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October is in full swing, and that means there's a lot of spooky stuff happening in Pokemon Go. The annual Halloween event begins this week with plenty of Ghost-type Pokemon popping up to catch, and a new Pokemon is on the horizon.
We've got the full rundown on everything announced for the next week, as well as a quick summary of what's ending. Don't forget to begin your Zarude Special Research — obtaining it is limited to the ongoing Secrets of the Jungle event (you have as much time as you need to complete it).
Ending This Week
There are several things wrapping up this week. Here's a full list:
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October 10 at 8pm local time: Secrets of the Jungle event ends
- If you haven't opened the game to activate the Zarude Special Research, you'll need to before the event ends
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October 11 at 4pm EDT: The Master League ends in the GO Battle League, including Master League Classic and the Little Jungle Cup
- The Great League will begin, and the Halloween Cup starts a few days later
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October 12 and 12pm local time: Genesect (Douse Drive) leaves Raids
- Giratina (Altered) takes over
- October 15 at 10am local time: Jessie and James in the Meowth balloon stop appearing
Halloween Event
Update: The Halloween event has now been outlined. Check out for all the details!
The annual Halloween event is returning this week. It runs from Friday, October 15 at 10am local time to Sunday, October 31 at 8pm local. Niantic hasn't released all the details yet, but the developer's blog post hinted at some of the things to expect:
- Costumed Pokemon are returning
- There will be a Halloween-themed Special Research questline
It's likely Spiritomb will return as an obtainable Pokemon, as well, but in what capacity, it's not clear yet. Niantic will likely announce more of the details over the next few days.
Raid Changeover
Douse Drive Genesect's time as the Tier 5 Raid boss is wrapping up this week, and it'll be replaced by Altered Form Giratina, which is available in its shiny form.
Genesect leaves at 10am local tim𓂃e on Tuesday, October 12, and Giratina will immediat꧑ely replace it. The Dragon/Ghost-type will hang around until October 22 at 10am local time, when Darkrai will replace it.
Mega Gengar is staying on as the Mega Tier boss for a bit longer, before leaving on October 22 alongside Giratina. Mega Absol will replace it, making its first appearance in Pokemo𓃲n Go.
Don't forget that, for the duration of October, Gengar will receive a CP boost when Mega Evolved.
Here's who to expect at each tier throughout this week:
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Tier 1 |
Tier 3 |
Tier 5 |
Mega |
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Spotlight Hour and Raid Hour
Things are getting spooky as Halloween draws near, and Ghost-type Pokemon are being featured to celebrate the season. This week's special event hours both feature a Ghost-type Pokemon.
Spotlight Hour: This week's Spotlight Hour will feature Gastly. The special bonus is double Stardust for catching Pokemon. This event runs from 6pm to 7pm local time on Tuesday, October 12.
Raid Hour: The next day, Wednesday, October 13, the weekly Raid Hour event will run from 6pm to ꦑ7pm. This one features Altered Form Giratina.
Go Battle League
The GBL is switching🍰 leagues this week. At 4pm EDT on Monday,ဣ October 11, the following cups will wrap up:
- Master League
- Master League Classic
- Little Jungle Cup
They'll be replaced by these cups:
- Great League
-
Halloween Cup
- Begins on October 15 at 4pm EDT and runs through to November 2 at 4pm EDT.
The Great 🦄League allows any Pokemon under 1,500 CP. The Halloween Cup has the same CP limit, but it will only🌌 allow Pokemon of the following types:
- Bug
- Dark
- Fairy
- Ghost
- Poison
Liverpool Safari Zone
After a reschedule resulting f𒁃rom the COVID-19 pandemic, the Safari Zone events are s🅺tarting to roll out in their respective cities. This week, the Safari Zone in Liverpool is taking place.
The event will take place from Friday, October 15 at 11am local time to Sunday, October 17 at 5pm. If you have a ticket, you don't need to be in Liverpool to play — you can join in the fun from anywhere in the world. If you are attending in person, you need to RSVP with Niantic. You should have an email with instructions. Additionally, if you purchased a City Explorer Pass, that portion of the event has been cancelled, and you should have received a refund already.
For those with a ticket, here's a brief summary of what to expect:
- Increased spawns of featured Pokemon, including Unown, in the wild and from Incense
- Special Research and Field Research tasks will be available
- Lures and Incense will last for eight hours when activated during the event window
- There will be "special" 2 km Eggs
Updates
There are a few bits of news and some reminders for this we💙ek as well.
Galarian Slowbro Incoming
Update: Niantic has announced that Galarian Slowpoke will evolve into Galarian Slowking if you make it your buddy and catch 30 Psychic-type Pokemon, then use 50 Slowpoke candies.
Last week, Niantic teased the release of Galarian Slowbro with a silhouetted image of the Pokemon. It's unknown currently what the evolution requirements for Galarian Slowking will be. To evolve Galarian Slowpoke into Galarian Slowbro, you must catch 30 Poison-type Pokemon while it's your buddy and then use 50 Slowpoke candies.
Monday Boxes
Every Monday in October, an event box will be available in the shop for 1 P🍒okeCoin containing a Remote Raid Pass and some other items.
Championship Series
It has been announced that there will be a worldwide Pokemon Go Championship event. If you're one of the top players, you'll be invited to the 2022 Pokemon World Championships. To register, you'll need to reach the Legend Rank in the current GBL season. Any remaining spots will become available to others at lower ranks after the registration window ends in the first few months of 2022. For all the details, check the post on the or
Hoopa Research?
Update: Niantic has outlined that more of the Misunderstood Mischief quest will be available as part of the Halloween event. Check out for more info.
You may remember that Niantic announced the Misunderstood Mischief Special Research tasks would roll out over time. Their diagram showed that two new steps would come in October. So far, we haven't seen either. However, it's highly likely that the Halloween event will include one of the steps, so stay tuned.
Twitch Rivals
A Twitch Rivals stream called Twitch Rivals: Mobile Showdown will feature a🎀 Pokemon Go segment.
There are two "phases" to the showcase. In the first, teams have an hour to catch as many Pokemon as they can, specifically focusing on those they can use in battle. There will be unique gameplay settings in effect for the chall🥀enge. Then, in Phase 2, the teams will need to use the Pokemon they caught to battle in a💞 tournament featuring specific rules. You can check out the stream on Wednesday, October 13, starting at 6pm EDT.