 Mega Evolution has finally arrived in Pokémon Go and with it, Mega Raids! A whole new class of Raids, Mega Raids let you and your friends challenge a Mega Evolved Pokémon. These are some of the most challenging Raids yet, but we here at iMore got your back! Mega Houndoom is the next Mega Raid to be introduced and, beginning September 29, 2020, players can challenge it to earn Mega Energy to Mega Evolve their own. Here's everything you need to know about taking on Mega Houndoom in Pokémon Go.
Who is Mega Houndoom in Pokémon Go A Dark and Fire type originally discovered in the Johto region of Gen II, Houndoom is a fiendish canine capable of inflicting severe burns with its toxic, fiery breath. When Mega Evolved, Mega Houndoom's body produces so much heat that its claws and the tip of its tail literally melt, causing Mega Houndoom constant pain. It remains a Dark and Fire type when Mega Evolved, but also gets a huge stat boost. Although this devilish dog's bite is far worse than its bark, Mega Evolution and Shadow Pokémon provide an easy road to victory. What are the best counters for Mega Houndoom in Pokémon Go? Mega Houndoom is capable of dealing Fire and Dark type damage, and has four weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Rock, and most important, Water. Because Mega Evolved Pokémon boost the damage done by similar type attacks, players wanted to take down Mega Houndoom fast should coordinate Water type counters and Mega Blastoise for this Mega Raid. Mega Blastoise The top counter by far, Mega Blastoise is the key to taking out Mega Houndoom with just a handful of players. As a Water type, Mega Blastoise takes half damage from Mega Houndoom's Fire type attacks and will boost the damage of other players' Water type attacks. Although Mega Evolution is costly, if you follow our Mega Blastoise Mega Raid Guide, you'll be swimming in more than enough Mega Energy. Water Gun and Hydro Cannon are the ideal moveset for your Mega Blastoise. Kyogre The Water type mascot of Pokémon Sapphire, Kyogre is an excellent counter for Mega Houndoom. Although Kyogre is a Legendary Pokémon, it has been available numerous times and so many players already have one or two powered up. Kyogre takes half damage from Mega Houndoom's Fire type attacks and with Waterfall and Surf will make quick work of the hell hound. Rhyperior If you aren't able to coordinate the use of Mega Blastoise and other Water type counters, Rhyperior performs very well in this Mega Raid. Rhyperior is the final evolution of Gen I's Rhyhorn which has been featured in events and a Community Day, so most players have a few already powered up. As a Ground and Rock type, Rhyperior takes half damage from Mega Houndoom's Fire type attacks. If you're bringing Rhyperior to this fight, you'll want it to know Mud-Slap and Rock Wrecker; however, if you don't have the Community Day exclusive move or the Elite TM to spare, Stone Edge also works well. Conkeldurr Conkeldurr, a Fighting type introduced in Gen V's Unova region, makes a great counter for Mega Houndoom. Although it hasn't been in Pokémon Go long and its first stage, Timburr isn't exactly common, it does benefit from Trade Evolution leaving a lot more Candies for powering up. It resists Mega Houndoom's Dark type attacks and has no weaknesses that can be exploited in this fight. Counter and Dynamic Punch are the ideal moves for Conkeldurr. Rampardos A fossil type Pokémon first discovered in the Sinnoh region, Rampardos is a relatively easy Pokémon to evolve and power up thanks to events and eggs featuring its first stage, Cranidos. As a Rock type, Rampardos takes half damage from Mega Houndoom's Fire type attacks and with Smack Down and Rock Slide, it can deal super effective damage. Terrakion One of the Legendary Swords of Justice, Terrakion is a Rock and Fighting type who takes half damage from all of Mega Houndoom's attacks. It has been available multiple times in multiple ways, so many players have one or two already powered up. If you're bringing Terrakion to this Mega Raid, you'll want Smack Down for its fast move and Rock Slide for its charged move. Machamp A Fighting type from Gen I's Kanto region, Machamp has been in Pokémon Go since day one, featured in a number