Pokémon GO's Seasons are wild and weird, and they don't get weirder than this. The Pokémon GO Season of Mischief aligns with spooky season (that's an unofficial term), taking us from September to November and including the game's usual spooky-themed Halloween event.
There's a lot to take in with a new Season - there are themed raid bosses, different spawns, changing Spotlight Hours, and a whole host of events. The Season of Mischief is no different, combining the spooky time of year with the trickster Pokémon Hoopa to pull all sorts of maddening changes.
If you want to know when the Psychic Spectacular event is happening or want to take part in Pokémon GO's very own Fashion Week - or even if you just want to find out what the heck a Mischief Hour is - this is the ultimate guide for the next three months of Pokémon GO content.
Here's everything that is going down in Pokémon GO's Season of Mischief.
READ MORE - Pokémon GO Promo Codes (October 2021)
Pokémon GO Season of Mischief Latest News
October 21 - Halloween in Full Swing
Pokémon GO's spookiest event of the year is underway, including a bonus Limited Research to make up for the fact that Niantic botched the launch of Galarian Slowking. Players in Australia and New Zealand were impacted by the error, which caused Galarian Slowpoke to evolve into Slowbro despite the conditions being met for Galarian Slowking.
Additionally, we have Psychic and Ghost-type Pokémon appearing in the wild for the two week period.
click to enlarge
+ 7October 12 - The Season of Mischief Story Continues
Niantic has at long last announced what they have in store for their Pokemon GO Halloween event and it includes new details about The Season of Mischief Story. First off, the Halloween event in question has been split into two parts; Creepy Companions (October 15-22) and Ghoulish Pals (October 22-31).
A new part of the Season-long Special Research will unlock during each part of the Pokémon GO Halloween Mischief event.
click to enlarge + 7October 11 - Halloween Event Returns
The annual Pokémon GO Halloween event returns this week, from Friday, October 15, 2021, to Sunday, October 31, 2021.
Players can expect to see costumed Pokémon return and a new Halloween-themed Special Research story. Not to mention, the eventual release of Galarian Slowking!
click to enlarge + 7September 22 - Secrets of the Jungle Event Announced
An event to celebrate the release of the Secrets of the Jungle movie on Netflix is coming to Pokémon GO! You'll be able to catch Zarude as a part of it, and there are a few new shiny Pokémon on offer, too.
The event kicks off on October 1, but you can find out all about it in our Pokémon GO Secrets of the Jungle event right now.
Jessie and James also return to the skies - with Giovanni still mysteriously absent, we're excited to get some battles in.
September 21 - Finding Your Voice Meloetta Special Research Arrives
Fashion Week is now live! As well as costumed Pokémon and a bunch of new spawns, there's bonus Special Research for those who didn't catch a Meloetta at GO Fest. GO Fest participants can also take part, but will be rewarded with Meloetta Candy instead.
Check out our full guide to the event for all the information.
September 13 - New 'Change Form' Mechanic Coming
The Pokémon GO Fashion Week event is exciting for many reasons, not least of all for the new 'change form' mechanic being debuted with Furfrou. While that shaggy llama isn't exciting in itself, the potential uses for the new mechanic are great.
We expect Hoopa and possibly Meloetta to make use of the shiny new button for their Unbound and Pirouette forms respectively, but we also detail plenty more possibilities in our guide to all the Furfrou forms - Primal Kyogre and Groudon anyone? What about recent additions to the game Zacian and Zamazenta? Or, dare we say it, Kecleon?
September 9 - Duskull Community Day Confirmed
Niantic confirmed that October's Community Day - which is traditionally a spooky affair for obvious reasons - will revolve around Duskull.
While many fans were keeping their fingers crossed for Litwick, Duskull Community Day will give many players the opportunity to catch a rare shiny for their collection.
