Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026: Dates, Shinies, Raids and Bonuses

Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026 begins on Tuesday, 24 November at 10am and ends on Monday, 30 November at 8pm, using your local time. The season finale brings boosted Shiny Staryu and Shiny Elgyem encounters, returning sun and moon costumes, four Mega Raid bosses and a separate GO Pass.

Not everything is available in the same way. Staryu and Elgyem are wild encounters, the sun and moon costumes are in raids, and Applin, Maschiff and Bramblin are Field Research rewards. Knowing the difference will save you a few wasted Raid Passes.

Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026 start and end times

The event starts at 10am on 24 November and finishes at 8pm on 30 November in each region. In the UK, that’s GMT throughout. The November 26 Field Research switch also happens at 10am local time, so it does not flip worldwide at the same instant.

What changes	Local date and time
Main event begins	Tuesday 24 November, 10am
Field Research changes	Thursday 26 November, 10am
Event and GO Point earning end	Monday 30 November, 8pm
Last chance to claim unlocked GO Pass rewards	Wednesday 2 December, 8pm

Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026 wild encounters and Shiny boosts

Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026 features Clefairy, Staryu and Elgyem as named wild encounters, with Rockruff appearing if you’re lucky. All four are marked as Shiny eligible in the announcement. Only Staryu and Elgyem are explicitly given an increased Shiny chance, however. Clefairy and Rockruff are not specifically listed as having boosted Shiny odds.

If you’re short on playtime, put your wild-encounter checks towards Staryu and Elgyem first. Walk between areas with reliable spawns and tap the Pokémon before deciding whether to catch them. Field Research can give you another shot at either Pokémon without using Raid Passes.

Sun and moon costumes in raids

Raid tier	Featured Pokémon
One-star	Pikachu wearing a sun crown; Pikachu wearing a moon crown
Three-star	Espeon wearing a sun scarf; Umbreon wearing a moon scarf
Mega	Mega Beedrill, Mega Houndoom, Mega Sableye, Mega Manectric

During Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026, the one-star and three-star costume bosses are the targets for outfit collectors. A normal Pikachu caught in the wild does not gain a sun or moon crown, and evolving a regular Eevee doesn’t create one of these special scarf versions. Check the outfit shown after the raid before moving on to the next boss.

Each announced raid boss is marked as Shiny eligible, but Niantic has not supplied a percentage or promised a Shiny. For more on the event-specific versions, see our Twilight Wishes costume raid guide rather than using an older Halloween raid list.

Field Research has two different encounter windows

Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026 splits its special Field Research encounters into two phases. From 24 November at 10am to 26 November at 10am, Applin and Maschiff are available. From 26 November at 10am until the 30 November finish, the pool changes to costumed Gengar, costumed Drifblim and Bramblin.

Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026 also offers encounters with Staryu and Elgyem, plus Mega Energy. Niantic hasn’t revealed the individual PokéStop tasks yet, so the exact task-and-reward pairings aren’t confirmed. Our Twilight Wishes Field Research guide separates the announced rewards from what remains unconfirmed.

GO Pass bonuses you must unlock

Pass milestone	Bonus
Tier 1, Rank 1	Increased chance of Lucky Pokémon from trades and Lucky Friends
Tier 2, Rank 10, free track	2x catch Stardust
Tier 2, Rank 10, Deluxe	3x catch Stardust

Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026 doesn’t give everyone triple Stardust from the opening minute. You need to reach the stated GO Pass milestone first. The free event pass is granted automatically when the event starts; Deluxe is optional and offers additional rewards. The ordinary November GO Pass is a different pass with different rewards and deadlines.

The Twilight Wishes Deluxe upgrade starts at US$4.99 or your local pricing tier; the +6 Ranks version is US$6.99 and provides enough GO Points to reach Rank 7, not to finish the pass. Read the Twilight Wishes GO Pass breakdown before buying, particularly if you want to wait and see how far you progress.

What should you prioritise?

For a free session, start with Staryu and Elgyem Shiny checks and collect Field Research along your walking route. Before 26 November, prioritise any Applin or Maschiff encounters you want. From the 26th, check the new research pool if you’re missing Bramblin or either returning Halloween costume. Use raid passes on the sun and moon outfits that aren’t covered by the announced wild list.

Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes 2026 closes before the separate GO Pass reward claim deadline. Finish earning GO Points by 30 November at 8pm, then open the rewards screen and claim everything unlocked before 2 December at 8pm. The season itself finishes on 1 December at 10am, which is another clock entirely.

Official source: Pokémon GO Twilight Wishes announcement.