Pokémon GO’s Harvest Festival will bring Shiny Applin into the game for the first time when the event begins Tuesday, September 29, at 10:00 a.m. local time. The event, also referred to as Applin Picking in the event details, will run through Monday, October 5, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time, with apple-themed encounters, branching research, and a limited-time progression track. The official Harvest Festival announcement confirms that Shiny Applin will be available if Trainers are lucky.
Shadow Zekrom becomes the festival’s rescue target
Team GO Rocket will add another objective through Harvest Festival: Taken Over!, with Shadow Zekrom serving as the featured rescue encounter. The addition gives Trainers a reason to tackle the festival from a different angle while they hunt for Shiny Applin. More details are available in the official Harvest Festival: Taken Over! announcement.
Shiny Applin leads the Harvest Festival
Shiny Applin is the main attraction, but it will not be the only rare encounter during the event. Trainers will also have an increased chance to find Shiny Smoliv, while wild encounters can include Skwovet, Lechonk, Smoliv, Applin, and other event-themed Pokémon. Applin will be a less common wild encounter, making the event’s other ways of finding it especially useful.
Mossy Lure Modules will take on an unusual role during the festival. While the event is active, they will only attract apples. Tapping those apples can award Tart Apples, Sweet Apples, or Syrupy Apples, along with encounters such as Applin and Cottonee wearing a flower crown.
Applin’s evolutions put the event’s apples to work
Those apples also have a clear job beyond the event’s research rewards. Trainers need 200 Applin Candy and 20 Tart Apples to evolve Applin into Flapple. Appletun uses the same Candy requirement with 20 Sweet Apples, while Dipplin requires 20 Syrupy Apples alongside 200 Applin Candy.
Trainers can evolve Dipplin into Hydrapple with 400 Applin Candy after catching seven Dragon-type Pokémon while Dipplin is their buddy. Harvest Festival’s apple rewards therefore support the full evolution line, provided Trainers are prepared to collect plenty of Candy as well.
Choose an apple path through Timed Research
Branching Timed Research will let Trainers choose between Tart Apples, Sweet Apples, and Syrupy Apples. The selected path will determine which type of apple appears among the research rewards. Event-themed Field Research and PokéStop Showcases will also be available, with encounters with event Pokémon among the Field Research rewards.
Timed Research expires when the event ends, so its tasks must be completed and their rewards claimed by Monday, October 5, at 8:00 p.m. local time.
GO Pass rewards and event milestones
Every Trainer will automatically receive GO Pass: Harvest Festival when the event begins. Completing Pass Tasks earns GO Points, which raise the pass rank and unlock rewards through the end of the event. The festival pass is separate from the season-long September GO Pass, which begins on September 8.
Major event GO Pass milestones will provide these bonuses:
- Rank 1: Applin has an increased chance of holding Tart Apples, Sweet Apples, or Syrupy Apples when caught.
- Rank 10: Mossy Lure Modules activated during the event will last for one hour.
- Rank 20: Trainers will earn more Stardust from defeating Team GO Rocket Grunts and Leaders.
The free pass will include encounters with event-themed Pokémon, apples, a Mossy Lure Module, a Super Rocket Radar, and other rewards. GO Pass Deluxe adds more encounters, apples, Mossy Lure Modules, a Super Rocket Radar, and further items.
GO Pass Deluxe will cost US$4.99, while GO Pass Deluxe + 6 Ranks will cost US$6.99 and automatically provide enough GO Points to reach Rank 7. Trainers can upgrade at any time and still claim rewards from ranks they already unlocked on both tracks.
Rewards unlocked through the pass will expire Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time. Availability of the event tickets and GO Pass Deluxe may vary by region.
Web Store bonuses for Harvest Festival upgrades
A GO Pass Deluxe upgrade purchased through the Pokémon GO Web Store will activate when the event begins and includes a gift with purchase. The standard Deluxe upgrade includes 10 Ultra Balls, five Max Revives, one Premium Battle Pass, and five Max Potions.
The GO Pass Deluxe + 6 Ranks upgrade includes 10 Ultra Balls, five Max Revives, two Premium Battle Passes, and five Max Potions. The web-exclusive GO Pass Deluxe: Harvest Festival + 6 Ranks Ultra Box includes 20 Ultra Balls, 10 Max Revives, 10 Max Potions, and five Premium Battle Passes.
Tell us what you think about Shiny Applin, Shadow Zekrom, and the Harvest Festival in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, Telegram.
Pokémon Go
Developed by Niantic Labs, The Pokémon Company
Pokémon Go is an augmented reality mobile game that uses GPS to let players locate, capture, train, and battle Pokémon in real-world locations. Players explore their physical surroundings to find PokéStops for items, battle at Gyms for team control, participate in Raid Battles cooperatively, and compete in the Go Battle League's player-versus-player format. The game is free-to-play with in-app purchases and features Pokémon from across multiple generations of the franchise.
- Genre Role-playing (RPG), Simulator
- Platforms Android, iOS
- Perspective Third person, Bird view / Isometric, Side view
- Modes Single player, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
- Release July 6, 2016
- Publisher Niantic Labs
-
Age Rating
