Pokémon GO’s 9th anniversary brought a shiny debut for Gimmighoul along with a special Coin Bag item that lets you find this elusive Pokémon more easily. If you’ve been wondering how to get your hands on the Coin Bag and what it does, you’re in the right place!
The Coin Bag is a distinct item in Pokémon GO that connects the mobile game with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on Nintendo Switch. By sending a postcard from GO to your Switch game, you unlock the Coin Bag, which then triggers the appearance of the Coin Hunter Pokémon, Gimmighoul, in the wild for 30 minutes. On average, you can expect one Gimmighoul every 1.5 minutes during this window.
What Exactly Is the Coin Bag?
The Coin Bag is your gateway to Pokémon #999 and #1000—Gimmighoul and its evolution, Gholdengo. You can only get the Coin Bag by pairing Pokémon GO with Pokémon Scarlet or Violet.
Once paired, sending a postcard from GO to your Switch will deliver the Coin Bag to your GO item storage. Opening it starts a timed event where Gimmighoul spawns frequently, giving you a chance to catch it and collect Gimmighoul Coins.
How to Connect Pokémon GO to Scarlet or Violet and Get the Coin Bag
- Open Pokémon GO on your phone and Pokémon Scarlet/Violet on your Nintendo Switch.
- In Pokémon GO, go to Settings > Connected Devices > Nintendo Switch, then tap Connect to Nintendo Switch.
- On the Switch, open the Mystery Gift menu via the Poké Portal, choose Connect to Pokémon GO, and select Pair with a Pokémon GO account.
- Follow the prompts so both devices find and pair with each other.
- Back in Pokémon GO, open your postcard book, select a postcard, tap the three lines at the bottom, and choose Send to Nintendo Switch.
- On your Switch, reconnect to Pokémon GO to receive the postcard. In exchange, the Coin Bag will appear in your GO inventory.
- Use the Coin Bag to start finding Gimmighoul in Pokémon GO. You can repeat sending postcards once per day to keep using the Coin Bag.
Handy Tips
- You can only send one postcard per day; this resets at midnight.
- The Coin Bag is delivered after your first postcard send and can be reused after sending more postcards on following days.
- Postcards stay in your postcard book but each can be sent only once.
- If you don’t own a Switch or the Scarlet/Violet games, a friend can help by pairing their game with your GO account.
Can You Evolve Gimmighoul?
The special event Gimmighoul with the 9th anniversary coin cannot evolve. However, normal Gimmighoul can evolve into Gholdengo by spending 999 Gimmighoul Coins.
To get those coins, catch Gimmighoul during the Coin Bag event, spin Golden PokéStops with Golden Lure Modules active, or walk with Gimmighoul as your buddy.
What Are Golden Lure Modules?
Golden Lure Modules are special items you get by sending multiple postcards to Pokémon Scarlet or Violet. They turn regular PokéStops into Golden PokéStops, which can drop Gimmighoul Coins and more items. Some lucky trainers might even encounter Roaming Gimmighoul at these stops!
If you already have a Golden Lure Module, sending more postcards will grant you Gimmighoul Coins instead.
Wow, this cross-game connection spices things up, right? If you’re wondering whether you’ll be able to catch enough Gimmighoul to evolve into Gholdengo, it’ll take some patience and daily postcard sends, but hey, that’s part of the fun!
