Tue · Oct 27 · Today
Halloween Part I begins
10:00 a.m. Costumed Pikachu, Zubat & Sinistea debut. Halloween GO Pass begins. New GBL rotation in the afternoon.
This week in Pokémon GO · Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2026
Halloween week, played your way.
One week, five different games inside it. Halloween Part I is live now, Giratina returns Wednesday, Gastly owns Thursday evening, and Mega Chandelure debuts Saturday. Pick your player type below — the playbook changes, the events don't.
Featured event · Live now
Halloween 2026 Part I
Tue Oct 27, 10:00 a.m. – Sun Nov 1, 10:00 a.m. local time. Three costumed debuts — Pikachu wearing a hat and capelet, Zubat wearing a top hat, and Sinistea wearing a bow — all Shiny-eligible from day one. Tap the purple-and-orange “Trick or Treat!” boxes on the map for Candy, Rare Candy, and surprise encounters including costumed Gengar and Drifblim.
GO Pass Rank 10: 2× Catch Candy · 3× Deluxe
Rank 20: 2× Catch Stardust · 3× Deluxe
Rotom at Rank 50Spiritomb at Rank 108
The Candy and Stardust bonuses are not automatic — you unlock them by ranking up GO Pass: Halloween 2026. The pass runs to Nov 5, 8:00 p.m.; claim rewards before Nov 7, 8:00 p.m. or they expire.
Start here, even casually: log in during Part I to claim the free Timed Research — six Rare Candies and a costumed Pikachu encounter — before it expires Nov 1.
The week at a glance
All times local. Spotlight Hour and Raid Hour moved days in 2026 — Spotlight is now Thursday, Raid Hour stays Wednesday.
Wed · Oct 28
Giratina Raid Hour
6:00–7:00 p.m. Origin Forme Giratina takes over Gyms. It's in 5-star raids Oct 28 – Nov 3, and Mega Sableye enters Mega Raids (through Nov 8).
Thu · Oct 29
Gastly Spotlight Hour
6:00–7:00 p.m. · 2× Evolution XP. The single best XP hour of the week — save your evolutions for this, egg on. Full plan in the XP Maxer edition.
Fri · Oct 30
Prep day
Remote Raid limit rises to 20 from 5:00 p.m. PDT. Charge, clear storage, line up Saturday raid invites, and finish GO Pass ranks 10 & 20.
Sat · Oct 31
Mega Chandelure Raid Day
2:00–5:00 p.m. Mega Chandelure debuts in Super Mega Raids. Up to 6 free passes, boosted Shiny odds, free Timed Research with a Premium Pass + Tyranitar.
Sun · Nov 1
Halloween Part II begins
10:00 a.m. Part I ends, Part II starts: Shiny Greavard debuts and Mega Sableye can reach Super Max Level with Night Shade+. Runs to Nov 5, 8:00 p.m.
Pick your edition
Same events, different priorities. Tap a player type — your playbook for the whole week changes.
XP Maxer edition
Your week in one line: bank evolutions all week, detonate them Thursday 6–7 p.m.
There is no catch-XP bonus in Halloween Part I, so raw catching is not your engine this week. Your engine is Thursday's Gastly Spotlight Hour: 2× Evolution XP, stacked with a Lucky Egg for 4,000 XP per evolution. Giratina Raid Hour and Saturday's raid day are your second engine — 10,000 XP per 5-star win, 20,000 on an egg.
Do this
- Tag 120+ cheap evolutions (12-Candy species, Gastly from the Spotlight spawns themselves) before Thursday.
- Thu 6 p.m.: Lucky Egg on, evolve non-stop for the full hour. Two eggs back-to-back if you have 120+ queued.
- Stack friendship level-ups into the same egg window — a Best Friends hit is 200,000 XP on an egg. Coordinate the last gift before Thursday.
- Sat: run Chandelure raids on an egg if you're chasing levels; ticket holders get +5,000 XP per Super Mega raid on top.
Skip this
- Evolving anything before Thursday — that's half value for no reason.
- Opening friendship gifts randomly through the week. Every un-egged Ultra/Best level-up is XP left on the table.
- Buying the GO Pass Deluxe for XP — its bonuses are Candy and Stardust, not XP.
Use the XP goal calculator below — it already has Thursday's 2× Evolution XP and the Lucky Egg toggle built in.
Shiny Hunter edition
Your week in one line: three costume shinies now, the week's best odds Saturday, a brand-new shiny Sunday.
