuned for updates on when that option will become available.

For more details on AR Mapping tasks, check out this ...

Trainers,

Halloween is frighteningly close! Get ready for some spooky shenanigans this year! Galarian Yamask makes its Pokémon GO debut in new Halloween-themed Special Research, and completing certain Field Research tasks may lead to an encounter with Spiritomb—you might even encounter a Shiny one! Dress up in ghastly new avatar items, prepare face off against spine-chillingly cool Pokémon in raids, and take part in Halloween-themed mini events like Catch Mastery: Ghost Day and the Halloween Cup! Regardless of where your dark heart leads you, there’s plenty to enjoy this Halloween!

Date + Time

Friday, October 23, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. ...

Trainers,

On Friday, October 23, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Mega Gengar will be available to battle in Mega Raids, and Mega Venusaur will be leaving Mega Raids. Until then, Mega Venusaur will be appearing more frequently in Mega Raids, so be sure to make the most of this time! Here are some other ways you’ll be able to earn Venusaur Mega Energy.

• You’ll be able to earn Venusaur Mega Energy by completing select Field Research tasks.
• An upcoming event in November will feature Timed Research that rewards Venusaur Mega Energy.

We’ll provide other ways for you to earn Venusaur Mega Energy in the future, so stay tuned fo...

Trainers,

We’re excited to announce that we’re partnering with our friends at Grubhub to give Trainers in the United States the opportunity to take part in an exclusive event. Trainers will be able to participate in a Special Weekend event! Don’t miss your chance to take part in this exciting in-game event.

Special Weekend event, presented by Grubhub!

Starting today, October 15, 2020, Trainers in the United States can sign up to take part in an exclusive event: the Special Weekend. Trainers who submit their email ...

Trainers,

Halloween is right around the corner, and Ghost-type Pokémon will be appearing more often! It’s time to put your catching skills to the test during the Catch Mastery: Ghost event!

Date + Time

Sunday, October 25, 2020, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time

Features

• Drifloon will be appearing more often in the wild! If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one.
• There will be exclusive Timed Research available only during this event!
• Complete event-exclusive Field Research tasks to encounter Ghost-type Pokémon and earn Gengar Mega Energy.

Trainers,

Two exciting updates have been made to Mega Evolutions, just in time for October Community Day!

• The duration that Pokémon stay in their Mega-Evolved form has doubled from four hours to eight hours.
• The cap for Mega Energy has increased from 999 to 2,000. This limit applies to each individual type of Mega Energy, not the total amount of Mega Energy you have across Pokémon species.

Stay tuned for additional updates in the coming weeks. Let’s GO!

Please be aware of your surroundings and follow guidelines from local health authorities when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change....

Trainers,

Remember when we predicted that different Pokémon ...

UPDATE October 9, 2020: GO Battle Night and the accompanying Flying Cup have been postponed to November 5, 2020, beginning at 6:00 p.m. local time and running until November 6, 2020, at 12:00 a.m. local time. Read more about GO Battle League Season 4 and the accompanying events here: https://pokemongolive.com/post/gobattleleague-season4/!

Trainers,

The following events have been canceled, postponed, or changed.

• GO Battle Night: This event has been postponed.
• Flying Cup: This event has been postponed.

Be sure to follow us on social media, opt in to receive push notifications, and subscribe to our emails to stay updated.

—The Pokémon GO team

Trainers,

Pokémon Spotlight Hour will take place every Tuesday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time during the month of October.

For the Pokémon Spotlight Hours on October 6 and October 13, special Pikachu wearing the same caps worn by Ash, the protagonist of the Pokémon anime series, will be appearing in the wild! Other special bonuses will also be active.

On Tuesday, October 6, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, Pikachu wearing the World Cap worn by Ash in the ongoing anime series Pokémon Journeys: The Series will be available in Pokémon GO for the first time! You’ll also earn twice the XP for catching Pokémon.