Quick Links
- Season of Mischief
- Raid Boss Shakeup
- Ditto Research Breakthrough and Transformations
- Spotlight Hour and Raid Hour
- Giovanni's Disappearance
- Hoopa Special Research
- GO Battle League Season 9
- Other Info
- Upcoming in September
With the start of September, a lot is changing in Pokemon GO. There will be a new Research Breakthrough reward, new raid bosses, special events, and the start of the Season of Mischief—which comes with many of its own changes.
RELATED: Pokemon GO: The Best Pokemon Of Every Type
With such a stacked line-up, Trainers will have a busy month catching up on new content and budgeting out resources. If you're trying to make sure your schedule is clear and plan in advance, we've got you covered!
Note: Details for the rest of September will be outlined at the bottom of the page, or you can click here.
Season of Mischief
The biggest news coming up in Pokemon GO is the start of the Season of Mischief, taking over after the Season of Discovery ends with the close of August.
The Season of Mischief runs from September 1 at 10 am to December 1 at 10 am, both in local time. You'll have plenty to watch out for, including new Special Research, new Pokemon spawning in the wild and hatching from Eggs, and some Mega Pokemon will be receiving CP boosts (outlined below in the Raid Changes section).
Spawn Changes
These are just some of the spawns that Niantic has revealed. There will also be Pokemon exclusive to each hemisphere for the time being.
| Cities | Forests | Near Water | Mountains |
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Eggs
| 2 km | 5 km | 10 km |
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Adventure Sync:
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Adventure Sync:
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Raid Boss Shakeup
This week, you'll also get new Raid Bosses to challenge following the end of the Ultra Unlock Part 3 event that featured Sword & Shield Pokemon. That event ends on Tuesday, August 31 at 8 pm local time. Starting the next day, Lugia (with Aeroblast) and Mega Slowbro will be in raids for two weeks. Tier 1 and Tier 3 Bosses haven't been revealed just yet, but you can expect an update here when they're announced.
| Tier 1 | Tier 3 | Tier 5 | Mega |
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Following the departure of Lugia and Mega Slowbro, the Lake Guardians (Azelf, Mesprit, or Uxie, depending on your region) and Mega Houndoom will take over.
Ditto Research Breakthrough and Transformations
Starting September 1 at 1 pm PDT, Ditto will be available as the Research Breakthrough reward. If you're lucky, you can encounter a shiny Ditto! Its shiny form will also be available in the wild going forward.
Additionally, Niantic has revealed which Pokemon Ditto can disguise itself as:
- Teddiursa
- Drowzee
- Gastly
- Remoraid
- Dwebble
- Numel
- Stunky
- Gulpin
- Foonguss
Spotlight Hour and Raid Hour
As always, there will be a weekly Raid Hour and a Spotlight Hour featuring a certain Pokemon.
Raid Hour: On Monday, August 30 from 6 pm to 7 pm local time, Zamazenta will be the featured Raid Hour Pokemon.
Zamazenta is currently in its Hero of Many Battles form, which is a pure Fighting-type. Look to Psychic-, Flying-, or Fairy-types as counters, such as Mewtwo, Gardevoir, and Moltres.
Spotlight Hour: Those who still need some Wooloo or its candies can look forward to Wooloo Spotlight Hour, taking place on Tuesday, August 31, from 6 pm to 7 pm local time. The bonus this time around is double XP for evolving Pokemon.
Giovanni's Disappearance
Something strange seems to be happening with Team GO Rocket. According to Niantic's September announcement, Giovanni is missing, and the Super Rocket Radar won't be able to track him down, so you'd might as well unequip it. Something's certainly amiss, but we aren't sure what it is quite yet…
You only have until September 1 by 12 am local time to track him down, rescue his Shadow Ho-oh, and complete the associated Special Research, a Seven-Colored Shadow, so be sure to complete it before you lose access. If you need help, check out our full guide on this questline.
