Your Buddy Pokémon can finally show off its best side. Ahead of Pokémon GO Wild Area 2026, Niantic and Scopely have announced that your Buddy’s Location Background or Special Background will now appear on your Trainer profile, visible to all your friends. The rollout begins this Friday, November 6, and the announcement holds other good surprises: Max Battles with friends, Safari Ball transfers to Pokémon HOME, and new avatar items.
Backgrounds come to your profile in two stages
Until now, Location Backgrounds and Special Backgrounds were confined to each Pokémon’s screen. With this update, your Buddy’s background becomes a showcase: it appears behind your avatar on the profile your friends see. The schedule is as follows:
- Friday, November 6, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time: the Pokémon GO Wild Area 2026 Location Backgrounds from Sendai and Mexico City appear on the profile;
- Monday, November 9, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time: the Pokémon GO Wild Area 2026 Special Background and all previously released Location Backgrounds join the feature;
- Later: more Special Backgrounds will follow, with no date announced yet.
The rollout follows each player’s local time, so your friends won’t see your background until 10 a.m. where they are. In practice, most players in France will have to wait until November 9, since the Sendai and Mexico City backgrounds can only be obtained on site. It’s a good time to dig through your storage for a Pokémon with the background from a past GO Fest or Safari Zone, and make it your Buddy.
Private-group Max Battles and Safari Balls to HOME
Another long-awaited change: in the lobby of a Max Battle, you will be able to choose between the “Battle” option, which automatically places you in a group, and the “Private Group” option, which lets you join an existing group using a code. Ideal for taking on Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon with friends during the global weekend.
On the Pokémon HOME side, Pokémon caught with a Safari Ball in Pokémon GO can now be transferred there: they will appear in a Strange Ball. Finally, starting with the Wild Soul event, some Adventure Effects can be activated directly from the lobby of a raid or Max Battle, such as those tied to 
Zacian and 
Zamazenta.
A Steel or Dragon Special Research and avatar items
Ticket holders for Pokémon GO Wild Area: Global will have to make a choice in a Special Research available from Saturday, November 14, at 10 a.m. local time. Each path grants a medal and bonuses valid until Sunday, November 15, at 6 p.m.:
- Sharp Steel Medal: 1 extra XL Candy (level 31 and above) and 1,000 Stardust when catching imposing Steel-type Pokémon;
- Draconic Defense Medal: the same bonuses for imposing Dragon-type Pokémon.
The wardrobe is also expanding around 
Duraludon, the event’s Gigantamax star. The purple Pokémon GO Wild Area 2026 T-shirt is given to everyone in the GO Pass: Wild Soul (free), while the Duraludon Pants are reserved for the Deluxe GO Pass. These passes will be active from Monday, November 9, at 10 a.m. to Sunday, November 15, at 6 p.m., with rewards to claim until Tuesday, November 17, at 11:59 p.m. The shop, for its part, will offer the Duraludon Helmet, the Gigantamax Duraludon Bag, and the Fighting-type Jacket, during the event and afterward. Finally, a new avatar pose will reward ticket holders who complete their Special Research.
Key takeaways
The most visible change concerns everyone, ticket or not: from November 9, any Location Background you have already obtained can appear on your profile. Private-group Max Battles and Safari Ball transfers resolve two small long-standing frustrations. To prepare for the weekend of November 14 and 15, check out the schedule for the global Pokémon GO Wild Area and our guide to getting the most out of global events.