of events, and even in Raids. Although there are more powerful Fighting types, none are quite as accessible as Machamp. As if it weren't already easy enough to catch and evolve, the addition of Trade Evolution leaves even more Candies for powering up your Machamp. It takes half damage from Mega Houndoom's Dark type attacks and has no weaknesses relevant to this Mega Raid. Counter and Dynamic Punch are the ideal moveset for your Machamp. Swampert The final evolution of the Water starter from Gen III, Swampert is a Water and Ground type that performs very well in this Mega Raid. Having been featured in a Community Day and as a Shadow Pokémon, most players have at least one or two already powered up. It takes half damage from Fire type attacks and normal damage from Dark types. Mud Shot and Hydro Cannon are the ideal moveset for this fight. Kingler Kingler is a great counter for Mega Houndoom in general, but especially when used in conjunction with Mega Blastoise. Originally found in the Kanto region, Kingler has been easily accessible since day one of Pokémon Go. Although Kingler was not particularly useful at first, this Gen I Water type got a huge boost with the introduction of its signature move, Crabhammer. Paired with Bubble, Kingler can do some serious damage to Mega Houndoom and resists its Fire type attacks. Tyranitar The pseudo-Legendary of Gen II's Johto region, Tyranitar is an excellent choice for this Mega Raid, especially if you cannot coordinate the use of Mega Blastoise. Tyranitar has been widely available, featured in events, Community Day, Raids, and more. Because of its high stats and useful typing, most players have prioritized evolving and powering up an entire team of Tyranitar. As a Dark and Rock type, it takes half damage from all of Mega Houndoom's attacks and though it's not helpful yet, eventually Tyranitar will also get a Mega Evolved forme in Pokémon Go. If you're bringing Tyranitar to this fight, you'll want Smack Down and Stone Edge for the moveset. Back ups? Need to fill a spot or two on your team? Consider one of these back ups:
Shadow Pokémon? The rebalance of Shadow Pokémon rescued from Team GO Rocket make them excellent glass cannons. Not only are their stats boosted, but during special events, it's possible to change their moves. If you happen to have any of the following Pokémon with the right moveset, they will work very well in this Raid:
Note: Shadow Swampert, Shadow Tyranitar, and Shadow Machamp outperform all of the best non-Mega counters. Likewise, Shadow Omastar performs at the same level as the Pokémon in the best counters list. If you are able to coordinate the use of Mega Blastoise, it will boost the Water type attacks of Shadow Swampert, Shadow Gyarados, Shadow Omastar, Shadow Poliwrath, Shadow Blastoise, and Shadow Sharpedo, making them all perform much better. How many players does it take to beat Mega Houndoom in Pokémon Go? Although it is technically possible for two Trainers with top counters to take on Mega Houndoom, you may need four or five if you're lower level, missing the top counters, or have the weather working against you. Weather Conditions that could play into this battle include:
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 Every year, Pokémon GO celebrates Halloween with a major event. Usually, longer than standard events, this late October celebration brings with it event-exclusive spawns such as Yamask, costumed Pokémon, Ghost- and Dark-types boosted in the wild and special raid bosses. Last year, Giratina Altered Forme with its Shiny release was featured as the Legendary Raid Boss in the weeks leading up to the event, with Darkrai as the event boss in its Pokémon GO debut. Now, details about the game's October 2020 content are coming out, and the event's lead-up entails, much like last year, a Giratina release: this time, featuring the Shiny release of Giratina Origin Forme. The actual Halloween event boss, which will take over raids Friday, October 23rd at 1 PM Pacific, has not yet been revealed. Niantic wrote, though, that it will be a "special Raid Boss." There are a few options as to what this Legendary Pokémon could be… but the leading theory is currently the much-anticipated return of Mewtwo.
