October 2026 is one of the busiest months of the year in Pokémon GO: Zorua Community Day, a weekly rotation of Legendary raids that runs from Xerneas and Yveltal through Dialga, Palkia and Origin Forme Giratina, a Fall Marathon, two Max Battle Days and the start of Halloween 2026. Below is every confirmed event, raid boss, Raid Hour and Spotlight Hour for the month in one place, with links to our full guides. All times are local unless noted.
October 2026 at a glance
| Dates | Event |
|---|---|
| Sep 29 – Oct 5 | Harvest Festival: Applin Picking (10 a.m. – 8 p.m.) |
| Oct 2 – Oct 5 | Harvest Festival: Taken Over (Team GO Rocket) |
| Oct 3 | Gigantamax Cinderace Max Battle Day |
| Oct 4 – Oct 10 | World Space Week |
| Oct 10 | Zorua Community Day (2 – 5 p.m.) |
| Oct 13 – Oct 19 | Fall Marathon: Buddy Trek (10 a.m. – 8 p.m.) |
| Oct 17 | Sandile Hatch Day (11 a.m. – 5 p.m.) |
| Oct 24 | Dynamax Max Battle Day |
| Oct 27 – Oct 31 | Halloween 2026 Part I |
| Oct 31 | Super Mega Raid Day |
| Nov 1 – Nov 5 | Halloween 2026 Part II |
Zorua Community Day (October 10)
Zorua takes over wild spawns on Saturday, October 10, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time. Evolve Zorua during the event window to get a Zoroark that knows the exclusive Dark-type Charged Attack Sucker Punch. Announced bonuses include 3× Catch XP, 2× Catch Candy, a higher chance of Candy XL for trainers level 31 and up, reduced Stardust cost for trades, and Lure Modules that last until 9 p.m. Full details, shiny odds and what to prioritize are in our Zorua Community Day guide.
Five-star raids in October 2026
A new Legendary rotates in every Wednesday. Each boss is also the featured Pokémon of that week’s Wednesday Raid Hour (6 – 7 p.m.).
| Dates | Raid boss | Weak to | Raid Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30 – Oct 6 | Xerneas (Fairy) | Poison, Steel | — |
| Oct 7 – Oct 13 | Yveltal (Dark/Flying) | Electric, Ice, Rock, Fairy | Oct 7 |
| Oct 14 – Oct 20 | Dialga (Steel/Dragon) | Fighting, Ground | Oct 14 |
| Oct 21 – Oct 27 | Palkia (Water/Dragon) | Dragon, Fairy | Oct 21 |
| Oct 28 – Nov 3 | Giratina, Origin Forme (Ghost/Dragon) | Ghost, Dragon, Ice, Dark, Fairy | Oct 28 |
For the current best attackers against whichever boss is live, use our Raid Counters tool.
Mega raids in October 2026
| Dates | Mega raid boss | Weak to |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 30 – Oct 6 | Mega Victreebel (Grass/Poison) | Fire, Ice, Flying, Psychic |
| Oct 7 – Oct 13 | Mega Blastoise (Water) | Electric, Grass |
| Oct 14 – Oct 20 | Mega Dragonite (Dragon/Flying) | Ice (double), Rock, Dragon, Fairy |
| Oct 21 – Oct 27 | Mega Charizard X (Fire/Dragon) and Mega Charizard Y (Fire/Flying) | X: Ground, Rock, Dragon · Y: Rock (double), Water, Electric |
| Oct 28 – Nov 3 | Mega Sableye (Dark/Ghost) | Fairy |
Mega Charizard X and Y share the same week, so check the boss silhouette before you pick a team: Water attackers are great against Y but only neutral against X. A Super Mega Raid Day follows on Saturday, October 31.
Shadow raids (weekends)
- Shadow Thundurus (Incarnate Forme): weekends through October 6. Weak to Ice and Rock.
- Shadow Landorus (Incarnate Forme): weekends from October 7 to November 3. Double weak to Ice and also weak to Water, so strong Ice attackers are the priority.
Shadow raids take longer than regular five-star raids, so bring a bigger group and use our Shadow Pokémon guide to decide which catches are worth purifying.
Max Battles and Max Mondays
Each week’s featured Dynamax Pokémon also has a Max Monday from 6 to 7 p.m. local time.
| Dates | Featured Dynamax Pokémon |
|---|---|
| Sep 28 – Oct 4 | Sobble |
| Oct 5 – Oct 11 | Sizzlipede |
| Oct 12 – Oct 18 | Rookidee |
| Oct 19 – Oct 25 | Sneasel |
| Oct 26 – Nov 1 | Sableye |
There are also two Max Battle Days this month: Gigantamax Cinderace on October 3 and a Dynamax Max Battle Day on October 24.
Spotlight Hours in October 2026
October’s Spotlight Hours run on Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. local time.
| Date | Pokémon | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 1 | Seedot | 2× Catch XP |
| Thu, Oct 8 | Elgyem | 2× Catch Candy |
| Thu, Oct 15 | Stufful | 2× Transfer Candy |
| Thu, Oct 22 | Morelull | 2× Catch Stardust |
| Thu, Oct 29 | Gastly | 2× Evolution XP |
The Gastly hour on October 29 lines up with Halloween Part I, which makes it a good time to pop a Lucky Egg and mass-evolve.
Halloween 2026 dates
Halloween 2026 is split into two parts: Part I runs October 27–31 and Part II runs November 1–5. Niantic has not yet announced the full spawns, bonuses and costumed Pokémon. We will link our full Halloween guide here as soon as the details are official.
What to prioritize this month
- Stock up on Poké Balls and bag space before Zorua Community Day (October 10). It is the month’s best candy and XP farming window.
- Plan raid passes around Dialga and Palkia. Both are long-term top-tier attackers. Use the Wednesday Raid Hours on October 14 and 21 if you raid in groups.
- Stack Ice attackers. They are strong against Yveltal, Mega Dragonite, Shadow Landorus and Origin Giratina, all in the same month.
- Walk during Buddy Trek (October 13–19) to hatch eggs ahead of Sandile Hatch Day on October 17.
Looking back? See every Pokémon GO event in September 2026. To see what’s live right now, check our Live Now page.
Based on the October 2026 content update announced by Niantic. Event details can change; we update this page when new information is confirmed.
