Pokémon GO's Halloween event 2019 is about to kick off.
The festivities are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. PT or 4 p.m. ET on Oct. 17 and last until 1 p.m. PT or 4 p.m. ET on Nov 1.
As outlined in a blog post, Niantic has plenty of stuff for players this year, including a new Shiny Pokémon, a new Legendary, a slew of new avatar items, new Shadow Pokémon to rescue, and more.
New Shiny, New Legendary
The new Shiny Pokémon this time around is Shiny Yamask, and needless to say, trainers will have a chance to encounter one in the wild.
Meanwhile, the Pitch-Black Pokémon Darkrai will start turning up in five-star raids, following the exit of Altered Forme Giratina.
New Shadow Pokémon To Rescue
As usual, Team Rocket is up to no good, and it's beefing up its number of Shadow Pokémon. During the event, players can rescue Shadow versions of the Pokémon listed below:
• Weedle
• Kakuna
• Beedrill
• Electabuzz
• Magmar
• Lapras
• Mareep
• Seedot
• Nuzleaf
• Sableye
• Trapinch
• Cacnea
• Shuppet
• Duskull
New Avatar Gear
As part of the celebration, the in-game store in Pokémon GO will start carrying some spooky — or rather, cute — new items: a Pikachu Onesie, a Cubone Cap, a Zubat Bag, a Litwick Bag, and a Mimikyu Bag.
Other things to expect from the Halloween event include higher chances of coming across Ghost- and Dark-type Pokémon such as Gastly and Murkrow in the wild, in raids, and in Eggs.
Other Pokémon are also getting into the Halloween spirit, meaning that trainers can expect to run into Pokémon wearing costumes, such as Pikachu wearing Mimikyu outfits, Bulbasaur wearing Shedinja outfits, Charmander donning Cubone outfits, and Squirtle flaunting Yamask outfits.
In addition, new Field Research tasks will be available, and trainers can earn double the candy by catching, transferring, and hatching Pokémon to boot.
Back in August, it was reported that Pokémon GO surpassed 1 billion downloads. The game first launched on July 6, 2016, in the United States, and after three years, it still proves to be a popular mobile game among fans of the franchise.