Other than a short rotation featuring the non-Shiny-capable Armored Mewtwo, Mewtwo has been absent from Pokémon GO raids since its short stint as an EX Raid Boss in early Fall 2019 before Regigigas took over. Mewtwo's 2019 Shiny release was one of the most limited debuts of a Legendary Pokémon's Shiny form in the history of the game, leaving many players wondering when this iconic favorite would come back. There are very few "Spooky-themed" Pokémon that would fit the October festivities, but Mewtwo's Psychic-typing would certainly work with the theme. Other possibilities include:
 As October comes near, Niantic has revealed what Pokémon Go trainers can expect next month, including Raid updates, Special Research Breakthroughs and much more.
While trainers are aware of some of the usual October events in Pokémon Go, such as the annual Halloween event and the monthly Community Day, there are still some tidbits that Niantic announced that players may not know about. Whether it's which Legendary Pokémon will appear in the Level 5 Raids in October or any smaller events happening before Halloween, there's quite a bit to get through, so let's get to it. The first bit of information Niantic gave fans was which Pokémon will be the Special Research Breakthrough for the month. From Thursday, October 1, at 4 p.m. EDT to Sunday, November 1, at 4 p.m. EDT, Shedinja will be the special Pokémon encounter. To achieve the Special Research Breakthrough, trainers simply have to fill seven stamps on their research sheets. They don't have to be seven consecutive days, so fill them out at your leisure. Please note the time Shedinja will appear. Many trainers mistakenly open the Special Research Breakthrough before 4 p.m. EDT, which will give them the special Pokémon from the previous month. OCTOBER LEGENDARY RAID BOSSES Articuno is the current Pokémon found in Level 5 Raids, but starting this week the other Legendary Birds will be coming to Pokémon Go. Here's the schedule of Legendary Raid Pokémon coming to Pokémon Go in October:
Each week in October, there'll be a Raid Hour event on Wednesday at 6 p.m. local time featuring that week's Legendary Raid Boss in five-star raids. OCTOBER POKEMON SPOTLIGHT HOURS Every Tuesday in October will have a Spotlight Pokémon at 6 p.m. local time, and each hour will spotlight a different Pokémon and special bonus.
OCTOBER LIMITED RESEARCH On Saturday, October 10, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, you can complete exclusive Field Research tasks to encounter the different forms of Meowth. There will also be an exclusive Timed Research. FASHION EVENT There will be a special fashion-themed event starting Friday, October 2, that will feature Pokémon wearing different attire. The collaboration between Longchamp and Pokémon will bring a week-long event for trainers to enjoy. We'll have more information on this event closer to the start date. OTHER OCTOBER EVENTS For Halloween, trainers can expect new avatar items, a Halloween-themed cup for GO Battle League Season 4 and the annual Halloween event. There'll also be an event celebrating Niantic's anniversary and the changing of seasons. More information on these events will be revealed in the coming weeks. ‘Pokemon Go’: Top October events include shiny Origin Forme Giratina and mystery raid boss9/24/2020  October will be a part fashion and part spooky as two events dominate the month in “Pokemon Go.”
