Pokémon GO Festival of Lights 2026 runs from Friday, November 6, at 10:00 a.m. to Sunday, November 8, at 8:00 p.m. local time. It’s exclusive to trainers in India. Pikachu wearing a saree and Pikachu wearing a kurta return in raids, and for the first time in this event they can appear with a Special Background.
The event is short, but two details change how you should plan it. The Timed Research opens five days before the event starts, and the best wild spawns are packed into four five-minute windows each evening.
This guide covers what the announcement confirms, what it leaves out, and how to plan around both.
Confirmed Details
Everything in this section comes from the official Festival of Lights 2026 announcement.
Dates
- November 1, 6:00 a.m.: Timed Research becomes available.
- November 6, 10:00 a.m.: the event starts.
- November 8, 8:00 p.m.: the event ends.
All times are local. The event is available to trainers in India only.
Raids
Pikachu wearing a saree and Pikachu wearing a kurta appear in raids. Both can be Shiny, and both can have a Special Background.
Sparkle O’Clock
For five minutes at 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, and 7:30 p.m., these Pokémon appear more often in the wild:
- Pikachu wearing a saree (chance of Special Background)
- Pikachu wearing a kurta (chance of Special Background)
- Charmander, Chinchou, Mareep, Camerupt, Litwick, Lampent, Morelull, Tadbulb
All of them can be Shiny. Only the two Pikachu are listed with a Special Background chance.
Lure Modules
Lure Modules last three times as long and are more likely to attract Charmander, Chinchou, Mareep, Camerupt, Litwick, Lampent, Morelull, and Tadbulb, all with a Shiny chance.
The two Pikachu are not on the Lure list. For wild Pikachu, the Sparkle O’Clock windows are the confirmed source.
Timed Research
A branched Timed Research rewards XP, Stardust, stickers, and an encounter with Pikachu wearing a saree or Pikachu wearing a kurta with a Special Background, depending on the path you pick. The encounter can be Shiny.
This is the only guaranteed Special Background Pikachu in the announcement. Raids and Sparkle O’Clock offer a chance, not a guarantee.
Other bonuses
- Collection Challenges for event-themed Pokémon reward XP and Stardust.
- Spinning PokéStops can give saree or kurta Pikachu stickers.
- Some event-themed Pokémon will glow.
What changed from last year
Compared with the 2025 Festival of Lights announcement, this year’s event:
- Is three days instead of six.
- Boosts Lure Modules instead of Incense.
- Adds Special Backgrounds and Sparkle O’Clock.
- Doesn’t list the 2× catch Stardust bonus from 2025.
- Doesn’t list Field Research encounters with the costumed Pikachu, which 2025 had.
- Doesn’t mention a Premium Raid Pass from the Collection Challenge, which 2025 did.
If last year you relied on catch Stardust or Field Research tasks for Pikachu, plan differently this time.
What the announcement doesn’t say
- The raid tier for the costumed Pikachu.
- Whether trainers outside India can join these raids remotely.
- Which days Sparkle O’Clock runs. It lists the times without a date. Each event day is the likely reading, but it isn’t stated.
- When the Timed Research ends. Only the start date is given.
- Which Pokémon glow, beyond “some event-themed Pokémon.”
- Whether these costumed Pikachu can evolve.
Check in-game on November 1 for the research and on November 6 for raids and the first Sparkle window.
What the Community Has Documented
These points come from community sources, not the announcement.
- Special Trades: Bulbapedia lists trades involving a Special Background Pokémon as Special Trades, which means they count against your daily Special Trade limit and cost more Stardust than a normal trade.
- Seeing backgrounds before you trade: Leek Duck reported in October 2025 that Special Backgrounds are now shown on the trade screen, so you can confirm a background before accepting.
- Remote raids in a past event: during the March 2025 Festival of Colors, esports.gg reported that Pikachu wearing a kurta was in One-Star Raids and that players outside India joined using Remote Raid Passes. That was a different event, and the 2026 announcement doesn’t say whether the same will apply.