Part I gives you three shiny debuts at once — costumed Pikachu (1-star raids + wild boxes), Zubat in a top hat (wild), and Sinistea in a bow (1-star raids). Saturday is the odds play: Shiny Chandelure is boosted in Super Mega Raids (reported around 1 in 10). Sunday, Shiny Greavard debuts — hunt it early in Part II while everyone else is still raiding leftovers.
Do this
- Check every Trick or Treat box — costumed Gengar and Drifblim encounters hide in them.
- Play a dense spawn loop for Zubat; use 1-star raids for Pikachu/Sinistea checks between spawns.
- Saturday 2–5 p.m.: spend all 6 free passes on Chandelure first, remote invites after (limit is 20).
- Sunday onward: Greavard is wild, in Field Research, and in the GO Pass — stack all three sources.
Know the odds context
- Costume shinies from Part I don't return on a schedule — when the event ends Nov 1, they're gone until a future rerun.
- Gastly Spotlight Hour (Thu) has no boosted shiny rate — it's an XP hour, hunt only if you still need Shiny Gastly/Gengar.
Raider edition
Your week in one line: Giratina Wednesday, the strongest new Ghost Mega Saturday.
Origin Forme Giratina (Ghost/Dragon) is weak to Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost, and Ice. Mega Chandelure arrives Saturday as a top-tier Ghost attacker — and Chandelure caught from Super Mega Raids starts with Mega Level 1 already unlocked, with a new Super Max level and Ominous Wind+ beyond it.
Giratina counters — bring these
- Mega Rayquaza / Mega Garchomp — Dragon Tail + Outrage
- Mega Tyranitar / Shadow Tyranitar — Bite + Brutal Swing
- Mega Gengar — Lick + Shadow Ball
- Shadow Mamoswine — Powder Snow + Avalanche · Mega Gardevoir — Charm + Dazzling Gleam
Saturday plan
- 6 free passes from Gym discs; the $4.99 ticket raises that to 14, plus Rare Candy XL chance and +5,000 XP/Stardust per raid.
- Free Timed Research: Premium Battle Pass + Tyranitar encounter — claim it even if you raid remotely.
- Super Mega Raids need a real group — coordinate with your local crew or a meetup rather than solo-queueing.
Collector edition
Your week in one line: three costumes, two pass exclusives, and nothing here comes back soon.
The checklist that matters is time-boxed: costumed Pikachu, Zubat, and Sinistea leave Nov 1 at 10:00 a.m. Rotom sits at GO Pass Rank 50 and Spiritomb — one of the rarest regular returns in the game — at Rank 108. Both tracks include them; Deluxe just gets you there with more extras.
Don't miss
- Free Timed Research Pikachu + 6 Rare Candies — claim before Nov 1.
- Spiritomb at Rank 108: pace your daily GO Pass bonus tasks (catch Ghost-types, catch Pokémon) so you're not grinding it on Nov 5.
- Sunday: Greavard's shiny family (Greavard + Houndstone) opens — a new shiny dex entry.
- Lavender Town remix plays nightly — sound on for the atmosphere, seriously.
Storage warning
- Keep one of each costume before transferring extras — costume Pokémon can't be mass-transferred carelessly, check before you clear.
- Save a good Litwick: you'll want Chandelure candy and a strong base for Saturday's Mega.
Stardust Farmer edition
Your week in one line: unlock Rank 20 first, then catch everything — every catch pays double or triple.
This is quietly one of the best dust weeks of the season, but only after GO Pass Rank 20: 2× Catch Stardust (3× with Deluxe), and a Star Piece multiplies it again to 3× / 4.5× per catch. Sequence matters more than volume.
Do this
- Rush Ranks 10 → 20 early in the week (daily bonus tasks + raids + catches), then do your heavy catching.
- Save Star Pieces for your longest sessions post-Rank 20 — Saturday's raid day with the ticket adds +5,000 Stardust per Super Mega raid.
- Ghost spawns are everywhere; first-stage catches are fast catches. Quick-catch on a loop beats selective hunting for dust/hour.
Skip this
- Burning Star Pieces before Rank 20 — you'd be multiplying 1× instead of 2×/3×.
- Powering anything up mid-week out of excitement. Set a dust goal in the calculator below and hold the line.
The Stardust calculator below has the Rank 20 / Deluxe and Star Piece toggles built in.
The four hunts
The Pokémon this week actually revolves around.
Origin Forme Giratina
5-star raids Oct 28 – Nov 3 · Raid Hour Wed Oct 28, 6–7 p.m.
Ghost/Dragon. Weak to Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost, Ice. Shiny available. An S-tier Ghost attacker with Shadow Force — worth raiding beyond the dex entry, especially in Fog or Windy weather.