In the first part of the month, a Longchamp x Pokemon collaboration will bring plenty of dressed-up Pokemon to the forefront while the second half of the month will be dominated by ghost- and dark-type Pokemon for Halloween. With that in mind, here are some events to keep an eye on. Longchamp x Pokemon collaboration — 8 a.m. Oct. 2 to 10 p.m. Oct. 8 If you like hats on your pocket monsters, this is the event for you. During this celebration, several Pokemon will be donning fashion accessories to mark the team up. Smoochum will be hatching from 7km eggs and will wear a bow. Kirlia in raids will have a top hat and the move Draining Kiss. Not to be outdone, Shinx will also sport a top hat in raids. The rarest Pokemon will be Croagunk wearing a backward cap. It will appear via a GO Snapshot photo bomb and rarely in the wild. In addition, other costumed Pokemon will appear on the map. For those looking to complete their shiny Pokedex or looking for good Go Battle League candidates, the following Pokemon will appear more often in the wild: Mareep (shiny), Skitty (shiny), Roselia (shiny), Kricketot (shiny), Croagunk (shiny), Blitzle, Cottonnee, Minccino (shiny), Gothita and more. Lastly, Shiny Kricketot will be introduced with the event. It’s gold and stands out from the common form. This event is for collectors. It’s uncertain whether these Pokemon can evolve. Some past costumed pocket monsters couldn’t do that. My advice is to get one of each of the costumed creatures and don’t stress out about the rest. Yes, a shiny backward hat Croagunk would be cool but don’t go overboard for it. Personally, I’m hoping for a return of Strawhat Pikachu because I’m a “One Piece” fan. Legendary Raid bosses October continues the rotation of legendary birds. For those who missed them in previous years, this is the best time to get Zapdos and Moltres. They’ll likely be shiny and perhaps they will have a legacy move on them similar to what Niantic did with Articuno and Hurricane. For Zapdos, that legacy move could be Thunder Shock while Moltres could acquire Sky Attack. Here is when they are appearing: Zapdos — 1 p.m. Sept. 25 to 1 p.m. Oct. 2 Moltres — 1 p.m. Oct. 2 to 1 p.m. Oct. 9 The first new shiny since August will appear with the introduction of Origin Forme Giratina. This powerful Pokemon dominates the Master League and is a must-have for player vs. player battles. It will be worth grabbing a few when it’s in raids form 1 p.m. Oct. 9 to 1 p.m. Oct. 23. That’s a long time so trainers should take advantage of it. The last legendary raid of the month is a mystery but expect it to go in line with the Halloween theme. Pokemon Spotlight hours This event is continues to be hit and miss. They’re almost like mini-Community Days except that there isn’t a higher rate for shinies. Again going with the theme of the month, the first two spotlight hours will feature World Cap Pikachu and Original Cap Pikachu. Both are expected to have a chance to be shiny, and they will be one of the rare shinies in the game, especially the World Cap one. They will happen at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 respectively. The big spotlight hour is Shuppet at 6 p.m. Oct. 20. Players will have a better chance at getting a shiny version of the ghost-type Pokemon, but more important than that, trainers can transfer Pokemon for twice the candy. This is the time to unload any legendary or rare Pokemon that you may have been hoarding since Pokemon Go Fest 2020. Lastly, Duskull will be the star of spotlight for 6 p.m. Oct. 27. It can be shiny. Research Pokemon for the month The October Research Breakthrough will be Shedinja, the Shed Pokemon. It has a bug and ghost typing and is one of the rarer Pokemon in the game, being available once or twice a year with events. From 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Oct 10, Niantic will be holding a Limited Research event starring Meowth. Players will complete tasks to encounter the Scratch Cat Pokemon and its variant forms found in the Kanto, Alola and Galar regions. Of those three, two can be shiny. For collectors, this will be one of the best chances to catch a shiny Kanto or Alolan Meowth. Other Halloween events If this Halloween is like previous years, players should expect a chance to catch Spiritomb. The past two years it was Pokemon captured via a special research quest. It’s uncertain how it will be this year, but trainers should expect another stab at this Forbidden Pokemon. In addition, players will compete in a Go Battle League Halloweeen-themed cup. It will run from 1 p.m. Oct. 26 to 1 p.m. Nov. 3. It’s a format that only allows Poison-, Ghost-, Bug-, Dark- and Fairy-type Pokemon.  To celebrate Paris Fashion Week, Pokémon GO will be adding a new player accessory and featuring special clothed Pokémon that can be encountered in the wild and hatched from eggs. This is the latest in a small but surprising trend of high fashion crossing over with Nintendo games. Earlier this month fashion designer Carolina Sarria held a fashion show inside Nintendo's beloved Animal Crossing: New Horizons, complete with hair and makeup stylists and a virtual runway.
