To celebrate its historic 10th Anniversary, Niantic has confirmed that Pokémon GO Fest 2026: Global will take place from Saturday, July 11, to Sunday, July 12, 2026.
Mega Mewtwo and Zeraora Make Their Pokémon GO DebutThe 10th-anniversary celebration marks the arrival of the ultimate endgame powerhouses.
Mega Mewtwo X will exclusively dominate Super Mega Raid Battles on Saturday, July 11.will exclusively dominate on Saturday, July 11.
Mega Mewtwo Y will take over Super Mega Raid Battles on Sunday, July 12.
Habitat Schedule and Featured PokémonOver the course of the weekend, trainers will experience rotating hourly blocks where specific Pokémon types populate the wild.
The largest mobile gaming event of the year is officially here. To celebrate its historic 10th Anniversary, Niantic has confirmed that Pokémon GO Fest 2026: Global will take place from Saturday, July 11, to Sunday, July 12, 2026.
In a massive shift from previous iterations, the core global event weekend will be completely free to access for all trainers worldwide. Running from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM local time each day, this year’s festival extends to nine full hours of gameplay per day, packing groundbreaking debuts, type-specific habitat rotations, and the introduction of some of the most anticipated mechanics in the game’s history.
Mega Mewtwo and Zeraora Make Their Pokémon GO Debut
The 10th-anniversary celebration marks the arrival of the ultimate endgame powerhouses. For the first time in Pokémon GO history, Mewtwo’s Mega Evolutions are making their global debut.
Mega Mewtwo X will exclusively dominate Super Mega Raid Battles on Saturday, July 11.
will exclusively dominate on Saturday, July 11. Mega Mewtwo Y will take over Super Mega Raid Battles on Sunday, July 12.
Defeating these bosses awards specialized Mewtwo Mega Energy X and Mewtwo Mega Energy Y. Niantic has also confirmed a major system update: any Mewtwo caught from these Super Mega Raids will have at least one Mega Level already unlocked, meaning you can Mega Evolve it without paying an initial energy cost.
Image Source: Pokemon
Additionally, the Mythical Alola-region Pokémon Zeraora makes its first-ever global appearance. Trainers can secure an encounter with Zeraora by completing the global event’s mainline Special Research story.
Free Pass vs. Road of Legends Deluxe Pass
Ticket Tier Breakdown: Free vs. Deluxe Pass
While the foundational GO Fest 2026: Global experience is entirely free for the first time—granting all active players access to the Zeraora Special Research, type-themed wild spawns, and base shiny rate increases—trainers can choose to supplement their experience via the in-game shop or the Pokémon GO Web Store.
Free GO Pass (All Logged-In Players)
Full entry to all six rotating hourly habitats.
Access to the base Special Research storyline to catch Zeraora.
Up to 9 free daily Gym Raid Passes.
Standard boosted event shiny odds.
GO Pass: Road of Legends Deluxe (Optional Premium Upgrade)
Exclusive access to the Global Challenge Arena infrastructure.
Unlocks hourly Global Challenge bonuses and secondary premium Special Research tiers.
Exclusive Incense-only encounters, including regional anomalies like Tropius , Bouffalant , and various forms of Unown .
, , and various forms of . Guaranteed premium resource drops, including a rare Gold Bottle Cap item.
Habitat Schedule and Featured Pokémon
Over the course of the weekend, trainers will experience rotating hourly blocks where specific Pokémon types populate the wild. All 18 elemental types will be represented across six unique environmental themes.
Saturday, July 11 Schedule
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Stormfire Peaks (Focus: Ice, Electric, and Fire types)
(Focus: Ice, Electric, and Fire types) 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Astral Tides (Focus: Psychic, Ghost, and Water types)
(Focus: Psychic, Ghost, and Water types) 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Dragonflight Summit (Focus: Flying, Rock, and Dragon types)
Sunday, July 12 Schedule
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Earthforged Domain (Focus: Normal, Ground, and Steel types)
(Focus: Normal, Ground, and Steel types) 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Verdant Anomaly (Focus: Poison, Bug, and Grass types)
(Focus: Poison, Bug, and Grass types) 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Twilight Battlefield (Focus: Fighting, Dark, and Fairy types)
Costumed Pokémon Alert: Keep an eye out for three special event-exclusive Pikachu variants wearing Team Instinct, Team Mystic, and Team Valor hats. Additionally, event-spawned Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle wearing Pikachu visors will feature the ability to evolve for the first time.
Event Bonuses
A slate of baseline structural bonuses will remain active from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM local time on both Saturday and Sunday:
Bonus Category Standard Limit GO Fest 2026 Global Limit Daily Gym Raid Passes 1 per day Up to 9 Free Passes (by spinning Gym Photo Discs) Special Trades 1 per day Up to 6 Special Trades per day Trade Stardust Cost 100% standard cost 1/2 Stardust cost for all trades Daily Gift Opening 30 Open Limit Up to 50 Gifts opened daily Lure Module Duration 30 Minutes 1 Hour active duration
How to Prepare for Pokémon GO Fest 2026 Global
Because GO Fest is an intensive, fast-paced event, managing your resources beforehand is vital to maximizing your shiny rates and raid completion counts.
Image Source: Pokémon
1. Optimize Your Pokémon Storage: Pre-Event Checklist.
Clear out at least 200 to 300 storage slots. Use mass-transfer search strings or tag trade-away targets to ensure you don’t waste precious habitat minutes clearing space mid-catch.
2 . Stockpile Key Currencies and Items: Resource Prep.
Spin PokéStops to collect standard Poké Balls and build a backup supply of Gifts. Ensure you have Poffins ready, as earning rapid hearts with your Buddy Pokémon is a frequent component of GO Fest Special Research.
3 . Build Your Super Mega RaiCounters s : Team Customization.
Mega Mewtwo is highly vulnerable to Ghost, Dark, and Bug-type damage. Maximize your counters by powering up top-tier options like Dawn Wings Necrozma, Mega Tyranitar, Mega Gengar, or Hydreigon before Saturday morning.
Road of Legends and Ultra Unlock Rewards
The runway to the global weekend is already live via the Road of Legends precursor event (running July 6 through July 10). During this window, Niantic has completely removed the Remote Raid Pass limit, allowing trainers to stock up on Legendary candy.
Furthermore, completing hourly Global Challenges during the main weekend will trigger the Ultra Unlock: 10th Anniversary Edition. If the community successfully cracks 15, 30, and 45 global goals, upgraded versions of the upcoming 10th Anniversary Party, the Water Festival, and a specialized Super Mega Raid Day will unlock later in July and August.
