On Saturday, Oct. 10, you can’t trust your buddy Pokémon. Any copy of it you see on the map might really be a Zorua in disguise, and Pokémon Go has built an entire Community Day around that trick.
The event lasts from 2-5 p.m. local time. Before you head out, note that only the original Unovan Zorua is featured. The normal- and ghost-type Hisuian Zorua isn’t included.
A fox disguised as your buddy
For anyone who hasn’t hunted one before, here’s how it works. Zorua appears on the map looking like whichever Pokémon you’ve set as your buddy. Once you catch it, it changes back into a Zorua, much like Ditto dropping its disguise.
Each reveal plays an “Oh?” animation, and it’ll be wearing thin by about 2:15. There are two ways around it: make a Zorua your buddy, or use quick catching. Either option makes your catches faster.
Because it’s Community Day, Zorua will spawn in large numbers and have a high chance of being shiny. Earlier community research estimates the Community Day shiny rate at about 1 in 24. If you play the full three hours, you should come away with a good number of shinies.
Hunting shinies on a tight schedule
Short on Poké Balls or spare time? Activate an Incense, tap each Zorua quickly to see whether it’s shiny, and run from the ones that aren’t.
There’s a useful visual cue, too. Every Zorua you’ve already tapped turns to face your player’s position, which shows you which ones you’ve already checked.
If you’re able to Mega Evolve Gyarados, Houndoom, Tyranitar, Sableye, Sharpedo, Absol, Greninja or Malamar, each catch will earn you bonus Zorua Candy. It’s also worth activating a Lucky Egg along with an Incense so you can pick up some strong Zorua.
Farm excellent throws while you’re at it
Are you chasing a Masterwork Research or a higher-level requirement that calls for excellent throws? Turn the buddy disguise to your advantage.
Choose a buddy with a large catch ring and every Zorua on the map will carry that big target. Snorlax, Wailmer and Gourgeist all work, as does whichever Pokémon you land excellents on most reliably.
Sucker Punch, plus some honesty about Zoroark
If you evolve Zorua into Zoroark between 2-9 p.m. local time, it will learn the fast move Sucker Punch.
If you miss that window, another chance will probably come. A Community Day weekend event in December will likely let you evolve it for Sucker Punch again. If you don’t want to wait, an Elite TM can teach the move.
Just don’t get too attached. Zoroark doesn’t excel at anything. It struggles in raids, gyms and PvP alike. Feel free to give it Sucker Punch and Foul Play to complete the set for your collection, but leave it out of raids and PvP.
Lures keep working after the event
Scopely Explore is keeping the “Lure Module Bonus” it has run for the past year. From 2-9 p.m., Lure Modules you place will attract Zorua in high numbers.
That means the hunt continues past 5 p.m. For another four hours, lures will keep drawing in Zorua at the boosted Community Day shiny rate. Any one of them could still be a shiny, or a Zorua with a Special Background, looking just like your Snorlax.