- Best budget counters: Tyranitar, Garchomp, Mamoswine, Weavile
- Bring 4–6 trainers with powered counters
Mega Chandelure — debut
Super Mega Raid Day · Sat Oct 31, 2–5 p.m.
Ghost/Fire Mega debut with boosted Shiny odds, Mega Level 1 unlocked on catch, and a new Super Max level unlocking Ominous Wind+. A Global Challenge tied to the day can boost it further Nov 2–15.
- Up to 6 free Raid Passes · Remote limit 20
- Free Timed Research: Premium Pass + Tyranitar
- $4.99 ticket: up to 14 passes, +5,000 XP & Stardust per raid
The costume trio
Halloween Part I · Oct 27 – Nov 1, 10:00 a.m.
Pikachu in a hat and capelet, Zubat in a top hat, Sinistea in a bow — all debuting, all Shiny-eligible. Find them in the wild, in Trick or Treat boxes, and in 1-star raids (Pikachu & Sinistea).
- Also wild: Misdreavus, Duskull, Pumpkaboo, costumed Piplup & Drifblim
- Boxes can also hold Rare Candy — tap every one
Shiny Greavard — next up
Halloween Part II · Sun Nov 1, 10:00 a.m. – Nov 5, 8:00 p.m.
The Ghost dog's shiny (and Shiny Houndstone's) debuts Sunday, in the wild, Field Research, and the GO Pass. Part II also lets Mega Sableye reach Super Max Level with Night Shade+, and costumed Rowlet and Spooky Festival Gengar join the wild spawns.
- Same GO Pass bonuses carry over — Rank 10/20 still apply
- Claim all pass rewards before Nov 7, 8:00 p.m.
Goal calculators — priced in this week's bonuses
Tell it where you are and where you want to be. It works out how many catches, evolutions, raids, or friendship level-ups close the gap — using this week's actual multipliers, not generic ones. Nothing is saved; it all runs on this page.
⚡ XP goal calculator
Built for Thursday: Gastly Spotlight Hour pays 2× Evolution XP, and a Lucky Egg doubles everything again.
Enter both numbers to see your gap.
| Activity (alone) | XP each | You'd need |
|---|
Planning values: catch = 100 XP base catch reward (throw bonuses add more — an Excellent throw adds 1,000), evolution = 1,000 XP, 5-star raid win = 10,000 XP, friendship level-ups = 10,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 XP for Great / Ultra / Best. Mix activities and the real total lands faster than any single row.
🌟 Stardust goal calculator
Built for the Halloween GO Pass: Rank 20 pays 2× Catch Stardust, Deluxe pays 3× — and a Star Piece multiplies again.
Enter both numbers to see your gap.
| Activity (alone) | Dust each | You'd need |
|---|
Planning values: catch = 100 Stardust for a first-stage Pokémon (300 / 500 for evolved forms, before bonuses), Team GO Rocket Grunt = 500, Leader = 1,000, raid win = 1,000 Stardust from rewards. The GO Pass bonus applies to catches only; the Star Piece applies to everything.
Event-week checklist
Print it, screenshot it, or just run it down before Sunday.
- Today: claim the free Part I Timed Research (6 Rare Candy + costumed Pikachu).
- Before Thursday: tag 120+ evolutions and save two Lucky Eggs.
- Before Thursday 6 p.m.: coordinate any Ultra / Best Friends gift openings into the egg window.
- Wednesday 6 p.m.: Giratina Raid Hour — counters set, invites lined up.
- Early this week: push GO Pass to Rank 10, then Rank 20, before your big catch sessions.
- Saturday 2–5 p.m.: spend all 6 free Chandelure passes; claim the Timed Research Tyranitar.
- Sunday: switch to Greavard — wild, research, and GO Pass checks.
- By Nov 7, 8 p.m.: claim every GO Pass reward, including Spiritomb at Rank 108.
On the horizon
After Halloween, November doesn't slow down.
Pawniard Community Day
Sat Nov 21, 2–5 p.m. local
3× Catch XP, 2× Catch Candy, half-price trades, and a rare shortcut: Bisharp only needs to beat 1 Dark/Steel raid boss (instead of 15) to evolve into Kingambit during the event, which learns Kowtow Cleave if evolved by 9 p.m. XP Maxers: this is your next big egg day — start saving evolutions and Pawniard candy now.
Wild Area & Leonids
Nov 9–19
Into the Wild runs Nov 9–13, GO Wild Area: Global lands Nov 14–15, and the Leonids Minior shower runs Nov 14–19 — Minior pays 1,000 Stardust per catch, which Stardust Farmers should circle now.