Pokémon Go ‘Halloween 2025 Part 1’ event guide

The spooky season arrives in Pokémon Go with the 2025 Halloween celebration split into two distinct phases. Part 1 kicks off the festivities running from October 21 through October 27, introducing trainers to exciting new additions and limited-time opportunities.

This year’s highlight features the debut of Poltchageist, the matcha-inspired counterpart to Sinistea, bringing a fresh regional variant to the ghost-type roster. Simultaneously, shiny Sinistea makes its first appearance, offering collectors new chromatic variations to pursue. The timing is perfect for building your ghost-type collection before the main Halloween festivities intensify.

The Halloween Go Pass serves as the event’s centerpiece, active until November 2 to bridge both parts of the celebration. This pass system provides encounters with numerous costumed Pokémon plus a guaranteed Rotom encounter. The free version includes progressively unlocking benefits like doubled catch candy, enhanced XL candy chances, and doubled transfer candy. Opting for the $7.99 deluxe edition triples these bonuses while adding premium items and the exclusive Teatime cosmetic trainer pose.

Spinning PokéStops during the event period grants special Field Research tasks with ghost and dark-type themed rewards. These tasks are strategically designed to encourage specific gameplay behaviors that align with the Halloween theme.

Complete these event-specific Field Research tasks for valuable encounters and resources:

• Catch 10 ghost- or dark-type Pokémon – Rewards encounter with Yamask, Litwick, or Pumpkaboo
• Evolve 3 dark-type Pokémon – Grants Zorua or Vullaby encounter
• Evolve 3 ghost-type Pokémon – Provides Sableye or Hisuian Zorua encounter
• Power up Pokémon 10 times – Awards 25 Mega Energy for Gengar, Houndoom, Sableye, Banette, or Absol
• Win 3 raids – Unlocks Spiritomb encounter

Pro Tip: Stack your ghost and dark-type catches by using Incense during evening hours when these Pokémon spawn more frequently. Save evolution tasks for Community Day or when you have plenty of candy reserves. The Power up Pokémon task is perfect for leveling up your raid teams while earning Mega Energy for future battles.

Common Mistake: Many trainers waste premium raid passes on easy raids just to complete the “Win 3 raids” task. Instead, coordinate with local players to tackle three-star raids efficiently, or wait for raid hours when multiple raids are available simultaneously.

The raid rotation during Halloween Part 1 offers excellent opportunities for both new and experienced trainers. One-star raids feature several debut and rare Pokémon that solo players can easily conquer, while three-star raids present more challenging battles that may require coordination with other trainers.

One-Star Raid Strategy: These raids are perfect for solo play and feature the newly debuted Poltchageist and Sinistea, plus valuable shadow variants. Galarian Yamask and shadow Phantump offer unique typing and evolution lines. Budget your daily free raid passes strategically to target these Pokémon, especially if you’re hunting for shinies or perfect IVs.

Three-Star Raid Preparation: Alolan Marowak remains a popular ghost/fire-type with unique resistances, while Hisuian Typhlosion and Samurott bring regional variants to the raid scene. These battles typically require 2-3 trainers with proper counters. Prepare your team with strong dark, ghost, ground, and water-type attackers to handle these diverse typings efficiently.

Advanced Tip: Time your raid completions to coincide with the “Win 3 raids” Field Research task. You can complete one-star raids quickly to make progress while saving premium passes for the more rewarding three-star battles when you have backup available.

During Halloween Part 1, ghost and dark-type Pokémon receive significant spawn boosts, creating ideal conditions for completing your Pokédex and stocking up on candy. Understanding spawn patterns can dramatically increase your efficiency during this limited-time event.

Spawn Behavior Analysis: Ghost-types typically appear more frequently during evening and night hours (6 PM to 6 AM local time), while dark-types maintain consistent rates throughout the day. Using Incense during peak ghost hours can yield 2-3 times more spawns than daytime use. Lure Modules on PokéStops also benefit from these time-based bonuses.

Candy Optimization: With doubled catch candy active through the Halloween Go Pass, prioritize using Pinap Berries on rare spawns like Litwick, Yamask, and the new Poltchageist. If you’ve purchased the deluxe pass, the tripled candy bonus makes every catch extremely valuable for evolution and power-up purposes.

Shiny Hunting Strategy: The debut of shiny Sinistea means increased attention to all Sinistea encounters. Remember that shiny rates don’t increase during this event, so focus on maximizing your encounter rate through Incense, Lures, and completing Field Research tasks that reward Sinistea encounters. The “Catch 10 ghost- or dark-type Pokémon” task can provide additional chances at this new shiny.

For more advanced collection strategies, check out our Weapons Unlock guide which, while focused on Battlefield 6, contains transferable principles for efficient resource gathering in timed events.

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