Hoopa Special Research
One of the most exciting things that Niantic has revealed for this week is the beginning of a new Special Research questline. This one will result in an encounter with the Mythical Pokemon Hoopa, who is responsible for all the strange goings-on with the Ultra Unlocks and more. Rather than release the full questline at once, it's coming in stages. It starts on September 1 with the beginning of the Season of Mischief, with more steps coming on September 5, September 8, September 21, and then throughout October and November.
The Special Research begins at 10 am local time on September 1. Then, on September 5 (next week), from 11 am to 5 pm, there will be a special event featuring Hoopa's arrival. As part of this event, Psychic-, Dark-, and Ghost-type Pokemon will be attracted to Incense.
Confirmed Pokemon that will spawn in the event include:
- Exeggcute
- Jynx
- Natu
- Spoink
- Girafarig
- Munna
- Beldum
- Alolan Rattata
- Poochyena
- Duskull
- Purrloin
- Sabeleye
- Carvanha
- Drifloon
Here's what else is happening in this event:
- There will be a Collection Challenge, which rewards Hoopa Candy, an avatar pose, and more
- You'll receive double candies for transferring Pokemon
- There will be a free Incense bundle in the in-game shop
- Exclusive Field Research tasks will be available, offering Rare Candies and different types of Poke Balls as rewards
GO Battle League Season 9
Season 8 of the GO Battle League will come to a close on Monday, August 30, at 1 pm PDT. Season 9 will begin immediately afterward, starting with the Great League and Great League Remix tournaments.
Here are the run times:
| Start | End | |
|---|---|---|
| GBL Season 9 | Aug 30 at 1 pm PDT | Nov 29 at 12 pm PDT |
| Great League and Great League Remix | Aug 30 at 1 pm PDT | Sep 13 at 1 pm |
For the regular Great League, any Pokemon 1,500 CP and under will be allowed. For the Great League Remix, Pokemon must be 1,500 CP or lower, and certain Pokemon are banned. These include:
- Venusaur
- Alolan Ninetales
- Alolan Marowak
- Azumarill
- Politoed
- Umbreon
- Skarmory
- Swampert
- Pelipper
- Vigoroth
- Sableye
- Medicham
- Swablu
- Deoxys (Defense form)
- Bastiodon
- Scrafty
- Jellicent
- Galvantula
- Galarian Stunfisk
- Talonflame
There's a ton of new stuff happening as part of the new season of the GBL, including a new avatar pose inspired by Galar Champion Leon, so check out Niantic's full breakdown here.
Other Info
There are a few other things to note for this week.
- A different Mega Evolved Pokemon will receive a CP boost each month. In September, Mega Slowbro will receive the boost. Then, Mega Gengar will have it in October, and Mega Houndoom will have it in November.
- Each week (including this one) will feature a bundle for sale in the in-game shop for 1 PokeCoin. Details on these bundles are not yet known
- Niantic has gone back on its decision to reduce the interaction limit of PokeStops and Gyms. The radius will now remain at 80m (about 262-263 feet) permanently.
Upcoming in September
Here's a preview of what's happening for the rest of the month! We'll have more info on these events closer to their start dates, so be sure to check back.
- September 7: Spoink Spotlight Hour
- September 8: The Psychic Spectacular returns
- September 8: Hoopa Special Research step 3
- September 13: The GBL switches over to the Ultra League and Ultra League Remix formats
- September 14: The Lake Guardians return to Raids (Azelf, Mesprit, or Uxie, depending on your region); Mega Houndoom returns to Raids
- September 14: Baltoy Spotlight Hour
- September 18: GO Battle Day
- September 19: Oshawott Community Day
- September 21: Fashion Week returns
- September 21: Skitty Spotlight Hour
- September 21: Hoopa Special Research step 4
- September 27: The GBL switches over to the Master League and Master League Remix formats, and the Little Jungle Cup is introduced
- September 28: Alolan Meowth Spotlight Hour
