Team GO Rocket return to Pokémon GO tomorrow, October 26th, alongside the start of the Halloween 2023 Part II event at 10:00am local time

Team GO Rocket are back to their old tricks this Halloween, with the latest Team GO Rocket Takeover launching in Pokémon GO this October 26th, at 10:00am local time, alongside the second part of the Pokémon GO Halloween 2023 event. Both events conclude together on October 31st, at 8:00pm local time.

A new mode of gameplay within Pokémon GO called the Party Play was recently launched last week. This feature, available for Trainers level 15 and above, allows a player to connect and play together with other Pokémon GO players, including for these latest Halloween events. With Party Play, Trainers can accomplish various tasks, earn special bonuses, and receive rewards together. Trainers can even see the other Trainers' avatars on the in-game map. To participate in Party Play, all members of a Party must be physically near one another to join or host a party and to be a part of a Party. If a member of a Party is too far away from the host, they will see a warning message, and could be removed from the Party if they stray for too long.

Team GO Rocket Takeover
Team GO Rocket are once again taking over Pokémon GO. Giovanni will be taking control of Regigigas during this event, while Shadow Lugia will be making a return to the game with debut appearances in five-star Shadow Raids.

Event Bonuses and Activities
During the event, Team GO Rocket will appear more frequently at PokéStops and in balloons. Trainers will also be able to use Charged TMs to help any Shadow Pokémon they free from the clutches of Team GO Rocket forget the charged attack Frustration. Upon purification, Frustration is replaced by Return as the Charged Attack.

Special Research: Save Shadow Regigigas
By completing a Special Research story running as part of this event, Trainers can earn a Super Rocket Radar to locate and battle Giovanni, who will be taking control of a Shadow Regigigas. This Special Research will be available to claim until the end of the current Adventures Abound Season on December 1st at 10:00am local time.

Field Research
Field Research tasks awarding a Mysterious Component will also be available throughout the event.

Pokémon Encounters
All Pokémon listed below with a ⁂ next to their name can also be encountered in their Shiny variants.

Shadow Pokémon
Team GO Rocket Grunts, along with Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo, will each be encountered using a range of different Shadow Pokémon. As of this latest Takeover event, the following Pokémon can appear as Shadow Pokémon:

• Gastly ⁂
• Rhyhorn ⁂
• Barboach ⁂
• Cranidos ⁂
• Shieldon ⁂
• Drilbur ⁂
• Litwick ⁂

Eggs
The following Pokémon will hatch from 12 km Eggs as part of this event:

• Larvitar ⁂
• Sandile
• Pawniard ⁂
• Vullaby ⁂
• Deino ⁂
• Pancham ⁂
• Salandit

Shadow Raids
The following Pokémon will appear in Shadow Raids during this event:

• One-star Shadow Raids
  • Shadow Gastly
  • Shadow Grimer ⁂
  • Shadow Misdreavus
  • Shadow Litwick
• Three-star Shadow Raids
  • Shadow Nidorina
  • Shadow Nidorino
  • Shadow Golbat
• Five-star Shadow Raids
  • Shadow Lugia ⁂ (Shadow Raid debut - from October 28th, at 10:00am to October 29th, at 8:00pm local time)

Pokémon GO Halloween 2023 Part II
The second part of the Pokémon GO Halloween 2023 event will feature the debuts of Pikachu wearing a Tricks & Treats costume, Gengar wearing a Tricks & Treats costume, and Shiny Zorua. Costumed Pokémon from previous Halloweens will also return in this event.

The Halloween-themed makeover of the Pokémon GO app will continue during this event, with PokéStops and Gyms being reskinned with holiday decorations, and a remix of the Lavender Town music playing nightly in-game. Other newly introduced items from Part 1, including the new stickers and avatar items, will also remain available.

Event Bonuses and Activities
The following event bonuses will be active during the event period:

• Additional Candy for successfully catching Pokémon with Nice Throws, Great Throws, and Excellent Throws.
• Additional Candy XL for successfully catching Pokémon with Nice Throws, Great Throws, and Excellent Throws.
• Costumed Pokémon have a chance to give additional Candy when caught.
• On October 31st, costumed Pokémon will have a chance to give Rare Candy or Rare Candy XL when caught.

PokéStop Showcases for Drifloon and Phantump will be running throughout the event at different PokéStops.

Timed and Field Research
Two separate free event-exclusive Timed Research, which started alongside the start of Part 1 of this event, are still ongoing. The first of these focused on catching Ghost-type Pokémon, awarding encounters with Greavard, Stardust, and other rewards. The second focuses on Spiritomb and its 108 spirits, awarding encounters with Ghost-type Pokémon and Spiritomb.

A separate Trick or Treat–themed Timed Research will also be available starting with the beginning of Part 2. Players who complete the research tasks for this Timed Research will earn encounters Halloween-themed Pokémon such as Zorua, Phantump, costumed Pokémon, and more.

Trick or Treats Part 4 will unlock on October 26th, at 10:00am local time, awarding three Silver Pinap Berries, two Super Incubators, two Rare Candies, and additional encounters with Misdreavus and Phantump when the Timed Research tasks.

Finally, event-themed Field Research tasks will also be available, offering a selection of Pokémon encounters when completed (see below).

Pokémon Encounters
All Pokémon listed below with a ⁂ next to their name can also be encountered in their Shiny variants.

