Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2026 Event: Bonuses, Spawns, and More

The Lunar New Year event is back in Pokemon GO, and this time, we have even more content to look forward to. Lunar New Year 2026, like last time, brings numerous additional bonuses that you can enjoy with other players. The event also features plenty of rare Pokemon, spawning in the wild and hatching from eggs. In this guide, you’ll get all the information regarding the Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2026 event.

Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2026 Event Start Date and Time

The Lunar New Year 2026 event in Pokemon GO was released on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, and is available for 4 days. We have listed the start and the end times below.

• Start Date and Time: Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 10 AM local time
• End Date and Time: Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 8 PM local time

Once the Pokemon GO event ends, you will no longer be able to take part and obtain the rewards.

Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2026 Event Bonuses

The Lunar New Year 2026 event offers trading bonuses, increased Friendship bonuses, and boosted shiny rates, among others. Here’s a list of all bonuses:

• During the event, there is an increased chance of getting Lucky Pokémon in trades
• There is an increased chance of becoming Lucky Friends
• PokeStops will occasionally turn gold without a Golden Lure Module
• There is an increased chance of encountering Shiny Blitzle, Shiny Darumaka, and Shiny Gimmighoul

Make sure that you use your incenses for extra Pokemon spawns. You can even purchase them from the in-game shop by spending PokeCoins. We also recommend that you interact with your friends daily and complete as many trades as possible.

Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2026 Event Spawns

There are plenty of Pokemon spawning during the Lunar New Year 2026 event, and some of them will have an increased shiny rate. We have listed all the information in the table below:

Pokémon	Type
Ponyta*	Fire
Galarian Ponyta*	Psychic
Magikarp	Water
Shuckle	Bug / Rock
Tepig	Fire
Sizzlipede	Bug / Fire
Fuecoco*	Fire
Blitzle*	Electric
Darumaka*	Fire

Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2026 Research Tasks and Rewards

There are multiple Field Research Tasks, Special Timed Research tasks, Global Collection challenge, and a lot more that will give you plenty of rewards during the Lunar New Year 2026 event. Let’s have a look.

Field Research Tasks and Rewards

Players can complete new field research tasks during the Lunar New Year 2026 event and encounter various event-themed Pokémon.

Task	Reward	CP
Catch 12 Pokémon	Darumaka	576 — 618
Send 6 Gifts to friends	Stardust x600	—
Explore 2 km	Blitzle	346 — 378

Collection Challenge

You can take part in the event and catch a bunch of Pokemon to complete the Lunar New Year 2026 Collection Challenge and obtain rewards.

Challenge	Task	Rewards
Lunar New Year 2026 Collection Challenge	Catch: Magikarp Catch: Shuckle Catch: Fuecoco Catch: Sizzlipede Catch: Tepig Catch: Darumaka	Turtonator encounter x2400 XP

Paid Timed Research

A paid timed research option for the Lunar New Year 2026 event is also available in the shop, which you can purchase for US$1.99 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency). You can buy the ticket or gift to your friends as well once they have achieved a Friendship level of Great Friends or higher.

• Lunar New Year 2026 Premium Timed Research (1/1)
  • Catch 2 Pokémon — Blitzle
  • Catch 2 Pokémon — Darumaka
  • Catch 4 Pokémon — Blitzle
  • Catch 4 Pokémon — Darumaka
  • Catch 6 Pokémon — Blitzle
  • Catch 6 Pokémon — Darumaka
  • Catch 8 Pokémon — Blitzle
  • Catch 8 Pokémon — Darumaka
  • Catch 12 Pokémon — Blitzle
  • Catch 12 Pokémon — Darumaka
  • Catch 15 Pokémon — Blitzle
  • Catch 15 Pokémon — Darumaka
• Completion Rewards: PokéCoins x200, Lucky Egg x2, Incense x1

Additionally, you can also purchase the Lunar New Year 2026 Ultra Ticket Box from the official Pokemon GO Website for US$1.99 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency). It includes both an event ticket and five Ultra Balls.

So, are you hunting the new Pokemon in this event? Let us know in the comments.