Halloween 2016 was Pokémon Go's first major event and that makes Halloween 2017 the game's first big repeat. But there's also a big difference: This year's we're getting Gen 3 to go along with our double candy. We're also getting a Mimikyu hat for our trainers, a witch-hat Pikachu, and special boxes. It runs from October 20 at 12:00 P.M. PDT until November 2 at 1:00 P.M. PDT and here's how it all breaks down!
Tell me about the second annual Pokémon Go Halloween event!
Here's what Pokémon Go has announced so far:
Gastly, Drowzee, Cubone, and other spooky Pokémon are back again this Halloween, and this time, they're bringing some special friends! Sableye, Banette, and a few other Ghost-type Pokémon originally discovered in the Hoenn region will be making their first-ever appearance in Pokémon GO. The rest of the Pokémon first seen in the Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire video games will gradually arrive starting as early as December! We hope Trainers enjoy this special Halloween treat. The Halloween celebration will start on October 20 at 12:00 P.M. PDT and run until November 2 at 1:00 P.M. PDT.A special Pikachu will be out celebrating Halloween in an all-new costume, and you can, too! Dress up your avatar for the occasion by wearing Mimikyu's Disguise Hat. You'll also earn extra Candy while you're out trick-or-treating with your Buddy Pokémon: Candy rewards from catching, hatching, and transferring Pokémon will be doubled, and your buddy will find Candy twice as fast during the Halloween celebration! Last but not least, you'll have the opportunity to stock up for your upcoming adventures with special boxes from the in-game shop, featuring items such as Raid Passes and Super Incubators.While you're out looking for Sableye, Banette, and other spooky Pokémon, use your Pokémon GO AR camera to capture festive photos and share them on social media using #PokemonGOHalloween. As always, make sure to remain alert and aware of your surroundings while playing Pokémon GO this season.
When does the Pokémon Go Halloween 2017 event start and end?
- Starts: October 20 at 12:00 P.M. PDT / 3 P.M. EDT.
- Ends: November 2 at 1:00 P.M. PDT / 4 P.M. EDT.
Which Ghost-type Pokémon are spawning at an increased rate this Halloween?
So far, the Gen 1 and Gen 2 Pokémon Go seem to include:
- Zubat
- Golbat
- Gastly
- Haunter
- Gengar
- Drowzee
- Hypno
- Cubone
- Marowak
- Misdreavus
- Murkrow
- Sneasel
- Houndour
- Houndoom
What about Gen 3? I want to know about Pokémon Go Gen 3!
Yes, Gen 3 as well! Of course! Though only a few Pokémon originally discovered in the Hoenn region are out for Halloween:
- Duskull
- Dusclops
- Sableye
- Shuppet
- Banette
Any of the Gen 3 Ghosts showing up as Shiny?
They are! So far, the following Gen 3 Shiny have been confirmed:
- Sableye
Do any of the Gen 3 Ghost-types have evolutions in Gen 4?
One does, so you want to catch and hatch as many as you can so you have as much candy, and has high a stat (IV) base as you can.
- Duskull and Duskclops to evolve into Dusknoir.
Pokémo Go Gen 4: How you need to prepare right now
Which are the best Pokémon to catch during the Halloween event?
Catch them all! If you can't, catch all the Gen 3 you need. If you want more, focus on these:
- Gengar: Still the most damaging Ghost-type in the game. It's super effective against Mewtwo and many others, but it's also super fragile and will turn into grape jelly almost faster than it can get off a charge move. Still, catch it or evolve it if you can!
- Houndoom: It's no Tyranitar, but it's a good back-up Dark-type if you don't have enough Big Greens to take on the Psychic raid bosses yet.
Will there be other Gen 3 Pokémon available as well?
Only Ghost-types and maybe a few other spooky-looking Pokémon for now. The rest will show up starting in December.
What about Pikachu? There's a special hat, right? And for Pichu and Raichu as well?
A witch hat! Yes, Witchachu is a thing! And you can also hatch witch-hat Pichu and evolve witch-hat Raichu as well!
So you can hatch costumes again? What about Gen 3?
Yup, hatching is in full effect for all the special Halloween Pokémon:
- 2 KM eggs: Witch-hat Pichu.
- 5 KM eggs: Duskull, Shuppet.
- 10 KM eggs: Sableye.
Incense and Lures too?
Incense and Lures too! Witch-hats and Gen 3 are acting like everyday Pokémon in every way!
And there's a special Mimikyu hat for trainers too? What's a Mimikyu?
Yup, and it's free! Mimikyu is a Gen 7 Pokémon. From Bulbapedia):
Mimikyu is a small Pokémon whose body is almost entirely hidden under a rag. Its beady black eyes are visible through holes in the body of its disguise, and the fringe of an amorphous foot or lower body appears to be visible under the hem of its rag. Occasionally, it will also extend a black appendage from under its rag. The veil itself resembles a Pikachu.
It's strange having a Gen 7 Pokémon hat in a game that's only just beginning to launch Gen 3, but since Mimikyu looks like a super-creepy version of Pikachu, Pokémon Go obviously feels the effect is more important than the chronology.
To get your free Mimikyu hat:
- Tap on the Profile button, bottom left (looks like a your trainer's avatar).
