November brings Pokémon GO changes and new events

Pokémon GO has brought some quality-of-life updates to the game and also announced November’s Community Day, the return of Eternatus and the Twilight Wishes event. And don’t forget — the Pokémon GO Wild Area 2026 will be taking place on November 14 and 15!

And speaking ofthe GO Wild Area event, a new free Timed Research is available to players and will reward a Gigantamax Machamp! But it’s only available until Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time, so don’t miss it!

New quality-of-life updates

Starting on November 6 with the GO Wild Area 2026 Location Backgrounds for Sendai and Mexico City, players will be able to show off the special backgrounds of their partners on the Trainer screen. Previously released Location Backgrounds will be able to be displayed staring on November 9.

Additionally, the in-game Explorer Gadget has gotten a notable upgrade: it can now be used while you’re playing the game! Players can see which Pokémon it is attempting to catch or PokéStop.

Other updates include:

• Private Dynamax Battle Lobbies: Starting with the GO Wild Area event, when you enter the lobby, you can now choose Battle to be automatically matched with other players, or choose Private Group to enter an existing group.
• Updated Catch Summary: Upon catching Pokémon, Trainers will see an improved catch summary with improved visuals that make rewards and catch bonuses clearer.
• Dedicated Appraise Button: Quicker access to appraisal information for a Pokémon via a dedicated button above the Additional Options button on a Pokémon’s summary page.
• Power Spot Encounters: To improve the consistency of wild encounters for all players, visiting a Power Spot or placing a Pokémon at a Power Spot after winning a Max Battle will no longer trigger special wild encounters around the Power Spot.
• Encounter Ring Indicators: The ring visual surrounding wild Pokémon that are attracted by Lure Modules or encountered while exploring a Route has been updated.
• PokéStop Color Saturation: The color saturation of spun PokéStops was updated to provide clearer visual contrast with unspun PokéStops.
• Visual Effects: The effects that surround Pokémon when they’re attracted by the Mystery Box or Coin Bag have been updated.

Dynamax Trails event details

The Dynamax Trails event will run from Monday, November 16, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, November 23, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time and brings back the fearsome Eternatus to Max Battles! All previous Dynamax Pokémon will be returning during the event, excluding Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.

In addition to the chance of receiving a special background when catching a Dynamax Pokémon, the following bonuses will be in effect:

• A chance to receive Max Particles when catching event-themed Pokémon in the wild or after Max Battles.
• More Power Spots than usual will be active.
• Event-themed Field Research Tasks can drop from PokéStops.
• Event-themed Wild Pokémon.

Pawniard Community Day details

Pawniard Community Day will take place in GO on Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time. Pawniard will be spawning much more frequently and has an increased chance to be Shiny. You can see normal and Shiny Pawniard, Bisharp and Kingambit below.

Evolving Pawniard’s evolution Bisharp into Kingambit will result in Kingambit knowing the featured Charged Attack Kowtow Cleave. The attack has a base power of 75 in Trainer battles and 85 in Gym battles or Raids.

Event bonuses:

• Limited-time Evolution requirement: Evolve Bisharp into Kingambit after defeating 1 Dark- or Steel-type Raid Boss with Bisharp as your buddy.
• 1/4 Egg Hatch Distance when Eggs are placed in an Incubator during the event period.
• 2× Candy for catching Pokémon.
• 2× chance for Trainers level 31 and up to receive Candy XL from catching Pokémon.
• Incense (excluding Daily Adventure Incense) activated during the event will last for three hours.
• Take a few snapshots during Community Day for a surprise!
• Lure Modules will last for one hour and may attract the featured Pokémon.*
• One additional Special Trade can be made for a maximum of two for the day.*
• Trades will require 50% less Stardust.*

Twilight Wishes event details

The Twilight Wishes event will run from Tuesday, November 24, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, November 30, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time. In addition to a boosted chance of encountering Shiny Staryu and Shiny Elgyem, the following bonuses will be in effect when players reach certain levels of the event GO Pass:

• Rank 1:
  • Increased chance to get Lucky Pokémon in trades.
  • Increased chance to become Lucky Friends.
• Rank 10:
  • 2× Stardust for catching Pokémon.
  • GO Pass Deluxe: 3× Stardust for catching Pokémon.

*This Pokémon may be Shiny when encountered

Clefable Super Mega Raid Day details

On Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time, Clefable Super Mega Raid Day will be held in GO! Mega Clefable will be able to raise its Mega Level to Super Max which will power up the additional Charged Attack it has access to, Moonblast+, when Mega Evolved.

Players may be able to find Shiny Clefable in Super Mega Raids and you can see Mega Clefable’s normal and Shiny coloration above.

During the event, the following bonuses will be in effect:

• Remote Raid limit increased to 20 from Friday, November 27, at 5:00 p.m. to Saturday, November 28, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. PST.
• Receive up to six free Raid Passes from spinning Gym Photo Discs.
• Clefable caught from Super Mega Raids will have Mega Level 1 unlocked.
• Increased chance of encountering Shiny Clefable from Super Mega Raids.

A Global Challenge will also be taking place to see how many Raids the player base can collectively complete and, if the goal is met, Mega Clefable’s power in Raids and Gyms will be increased.

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