Dive into the eerie charm of Pokémon GO’s latest addition: Sinistea, the ghostly “Black Tea Pokémon,” now brewing excitement with its rare Antique form and mysterious evolution, Polteageist. Discover how to catch Sinistea through raids and special challenges, unravel the secrets of its two distinct forms, and learn the candy requirements to evolve your spectral teacup into a powerful Polteageist. Whether you’re aiming for the common Phony form or the elusive Antique, this guide serves up everything you need to master these haunting new arrivals in Pokémon GO.
Sinistea does not spawn in the wild on its debut, making it challenging to gather enough candy to evolve one. However, the more you catch, the more chances you have to find its rare and well-hidden “antique” form.
Here’s how to get Sinistea during the “Just My Cup of Tea” event in Pokémon Go, and how to check between its phony and antique forms.
How to get Sinistea in Pokémon Go
Sinistea can be obtained in Pokémon Go during the “Just My Cup of Tea” event starting December 3, 2024, by participating in one-star raids, which are the easiest raid level and can be soloed with strong Pokémon. Sinistea does not appear in the wild or in eggs during this event, so raids are the primary method to catch it. Completing event-related Timed Research tasks also grants Sinistea encounters. Players should focus on these raids and research tasks to catch Sinistea and gather candy for its evolution into Polteageist. Additionally, catching more Sinistea increases the chance of finding its rare “Antique” form.
With its debut in Dec. 2024’s “Just My Cup of Tea” event, you can catch Sinistea from one-star raids. This is the lowest raid difficulty, making it straightforward to solo even without specific counters – so simply bring your strongest Pokémon and let ’em rip.
To clarify, Sinistea does not appear anywhere else in the game right now, be it Timed Research, eggs, or in the wild. Whether Sinistea will remain in raids, or move to other sources after the “Just My Cup of Tea” event concludes on Saturday, Dec. 7, is unknown. Until then, raids should be your focus if you want to catch one.
How to get evolution Polteageist in Pokémon Go
To get Polteageist in Pokémon Go, you first need to catch Sinistea, which is currently available through one-star raids during the “Just My Cup of Tea” event. Once you have a Sinistea, you must collect Sinistea Candy to evolve it. Evolving a Phony Sinistea requires 50 candies, while evolving the rarer Antique Sinistea form demands 400 candies and a special evolution item called the “Chipped Pot.” You can gather candies by catching more Sinistea, transferring extras, or using Rare Candy. After meeting these requirements, simply select Sinistea in your Pokémon menu and evolve it to obtain Polteageist.
To get Polteageist in Pokémon Go, you must evolve Sinistea with 50 candy.
If you are in the need of extra candy to either evolve or level your Sinistea, consider trading a spare with a friend, as you’ll receive candy for the outgoing Pokémon when you do. Otherwise, using Rare Candy can help top you up with the candy you need to evolve.
How to get Sinistea’s ’Antique’ form in Pokémon Go
To get Sinistea’s rare “Antique” form in Pokémon Go, you need to catch Sinistea primarily through one-star raids during events like the “Just My Cup of Tea” event, as it does not appear in the wild or other sources currently. The Antique form is much rarer than the common “Phony” form, with an estimated encounter rate of about 1 in 100 Sinistea caught. You cannot visually distinguish the forms by appearance alone in Pokémon Go; instead, you check which form you have by appraising the Pokémon-your team leader will indicate whether it is a Phony or Antique form during the appraisal process. The Antique form requires significantly more candy to evolve into Polteageist (400 candies) compared to the Phony form (50 candies). Obtaining the Antique form is largely based on chance when catching Sinistea in raids or through special research tasks and collection challenges.
In Pokémon Sword and Shield – the games where Sinistea made its debut – there are two forms you can find: “Phony” and “Antique”. The latter is the rarest of the two, estimated to be encountered only one in 100 times, and is almost indistinguishable from the other apart from a mark on the underside of the Pokémon.
Both these “Phony” and “Antique” forms also appear in Pokémon Go. To check whether you have a “Phony” or “Antique” Sinistea form, appraise the Pokémon in the same way you would check its stats. As well as learning its Attack, Defense and HP values, you’ll also be given an assessment of its form. After all, you cannot check the underside of a Sinistea as you would in the main games!
The form also carries over to its evolution Polteageist – so if you want a living ’dex, then be prepared to get two.
The chance of getting the “Antique” form in Pokémon Go is unknown, but it’s likely to be around the same one in 100 chance as the main games (similar to how rare Tandemaus’s “Family of Three” form appears to have the same chance in both Pokémon Go and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet).
Can Sinistea be shiny in in Pokémon Go?
Sinistea cannot currently be shiny in Pokémon GO. When Sinistea was introduced during the Just My Cup of Tea event in December 2024, Niantic did not release a shiny variant alongside it, which is typical as shiny forms often debut in later events. There is no announced timeline for when or if shiny Sinistea and its evolution Polteageist will become available, but they may appear in future Ghost-type themed events.
On its debut, Sinistea cannot be shiny in Pokémon Go. The amount of time for a Pokémon to have a shiny variant is never disclosed by developer Niantic, but it often takes years to happen – so know it could be a while.
In the meantime, you can see what shiny Sinistea looks like thanks to Pokémon Sword and Shield, where it takes on a more rosy appearance.
When factoring in a shiny “Antique” form, this Pokémon then becomes one of the most sought-after shinies in the series – something that took one streamer 10,000 catches over the course of a year to get.
How can I efficiently gather enough Candy to evolve Antique Sinistea into Polteageist
To efficiently gather enough Candy to evolve an Antique Sinistea into Polteageist in Pokémon GO, you need to collect a hefty 400 Sinistea Candy. Here are the best strategies to do so:
-
Catch as many Sinistea as possible during the “Just My Cup of Tea” event, where Sinistea appears in one-star raids, the primary source for this Pokémon since it does not spawn in the wild or appear in eggs or Timed Research currently.
-
Use Pinap Berries when catching Sinistea to double the amount of Candy earned per catch, significantly speeding up Candy accumulation.
-
Set Sinistea as your Buddy Pokémon to passively earn Candy as you walk, adding to your total over time.
-
Trade extra Sinistea with friends to gain additional Candy from the traded Pokémon, which can help top up your Candy count.
-
Avoid using Rare Candy on Sinistea unless necessary, as it is generally better saved for rarer Pokémon.
By focusing on frequent raid participation, maximizing Candy gains with Pinap Berries, and leveraging Buddy and trading mechanics, you can efficiently gather the 400 Candy needed to evolve the rare Antique Sinistea into Antique Polteageist.
What’s the fastest way to farm 400 Sinistea Candy for Antique Sinistea evolution
To farm 400 Sinistea Candy for evolving an Antique Sinistea into Polteageist as quickly as possible, focus on maximizing raid participation during the limited-time “Just My Cup of Tea” event and combine it with Candy-boosting strategies:
Fastest Farming Methods
-
Grind one-star Sinistea raids
-
Sinistea is exclusive to raids during the event (December 3-7, 2024) and does not spawn
-
