Pokemon GO Out to Play: Wild encounters, Shiny Hisuian Growlithe debut, Kecleon spawns, and more

As we approach the end of September 2023, Niantic has quickly announced a few more events in Pokemon GO to keep the fan base engaged. Among them, one is titled "Out to Play", which will start during the final days of the month. This event is geared towards adventuring the Routes, and will also mark the debut of the unique shiny variant of Hisuian Growlithe in the title.

Out to Play event will start on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at 10 AM local time and continue until Monday, October 2, 2023, at 8 PM local time. This will provide trainers ample time to explore and get their hands on everything that will be on offer.

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Pokemon GO Out to Play wild encounters

The wild encounters that will spawn more frequently during the event are as follows:

• Psyduck [shiny variant will be available]
• Growlithe [shiny variant will be available]
• Onix [shiny variant will be available]
• Eevee [shiny variant will be available]
• Feebas [shiny variant will be available]
• Woobat [shiny variant will be available]
• Pawmi
• Arcanine (lucky encounter)

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Pokemon GO Out to Play egg hatches

In addition to the currently available Adventures Abound egg hatches, trainers will also be able to come across the following encounters from 2km and 7km eggs during the event:

• Hisuian Growlithe [shiny variant will be available]

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Pokemon GO Out to Play event bonuses

The event bonuses for Out to Play are as follows:

• Kecleon will be appearing more frequently at PokéStops.
• 3× XP for completing a Route.
• Earn Buddy Candy faster while exploring Routes with your buddy.

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Pokemon GO Out to Play Timed Research, Field Research, and PokeStop Showcases

Out to Play will feature a free Timed Research focusing on players following Routes and exploring their surroundings. The rewards include encounter with Hisuian Growlithe and other in-game resources.

Players can also get their hands on a US$2 ticketed Timed research that will provide several encounters with Hisuian Growlithe and Growlithe. The reward list is as follows:

• Six encounters with Hisuian Growlithe
• Five encounters with Growlithe
• Two Incubators
• One Super Incubator

The following Field Research encounters will be available from event-themed Field Research tasks:

• Hisuian Growlithe [shiny variant will be available]
• Hisuian Sneasel
• Hisuian Qwilfish
• Pawmi

During Out to Play, players will be able to participate in PokeStop Showcases featuring Growlith and Hisuian Growlithe.

With the Out to Play announcement, Niantic also revealed that they were implementing the following improvements:

• Increased Route availability across the globe.
• A lower-level requirement for Trainers to create Routes.
• Several quality-of-life improvements, including seeing more Routes listed in the Nearby menu, directional arrows on Routes, and a running count of the Zygarde Cells you’ve collected in the Zygarde Cube details.

Future updates

• More Trainers will be able to create Routes.
• Trainers will be able to find Zygarde Cells more often while exploring Routes.
• A new notification will be available to inform Trainers when there are Routes nearby.
• Various quality of life improvements.

Trainers can also purchase a Hisuian Growlithe-inspired wig for their avatar from the in-game shop.