Pokémon GO celebrates the arrival of 2026 with a special New Year's Event starting 10:00am on New Year's Eve

Pokémon GO is once again ringing in the New Year with a special New Year's celebration event, which this year will commence on New Year's Eve, Wednesday, December 31st, at 10:00am, running through to Sunday, January 4th, 2026, at 8:00pm local time. During this event, festive fireworks will light up the skies.

Permanent Updates to Lucky Pokémon
Starting from this event, the number of guaranteed Lucky Pokémon that a Trainer can receive in a trade is being increased from 35 to 45. Additionally, if a Pokémon that has been in a Trainer's Pokémon storage since 2020 is traded, it is guaranteed to become a Lucky Pokémon until the limit is reached.

These changes are permanent, and will remain in place after the event has been concluded.

Event Bonuses and Activities
The following bonuses will be active throughout the event period:

• 2× XP from Raid Battles.
• 2× Stardust from Raid Battles.
• Increased chance to encounter Shiny Pikachu wearing a party top hat in the wild and in raids.

Field Research
Event-themed Field Research tasks will be available as part of this event. Trainers completing these tasks will receive Stardust.

During the event, Trainers will also receive one bonus daily Field Research task each day they log in. To obtain these tasks, Trainers must have three or fewer active Field Research tasks when logging in for the first time each day. Trainers completing these daily Field Research Tasks will receive either one Lucky Egg, or one Incense.

Paid Timed Research
Trainers will be able to access event-exclusive Timed Research for US$1.99 (or the equivalent pricing tier in each local currency). Trainers will also receive one additional Raid Pass per day from spinning Photo Discs at Gyms (for a daily total of two) after purchasing this ticket.

Amongst other rewards, Trainers completing this research will receive two Premium Battle Passes, 3,000 Stardust, and encounters with Pikachu wearing a party top hat. The tasks associated with this Timed Research must be completed and their rewards must be claimed before January 4th, 2026, at 8:00pm local time.

New Avatar Item
The Blacephalon Boots avatar item will be available to purchase in the in-game shop beginning from this event. This avatar item is a permanent addition to the in-game shop, and will continue to be available after the event has concluded.

New Year's 2026 Ultra Ticket Box
A New Year's 2026 Ultra Ticket Box will be available on the Pokémon GO Web Store for US$1.99 (or the equivalent pricing tier in each local currency). This box includes an event ticket for access to the Paid Timed Research, plus one Lucky Egg.

Pokémon Encounters
All Pokémon listed below with a ⁂ next to their name can also be encountered in their Shiny variants.

Wild Encounters
The following event-themed Pokémon will be appearing in the wild:

• Bulbasaur wearing a party hat ⁂
• Jigglypuff wearing a ribbon ⁂
• Hoothoot wearing a New Year’s outfit ⁂
• Pikachu wearing a party top hat (uncommon) ⁂

Raids
The following event-themed Pokémon will appear in raids during this event:

• One-Star Raids
  • Pikachu wearing a party top hat ⁂
  • Wurmple wearing a party hat ⁂
• Three-Star Raids
  • Raticate wearing a party hat ⁂
  • Nidorino wearing a party hat ⁂
  • Gengar wearing a party hat ⁂
  • Wobbuffet wearing a party hat ⁂
• Five-Star Raids
  • Blacephalon

Blacephalon encountered in five-star raids during the event will know the Charged Attack Mind Blown. It has 90 power and a guaranteed chance to decrease the user's defense in Trainer Battles, and 130 power in Gyms and raids.