Pokémon Pokopia’s Halloween event, Pumpkaboo’s Sweet Surprises, adds two Ghost-types to your town: Pumpkaboo and its evolution, Gourgeist. Each one has its own event habitat. You build both from furniture that you can only buy with Pumpkin Candy, and you earn that candy by scaring your town’s residents.
Quick answer: Gourgeist needs a Trevenant streetlight, a Pumpkin lantern, and a Pumpkin lantern tower stacked on the lantern. Pumpkaboo needs any table, a Candy bucket, and a Ghost smoke projector.
Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist habitat recipes
Each habitat takes exactly three pieces. The two recipes do not share any items, so you have to buy two separate sets.
| Habitat | Pokémon | Required items | Candy cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creepy pumpkins | Gourgeist | Trevenant streetlight, Pumpkin lantern, Pumpkin lantern tower | 6 |
| Give me something good to eat | Pumpkaboo | Table (any), Candy bucket, Ghost smoke projector | 5 (6 with Huge table) |
Pumpkaboo’s habitat accepts any table, so one you already own works fine. Creepy pumpkins is stricter. The Pumpkin lantern tower must sit on top of the Pumpkin lantern. If you place the two side by side, the game won’t register the habitat.
Pumpkin Candy prices for every Halloween item
Pumpkaboo trades nine pieces of furniture for Pumpkin Candy. Six of them go into the habitats. The other three are decoration only.
| Item | Pumpkin Candy | Used in a habitat? |
|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin lantern | 2 | Yes (Gourgeist) |
| Pumpkin lantern tower | 2 | Yes (Gourgeist) |
| Trevenant streetlight | 2 | Yes (Gourgeist) |
| Candy bucket | 2 | Yes (Pumpkaboo) |
| Ghost smoke projector | 3 | Yes (Pumpkaboo) |
| Huge table | 1 | Optional (any table works) |
| Eerie statue | 3 | No |
| Cofagrigus locker | 3 | No |
| Fun balloons | 2 | No |
Both habitats together cost 11 Pumpkin Candy if you use a table you already have, or 12 if you also buy the Huge table. One of each of the nine items costs 20 candy.
Buy at least one of every item before the event ends. Once the shop closes, you can still make more of any item you own with Pokemetal, but you can’t buy a piece you never got.
Build Creepy pumpkins and befriend Gourgeist
Gourgeist arrives as soon as its habitat is finished, so it’s the quicker of the two to get.
Three things confirm that it worked. Creepy pumpkins shows up as No. 009 in the Habitat Dex (Event) menu, Gourgeist’s Pokédex entry lists it as a Ghost/Grass type, and the game shows “You became friends with Gourgeist!” Gourgeist is a Common spawn and the only Pokémon tied to this habitat. It can appear in any weather and at any time of day.
Give me something good to eat: When Pumpkaboo moves in
Building Pumpkaboo’s habitat works the same way. Trade for the Candy bucket and the Ghost smoke projector, then place both next to a table. You can build it as soon as you own the pieces.
Pumpkaboo won’t move in right away, though. It stays at the Pokémon Center running the candy shop for the whole event. After the event ends, you can move Pumpkaboo into the habitat you built. Meeting Pumpkaboo at the counter does not complete this habitat, and it does not complete Gourgeist’s either. Both still have to be built.
Pumpkaboo’s Sweet Surprises event dates and requirements
You can collect and spend Pumpkin Candy from October 17, 2026, at 5:00AM until November 1, 2026, at 4:59AM, local time. The event is live now. To take part, you need all of the following:
- Pokopia updated to Ver. 2.0.1
- A rebuilt Pokémon Center, with that town’s important request completed
- The Camouflage transformation, learned from Zorua in Bleak Beach
- An internet connection the first time you launch during the event
- Your Switch 2 clock set to the real date and time
When the event is active, a notification at launch says a Pokémon is the talk of the town. Head to the Pokémon Center in the Withered Wastelands. It’s decorated for Halloween, and Pumpkaboo floats outside. Talk to it to start the event. The event does not run on Cloud Islands or in Bubbly Basin. For Link Play, use Palette Town, talk to Pumpkaboo before you start the session, and play normally rather than in Spectator Mode.
How to scare Pokémon for Pumpkin Candy
Your residents pay out candy when Ditto surprises them. To do that, disguise yourself as something a Pokémon likes, let it notice you, then turn back into Ditto.
Each scare pays one to three Pumpkin Candy, so you only need a handful to cover both habitats. Not every Pokémon reacts to every item. Hitmontop responds to a Punching Bag, for example, but Bulbasaur doesn’t. You can scare the same Pokémon again after a short wait. Crowded areas are faster, because other residents nearby may notice the same disguise, though you can only scare them one at a time.
Fixes when the event or habitat won’t trigger
- No “talk of the town” notification: update the game and check that your Switch 2 date and time are correct.
- Met the requirements after October 17: visit another town once, or use Save & Quit and relaunch.
- Pokémon ignores your disguise: it may be talking to another Pokémon, or it doesn’t like that item.
- Creepy pumpkins won’t register: make sure the tower is on top of the lantern and all three pieces are together.
Any Pokémon you befriend during the event stays in your town after it ends. Pumpkaboo moves into its habitat once the shop closes, so the only real deadline is spending your candy before 4:59AM on November 1.
