Pokémon GO November 2026 Spotlight Hours: Witch Hat Teddiursa and Noibat Schedule

Niantic has confirmed an adjusted schedule for the weekly Pokémon GO Spotlight Hours throughout November 2026. While trainers are accustomed to four or five consecutive Tuesday showcases each month, the November calendar features only two designated dates. This reduced frequency aligns with major overlapping seasonal live events and competitive tournaments occupying the remaining Tuesday slots.

Despite the limited number of events, both featured hours offer high-value targets: a returning costumed Halloween variant with full Shiny eligibility, and a high-cost Dragon-type family paired with a top-tier candy multiplier.

Below is the complete breakdown of featured species, event hours, active bonuses, and preparation tips.

November 2026 Spotlight Hour Schedule

Both Spotlight Hours run during the standard weekly window: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM local time on their respective dates.

• November 5, 2026:

  • Featured Pokémon: Teddiursa wearing a Witch Hat*

  • Active Bonus: 2x Evolution XP

• November 26, 2026:

  • Featured Pokémon: Noibat*

  • Active Bonus: 2x Catch Candy

(Asterisk indicates that the featured Pokémon has a chance to appear in its Shiny variant.)

November 5: Witch Hat Teddiursa and 2x Evolution XP

The opening spotlight on November 5 brings back Teddiursa wearing a Witch Hat. Costumed variants that can be Shiny are among the most actively traded assets in the game, particularly for collectors who missed prior seasonal distributions.

How to Maximize the 2x Evolution XP Bonus:

The double Evolution XP bonus is one of the most efficient avenues to climb player levels without spending money on raid passes.

1. Pre-Tag Evolution Candidates: In the days leading up to November 5, create a search tag in your inventory named "Evolve." Filter for common 12-candy and 25-candy species such as Pidgey, Wurmple, Weedle, and Whismur.

2. Pop a Lucky Egg at 6:00 PM: Activating a Lucky Egg doubles the event bonus, taking the standard 1,000 XP per evolution up to 4,000 XP per evolution.

3. Continuous Mass Evolution: A player executing evolutions non-stop for 60 minutes can comfortably complete 70 to 80 evolutions, yielding between 280,000 and 320,000 XP within a single hour.

November 26: Noibat and 2x Catch Candy

Closing out the month on November 26 is the sound wave Pokémon, Noibat. As a Flying/Dragon-type, Noibat has historically been locked behind rare 10km egg hatches and low wild spawn rates.

Farming Candy for Noivern:

Evolving Noibat into Noivern requires a massive investment of 400 Noibat Candies, mirroring the evolutionary cost of Gyarados and Volcarona. The 2x Catch Candy bonus provides the ideal window to hit this threshold quickly:

• Base Capture: 6 Candies (instead of 3)

• Pinap Berry Capture: 12 Candies per catch

• Silver Pinap Berry Capture: 14 Candies per catch

• Active Mega Dragon or Flying Boost: Keeping an active Mega Charizard X/Y, Mega Rayquaza, or Mega Salamence at Mega Level 3 adds an extra +2 Candy and boosts XL Candy drop rates per catch.

Using Pinap Berries across 30 to 35 catches during the hour guarantees enough resources to complete the full 400-candy evolution from scratch.

Preparation Checklist for Spotlight Hours

To get the most out of each one-hour window:

• Storage Space: Clear at least 150 to 200 Pokémon storage slots before 6:00 PM to avoid pausing for transfers mid-event.

• Poké Ball Reserves: Stock up on standard Poké Balls and Ultra Balls, as fast-catching consumes hundreds of items within 60 minutes.

• Fast Catch Technique: Utilize the fast-catch slide mechanic to bypass encounter catch screens and maximize encounters per minute.