Get ready for some Pokémon GO birthday celebrations.
Where does the time go? Pokémon GO is celebrating its 9th anniversary with a special event planned to help Trainers commemorate the game for yet another year. As always, we get a range of anniversary themed costumed Pokémon including some new additions from last year.
One of those includes our first ever costumed Gimmighoul, which can also be shiny. This is a shiny debut for this super illusive Pokémon and will be very exciting for Trainers.
In addition, there are a whole host of bonuses including a very valuable boost to Lucky Friend and Lucky Pokémon chances.
Here's everything you need to know about the 9th Anniversary Party in Pokémon GO.
Celebrate Pokémon GO's 9th Anniversary with a special event
The celebrations will take place from Tuesday, July 1, at 10:00 a.m. to Sunday, July 6, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. local time.
Event bonuses and new costumes
- Increased chance to become Lucky Friends.
- Increased chance to get Lucky Pokémon in trades.
- PokéStops may turn gold without a Golden Lure Module.
- Increased chance to encounter Shiny Pikachu wearing a cake hat and Shiny Eevee wearing a party hat from raids.
- Gimmighoul holding a 9th anniversary coin will have a 9th anniversary–themed Special Background!
- Friendship levels will increase faster than normal through opening Gifts, trading Pokémon, or battling together in raids, Gyms, or Trainer Battles!
- Chance of finding 9 or 99 (or maybe more!) Gimmighoul Coins when you spin a PokéStop with a Golden Lure Module.
- During the 9th Anniversary Party, you may discover party hats in the wild. Tapping on them will award items, or encounters with event-themed Pokémon.
- Also, for the first time in Pokémon GO, you might even encounter Shiny Gimmighoul—if you’re lucky!
In addition to the above, the 9th Anniversary Party will have special bonuses on certain days!
July 1 at 10:00 a.m. – July 3 at 10:00 a.m. local time
- 1/2 Egg Hatch Distance when Eggs are placed in an Incubator on these days.
July 3 at 10:00 a.m. – July 5 at 10:00 a.m. local time
- 2× XP for catching Pokémon.
July 5 at 10:00 a.m. – July 6 at 8:00 p.m. local time
- 2× Stardust for catching Pokémon.
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Shiny Gimmighoul to debut
Not a lot of Trainers even have Gimmighoul in Pokémon GO, with the 'mon being hard to find. You normally need a Golden Lure Module, which requires access to Sword and Shield on Nintendo Switch. Then, the Pokémon is so tiny it can be easily missed.
However, this 9th Anniversary event will make this Pokémon more accessible and will also allow you to get a special costumed shiny Gimmighoul. This will be a huge flex for your collection so is well worth hunting for. Save up some Lure Modules!
Other 9th Anniversary Pokémon GO event details
If that wasn't enough, we're also getting costumed Eevee and Pikachu in Raids, costumed Kanto starters in the wild as well as a special set of Field Research tasks. These can feature Gimmighoul so make sure to complete these.
Like we've seen before there is a free Timed Research as well as a paid $1.99 ticket. This will also award an encounter with Gimmighoul.
Even more exciting is the return of the Wish Granted Masterwork Research. This is only avaliable to those who haven't completed it yet. It comes with some bonuses, which are automatically applied to those who have completed it already:
- 2× Incense duration
- 2× Daily Adventure Incense duration
- 2× Lucky Egg duration
Also look out for a special Party Hat avatar item if you want to really get involved in the celebrations.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest esports news and more Pokémon GO updates.
