Pokémon GO North America: Regionals & Timing

North America is a huge place to play Pokémon GO. It stretches from the Arctic to the tropics, spans several time zones, and has a few Pokémon that are normally tied to parts of it. That creates practical questions: which regionals can I find here, why did my friend's Community Day start before mine, and what time is that global event really starting where I live? This page assumes you already know what a Community Day is; if not, start with the beginner guides on the Trainer Hub main site.

Regional Pokémon in North America

Some species are regional: under normal circumstances they only spawn in part of the world. A few long-standing examples are tied to parts of North America.

Pokémon	Where it's associated	Notes
Tauros	North America	One of the game's oldest regional Pokémon
Pachirisu	Canada and Alaska	Also found in some other northern parts of the world
Carnivine	The southeastern United States	Tied to a fairly small area
Hawlucha	Mexico	Tied to a single country
Heracross	Central and South America	Found at the southern end of the continent and beyond

Ranges are approximate and have shifted before, and some events have briefly made regionals catchable everywhere, so treat this as a starting point. For regionals from elsewhere, the usual routes are trading in person with a friend who already has one (both players need to be close to each other to trade), catching them yourself when you travel, or watching for events that make them available more widely. Our guides to collecting and regional exclusives and playing Pokémon GO abroad cover these options.

Time zones across the continent

Most recurring events run on local time, so knowing the zones around you helps when coordinating with friends elsewhere or planning a trip.

Zone	Standard time	Daylight saving notes
Newfoundland	UTC−3:30	Observes daylight saving; note the half-hour offset
Atlantic	UTC−4	Puerto Rico stays on standard time
Eastern	UTC−5	Quintana Roo in Mexico stays on one time all year
Central	UTC−6	Most of Saskatchewan and most of Mexico stay on one time all year
Mountain	UTC−7	Most of Arizona and all of Yukon stay on one time all year
Pacific	UTC−8	Generally observes daylight saving
Alaska	UTC−9	Generally observes daylight saving
Hawaii–Aleutian	UTC−10	Hawaii stays on standard time

Time zone rules do change from time to time, so your phone's clock, set to update automatically, is the most reliable guide to the time where you are.

How event timing plays out

Local-time events roll across the continent

Community Day, Spotlight Hour and Raid Hour have generally run at the same clock time in every time zone. That means a Community Day starts first in the easternmost zones, such as Newfoundland's, and finishes last in Hawaii, several hours later. It's why a friend on the East Coast might be posting shiny catches while your event hasn't started yet.

Single-start events need converting

Some events and features start at the same moment everywhere. Announcements for these often give a time in UTC or in one named time zone. To convert:

If the time is given in a named zone rather than UTC, convert it to UTC first, checking whether that zone is on daylight saving (for example, 1 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time is 20:00 UTC).
Find your zone's standard offset from the table above.
If daylight saving is in effect where you are, add one hour to that offset (for example, Eastern becomes UTC−4).
Subtract that many hours from the UTC time, and check whether the result lands on a different date. For example, 18:00 UTC is 14:00 (2 p.m.) Eastern Daylight Time, 13:00 Central Daylight Time and 11:00 Pacific Daylight Time.
Put it in your calendar in your own local time, and check the result against your phone's world clock.

A shortcut for times given in Pacific Time: in the zones that change their clocks together, Mountain is one hour ahead, Central two and Eastern three.

The daylight saving gap

At the time of writing, most of the United States and Canada switch clocks on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November, while most of Europe switches on the last Sundays of March and October. For a few weeks each spring and about a week each autumn, the gap between North America and Europe is an hour different from usual. If you're coordinating with friends in Europe, double-check times during those weeks.

Places that don't change their clocks drift against their neighbours. In summer, most of Arizona shares Pacific clock time and Saskatchewan shares Mountain clock time; in winter each lines up with its own zone again. Most of Mexico, which currently stays on one time all year, matches US Central time in winter but is an hour behind it in summer. So a local-time event starts at the same moment in Phoenix and Los Angeles in July, but an hour apart in January.

Travel and in-person events

In-person events and meetups run on the host city's local time, so check it before you travel. Our event locator guide covers how to find and check events near you, and our ticketed events FAQ explains how tickets and time slots usually work.

Playing through North American weather

Cold drains phone batteries quickly, so in northern winters keep your phone in an inside pocket between catches, carry a power bank and consider touchscreen-friendly gloves. Early darkness shortens outdoor sessions, so plan winter walks around daylight. In the hottest months, especially in the south, phones can overheat in direct sun; shade and breaks help both you and the phone. In-game weather is based on real-world weather data for your area, though it doesn't always match what you see outside. When the game shows snow, Ice- and Steel-type Pokémon are boosted, which is a small consolation for cold fingers. Seasonal wild spawns have sometimes differed by hemisphere; all of North America is in the north, so a friend in Australia may see a different seasonal mix.