Pokemon GO September Content Update: Research Breakthrough Encounter, Spotlight Hours, Events And Special Research


Pokemon GO's September Research Breakthrough event begins on the 1st of September.

A new research breakthrough awaits us, where players can encounter an Alolan Raichu!

September also graciously brings FIVE spotlight hours and different legendary boss raids every week.

Finally, a new Special Research will be available featuring Victini as well as a GO Battle Night.

It's an action-packed month - here are all of the details.

PokéStop Scan Feature

As of September 9, the PokéStop Scan feature is now available to trainers level 20 and up.

“An adaptation of a feature released in Ingress, this feature will let Trainers upload videos of real-life PokéStop and Gym locations to Pokémon Go, which can help us on this mapping journey. If you opt in, you’ll be asked to record video of a PokéStop or Gym’s real-life location from as many angles as possible, up to a maximum of 10 seconds per video,” the developer explained in a blog post back in May.

“These videos will allow us to generate dynamic 3-D maps of PokéStop locations. This can give us a better understanding of how virtual objects persist and where they are in relation to one another, which will help us improve the game’s overall AR experiences. In addition, the 3-D objects allow our devices to further understand what they are looking at in order to augment reality in real time.”

September Research Breakthrough Schedule

From Tuesday, September 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Thursday, October 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).

Alolan Raichu, the Mouse Pokémon, will be available as a Research Breakthrough encounter. If you’re lucky, you might even encounter a Shiny one!

Spotlight Hours Schedule

Every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. local time both a Pokémon and a special bonus will be available in the Spotlight Hours!

For each Pokémon Spotlight Hour, you can expect a different Pokémon and bonus:

  • Tuesday, September 1, 2020: Eevee will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for catching Pokémon.
  • Tuesday, September 8, 2020: Houndour will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for catching Pokémon.
  • Tuesday, September 15, 2020: Tentacool will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for transferring Pokémon.
  • Tuesday, September 22, 2020: Spearow will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for evolving Pokémon.
  • Tuesday, September 29, 2020: Skitty will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Stardust for catching Pokémon.

Different Legendary Raid Bosses!

Different Legendary Raid Bosses will be available to challenge during every week of September!

  • From Friday, August 21, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Thursday, September 10, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Heatran will be available to challenge in five-star raids.
  • From Thursday, September 10, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, September 18, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Cresselia will be available to challenge in five-star raids.
  • From Friday, September 18, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, September 25, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Articuno will be available to challenge in five-star raids.
  • From Friday, September 25, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, October 2, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Zapdos will be available to challenge in five-star raids.

GO Battle Night

On Thursday, September 24, 2020, from 6 to 11:59 p.m. local time, you’ll receive twice the Stardust for winning battles, completing sets of battles, and ranking up in the GO Battle League.

You’ll also be able to complete 20 sets of GO Battle League battles, up from the regular five sets, for a total of up to 100 battles.

Victini Special Research: Investigate a Mysterious Energy

At the end of September, you can look forward to helping Professor Willow uncover the mysteries of the Mythical Pokémon Victini, the Victory Pokémon, in a new Special Research story—Investigate a Mysterious Energy!

If you accessed the exclusive Pokémon GO Fest 2020: Rocket Straight to Victory Special Research during Pokémon GO Fest 2020, completing this new Special Research will earn you Victini Candy.

Jessie and James Leaving?

Jessie and James will no longer appear in Pokémon GO starting on September 30th.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Pokémon page.