- Lure length: the standard Lure Module has long lasted 30 minutes, which would put event Lures at about 90 minutes. Check the timer on your first one.
Practical Application: Planning Your Evenings
The event’s best content happens between 6:00 and 7:35 p.m. The rest of the day is mostly Lures, raids, and the Collection Challenge.
Example: on Saturday, you place a Lure Module at a PokéStop near a cluster of wild spawn points at 6:00 p.m. If event Lures run about 90 minutes, that one Lure covers the 6:00, 6:30, and 7:00 Sparkle windows. Between windows, the Lure keeps pulling in Litwick, Chinchou, and the other themed species. During each window, you check the nearby spawns for costumed Pikachu, which only appear in the wild during these five minutes. For the 7:30 window, you’ll need a second Lure or a fresh stop.
A few rules follow from this:
- Be outdoors and near spawn points at 6:00 p.m. Five minutes is not enough time to walk somewhere. Pick your spot before the first window.
- Don’t expect Pikachu from Lures. They aren’t on the Lure list. Lures are for the other themed species and their Shinies.
- Start the Timed Research on November 1. It’s the guaranteed Special Background Pikachu, and you don’t need to wait for the event to begin. Some of its tasks may be easier once event spawns are live, so don’t worry if you can’t finish it early.
- Pick your research path deliberately. The branch decides whether your guaranteed background Pikachu wears a saree or a kurta. Choose the one you’re less likely to get from raids, or the one a friend doesn’t have.
- Don’t plan a Stardust grind around this event. Unlike 2025, no catch Stardust bonus is listed.
If you still have a Lucky Trinket
If you bought GO Pass Deluxe in October, your Lucky Trinket expires on November 8 at 11:59 p.m., a few hours after this event ends. That makes the Festival of Lights weekend a good time to meet a Great Friend in person.
A Lucky trade of two Special Background Pikachu would give you both a Lucky, costumed, background Pikachu. Community sources list background trades as Special Trades, so check the Stardust cost on the trade screen before you confirm.
Tracking What You Catch
Between Shiny, costume, Special Background, and possibly Lucky, a single Pikachu from this event can carry several variants at once. Three days of raids and Sparkle windows adds up to a lot of near-identical Pikachu, and it’s easy to lose track of which one has the background or which spare you promised a friend.
A tracker like GoDex helps with that. You can scan a catch screenshot to read CP and IVs, tag Special Background, Shiny, or Lucky with custom variant tags, and add a note to trade candidates so you know which Pikachu is meant for which friend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play the Festival of Lights outside India? The announcement says the event is exclusive to trainers in India. It doesn’t say whether remote raids from other countries will work.
Is a Special Background Pikachu guaranteed? Only from the Timed Research. Raids and Sparkle O’Clock give a chance, not a guarantee.
Can I catch the costumed Pikachu with a Lure? The announcement doesn’t list them in the Lure pool. They appear in raids, during Sparkle O’Clock, and from the Timed Research.
When can I start the Timed Research? November 1 at 6:00 a.m. local time, five days before the event starts. The announcement doesn’t give an end date.
Is there extra Stardust this year? The Collection Challenge and Timed Research give Stardust, but no 2× catch Stardust bonus is listed this year.
Key Takeaways
- Start the Timed Research on November 1. It’s the only guaranteed Special Background Pikachu.
- Be at a spawn-heavy spot by 6:00 p.m. Wild costumed Pikachu only show up in the four five-minute Sparkle windows.
- Use one Lure to cover several windows. With 3× duration, a 6:00 p.m. Lure should last through 7:00.
- Use an expiring Lucky Trinket this weekend. It expires at 11:59 p.m. on November 8.
We do our best to keep these guides accurate, but Pokémon GO mechanics change often. If you spot a mistake or something that's out of date, please send us feedback — we'll fix it.
About GoDex
A free companion app for tracking your collection, scanning IVs from screenshots, and checking PVP rankings. Available on iOS and Android.
