September holds some exciting debuts and events for Pokémon GO players; Maschiff, as well as its evolution Mabosstiff, and Mega Staraptor will make their debuts and a special Pokémon Horizons anime tie-in event will also be held.
Mega Squads event
The Mega Squads event will take place in Pokémon GO from Tuesday, September 8, at 10:00 a.m. until Monday, September 14, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time and introduces Maschiff and Mabosstiff into the game. It will also be the first time players can encounter Shiny Flamigo.
Mega Beedrill and Mega Houndoom will be in raids during the event and will also get the ability to increase their Mega Level to Super Max Level.
Wild Pokémon and Pokémon Eggs
Wild Pokémon encounters and Pokémon that can be hatched from Eggs obtained during the event will vary based on the date:
September 8-11
Wild Pokémon
- Pidgey*
- Rookidee*
- …and more!
Eggs
- Emolga*
- Fletchling*
- Rookidee*
- Flamigo*
September 11-14
Wild Pokémon
- Houndour*
- Carvanha*
- …and more!
Eggs
- Sandile*
- Pancham*
- Maschiff
- Flamigo*
You can read more about the event on the game’s official site here.
*This Pokémon may be Shiny when encountered
Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration event
To celebrate the third season of Pokémon Horizons, a crossover event in GO will be taking place from Wednesday, September 16, at 10:00 a.m. until Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time. This event will introduce the costumed Charmander wearing Friede’s goggles which can be evolved into Charmeleon and then Charizard. Charmander can be Shiny when encountered and may also have a special background.
Wild Pokémon
Wild encounters during the event will be divided into day and night:
5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Fidough*
- Wattrel
- Chansey* (rare)
- …and more!
5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
- Eevee*
- Hatenna*
- Rockruff* (rare)
- …and more!
Raids
One-Star Raids
- Pikachu wearing Cap’s hat*
Three-Star Raids
- Charizard wearing Friede’s goggles*
- Meowscarada*
- Skeledirge*
- Quaquaval*
*This Pokémon may be Shiny when encountered
Staraptor Super Mega Raid Day details
On Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. local time the Staraptor Super Mega Raid Day will be taking place. The following bonuses will be in effect:
- Remote Raid limit increased to 20 from Friday, September 18, at 5:00 p.m. to Saturday, September 19, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. PDT.
- Receive up to six free Raid Passes from spinning Gym Photo Discs.
- Staraptor caught from Super Mega Raids will have Mega Level 1 unlocked.
- Increased chance of encountering Shiny Staraptor from Super Mega Raids.
Let us know what you think in the comments! Don’t forget to join our Pokémon forums and Discord server for more discussions!
August Giveaway