Wild Encounters
The following Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild:

• Pikachu wearing a Tricks & Treats costume ⁂
• Vulpix wearing a Spooky Festival costume ⁂
• Murkrow ⁂
• Misdreavus ⁂
• Sableye ⁂
• Piplup wearing a Halloween Mischief costume ⁂
• Drifloon ⁂
• Yamask ⁂
• Zorua ⁂
• Fennekin ⁂
• Phantump ⁂
• Pumpkaboo wearing a Spooky Festival costume ⁂
• Noibat ⁂
• Gengar wearing a Tricks & Treats costume ⁂ (uncommon)

Raids
The following Pokémon will be appearing in raids during this event:

• One-Star Raids
  • Gastly ⁂
  • Misdreavus ⁂
  • Phantump ⁂
• Three-Star Raids
  • Gengar wearing a Tricks & Treats costume ⁂
• Five-Star Raids
  • Darkrai ⁂
• Mega Raids
  • Mega Banette ⁂

Field Research task encounters
Halloween-themed Field Research tasks will be available. When completed, the following Pokémon will be available to encounter:

• Mismagius
• Galarian Yamask ⁂
• Phantump ⁂
• Greavard (uncommon)

New Gameplay Mode: Party Play
Party Play launched at the beginning of last week in-game in Pokémon GO. In this new game mode, Trainers can work together to complete Party Challenges. After a party is formed, the host will receive a pop-up asking to select from a number of predetermined Party Challenges. These Party Challenges can be focused on spinning PokéStops, battling in raids, catching Pokémon, and more. By completing Party Challenges, all Trainers will earn in-game rewards.

Trainers can check on the progress of their Party Challenge at any time by either tapping on the Party Play button that appears below the Party’s Trainer avatar images along the top of the Map View, or by opening the Party tab. When a Party Challenge is completed, the host will see a pop-up prompting them to choose another one.

A collection of exclusive Eevee-themed T-shirts, featuring Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon, were made available alongside the launch of Party Play in the new Special Research, Welcome Party. These shirts can only be acquired by completing Party Challenges.

Activity Summary
Players in a party can check their party's progress and details via the Party tab of the Trainer profile. The party's Activity Summary has the following categories: Pokémon, Throws, Adventure, Battle, and General. Trainers can bookmark their favorite activities to quickly view them via the Favorite section of the Activity Summary.

Once a Party Play session has ended, or if a Trainer leave the party, all Trainers who were part of the party will see a summary screen recapping their and their Party's achievements during the Party Play session, including a breakdown of each Trainer's contributions to the Party. These personalized visual recap of the adventure can be shared with others and online.

Party Power
When challenging a raid with Party Play activated, a new bonus will be available: Party Power. As members of a Party attack the Raid Boss using Fast Attacks, it will fill up the Party Power bonus. When the Party Power bonus is full, the active Pokémon's next Charged Attack will deal double the damage when the Party Power button is tapped. Trainers can see the progress towards achieving the bonus in the bottom left corner of the Raid Battle. If the active Pokémon faints, it will be applied to the next Pokémon. Having more party members will allow the Party Power to charge faster.

Using Party Play
To host a party:

1. Tap the Trainer profile.
2. Tap the Party tab in the top right.
3. Tap the Create button to create a Party Play lobby.
4. A numerical code or QR code will be displayed, share it with up to three nearby Trainers. As other Trainers join, their Trainer profile pictures appear on screen.
5. Tap Start and Party Play will begin.

To join a party:

1. Tap the Trainer profile.
2. Tap the Party tab in the top right.
3. Tap the Join Party button.
4. Trainers can scan the host's QR code or manually enter the host's numerical code and tap the Join Party button.
5. Wait for the host to start the party.
6. Once the party begins, the screen will be returned to the map.

Once a lobby is created, other Trainers will have up to 15 minutes to either scan the QR Code or enter the Party Code to join the Party. A maximum of 4 Trainers, including the host, can be in any Party. If a Trainer tries to join the Party Play lobby when the limit has been reached, they will see an error message indicating that the Party is full. When there is at least 1 other Trainer in the Party, Party Play can be started. A Party Play session will last up to 1 hour, or until the host end the Party. As a Party approach the time limit, they will receive a 10-minute warning.

Once a Party Play session has begun, Trainer's avatar will appear on their Party’s Map. To disable this feature, Trainers can:

1. Tap the Main Menu.
2. At the top right, tap Settings.
3. Tap General.
4. Scroll to the Party Play section and tap Share Location with Party to toggle this feature on or off.

To end or leave a Party:

1. Tap the Trainer Profile.
2. Tap the Party tab in the top right.
3. Scroll to the bottom and tap the Leave Party button.

If the host decides to leave the Party while others are still playing, a new host must be selected. If the Party will have less than 2 Trainers after the host leave, the Party will be disbanded. When a Trainer other than the host leave a Party, the other Trainers will see a message indicating that they've left. If a Trainer leave a Party accidentally, they can rejoin the Party by scanning the QR Code or entering the Party Code. If a member leave the Party early, they will not receive the Party Challenge rewards.

Kids Accounts and Party Play
Trainers logging in using kids' accounts via Pokémon Trainer Club or Niantic Kids can only join a Party if their parent or guardian first enable this feature by granting appropriate permissions in their Parent Portal. If the necessary parent permissions are not enabled via the Parent Portal, these Trainers will not be able to see the Party tab at all. Regardless of the parent permissions, kids' accounts will never appear on their Party's Map View, nor will they be able to see other Trainers on their own Map View.

In order for a Trainer logging in using a kids' account to join a Party, there are additional requirements that must be met:

• They cannot be host.
• The Party must contain at least 2 other players.
• They must be friends with the host of the Party

If the host leaves the Party, the kids' account will also leave the Party.