While the remarkable social element of Pokémon GO has become less innovative and more something to emulate for other developers over the years, the game itself is still going strong. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic keeping players in their homes, Pokémon GO is currently enjoying its best year ever, and it shows no signs of slowing down. The game is constantly getting new content and community events to give everyone a chance to participate and have fun. One such update, the details of which can be found on the Pokémon GO website, will be mingling Nintendo's iconic pocket monsters with the world of fashion. To commemorate a recent partnership with luxury brand Longchamp, Pokémon GO is releasing an in-game version of the Pikachu-printed backpack that will be available as part of the collaboration. Furthermore, in recognition of Paris Fashion Week, special costumed Pokémon will be appearing in the game. The special event will last from October 2nd to the 8th. The in-game version of the Longchamp backpack will be offered for free during that time, and players can also enjoy access to exclusive field research missions. A partnership between kid-friendly mobile game Pokémon GO and a high-end French fashion brand like Longchamp might strike some fans as odd, as the two don't seem to have much, if anything, in common. But if the result is some Pokémon wearing cute little outfits, it seems like a pretty harmless cross-promotion. It's certainly less objectionable than Pokémon GO's recent callback to everyone's least favorite meme from 2016. Pokémon GO is a mobile gaming juggernaut, and it has not lost momentum. More community days, like the recent Porygon event that took place earlier, are sure to be forthcoming, and once players can finally go back outside and explore the game's ARG elements properly, Niantic is likely to jump on the opportunity to add more content. For now, even if Pokémon GO players can't go outside, at least they can dress up nicely for the day that they can.  Niantic, The Pokemon Company, and Longchamp are teaming up to bring trainers a special new item both in-game and out. The item? A fancy new backpack to make your trainer look truly vogue, and just in time for the Paris Fashion Week.
Starting on October 2, 2020, players will be able to get their hands on a flashy backpack accessory for their in-game avatars. The backpack is designed by Longchamp, a French company known for its luxury leather goods. Featuring white text on black background as well as Pikachus for good measure, the backpack should look rather impressive on avatars. While the in-game backpack is free for players, there is another option available for those that want to take their new look to the real-world. The Longchamp store will be stocking the backpack, exactly as it appears in-game. There’s currently no listing for the backpack, but anticipate a high price to go with this unique, luxury item. The Paris Fashion Week celebrations don’t just end at the backpack. The Pokemon in-game will also be dressing up for the occasion. According to the Pokemon Go site, players can expect the following features and events in-game on Friday, October 2:
Paris Fashion Week will be a chance for those stylish Pokemon Go players out there to show the world exactly how hip they are. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on when you can place your order as well as more news on special events in Pokemon Go.  Pokémon GO players are rejoicing because this year's community day is here and ready to offer Porygons to all. The elusive Virtual Pokémon was initially a top ticket prize at the Game Corner in Pokémon Red and Blue and is rarely seen in the wild in any portable mainline adventure. Since Pokémon GO doesn't have any casinos, the man-made pocket monster usually shows up as a rare hatchling from a 5km egg. However, today only, Porygons are all over the place and ready to be added to everyone's collections, and that's not the only even surrounding this old school Normal type.
Porygon won a fan vote in order to become the focus of community day, beating out more popular options like Charmander and Grimer. The little bird-like computer program is not usually a featured player in the overall Pokémon franchise, likely due to its role in an infamous episode of the anime based on the games that gave children seizures in Japan. Interestingly, the official Pokémon Twitter commented on the event recently, saying that "Porygon did nothing wrong." While a simple tweet likely won't get the Pokémon back onto the anime, it does show that Porygon still has a role to play in other aspects of the phenomenon. As explained on the Pokémon GO blog, catching Porygon in the wild is just one aspect of today's festivities. Yes, Porygon (and its extremely rare shiny variant) will be wandering the streets of player towns all over the country. If players already happen to have a Porygon2 handy, they can evolve it during the event to grab a PorygonZ that knows Tri Attack. This is a signature move of the Porygon family that has never before been available in Pokemon GO. For those who really love Polygon and want to secure their capture, there are a few options for purchase during the Community Day festivities. Players can cough up 1,280 Poké Coins for a box featuring a TM, three Incense, six Lucky Eggs, and 30 Ultra Balls. Incense items are active for three hours during the event, meaning players who purchase the box will be set for the entire day. In addition to that, there's a Special Research story available for $1 that lets players work alongside Professor Willow and uncover all the secrets of the virtual Pokémon and its two evolutionary forms. The story event will grant players the items needed to evolve a Porygon to PorygonZ, and those same items are also available in daily challenges. It's been a though year for anyone playing Pokémon GO to GO anywhere, so its nice to have events like the Porygon Community Day to keep the game engaging. While Niantic has made it as easy as possible to collect pocket monsters from the couch over the course of 2020, the game is still at its best when its sending people on outdoor adventures, which isn't really possible at the moment. Instead, 2020 is about spending a lot more time at home near computers and other electronics, which makes Porygon the perfect representation for this year's holiday.  Sneasel is a Dark/Ice-type Pokémon from the Johto region that can currently be battled in Tier One raids in Pokémon GO. This Pokémon is unique in that it boasts the rare spawn Shiny rate… but isn't necessarily a rare spawn. This makes Sneasel raids more attractive to some due to the higher than the standard one in 450 rate. This Raid Spotlight will give trainers everything they need to know about this Generation Two Pokémon, including its boosted Shiny rate and 100% IVs.