August 31 - Niantic Task Force Adds Bonuses
Ahead of the main announcement on September 1, the Niantic Task Force detailed some bonuses for Pokémon GO players that will be live for the Season of Mischief. The bonuses are slightly different in New Zealand and the USA, so we'll detail them separately:
New Zealand and USA
- 3x bonus XP for spinning PokéStops for the first time
- 2x Lure duration
- Increased Incense effectiveness
- Additional Incense effectiveness while walking
- Boosted damage for Trainers battling remotely in raids
- Guaranteed Gifts from PokéStop spins
- Buddy Pokémon will bring you Gifts more often
The bonuses which gave players 10x XP for spinning PokéStops for the first time and two free Raid Passes for spinning Gym Photo Discs are no longer in effect.
Rest of the World
- Increased Incense effectiveness while walking
- 3× bonus XP for spinning PokéStops for the first time
- 2× Lure duration
- Increased Incense effectiveness
- Boosted damage for Trainers battling remotely in raids
- Guaranteed Gifts from PokéStop spins
- Buddy Pokémon will bring you Gifts more often
We'll update this with the full findings of the Niantic Task Force when they come into effect.
Raid Bosses
Lugia returns to raids (again) in the Season of Mischief, followed by the Lake Trio in their respective regions. You can find all the dates and details in our raid bosses guide, and check the Lugia guide for all your counters and movesets.
click to enlarge + 7Eggs
A new Season means new Pokémon hatching from eggs! The following Pokémon have been added to the egg pools:
2km
- Barboach
- Drifloon
- Nidoran (both genders)
5km
- Chingling
- Pineco
- Sableye
- Seel
10km
- Audino
- Mienfoo
Different Pokémon will hatch from Adventure Sync rewards:
5km
- Cranidos
- Frillish
- Shieldon
10km
- Deino
- Noibat
- Riolu
Ditto
Ditto is finally transforming into new Pokémon - and they're suitably spooky. Our full list of Pokémon GO Ditto disguises has all the details (including about how to get a shiny Ditto), but look out for the likes of Drowzee, Dwebble, and Teddiursa for the next few months.
Evolution Preview
Niantic is finally introducing a much-requested feature in the Season of Mischief. From September 1, you'll be able to see what CP your Pokémon will be once it has evolved. The screen also tells you which Leagues the Pokémon will be eligible for. Check it out here:
click to enlarge + 7This is the perfect system for players jumping into the GO Battle League Season 9 - we've all evolved a Pokémon only for it to be 5CP too many.
What Are The Season of Mischief Spawns?
There are loads of new spawns coming in the Season of Mischief, however these depend on your area as well as what hemisphere you're in. Here's the details:
Northern Hemisphere
- Bidoof
- Chikorita
- Cyndaquil
- Deerling
- Jigglypuff
- Slowpoke
- Totodile
Southern Hemisphere
- Clefairy
- Deerling
- Oshawott
- Roselia
- Snivy
- Tepig
- Tympole
Cities
- Gothita
- Shuppet
- Trubbish
Forests
- Karrablast
- Shelmet
- Teddiursa
Mountains
- Geodude
- Rhyhorn
- Slugma
Sea
- Horsea
- Krabby
- Mantine
There will be plenty more spawns happening during different events too, however, which you can check out below.
