Pokémon GO Lunar New Year 2026: Bonuses, Shinies & Rewards

The Lunar New Year event is happening now in Pokémon GO and runs until February 21, 2026, at 8 PM local time. While there aren’t any new Pokémon or shiny Pokémon being introduced, players can enjoy special bonuses, unique Pokémon appearing in the wild, a collection challenge, Research Tasks with rewards, and other fun activities. Here’s a closer look!

Lunar New Year 2026 Bonuses

Here’s the list of bonuses you can get during the Lunar New Year 2026 event:

  • Higher chances to get Lucky Pokemon in trades.
  • Increased chances to become Lucky Friends.
  • You can encounter Gold PokeStops without using a Golden Lure Module.
  • Increases chances of finding Shiny Blitzle, Shiny Darumaka, and Shiny Gimmighoul.

Golden PokeStops give you bonus items, including Gimmighoul Coins. These coins are essential if you want to evolve a Roaming Form Gimmighoul into Gholdengo, but be prepared – it takes a lot! You’ll need a full 999 coins to complete the evolution.

Lunar New Year 2026 Wild Spawns

During the Pokemon GO Lunar New Year event, I’ve been noticing some Pokemon popping up way more often than usual! It’s a great time to catch ’em all. Just a heads-up though – Sizzlipede, the Fire and Bug type, is the only one on the boosted list that doesn’t have a shiny version in the game yet.

Spawns Can They Be Shiny?
Ponyta Yes
Galarian Ponyta Yes
Magikarp Yes
Shuckle Yes
Tepig Yes
Sizzlipede No
Fuecoco Yes
Blitzle Yes
Darumaka Yes

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

Your Order

Results

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All Lunar New Year 2026 Research Tasks and Rewards

Field Tasks and Rewards

For the free Field Research Tasks and rewards, here’s the list:

  • Catch 12 Pokemon (the reward is a Darumaka encounter)
  • Send 6 Gifts to Friends (the reward is 600 Stardust)
  • Explore 2km (The reward is a Blitzle encounter)

Premium Timed Research Tasks and Rewards

During the event, you can visit the in-game shop and pay $1.99 to unlock special tasks and rewards. Whether these rewards are worth the cost depends on how much you value items like PokeCoins, Incenses, and Lucky Eggs.

Here’s the lineup of the 12 tasks and their associated rewards (there’s only one step of research):

  • Catch 2 Pokemon (Blitzle Encounter)
  • Catch 2 Pokemon (Darumaka Encounter)
  • Catch 4 Pokemon (Blitzle Encounter)
  • Catch 4 Pokemon (Darumaka Encounter)
  • Catch 6 Pokemon (Blitzle Encounter)
  • Catch 6 Pokemon (Darumaka Encounter)
  • Catch 8 Pokemon (Blitzle Encounter)
  • Catch 8 Pokemon (Darumaka Encounter)
  • Catch 12 Pokemon (Blitzle Encounter)
  • Catch 12 Pokemon (Darumaka Encounter)
  • Catch 15 Pokemon (Blitzle Encounter)
  • Catch 15 Pokemon (Darumaka Encounter)
    • Total Reward: 200 PokeCoins, 2 Lucky Eggs, 1 Incense

How to Complete the Lunar New Year 2026 Collection Challenge

To finish the Lunar New Year 2026 collection challenge in Pokémon, you’ll need to catch six specific Pokémon. Luckily, these Pokémon are appearing more often, making it easier to complete the challenge! If you do, you’ll get to battle and potentially catch Turtonator, a Fire and Dragon-type Pokémon, plus receive 2400 Stardust.

Magikarp
Fuecoco
Shuckle
Tepig
Darumaka
Sizzlipede

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2026-02-18 02:38