Sneasel has, according to the Silph researchers, a Shiny rate of approximately one in 60. This may be way tougher than the Legendary Shiny rate, but to say it makes Shiny hunting Sneasel easier than a Pokémon with the standard rate is an understatement. Every event in which Sneasel is spotlighted as a boosted spawn turns into Sneasel Community Week. However, some players have been unlucky and haven't yet met their Shiny pink, frosty cat. These raids are a terrific option, as these boosted odds give players a much better chance than when hunting full-rate Pokémon such as Sandshrew or Seal in raids. Defeating Sneasel doesn't call for a pre-set team of six maxed out Pokémon, which we suggest in our Raid Guides for Legendary Pokémon and Mega Raids. As a dual Dark/Ice-type, it is double weak to Fighting-type Pokémon. A team with Lucario, Machamp, Conkeldurr, Breloom, Toxicroak, or even weaker, lower-level Fighting-type Pokémon will be able to defeat this raid with no problem. Even very low-level trainers will be able to handle this raid solo. When looking for a 100% IV Pokémon, Sneasel's top CP in raids is 1172 in normal conditions and 1465 in boosted conditions. Sneasel evolves into Weavile when using a Sinnoh Stone, so hunting for a Sneasel with good IVs is a terrific use of a raid pass due to the power Weavile packs as both an Ice-type and Dark-type attacker.  Pokémon Go's Community Day is an event that takes place worldwide once a month. It encourages trainers around the world to go outside and, as the name implies, to interact with their respective communities. Each Community Day has a spotlight on a certain Pokémon, allowing trainers to get powerful or shiny variations of these Pokémon. These Pokémon can also learn exclusive moves if they are evolved during the event. Pokémon Go has also offered special rewards to trainers for participating, such as extra missions, increased incense duration, and increased experience or stardust to give trainers even more reasons to participate. On top of these usual rewards, Pokémon Go has a history of giving trainers other bonuses for playing during Community Day.