click to enlarge + 7Misunderstood Mischief Special Research
This Season-long Special Research is the only way to catch Hoopa in Pokémon GO. The research consists of 16 parts, but only a couple will unlock at a time. Here's every stage so far, and how to catch Hoopa:
Misunderstood Mischief Part 1
Make 10 Nice Throws: Incense
Use an Incense: 10 Poké Balls
Take three Snapshots of wild Psychic-type Pokémon: 10 Nanab Berries
Total rewards: Gothita encounter, 1,000 XP, and 500 Stardust
Misunderstood Mischief Part 2
Claim reward: 720 Stardust
Total rewards: 720 XP
Misunderstood Mischief Part 3
Make five Curveball Throws: 15 Poké Balls
Catch 10 different species of Pokémon: Five Great Balls
Earn 5,000 Stardust: Three Max Revives
Total rewards: Hoopa encounter, 1,000 XP. and 500 Stardust
Misunderstood Mischief Part 4
Claim reward: 720 Stardust
Total rewards: 720 XP
Misunderstood Mischief Part 5
Power up Pokémon 10 times: 15 Great Balls
Catch 20 Psychic-type Pokémon: Abra*
Evolve 3 Psychic-type Pokémon: 10 Revives
Total rewards: Wobbuffet*, 10 Hyper Potions, and 10 Inkay Candy
Misunderstood Mischief Part 6
Claim reward: 720 Stardust
Total rewards: 720 XP
Misunderstood Mischief Part 7
Take a snapshot of your buddy: Furfrou encounter
Catch a Furfrou: Fast TM
Earn a heart with your buddy: Charged TM
Total rewards: Mincinno*, 1 Unova Stone, and 15 Furfrou Candy
Misunderstood Mischief Part 8
Claim reward: 720 Stardust
Total rewards: 720 XP
Festival of Lights
The Festival of Lights event will be live from November 5 until November 14. We will update this guide with more information as soon as we have it.
Día de Muertos
The Pokémon GO Día de Muertos event starts soon! Check out our guide for all the event spawns across the world, and the additional bonuses for players in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Celebration
The penultimate event of the Season of Mischief celebrates the new Switch games, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. We expect the Swords of Justice in raids, Spotlight Hours featuring Sinnoh starters, and other featured spawns.
Fashion Week
Pokémon GO Fashion Week - an event to rival Paris, Milan, or London. Expect more costumed Pokémon and the debut of Furfrou when the event kicks off on September 21.
The Fashion Week event sees the debut of Furfrou and shiny Blitzle - as well as the all-important change form mechanic that we mentioned above. There's also plenty of research to go around: Timed and Special as a part of the event, and the continuation of the Misunderstood Mischief Special Research, too.
For all the event spawns, raid bosses, Furfrou forms, Meloetta madness, and more, check out the full guide linked above.
Hoopa Event
Hoopa arrives on September 5, at 11:00 local time. This Incense event includes the beginning of the Hoopa Special Research, which will likely last for the whole season, and includes different Pokémon attracted to Incense depending on the hour.
| Time (local time) | Type of Pokémon appearing |
|---|---|
| 11:00 - 12:00 | Psychic |
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Dark and Ghost |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Psychic |
| 14:00 - 15:00 | Dark and Ghost |
| 15:00 - 16:00 | Psychic |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | Dark and Ghost |
Here's what Pokémon are appearing in those hours:
Psychic-type hour
- Beldum
- Exeggcute
- Girafarig
- Jynx
- Munna
- Natu
- Spoink
Dark- and Ghost-type hour
- Carvanha
- Drifloon
- Duskull
- Poochyena
- Purrloin
- Rattata
- Sableye
This event will also include a Collection Challenge for each hour, which rewards Hoopa Candy and a new Avatar Pose. There is also double candy for transferring Pokémon, and exclusive Field Research tasks that reward Rare Candies and balls. Keep your eyes on the in-game shop for a free Incense bundle also.
Mischief Hours
Mischief Hours have only been datamined at this point, but we could see a parallel to Spotlight Hours happening courtesy of Hoopa.
We'll update this section as soon as we hear more about Mischief Hours, but colour us intrigued for now. If it means more rewards, then we're in!
click to enlarge + 7Where Has Giovanni Gone?
The final major part of the Season of Mischief is Giovanni - or his absence. While Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra can still be found (and battled), your Super Rocket Radars are useless this season. Has Hoopa kidnapped the Team GO Rocket boss? Or will he return with Shadow Lugia in tow? Watch this space.
That's everything we know about the Season of Mischief so far, but we'll keep this guide updated with any updates and new information we get.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Pokémon GO , Pokémon , Only Mobile Gaming , and OMG Guides pages.