- Tap on Style at the right.
- Tap on Hats.
- Tap on the Mimikyu hat.
- Tap on Chose.
- Tap on Exit, bottom center (looks like an X) until you're back on the game screen.
How much candy is "double candy" during the Halloween event?
Sometimes when Pokémon Go does double candy, it really does double candy. Sometimes it just does "extra" candy. Assuming we really get double candy, here's what that works out to:
- 6 Candies per base-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 10 Candies per second-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 20 Candies per third-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 12 Candies per base-level Pokémon caught in the wild while using a Pinap Berry.
- 20 Candies per second-level Pokémon caught in the wild while using a Pinap Berry.
- 40 Candies per third-level Pokémon caught in the wild while using a Pinap Berry.
- 10 to 30 Candies per 2 KM Egg hatched.
- 20 to 42 Candies per 5 KM Egg hatched.
- 32 to 64 Candies per 10 KM Egg hatched.
- 2 Candy per Pokémon evolved. (This has been excluded or inconsistent over past events.)
- 2 Candy per Pokémon transferred to the Professor.
- 2 Candy per Buddy distance walked.
- 2 Candy, every once and a while, from feeding a friendly Pokémon on a Gym. (Maybe?)
Should you maximize your storage for the Halloween event?
If you haven't already. For Pokémon storage, you'll want to have as much space as possible so you can collect as many Pokémon as possible — especially Gen 3 — and trade in the excess for 2x candy.
For item storage, you'll want as much space for Pokéballs as possible, so you can catch as many of those Pokémon as possible, and also have room for raid passes, super incubators, and the rest of the discounted items in the special boxes.
What buddy should you walk during the Halloween event?
Sure, if you raid a lot, rare candy has destroyed the value of regular candy. You can pretty much evolve and power up whatever Pokémon you want, whenever you want, and your buddy is just that... a buddy.
If you don't raid a lot or you want even more candy, then this is your chance.
Normally, walking a Dratini or Larvitari isn't very efficient. That's because you need 5 km for every candy, making it a long, long road to the 100 candies you need to evolve a Dragonite. For the event, though, you'll get 2 candies every 5 km. It's still not speedy, but it's speedier than usual. Depending how far you travel every day, you could make a dent during the course of the week.
So, figure out what you want to evolve or power up and get ready to make that Pokémon your Buddy! Then top up your current Buddy, so you don't waste your progress, and make the switch!
This is a good chance to get gold in some medals, isn't it?
With increased spawns come increased catches which make it faster to get gold medals (which gives you a 1.3x bonus towards catching Pokémon of the same type). For the Halloween Event, that includes the Hex medal for Ghost-types:
- Gastly
- Misdreavus
- Haunter
- Gengar
The Delinquent medal for Dark-types:
- Murkrow
- Sneasel
- Houndour
- Houndoom
Some of other spooky Pokémon will help with everything from Flying-type to Poison-type to Normal-type medals and more, if you still need them.
And there's a new Hoenn medal for Gen 3 as well?
Absolutely. To get the new Hoenn medal for Gen 3 — at least bronze level, which is all you can really get right now — you need to:
Catch:
- Duskull
- Sableye
- Shuppet
Evolve:
- Dusclops
- Banette
It takes 50 Duskull candy to evolve Dusclops and 50 Shuppet candy to evolve Banette.
Are the special boxes worth it?
With the new Halloween 2017 event comes new discount boxes in the Poké Shop. Here's what they contain:
- Special (bronze) box — 480 coins: 5x Incense, 6x Raid passes, 10x Pinap
- Great (silver) box - 780 coins: 7x Incense, 4x super incubators, 10x Razz
- Ultra (gold) box - 1480 coins: 12x Incense, 6x super incubators, 6x Lucky eggs, 6x Raid passes
The special (bronze) box gives you 6 incubators, which normally cost 600 coins, for only 480 coins — a savings of 120 coins. Then it throws in some incense and Pinap on top of it. That makes it a pretty good deal for anyone who just wants to raid and get double double candy.
The ultra (gold) box gives you 6 super incubators, which would theoretically cost 1350 coins, and 6 Lucky eggs, which typically run 320 coins, and 12 and 6 Raid passes, which typically run 600, and throws in 12 incense... all for 1480 coins. That makes it a pretty good deal if you want your Raid passes but some super incubators for max egg (and candy) hatches, and lucky eggs for XP mass evolving.
Should I get a battery pack?
Most modern smartphones were designed to last roughly 8-10 hours while browsing the web or checking email. They weren't designed to last that long while keeping the screen on constantly with GPS and data running. And who wants to run out of juice when 2x candy bonuses are falling out of the clouds?
So, if you're going to be out long, and you're going to be out late, you're going to want a battery case or, better still, a portable power pack. That way you can stay charged while you go, twice, three times, even four times longer than normal!
Read: Best pocketable power banks to charge your phone on-the-go
What are you planning for the Pokémon Go Halloween event?
Gen 3 is going to be fun. Like get all your family and friends together fun. Halloween especially is a time to trick or treat in groups, and that's a perfect fit for Pokémon Go. Not only is it safer, especially at night, it's considerably more fun.
Team up, spread out, and get those Gen 3 and candy!
