Mewtwo and the rest of the Kanto crew are returning to help celebrate a major Pokémon milestone.
The Pokémon franchise isn’t done celebrating its three decades of history just yet. Pokémon GO is set to roll out its own 30th Anniversary Event, packed with exclusive bonuses for players who log in and play throughout its duration.
The event will feature Mewtwo, the iconic Gen 1 Legendary that rarely appears in Pokémon GO. The last time players had a chance to catch the Genetic Pokémon was in June 2022, making the 30th Anniversary Event the first opportunity in more than three years to add it to their collection.
Apart from Mewtwo, the 30th Anniversary Event in Pokémon GO will also highlight Kanto’s three Legendary birds, although you might need to spend some bucks if you want to add them to your Pokédex.
This post will cover all the other specific details about Pokémon GO’s 30th Anniversary Event, so keep on reading if you want to make the most out of it.
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Pokémon GO 30th Anniversary Event’s official schedule and mechanics
The 30th Anniversary Event in Pokémon GO will start at 10:00 AM on March 3, 2026, and end at 8:00 PM on March 9, 2026, local time. During this event, players will unlock the free GO Pass for the Pokémon 30th Anniversary in the Events tab of the game’s Research Menu.
Like the previous GO Passes, players should earn points to reach the next rank. Each rank unlocks a specific type of reward, such as encounters with a particular Pokémon, candies, and items. Doing the following actions will give you points that can help you increase your rank:
- Winning a raid: 100 points
- Hatching an egg: 40 points
- Catching a wild Pokémon: 5 points
Players who reach Rank 80 on the event’s GO Pass will unlock a Mewtwo encounter. The free GO Pass can also be upgraded to the $8.00 GO Pass Deluxe, which grants an additional set of rewards at every rank. Deluxe pass holders will not only earn extra Candy, but also unlock encounters with Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres at ranks 77 through 79.
Players can further upgrade to the $10.00 GO Pass Deluxe Plus, which instantly grants 10 bonus ranks upon purchase.
Note: Mewtwo, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres can be encountered in their Shiny forms during the event.
All wild spawns
While the 30th Anniversary Event is live, every Generation 1 Pokémon (except the three Legendary birds, Mew, and Mewtwo) will appear as wild spawns across their respective habitats in Pokémon GO. In total, the event will feature all 146 original Kanto Pokémon roaming in the wild.
Ditto will also appear throughout the map, disguising itself as various Pokémon. Trainers will only know they’ve encountered a wild Ditto after catching the Pokémon it was mimicking.
Note: From March 7-9, the Pokémon GO 30th Anniversary Event will be shifted to another related event, the Pokémon 30th Anniversary: All Out. During these days, participants can encounter almost every Pokémon released in Pokémon GO in addition to critters from Generation 1.
All Pokémon GO 30th Anniversary Event raids
Here are all the featured mons that can appear in raids during the 30th Anniversary Event:
 | Red Hat’s Pikachu | One Star |
 | Leaf’s Hat Pikachu | One Star |
 | Venusaur | Three Stars |
 | Charizard | Three Stars |
 | Blastoise | Three Stars |
Field Research tasks
Make it a habit to spin the Photo Discs of every PokéStop and Gyms that you’ve come across. Spinning Photo Discs will give you specific Field Research tasks, and for this event, these are the tasks that you can complete to get more goodies:
| Research task | Reward |
|---|---|
| Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms | An encounter with a Magikarp |
| Spin 20 PokéStops or Gyms | x1 Silver Pinap Berry |
| Catch a Ditto | x1 Golden Razz Berry |
| Catch three Pokémon | An encounter with a Bulbasaur, a Charmander, or a Squirtle |
| Catch five Pokémon | An encounter with a Pikachu or an Eevee |
| Catch 15 Pokémon | x1 Rare Candy |
| Catch 25 Pokémon | x3 Rare Candies |
Upgrading the event’s free GO Pass can be done by buying any of the Deluxe versions at the in-game shop or the Pokémon GO Web Store. You can also make the GO Pass grinding more enjoyable by playing with other Pokémon GO players near your area.