Pokemon GO Festival of Light: Last minute preparation guide

Pokemon GO is hosting the dazzling Festival of Lights 2023 event running from November 7, 2023, at 10:00 am to Sunday, November 12, 2023, at 8:00 pm local time. This exciting event promises new Pokemon, shiny variants, and a host of bonuses to make your adventure more rewarding.

In this guide, we'll help you prepare for the event by covering all the essential details, tips on maximizing XP, Stardust, candy, a list of Pokemon worth catching, and raids worth taking on.

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Everything to know about Festival of Light in Pokemon GO

Bellibolt is making a debut in Pokemon GO. (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Festival of Lights event features some fantastic bonuses and new additions to your Pokemon GO experience. Here's what you need to know:

• New Pokemon: The event introduces Tadbulb, which can be evolved into Bellibolt with 50 candy.
• Bonuses: During the event, enjoy double hatch candy and Stardust. Additionally, activated incense will last twice as long, excluding daily incense.
• 7 km Eggs: Look out for 7 km eggs containing Magby, Elekid, Dedenne, and Morelull, with a higher chance of hatching shiny Morelull compared to wild encounters.
• Incense Encounters: Enjoy increased incense encounters featuring Alolan Geodude, Hisuian Voltorb, Slugma, Volbeat, Illumise, Blitzle, Litwick, Litleo, Dedenne, Morelull, and Tadbulb.
• Field Research: Field research encounters include Darumaka, Morelull, and Tadbulb. A timed research quest offers avatar items and themed encounters.
• Showcases: Keep an eye out for Tadbulb and Litwick showcases during the event.
• Shop Items: There's a new Avatar item available for purchase in the shop.
• Special Bonus for India: Players in India get an extra bonus of two times catch candy and a collection challenge rewarding Stardust, XP, and a Tadbulb encounter.

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How to maximize XP during the Pokemon GO Festival of Light

Festival of Light brings a lot of bonuses for players to maximize on XP. (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While there are no specific XP bonuses during the event, you can still optimize your gains:

• Stack a lot of Balls of all kinds. You never know when you might encounter a rare creature or a shiny variant, so avoid being in a situation where you don't have the Balls to capture them.
• The more Pokemon you catch, the more XP, Stardust, and candies you gain.
• Use Lucky Eggs to double your XP gains, but consider saving them for events with higher bonuses.
• Interact with friends to increase friendship levels, granting 1.5 times XP for leveling up.
• Mega Evolve Pokemon of the same type to earn bonus catch XP.
• Hatching eggs is highly rewarding during the event, providing double Stardust and double candy. Higher distance eggs yield more rewards.
• Complete the Field Research Tasks to gain additional rewards.

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Which Pokemon should you Mega Evolve during the Pokemon GO event?

With many Electric-type Pokemon spawning during the event, consider Mega Evolving an Electric type to maximize candy and candy XL. Options include Ampharos and Manectric. Alternatively, you can opt for Fire-type Mega Evolutions like Charizard, Blaziken, Houndoom, or Groudon to capitalize on the available fire types.

The amount of candy bonus depends on the Mega Evolution level, with higher levels providing better rewards, including candy XL and extra XP.

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Which Pokemon are worth catching during the Pokemon GO Event?

Here's a breakdown of wild encounters and their significance. All the following have an increased shiny spawn rate, so keep an eye on them:

• Pikachu: Great for Pikachu fans working on their medal.
• Vulpix: Collect these for candy and candy XL to power up Alolan Ninetales, a strong contender in the Great and Ultra Leagues.
• Magnemite: Ideal for shadow Magneton, an excellent Electric-type raid attacker.
• Chinchou: Valuable in PVP battles, as its evolution, Lanturn is strong in the Great and Ultra Leagues.
• Mareep: Consider catching, as Mega Ampharos is a top electric-type raid attacker.
• Electrike: Recommended for Mega Manectric, another powerful Electric-type raid attacker.
• Litwick: A must for candy and candy XL, as shadow Chandelure excels in both Ghost and Fire-type raids.
• Macargo: Worth catching for its Stardust boost, especially when sunny or cloudy.
• Tadbulb: Capture these to evolve into Bellibolt and complete your Pokedex.
• Volbeat and Illumise (Incense): Normally regionals, both are available during the event, making it a great chance to add them to your collection.
• Darumaka (Field Research): Valuable for its evolution into Darmanitan, a decent budget Fire-type raid attacker.

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The more creatures you catch, the more you capitalize on the event bonuses and rewards, so make sure you always have an ample amount of PokeBalls, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls with you.

With all this information at your fingertips, you're ready to make the most of the Festival of Lights event in Pokemon GO.