How to get Noctowl with New Year outfit for Pokemon GO New Year's Collection Challenge?

With the new year finally here, Niantic is celebrating by releasing some new costumed variations of the fan-favorite franchise Pokemon GO. One of the many to get a new suit for the occasion is Johto's resident owl Pokemon, Noctowl. This event also comes with its own version of the collection challenge.

Collection challenges tend to come with every new event in the mobile game. They serve as a way to encourage trainers to catch as many of the creatures tied to the event. In exchange, players who complete these challenges are rewarded with some sort of candy for powering up their creature as well as some profile XP.

Creature players may have trouble finding to complete Pokemon GO's current collection challenge. Being an evolved Pokemon, it may be hard to track down in the wild. As such, players may be in need of some pointers so they can encounter this creature more easily.

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Tips for finding New Year's Noctowl in Pokemon GO

Noctowl as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

In the context of the collection challenge, players only need to add one to their collection in order for it to count towards the objective. This means players can either catch or evolve one from a costumed Hoothoot.

For those looking to catch a costumed Noctowl, it may take a bit of time as evolved Pokemon are not a common spawn in Pokemon GO. Given Noctowl's types of Normal and Flying, players will have the best chance of finding one in partly cloudy or windy weather, thanks to the game's weather boosting mechanics.

The use of items like Lure Modules and Incense can also help with finding a costumed Noctowl. These items can be attached to the player or a nearby Pokestop or Gym in order to greatly increase the general spawn rate of the area. For those using Incense, the effect works more effectively if the player remains mobile.

Players can also evolve a costumed Hoothoot into a costumed Noctowl to complete the collection challenge. For this, trainers will need to collect 50 Hoothoot candies. This should be relatively easy to do since Hoothoot is a fairly common spawn given Pokemon GO's New Year event.

For those who may have a hard time finding all the required wild Hoothoots to get the 50 candy, players can also passively earn Hoothoot candy by assigning one that they caught as their Buddy Pokemon. Using Pokemon GO's Adventure Sync, players can earn the required amount of candy by walking even when the app is off.

Once players have 50 candies or find and catch a wild Noctowl, the spot marking costumed Noctowl on the collection challenge will be marked. To complete the collection challenge, players will receive a fitting 2023 Stardust, which can be used to power up their Pokemon or unlock the secondary charged attack slot.