After Spotlight Hour, do not delete everything at once. First protect shinies, hundos, Lucky Pokémon, old catches and anything useful for trading or evolution. Then tag ordinary duplicates, trade the worthwhile ones, and hold the rest for the next 2× Transfer Candy hour if your storage has room. Transfer immediately only when the box is full or you need space to keep catching.
The current schedule runs from 6:00–7:00 p.m. local time on Thursdays. The 29 October 2026 hour featured Gastly with 2× Evolution XP; its extras are best handled by evolving selected Pokémon during the bonus, trading Gastly or Haunter for a candy-free Gengar evolution, and parking low-value duplicates until a transfer bonus returns.
What should I do first after Spotlight Hour?
Use this order: protect keepers, isolate possible transfers, decide whether to trade, and only then clear the box. Sorting by Recent keeps the hour’s catches together, but a search result is not automatically safe to transfer.
- Tag or favourite keepers. Mark shinies, 4* Pokémon, Lucky Pokémon, shadows, costumes, backgrounds, PvP candidates, trade targets and anything you intend to evolve.
- Separate old catches. Keep Pokémon caught in 2020 or earlier out of a bulk-transfer search until you have used your guaranteed Lucky-trade allowance.
- Choose trade candidates. Keep a few duplicates for friends, long-distance Candy, Lucky trades or trade evolutions.
- Tag ordinary junk. Use a tag such as
To Transferrather than deleting immediately if a 2× Transfer Candy hour may be close. - Bulk-transfer only after checking the list. Long-press one result, choose Select all, scroll through the selection and confirm the transfer.
MattSimplified’s clear-out advice follows the same principle: sort by Recent after a large event while the catches are grouped, but inspect the results before confirming.
What Pokémon should I keep after Spotlight Hour?
Keep anything with a battle, collection, trade or future-resource purpose. A low appraisal alone does not make a Pokémon disposable.
Always protect these categories
- Shiny Pokémon, including duplicates you may want for trades.
- 4* hundos. Search
4*and favourite the results before cleaning up. - Nundos if you collect them;
0attack&0hp&0defensefinds the usual 0/0/0 pattern. - Lucky, legendary, Mythical and Ultra Beast Pokémon.
- Shadow, Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon.
- Costume, location-background, XXS and XXL specimens when those variants matter to your collection.
- Favourited or tagged Pokémon, plus anything with a Community Day or other exclusive move.
- PvP candidates. IV spreads for Great and Ultra League can look weak in the appraisal screen. A community search pattern is
0attack,1attack&3hp,4hp&4defense,3defense; treat it as a screening aid, not a universal rule. - Already-traded Pokémon cannot be traded again, but may still be your best attacker or collector’s specimen.
- High-level duplicates. Trainers level 31 and above can receive Candy XL from transfers, and higher-level Pokémon have better transfer XL odds according to MattSimplified.
Why old Pokémon from 2020 or earlier are special
Niantic’s New Year’s 2026 rule guarantees a Lucky result when a Pokémon that has been in storage since 2020 is traded, until the trainer reaches the permanent allowance. The allowance was increased from 35 to 45 guaranteed Lucky Pokémon per trainer. Do not sacrifice these catches in a mass transfer just because their appraisals are poor.
Use an old, expendable Pokémon as the “vehicle” for a trade and reserve the 45 guaranteed results for Pokémon you may power up, such as raid attackers or Master League choices. Lucky Pokémon receive a 12/12/12 minimum for Attack, Defense and HP and cost half as much Stardust to power up, although Candy costs do not change.
Which search string safely finds transfer candidates?
There is no search string that understands your plans, so use one as a shortlist and inspect every result. MattSimplified’s 2026 pattern is:
0*,1*,2*&!shiny&!lucky&!legendary&!mythical&!costume&!#&!favorite&!traded&!shadow&!dynamax&!background
To spare the guaranteed-Lucky window, add exclusions for catches from 2016 through 2020:
!year2016&!year2017&!year2018&!year2019&!year2020
Alternatively, tag old Pokémon first and exclude the tag with !#. Useful atoms include age0 for Pokémon caught today, shiny, lucky, shadow, traded, xxl, xxs, background, dynamax, gigantamax and +eevee for a whole family. The dates in older community strings such as year24 are stale; use explicit years instead.