When Team GO Rocket was still a recent addition to Pokémon GO, they surprised trainers on Turtwig Community Day. These grunts started to show up to Pokéstops more frequently than usual, and defeating grunts gave trainers a chance to catch a shadow Turtwig. This was a great way to get extra items from the Pokéstop, including the items rewarded for defeating the Team GO Rocket grunts. Trainers also received 1000 stardust for every victory against a grunt, which was especially helpful to anyone who needed it to evolve their Pokémon. Swinub Community Day was the only Community Day to offer 5 times the rewards that players could obtain from Trainer Battles. It was also 100% guaranteed that trainers would get Sinnoh Stones from these battles as well. These are items needed to evolve certain types of Pokémon. The Piloswine acquired in this event needed one to evolve into Mamoswine. Normally, Sinnoh Stones are difficult to find, so this was a great reward for dedicated battlers. The event was held on Valentine's Day, so trainers were additionally rewarded with twice the amount of candy earned from catching Pokémon, as well as Lure Modules that lasted for 6 hours. On two occasions, Pokémon GO has made the Pokémon from previous Community Days available. Not only did trainers have another chance to catch all previously featured Pokémon, but Pokémon could also learn the exclusive moves. The game provided additional chances to obtain Pokémon outside of the wild through hatching eggs and battling in raids. Additionally, trainers still had a chance to find and capture a shiny variant of these Pokémon. Given that these events happened once in 2018 and once in 2019, Pokémon GO may be planning to do something similar every year. Charmander is the first Pokémon to get its own second Community Day. The first Charmander Community Day was in 2019, while the upcoming one will take place on October 17th of this year. Given that the events are 2 years apart, the event is still worthwhile for people who missed the first community day. There is also the advantage of gathering more candies to power up a Mega Charizard, which has recently been introduced into the game. New, old, and returning trainers can all find value in another Charmander Community Day. Starting from Abra Community Day on March 25th, 2020, Pokémon GO began to offer special research missions that players could purchase for $0.99 USD. By purchasing these Community Day passes, trainers are able to access a short story focused on the featured Pokémon. Trainers can also obtain extra candy, berries, Pokéballs, stardust, incense, and experience. By buying a pass, it becomes much easier to quickly find and evolve the event Pokémon. Buying the pass is not mandatory, so even if a trainer decides to forgo the pass, evolving Pokémon within the time limit can still be done with relative ease. Every so often, the Pokémon GO news encourages trainers to go to their official Twitter account in order to vote for the next Pokémon that they would like to see in the next Community Day. Rhyhorn was the first winner. After this, two of the most popular Pokémon from each poll would get their own individual Community Days, like Weedle and Gastly, as well as the upcoming Charmander and Porygon. Given that the players were able to vote for their favorite Pokémon, this has generated more excitement for players who may have been disinterested in other Community Days in the past. Chikorita Community Day started off the same way that the prior Community Days did. The event Pokémon popped up for 3 hours, and trainers had the chance to catch a shiny one. However, trainers were surprised to find that a number of dittos appeared on the map after the event ended. They were all disguised as Meltan, the legendary Pokémon found exclusively in Pokémon GO until trainers were able to transfer it to the Nintendo Switch. Pokémon GO has kept the needs and safety of its players in mind. Currently, Community Day can be completed entirely at home. The game provides trainers with a hefty supply of free incense and Pokéballs, and has extended the hours of Community Day. The duration of this event has gone up from 3 hours to 6 hours. Most players do not need 6 hours to find and evolve a shiny Pokémon, but the extended hours are greatly appreciated by players who are busy during a certain time period and those that want to gather as many candies or shiny Pokémon as possible. On Squirtle's Community Day, trainers were able to obtain an exclusive Squirtle with sunglasses. This Squirtle was part of the Squirtle Squad first seen in the Pokémon anime, just like Ash Ketchum's Squirtle. This variant of Squirtle is one of the few non-Pikachu Pokémon variants that are still able to fully evolve despite wearing an accessory. Even if the Squirtle is evolved into Wartortle, then Blastoise, the Pokémon will still retain the sunglasses. To collect the event Squirtle, all trainers had to do was complete the event field research by capturing 5 ordinary Squirtles. Given that Pikachu is the face of the Pokémon franchise, it was only natural for Pikachu to be the first Pokémon ever featured in Pokemon GO's Community Day. The fact that it could also learn Surf made the event even more exciting. The idea of a surfing Pikachu has been a popular concept since the original generation of games. Fans loved it so much that a surfing Pikachu was included in the trading card game art. It was even incorporated in Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu! where the partner Pikachu could use a surfboard to ride on water with its trainer. All trainers had to do was use a Charged TM on their event Pikachu in order for it to learn the special move.  Rare Candy has always been a coveted item in many Pokémon games. Using one is an easy way to power up or evolve a Pokémon. In traditional Pokémon games, one could obtain a Rare Candy in a few places, such as on the ground, in a trashcan, or in a dark cave.
