Pokémon Go 'Pokémon Horizons The Series Celebration' 2026 event guide

Pokémon Go is hosting yet another anime tie-in event, "Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration." The 2026 version focuses on Charmander wearing Friede's iconic goggles, but you can find some other Pokémon featured in the anime during this event, too. This event runs from Sept. 16-22.

There are a few special bonuses active during this event. Kecleon will spawn more often at PokéStops, and you can take up to five snapshots a day for a surprise photobomb. These photobombs will net you encounters with Meowscarada, Skeledirge, Quaquaval, or Charizard with Friede's goggles, so don't miss out on those.

Below, we list the other bonuses and perks for Pokémon Go's "Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration" 2026 event, including how to find a Charmander with Friede's goggles.

How to catch Charmander with Friede's goggles in Pokémon Go

Charmander wearing Friede's goggles is the star of this event, and there are quite a few ways you can find one:

• Find them in the wild.
• Attract them using regular Lure Modules.
• Earn them as rewards via the "Catch 10 fire-type Pokémon" and "Make an excellent throw" event Field Research.
• Earn them as rewards for hitting rank 9 and rank 30 in the event Go Pass.

Yes, this Charmander can also evolve, which is pretty neat. You can nab a Charizard with Friede's goggles from three-star raids during this event, too.

Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Scopely Explore

As usual, Charmander costs 25 Charmander Candy to evolve into Charmeleon. You'll need 100 more Charmander Candy to evolve your Charmeleon into Charizard.

Pokémon Go 'Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration' 2026 event Go Pass

This event's Go Pass is the same as usual. You can level the pass up to 60 to earn rewards like encounters with the special costumed Charmander and other Pokémon. To earn points towards the pass, you'll need to win raids, hatch eggs, and catch Pokémon. There's also two additional daily tasks: "Catch 5 Charmander" and "Make 10 great throws," which will net you 50 extra points each.

Some of the ranks also reward bonuses that will be active during the duration of the event:

• Rank 1: 2x catch candy
• Rank 1 (deluxe): 3x catch candy
• Rank 10: 2x Lure Module duration
• Rank 20: Hatenna and Wattrel award additional Stardust when caught

Upgrading your pass to the deluxe version costs $4.99 and will get you additional rewards like Premium Battle Passes and Rare Candy XL.

Pokémon Go 'Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration' 2026 event Field Research and rewards

Spinning a PokéStop during the event period may yield one of these tasks, depending on what time it is when you spin the stop:

5 a.m. until 5 p.m.

• Catch 10 fire-type Pokémon (Charmander [Friede's goggles], Fidough, or Wattrel encounter)
• Make 5 great throws (Sprigatito, Fuecoco, or Quaxly encounter)
• Make an excellent throw (Charmander [Friede's goggles] encounter)
• Win 2 raids (Pikachu [Cap's hat] encounter)
• Win a raid (Chansey or Lapras encounter)

5 p.m. until 5 a.m.

• Catch 10 fire-type Pokémon (Charmander [Friede's goggles], Eevee, or Hatenna encounter)
• Make 5 great throws (Rhyhorn or Nacli encounter)
• Make an excellent throw (Charmander [Friede's goggles] encounter)
• Win 2 raids (Pikachu [Cap's hat] encounter)
• Win a raid (Rockruff or Tinkatink encounter)

Pokémon Go 'Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration' 2026 event boosted spawns

These Pokémon will spawn more frequently during the event period, depending on the time of day:

All day

• Charmander (Friede's goggles)
• Pikachu (Cap's hat)

5 a.m. until 5 p.m.

5 p.m. until 5 a.m.

Pokémon Go 'Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration' 2026 event raid targets

The following changes to the raid schedule will take place as part of the event: