Minior Showers: Orionids (October 2026)

Minior is making its Pokémon GO debut through Minior Showers, a series of events timed to coincide with real-world meteor showers. The first event runs from October 19 at 5:00 p.m. to October 24, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time, bringing with it the debut of Green Core Minior.

Trainers can look forward to increased Minior encounters, shooting stars in the in-game sky, and plenty of Stardust, including free Timed Research rewarding over 100,000 Stardust!

Event Bonuses

Minior Debut

Green Minior

Green Core Minior makes its Pokémon GO debut during the Orionids meteor shower.

Minior is a Rock and Flying-type Pokémon, making it weak to Electric, Ice, Rock, Steel and Water-type attacks.

You’ll encounter Minior in the wild in its Meteor Form during Minior Showers events and receive 1,000 Stardust for catching it.

Minior has seven different Core colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. Each of the six scheduled meteor showers will introduce a different Core color, with two colors debuting during the Geminids, one in each hemisphere.

Green Core Minior is the first to debut, with the remaining colors arriving during future meteor showers.

Can Minior Be Shiny?

Shiny Minior is not available during the Orionids Minior Shower. Its Shiny debut has not been announced.

Minior Form Change Mechanism

Minior introduces a brand-new form-changing mechanic to Pokémon GO, allowing it to switch between a defensive and offensive form during battle.

• Minior begins battles in its Meteor Form, which has higher Defense and lower Attack.
• When Minior’s HP drops below 50%, its shell breaks, exposing its core.
• In Core Form, Minior gains significantly higher Attack at the cost of Defense.

Here’s how its base stats compare between the two forms:

This means Minior’s base Attack increases by approximately 88%, while its base Defense decreases by approximately 32% when its core is exposed.

Initially, Minior will only be able to change forms when battling Team GO Rocket, team leaders, or in the GO Battle League.

Note: Minior will not be eligible for the 2027 Latin America International Championships.

Minior’s Form Change in Action

Early player testing has confirmed that Minior’s transformation can be triggered by damage from Fast Attacks, without needing to use a Charged Attack.

The transformation also changes Minior’s displayed CP. In one battle demonstration, Minior’s CP increased from 1,193 to 1,810 after its core was exposed.

Watch Minior’s in-battle form change demonstration, courtesy of u/Gx811.

For PvP, the main strategy is to build up energy while Minior is in its defensive Meteor Form, then unleash Charged Attacks after its Attack increases.

Minior has access to Rollout as a Fast Attack, alongside Charged Attacks including Power Gem, Ancient Power, and Acrobatics.

However, Minior becomes more vulnerable after transforming, and the exact CP and level-scaling behavior in GO Battle League is still being investigated.

Explore by Starlight

From 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time every day during each Minior Shower, shooting stars will light up the in-game sky. You’ll also have an increased chance of encountering Minior in the wild.

The meteor shower is visible on the overworld map and during Pokémon encounters, creating a special nighttime atmosphere for the event.

Players have also reported a special meteor shower indicator in the in-game weather interface. Tapping the weather icon reveals the regular weather conditions alongside a message about the active meteor shower.

How to Maximize Stardust During Minior Showers

Minior Showers is an excellent opportunity to stock up on Stardust, with 1,000 Stardust awarded for every Minior you catch.

Using a Star Piece increases that to 1,500 Stardust per catch.

Stardust farming tips:

• Focus on catching Minior between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., when its spawn rate is increased.
• Activate a Star Piece before a Minior-catching session to earn 50% additional Stardust.
• Claim your Timed Research Stardust rewards while a Star Piece is active to maximize their value.
• If you receive the rare Bonus Timed Research, make sure a Star Piece is active before claiming the one million Stardust reward!

A Star Piece lasts 30 minutes and increases eligible Stardust rewards by 50%. The totals above assume all eligible rewards are collected while a Star Piece is active.

Free Timed Research

Free Timed Research is available during Minior Showers, rewarding a Star Piece and a total of 116,100 Stardust.

Claiming all the Stardust rewards while a Star Piece is active increases the total to 174,150 Stardust!

Minior Shower Timed Research (1/1)

Task	Rewards
Claim Reward!	1× Star Piece
Use a Star Piece	7740× Stardust
Use a Star Piece	7740× Stardust
Use a Star Piece	7740× Stardust
Use a Star Piece	7740× Stardust
Use a Star Piece	7740× Stardust
Rewards	77,400× Stardust

Bonus Timed Research (1/1)

Some very lucky Trainers will receive an additional Bonus Timed Research that rewards a whopping one million Stardust!

This special research requires only a Star Piece task and rewards an additional 774 Stardust before the massive completion reward.

Task	Rewards
Claim Reward!	1× Star Piece
Use a Star Piece	774× Stardust
Rewards	1000000× Stardust

If you are lucky enough to receive this Bonus Timed Research, activating a Star Piece before claiming the final reward can increase the one million Stardust reward to 1.5 million Stardust!

Upcoming Minior Showers Schedule

Minior will appear during six real-world meteor showers between October 2026 and August 2027, with a different Core color debuting during each shower.

Each event starts at 5:00 p.m. on its first day and ends at 11:59 p.m. on its final day, local time.

During the Geminids meteor shower in December, one Minior Core color will debut in the Northern Hemisphere and another in the Southern Hemisphere.

This means seven different Core colors will be introduced across the six scheduled events. The specific colors for the remaining showers have not yet been announced.