This Week in Pokémon GO: September 28 – October 4, 2026

Pokémon GO’s September 28 to October 4 2026 week has us enter spooky season in the season of Twilight Trails! We bring in October with a hectic week the end of the Choose Your Path Timed Research, Applin Picking, a Team GO Rocket Takeover, Gigantamax Cinderace Max Battle Day, and World Space Week! Plus the weekly rotating Raid Hours, Spotlight Hour, Dynamax Battles and Mega Raids.

Weekly Pokémon GO Schedule

Max Monday: Sobble

On Monday, September 28th, from 6 PM to 7 PM local time, Dynamax Sobble will appear in Max Battles! Dynamax Sobble will continue to appear from September 28 – October 4 in Max Battles.

Raid Hour: Xerneas

On Wednesday, September 30th, from 6 PM to 7 PM local time, Xerneas will be the featured Pokémon for Raid Hour.

⚔️ Related guides: Xerneas

Spotlight Hour: Seedot

On Thursday, October 1st, from 6 PM to 7 PM local time, Seedot will be the featured Pokémon for Spotlight Hour, along with 2× XP for catching Pokémon.

Events in Pokémon GO This Week

Choose Your Path: Timed Research

From Wednesday, September 23, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, September 28, at 8:00 p.m. local time Choose Your Path Timed Research will be available in Pokémon GO, letting Trainers experience the game in the way they want!

Through the Choose Your Path Timed Research, you’ll get the option to pick one of three paths: Explore, Catch, or Battle. What you choose will decide the Timed Research tasks and rewards for the entire week.

These Research experiences may differ from Trainer to Trainer, with different versions of the research being experimented with.

Harvest Festival: Applin Picking

Pokémon GO’s Harvest Festival 2026: Applin Picking Event takes place from Tuesday, September 29, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, October 5, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time. The event introduces Shiny Applin, as well as an increased chance to encounter Shiny Smoliv.

Mossy Lures will only attract apples during the event. Harvest Festival: Applin Picking also features a special GO Pass, Pokéstop showcases, event-themed Field Research, branching timed research, and more.

Harvest Festival: Taken Over

Shadow Zekrom makes its Pokémon GO debut during Harvest Festival: Taken Over, the latest Team GO Rocket Takeover event, running from Friday, October 2 at 12:00 a.m. to Monday, October 5, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time. Trainers can earn a Super Rocket Radar through the Harvest Festival GO Pass, track down Giovanni, and rescue Shadow Zekrom. Shiny Shroodle also makes its Pokémon GO debut during the event.

Team GO Rocket Leaders and Grunts will use updated Shadow Pokémon lineups, with Shadow Wimpod, Shadow Sandygast, and Shadow Fomantis joining the rotation. Trainers will also have an increased chance to encounter Shiny Slugma.

Gigantamax Cinderace Max Battle Day

Gigantamax Cinderace returns to Pokémon GO during a special Max Battle Day event on Saturday, October 3, 2026. For the first time, it can be shiny! Trainers can look forward to increased Max Particle limit, three special trades for the day, Gigantamax Cinderace appearing on all Power Spots and more!

World Space Week

The Pokémon GO World Space Week event brings the brand-new costumed Pokémon, Astronaut Pikachu, via Raids and free Timed Research in a week-long adventure from Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. to Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time. This exciting global event is a tie-in with European Space Agency and The Pokémon Company collaboration that takes place at select museums in the real world.

Raids

Five-Star Raids

From September 23 to September 29, Buzzwole, Pheromosa and Xurkitree will appear in Five-Star Raids in their respective regions.

⚔️ Related guides: Xurkitree,Buzzwole, Pheromosa

From September 30 to October 6, Xerneas will appear in Five-Star Raids.

⚔️ Related guides: Xerneas

Mega Raids

From September 23 to September 29, Mega Malamar will appear in Mega Raids.

⚔️ Related guides: Mega Malamar

From September 30 to October 6, Mega Victreebel will appear in Mega Raids.

⚔️ Related guides: Mega Victreebel

Shadow Raids

One-star and three-star Shadow Raids will be available daily, while five-star Shadow Raids will take place on Saturdays and Sundays unless otherwise noted. Also, Shadow Incarnate Forme Thundurus will swoop into five-star Shadow Raids during Twilight Trails! You may even encounter a Shiny Shadow Incarnate Forme Thundurus—if you’re lucky!

September GO Pass and GO Pass Deluxe

Pokémon GO’s September 2026 GO Pass and GO Pass Deluxe feature exclusive rewards, including an encounter with Latios, XP and Stardust bonuses, and the Timed Incubator!

Trainers can earn GO Points by completing Pass Tasks, unlock milestone rewards through ranking up, and access premium items by upgrading to the Deluxe version via the Pokémon GO Web Store.

Trainers will automatically receive GO Pass: GO Pass: September on Tuesday, September 8, at 10:00 a.m. local time.

GO Battle League Season 28

GO Battle League: Twilight Trails began on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7). Each week brings a different selection of Cups and active Leagues. Here are the active Cups and Leagues this week:

Dates	Cups
September 22–29	Ultra League* Master League: Mega Edition* Retro Cup: Great League Edition*
September 29–October 6	Master League* Mega Color Cup: Great League Edition*

(*) 4× Stardust from win rewards (this does not include end-of-set rewards)

Season of Twilight Trails

Get ready for Pokémon GO’s Twilight Trails Season! Running from  September 8 at 10:00 a.m. to December 1, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. local time, this incredible season focuses on new Mega Pokémon, new Dynamax Pokémon, the Paldea Region and more!

Twilight Trails Egg Hatches

The following Pokémon will hatch from Eggs this Season. These are just some highlighted Egg hatches, more Pokémon can hatch from each egg group.

2km Eggs

5km Eggs

10km Eggs

7km Eggs

Adventure Sync Rewards

The following Pokémon hatch from Adventure Sync Eggs this Season. These are just some highlighted Egg hatches, more Pokémon can hatch from each egg group.

5 km Adventure Sync Eggs

10 km Adventure Sync Eggs

Routes Rewards

7 km Eggs from Mateo Gift Exchange

Research Breakthrough

Complete Field Research to unlock Research Breakthrough encounters with one of a variety of Season-themed Pokémon. Find out where your trail leads you each week.