Should I transfer after Spotlight Hour or wait for 2× Transfer Candy?
Wait when you have spare storage; transfer now only when space is genuinely needed. The 2× Transfer Candy bonus is a rotating Spotlight Hour perk that appears roughly every five weeks, and it doubles the Candy awarded for the same transfer.
| Choice | Candy and value | Storage effect | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer now | Normal transfer Candy; Candy XL can be awarded to trainers level 31+ | Immediate space | Full box or urgent room for catches |
| Wait for 2× Transfer Candy | Double the normal transfer Candy | Requires spare space | Rare, high-Candy families and event leftovers |
| Trade | 1, 2 or 3 Candy based on catch-location distance, plus a Lucky chance and possible XL | One-for-one exchange | Friends, Lucky targets and trade-evolution families |
| Send to Pokémon HOME | No Pokémon GO Candy | Up to 25 per Transporter trip, energy-gated | Specific living-dex or Switch destinations |
The last reported 2× Transfer Candy hour was Stufful on Thursday 15 October 2026. As of the 20 October schedule update, the next date had not been announced, and the published November lineup did not include one. Do not guess a date; check the live Thursday schedule before holding a crowded box.
Storage starts at 300 Pokémon. MattSimplified lists upgrades at 200 PokéCoins for 50 slots, with purchasable storage up to 12,650 and a possible total of 13,000 at Trainer level 80 through shop capacity plus level rewards. These are in-game limits, not physical storage products.
What to do when 2× Transfer Candy is live
Do not clear the box beforehand. Pre-tag old junk, mass-transfer that tag at the start of the hour, keep catching, and then transfer the new Spotlight duplicates before 7 p.m. The bonus applies during the hour, not retroactively.
How do trades improve the value of duplicates?
Trading converts a duplicate into a possible Lucky Pokémon, distance Candy and sometimes a free evolution. Both trainers must be at least level 10, be friends and normally stand within 100 metres. The game allows up to 100 trades per day; one can be a Special Trade unless an event raises that limit.
Trade costs and Candy
A registered regular or purified Pokémon costs 100 Stardust for each trainer at every friendship level. Purified Pokémon still use the daily Special Trade slot, even when the registered exchange costs 100 Stardust. Lucky status does not reduce the trade price; it halves later power-up Stardust instead.
| Trade type | Good Friends | Great Friends | Ultra Friends | Best or Forever Friends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered regular or purified | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Registered shiny, legendary, Ultra Beast, Gigantamax or Meltan/Melmetal | 20,000 | 16,000 | 1,600 | 800 |
| Unregistered regular or purified | 20,000 | 16,000 | 1,600 | 800 |
| Unregistered shiny, legendary, Ultra Beast, Gigantamax or Meltan/Melmetal | 1,000,000 | 800,000 | 80,000 | 40,000 |
Both sides pay the higher applicable offer. The Pokémon you trade away yields 1 Candy when the two catch locations are under 10 km apart, 2 Candy at 10–100 km, and 3 Candy at 100 km or more. For trainers level 31 and above, the reported Candy XL chances are approximately 10%, 25% and 100% across those distance bands.
Trade-evolution families
Since January 2020, trading a Pokémon in an eligible family removes the Candy cost for its later trade evolution. That makes Gastly and Haunter useful trade bait: trade one, then evolve the received Pokémon into Gengar without paying the usual evolution Candy.
Other eligible families include Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler and Alolan Graveler, Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast and Shelmet when exchanged for each other, Phantump and Pumpkaboo. Held-item evolutions from the core games are not automatically free in Pokémon GO and still require their evolution items.
What cannot be traded?
Most Mythicals, Shadow Pokémon, current buddies, gym or Power Spot defenders, fainted Pokémon, favourites, active Mega or Primal Pokémon, fused Pokémon, Crowned Zacian and Zamazenta, Pokémon at Playgrounds, eggs and anything already traded are ineligible. Bulbapedia also lists Zygarde and Eternatus as unable to trade.
How do Lucky Friends and Friendship Friday change the plan?
