The new season in Pokémon GO brings some changes. One of them hits MeinMMO author Paul Kutzner quite hard.
On March 3, 2026, the new season in Pokémon GO started: Memories in Motion. As usual, a new season also brings some new content and various changes.
One of these changes affects an event that has regularly taken place in recent years. And exactly this change makes me personally very sad, as it was one of my favorite events.
An institution is lost
Which event is affected? If you have looked at the content of the new season, you may have noticed it yourself: The spotlight hours are no longer part of the new season. These usually took place every Tuesday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Instead of the spotlight hours, Tuesday is now marked by showcases from Pokémon GO. Correspondingly, the weekday is now also consistently called “Showcase Tuesday”.
Why was the event so strong? During the spotlight hours, there was always a monster that appeared in very high numbers during the 60 minutes, as well as a bonus. The bonuses and the combination of certain monsters with a bonus were a highlight of the month.
On one hand, there was a bonus where you could receive double the amount of candies for sending monsters to the professor. I generally waited for exactly this bonus when sending monsters for which I still needed candies.
To do this, I collected the corresponding monsters and tagged them. This way, I could send the monsters directly at the beginning of the spotlight hour and receive double the amount of candies. Over time, some additional candies added up this way.
On the other hand, there was always a spotlight hour where you could earn double the amount of stardust for catching monsters. If there was this bonus in combination with a monster that generally yields more stardust when caught, it was always a highlight for me.
For example, if there was a spotlight hour with Sableye, I could directly earn 1,500 stardust per catch thanks to the bonus. With the additional use of star pieces, the amount was increased by another 50% resulting in a total of 2,250 stardust for a single monster.
This combination with a good running route and active incense ensured that I could collect enormous amounts of stardust in those 60 minutes.
What happens next? Whether the elimination of the spotlight hours in the current season is just a test and they might find their way back into the game in the future is unknown. However, I personally hope so very much. Until then, I now have, unfortunately, more time for other things on Tuesdays.
While the spotlight hours are currently lost, there is still another event that continues to bring me great joy: the Community Day. Especially in May, this event could be really interesting: One of the Community Days in May could be worth it for you to fire up Pokémon GO.