These methods are less than ideal in the real world. Thankfully, Pokémon GO offers a few ways to obtain Rare Candy, and it is much easier to get them than in the handheld games. Given that some legendary Pokémon require the Trainer to walk 20 kilometers with them for one measly candy, getting Rare Candy is a must. In the main series of Pokémon games, Rare Candies are scattered throughout the map for Trainers to find. If Trainers find and use one, it will increase a Pokémon's level by a point; however, it will have no effect if the Pokémon is already at the maximum level of 100. Rare Candies reset the experience bar to zero and are capable of reviving Pokémon with a minuscule amount of HP. However, they cannot be used in the middle of a battle. In Pokémon GO, Rare Candy is found by doing tasks rather than by searching. Trainers can turn Rare Candy into Pokémon-specific candy. Candy for a single Pokémon can power up, evolve, or mega evolve that Pokémon. Instead of using levels, Pokémon strength is determined by CP, aka combat power. Max CP is in turn limited by how high a Trainer's level is. Pokémon GO provides many events that come with special research tasks. Some of the task rewards can include Rare Candies. The current event, "A Mega Discovery," offers 3 Rare Candies as a reward for completing the third step of these tasks. Special events will not expire unless stated otherwise under the mission requirements, so Trainers have an ample amount of time to complete them. Trainers should keep an eye out for these particular tasks during a holiday, event, or when a new feature is added to the game. Pokémon GO keeps track of the kilometers walked by players over the course of a week. At the start of every week, typically Monday, the game rewards Trainers depending on the distance they traveled the week before. Keep in mind that Trainers are not able to cheat: This distance only includes how much walking they did. If a player is playing Pokémon GO as a vehicle passenger, the app will notify them that they are going too fast. For walking 5 km (about 3.11 miles), players will only receive 20 Poké Balls. For walking 25 km (about 15.53 miles), players will receive the 5 km reward, 10 Great Balls, 1000 stardust, and will have a 1/3 chance to get 3 Rare Candies. For walking 50 km (about 31.07 miles), Trainers are rewarded with the 5 km and 25 km rewards, 5 Ultra Balls, 5000 stardust, and will have a 1/3 chance to get 5 Rare Candies. While getting Rare Candies requires some luck to obtain when using this method, the rewards get better when the Trainer walks more. During Pokémon GO Fest 2020, there was a period of time in which Trainers could receive 1 to 3 Rare Candies by opening gifts from friends. Given that Trainers could open 30 gifts a day, that meant obtaining between 30 to 90 Rare Candies. There was also a makeup day for the event, giving Trainers another chance to take advantage of the gifting system. It cost $14.99 USD to get a pass that would allow Trainers to take part in the event, so this may not have appealed to every player. However, given the overwhelmingly positive reaction from the community, it is possible that Pokémon GO may choose to do something like this again. The Go Battle League offers 3 Rare Candies to Trainers who win 4 out of 5 battles. Alternatively, Trainers can opt for double the rewards by using a premium raid pass. This means that one can earn 6 Rare Candies instead. The 5 chain battles can be repeated as many times as the Trainer likes, but the process is a bit of a grind. As a Trainer's rank goes up for the season, battles will become increasingly difficult. By spinning PokéStops, Trainers have a chance to find field research tasks that reward 1 to 3 Rare Candies. These missions vary in how time-consuming and difficult they are. For example, one easier task will require the Trainer to catch 9 species of Pokémon, while a harder task will ask the Trainer to catch an elusive Ditto, which is usually disguised as other species on the map. Although some Rare Candy missions will take more time to complete than others, it is always worth the reward. Defeating a raid boss is the easiest way to obtain Rare Candy. However, getting Rare Candy from a raid battle is not 100% guaranteed. The number of Rare Candies that can be rewarded from a single raid battle can range from 0 to 12. The most efficient way to grind Rare Candies is to participate in raid battles as often as possible. Pokémon GO provides Trainers with a free raid pass once a day, as long as players spin for items at a Gym. It is also important to note that the highest difficulty raid battles give out more Rare Candies. |