Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Lunar New Year, pokemon, Precious Paths

Gimmighoul Stars in Pokémon GO Lunar New Year 2026 Event

The Lunar New Year event is back in Pokémon GO. It will feature an increased chance at Lucky interactions as well as boosted Shiny rates.

Gimmighoul, golden Poké Stops, and Lucky Friends will be the focus of the upcoming Lunar New Year event in Pokémon GO. Multiple different species will appear with an increased Shiny rate, some of which can even be hunted in the wild as rare spawns. Let's get into the details.

Here's what's happening for the Lunar New Year 2026 event in Pokémon GO:

• Date and time: Tuesday, February 17, at 10:00 a.m. to Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time
• New Pokémon: No new Species will be released during this event.
• Shiny release:No new Shinies will be released during this event.
• Wild Spawns: Ponyta (can be Shiny), Galarian Ponyta (can be Shiny), and Fuecoco (can be Shiny). Rare spawns include Blitzle (can be Shiny) and Darumaka (can be Shiny).
• Event bonuses:
  • Increased chance to get Lucky Pokémon in trades.
  • Increased chance to become Lucky Friends.
  • Gimmighoul bonus: PokéStops may turn gold without a Golden Lure Module.
  • Increased chance to encounter Shiny Blitzle, Shiny Darumaka, and Shiny Gimmighoul.
  • Field Research tasks will offer encounters with event-themed Pokémon.
  • Collection Challenge: Completing this catch-focused challenge will reward Stardust and, vaguely, an encounter with an event-themed Pokémon.
• Paid Timed Research: Trainers will be able to purchase Timed Research for $1.99 USF. It will include:
  • 200 PokéCoins
  • Two Lucky Eggs
  • One Incense
  • Encounters with Blitzle (can be Shiny) and Darumaka (can be Shiny)
  • Niantic writes: "Trainers will be able to purchase and gift tickets to any of their Pokémon GO friends that they have achieved a Friendship level of Great Friends or higher with. Please note that purchases—including those made for other Trainers—are non-refundable (subject to applicable law and the exceptions set forth in the Terms of Service). Tickets cannot be purchased with PokéCoins. Please note that Timed Research expires. The tasks associated with this Timed Research must be completed and their rewards must be claimed before Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time."

In addition to this event, Pokémon GO has also begun to celebrate its 10th anniversary. It begins with this video, which spotlights a meet-cute between two Trainers. The video touches on the impact that the game had on Trainers during the pandemic, as well as the way that Pokémon GO can bring people together. What began for these two Trainers as a trade to get Corsola ended up becoming a true love story. One bit, in particular, stood out to me. Sandra says, "A lot of people see us in the park and just think that we're glued to our phones the entire time, but they don't realize that there's so much more connection that's happening." That speaks to, I'd guess, many players. I personally remember playing with a group on Community Day and witnessing a jogger who was openly outraged at a group of people on their phones, not realizing that the game not only got us out into the world, but had introduced us all to each other. While we're all excited about whatever new events the game rolls out, it's worth remembering that the original intention of the game was to inspire people to explore the world and make new connections.

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