Pokémon GO 30th Anniversary Event: Bonuses, Spawns & Raids

I remember standing under a lamppost while a dozen phones buzzed in my pocket—each one lighting up with the same raid invite. For a few breathless minutes you could feel the city recalibrate: strangers swapping tips, trading candies, checking IVs. You knew something rare was happening, and the clock was already ticking.

I’m going to walk you through what matters in the Pokemon GO Pokemon 30th Anniversary event so you don’t waste time chasing noise. Read this if you want the facts, the tactics, and the parts Niantic and The Pokemon Company clearly expect you to care about.

Trainers were already planning their routes the night before the event began.

The Pokemon GO Pokemon 30th Anniversary event began on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, and runs for six days. Times are local to your device.

• Start: Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 10:00 AM local time
• End: Monday, March 9, 2026, at 8:00 PM local time

How long does the Pokemon GO Pokemon 30th Anniversary event last?

Six days — enough time to chase spawns, smash a few raids, and push through GO Pass ranks if you prioritize the right days.

Reddit threads lit up with people posting screenshots of sudden XP and candy multipliers.

If you care about progress, the GO Pass is where the event tilts the field in your favor. You’ll earn GO Points by completing pass-related tasks; hit milestones to claim catch candy and catch XP boosts. Niantic’s Premium track — the GO Pass Deluxe — raises those boosts further and smooths rank progression.

The core bonuses you should know:

• GO Pass milestones
  • Tier 1: 2× Catch Candy
  • Tier 2: 2× Catch XP
• GO Pass Deluxe
  • Tier 1: 3× Catch Candy
  • Tier 2: 3× Catch XP

Pro tip: farm GO Points on March 7 when point caps are lifted for the All Out window — that’s where time converts into value.

Which Pokemon will be featured during the 30th Anniversary event?

149 of the original 151 Kanto Pokemon are in the wild spawn pool during the event. Mewtwo and Mew are excluded from general wild spawns but appear via raids or special encounters tied to GO Pass progression and raid schedules.

I watched heatmaps spike near parks and shopping centers as the event calendar flipped to March.

Here’s how Niantic and The Pokemon Company have configured the celebration: the event layers GO Pass progression, raid rotations, and a focused All Out period from March 7–9 when almost every Kanto species floods the wild. Expect more Dittos in the wild, egg specials for baby Pokemon, and a higher chance for Rare Candy and XL rewards when you reach deluxe tiers.

Items and platforms that matter: the in-game GO Pass UI, Discord and Reddit for local raid coordination, and the in-game tracker for timed raid announcements. If you use community tools like The Silph Road or PvPoke, they’ll help you pick the best counters for raid bosses and optimize IV hunts.

Your neighborhood spawn list will feel like a nostalgia jukebox.

During the event, 149 Kanto Pokemon are available in wild spawns (Mew and Mewtwo are handled elsewhere). You’ll see everything from Bulbasaur through Dragonite across neighborhood, park, and urban spawn pools.

Note: All wild-spawned Pokemon in this event can be shiny.

A cluster of trainers formed a raid party within minutes of the first siren.

The event rotates raid bosses through one-star and three-star tiers. Expect the final-evolution starters — Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise — in three-star raids, while costume Pikachu variants appear in one-star raids.

Pokemon	Raid Tier	Type
Red’s Hat Pikachu*	One-Star	Electric
Leaf’s Hat Pikachu*	One-Star	Electric
Venusaur*	Three-Star	Grass / Poison
Charizard*	Three-Star	Fire / Flying
Blastoise*	Three-Star	Water

Raid tips from a player perspective: use community channels (Discord, local Facebook groups, or The Silph Road) to sync timers. For Venusaur, bring Fire- and Flying-types; for Charizard, pack Rock- and Water-types; for Blastoise, Electric- and Grass-types. If you track IVs in tools like PokeGenie or Calcy IV, prioritize catches for potential XL candy conversion if you plan future PvP or Master League builds.

When does the Pokemon GO Pokemon 30th Anniversary end?

The event concludes on March 9, 2026, at 8:00 PM local time. After that, the boosted spawns and the GO Pass milestones tied to the event revert to normal.

PokeStops started offering event-themed research the moment the servers shifted to the new event state.

Spin your local PokéStops for field research tasks. Rewards will include Pokemon encounters, candies, and other in-game items; Niantic typically layers a mix of guaranteed and randomized rewards into event tasks. If a specific task rewards a rare encounter, you’ll see players sharing task screenshots on Twitter and Reddit within minutes.

If you’re chasing shiny variants or rare IVs, prioritize tasks that give direct Pokemon encounters over generic items.

I’ve covered dozens of Niantic events; this one stacks nostalgia, meaningful in-game rewards, and a short window that rewards focus. Are you going to grind GO Pass ranks on March 7–9 or wait and save your resources for the next big push?