Best Friends can become Lucky Friends after a daily interaction, although Niantic has not published the probability. The next trade between Lucky Friends is guaranteed Lucky, whether it is local or an eligible remote trade; afterward the relationship returns to Best Friends and can roll again later.
Friendship Friday is the better time to trade a box of valuable extras when its bonuses are active. The official event wording promises “Up to two additional Special Trades,” “20% less Stardust,” an increased Lucky Trade chance and “Two guaranteed Candy XL from trades (Trainers level 31+).”
A Lucky Trinket, available on some Deluxe passes and event tracks, can grant Lucky Friends to a Great Friend or higher who is not already Lucky. It does not perform the trade, alter distance or reduce Stardust, and the item has a printed expiry date; the Lucky Friends status itself does not expire.
Can I use a remote trade for Spotlight Hour Pokémon?
Remote Trades are a narrow option, not a way to empty a box. Forever Friends unlock one remote trade with a specific friend after 90 friendship points beyond Best Friends. Each trainer is limited to one Remote Trade per day, and the allowance does not stack across friends.
Remote Trades never count as Special Trades, even for shiny or legendary Pokémon. A Pokémon caught in the previous 30 days cannot be used, so fresh Spotlight catches must age before they qualify. Remote Stardust pricing has not been published. Lucky Friends status still applies.
Is Pokémon HOME a good dump for Spotlight Hour extras?
No. HOME is a one-way off-ramp for specimens you specifically want in a living dex or Switch game. The GO Transporter sends up to 25 Pokémon per trip and recharges energy over time; legendary and Mythical transfers consume much more energy. Shadow, Mega, Gigantamax and costumed Pokémon cannot be sent, and transferred Pokémon cannot return to Pokémon GO.
Sending 200 ordinary Gastly to HOME produces no GO Candy and consumes Transporter capacity, so transfer or trade them in GO instead.
What was the best plan for the 29 October 2026 Gastly hour?
The hour carried 2× Evolution XP, so its priority was evolution rather than transfer.
- Before 6 p.m., prepare cheap evolutions and a Lucky Egg. Keep enough Pokémon and Candy ready to evolve immediately.
- From 6–7 p.m. local time, evolve the selected Pokémon. A Lucky Egg stacks with the 2× Evolution XP bonus for 4× XP.
- After 7 p.m., sort by Recent and favourite shinies, 4*, XXS, XXL, costumes and backgrounds.
- Keep 2020-or-earlier catches out of the transfer search.
- Trade spare Gastly or Haunter to obtain a future candy-free Gengar evolution, accepting that the trade rerolls IVs.
- Tag ordinary duplicates
To Transferand wait for the next 2× Transfer Candy hour if storage allows. - If the box is full, run the transfer search, inspect the results and bulk-transfer only the unneeded candidates.
The featured species and bonus change every Thursday, so apply the same decision tree to the next hour: use the live bonus first, then choose between keeping, trading, HOME and transfer.
How should I decide in one minute?
- Need space now? Protect keepers and 2020-or-earlier Pokémon, then transfer ordinary duplicates.
- Have room? Tag the junk and wait for 2× Transfer Candy.
- Have a friend nearby? Trade a few duplicates for Lucky chances, distance Candy or a free trade evolution.
- Is it Friendship Friday? Use the Stardust discount, extra Special Trades and guaranteed trade XL bonuses when available.
- Is it a rare living-dex specimen? Consider HOME only if you accept that the transfer is permanent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a Pokémon back after transferring it in Pokémon GO?
No. A transfer is permanent and the Pokémon is removed from your GO account. If you are uncertain, favourite or tag it and wait for the next transfer-bonus hour instead of confirming the dump.
Do traded Pokémon keep their original IVs and CP?
No. Trading rerolls IVs, and CP and HP can change. Friendship determines the minimum IV floor, while Lucky trades guarantee at least 12/12/12; moves remain the same.
How long should I keep a Spotlight Hour Pokémon before a remote trade?
A Pokémon caught within the previous 30 days is barred from Remote Trade. Fresh Spotlight catches therefore need to age for 30 days, even if you have an eligible Forever Friend.
Does transferring a Pokémon increase its evolution progress or buddy history?
No. Transfer only awards the applicable Candy and removes the Pokémon. Evolution progress, buddy hearts and other individual history do not move to another Pokémon.