Pokémon Go Incense Day October time, date and bonuses explained

Everything you need to know about Incense Day in Pokémon Go.

Image credit: Niantic

Guide by Lottie Lynn Guides Editor

Updated on 19 Oct 2023

Incense Day is an event in Pokémon Go themed around the use of, unsurprisingly, Incense, which is used to attract Pokémon to you.

Each Incense Day in Pokémon Go focuses around a specific Pokémon. Certain Pokémon which share the same types as this spotlighted creature can then be found more frequently when using Incense during event hours.

Incense Day's also include a variety of other bonuses, such as increased shiny rates for the spotlight Pokémon or an increased duration for Daily Adventure Incense.

Below you'll be able to find the time and date for the next Incense Day, as well as the bonuses that apply to that event.

On this page:

Incense Day time and date
Incense Day bonuses
How to prepare for Incense Day
Where to purchase Incense
Previous Incense Days

Incense Day time and date in Pokémon Go

The next Incense Day will occur on Saturday 21st October 2023 from 11am to 5pm local time. The spotlighted Pokémon for this Incense Day is Skorupi.

Each hour of this event causes any Incense you use to attract a particular type of Pokémon, with that Pokémon type changing every hour.

Incense Day bonuses in Pokémon Go explained

During an Incense Day in Pokémon Go you'll be able to take advantage of a variety of bonuses.

The first bonus sees you encountering a higher number of Skorupi when using Incense, which works perfectly with the second bonus - an increased chance of encountering shiny Skorupi! So, if you haven't had the chance to add shiny Skorupi or Drapion to your collection yet, now is the time to do so.

The third bonus sees Daily Adventure Incense lasting for 30 minutes during event hours. This is double the amount of time Daily Adventure Incense is usually active for, increasing your chances of encountering one of the Galarian Legendary Birds.

There will also be a selection of event-exclusive field research tasks to collect throughout the event.

Keeping to Incense Day tradition, the next bonus sees a selection of Pokémon being more attracted to Incense than the rest. These Pokémon hail from the Bug and Poison-types, with the specific type of Pokémon changing on the hour much like how habitats rotate during a Go Fest event. (Skorupi will appear in every hour though - it is the little scorpions special day.)

Here are the hours each type is active during October's Incense Day:

11am to 12pm - Bug-type Pokémon
12pn to 1pm - Poison-type Pokémon
1pm to 2pm - Bug-type Pokémon
2pm to 3pm - Poison-type Pokémon
3pm to 4pm - Bug-type Pokémon
4pm to 5pm - Poison-type Pokémon

During the hours that Bug-type Pokémon appear more frequently, you might encounter:

Caterpie
Weedle
Scyther
Pinsir
Yanma
Wurmple
Dewpider
Wimpod

Scyther and Dewpider are the rarer spawns during the Bug-type hours.

Meanwhile, during the hours for Poison-type Pokémon you might find:

Ekans
Zubat
Alolan Grimer
Gulpin
Stunky
Croagunk
Trubbish
Skrelp

Alolan Grimer and Trubbish are the rarer spawns during the Poison-type hours.

There will also be a selection of event-exclusive field research tasks to collect and complete. The rewards you can earn from completing them include Skorupi encounters, Stardust and Ultra Balls.

Finally, if you need some Incense, you can purchase one from a 1 PokéCoin bundle in the in-game shop.

How to prepare for Incense Day in Pokémon Go

If you're planning on taking part in Incense Day in Pokémon Go, then you should make sure you're prepared for it.

First things first, you need to ensure that you actually have Incense. If you don't then you can easily purchase some from the in-game store or earn it by completing Special Research tasks, such as Let's Go Meltan.

Having a Lucky Egg or two for doubling your XP is also a good idea, especially if you're planning on catching a lot of Pokémon.

Finally, you should also ensure that you've stocked up on Poké Balls and berries of all varieties. The worst thing that could happen to you on Incense Day is that, when that rare Pokémon you've been hunting appears only to discover that you're all out of Poké Balls.