Global GO Fest 2026 — the legendary raid guide
Almost every legendary raid boss returns across two days, July 11-12. Mega Mewtwo X debuts Saturday, Mega Mewtwo Y debuts Sunday. Six themed hour-blocks, ~60 bosses — here's the full schedule, what to prioritize, and what to skip.
- · Free event — no ticket for the global weekend. Niantic confirms Special Research and increased Shiny chances at no cost for everyone. 9 free raid passes per day from gym spins.
- · Featured Pokémon — Niantic has named Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Mewtwo Y, and the Mythical Zeraora as the headline attractions of the weekend.
- · Six themed hour-blocks — three per day, three hours each. Every block has its own Mega + 5-star roster and themed wild spawns.
- · Mega Mewtwo runs all day — X on Saturday, Y on Sunday, independent of the hour-blocks. The two never overlap, and they do not share Mega Energy.
- · ~60 raid bosses total. You cannot raid everything on free passes — decide priorities first (see below) and stock premium / remote passes for the rest.
Sourcing: Niantic has officially confirmed the July 11-12 dates, free-for-all access, the Mega Mewtwo X / Y debuts, and Zeraora as the featured Mythical. The per-block raid rotation below is compiled from community event-preview coverage — treat it as a strong preview, not a final published schedule. We will reconcile it against the official raid announcement when it lands.
- · Deoxys (all 4 forms)
- · Genesect (all 5 forms — Americas / Greenland)
- · Pheromosa (Europe / MEA / India)
- · Xurkitree (Asia-Pacific)
- · Celesteela (Southern Hemisphere)
- · Kartana (Northern Hemisphere)
- · Guzzlord
- · Necrozma
- · Stakataka (Eastern Hemisphere)
- · Blacephalon (Western Hemisphere)
- · Tapu Koko
- · Tapu Lele
- · Tapu Bulu
- · Tapu Fini
The headline raids — Super Mega Raids, X on Saturday only, Y on Sunday only. They do not share Mega Energy, so raid both if you want both. If you can only commit to one: Mega Mewtwo X. It is barely behind Mega Mewtwo Y as a Psychic attacker AND a strong #2 Fighting attacker — and Fighting has far more raid use-cases than Psychic.
Raid for the Adventure Effect moves. Origin Palkia can roll Spatial Rend (doubles encounter radius); Origin Dialga can roll Roar of Time (pauses premium-item timers). The moves only come by chance from the raid — no TM or Elite TM gets them. Even the altered forms are worth it for candy to fuel the effects.
Best-in-class non-Mega attackers of their types: Kartana (Grass), Regieleki (Electric), Blacephalon (Fire), Therian Landorus (Ground), Terrakion (Fighting). If you lack the Mega or Primal equivalent, these are the raids that upgrade your roster the most.
Mega Blaziken (Fire), Mega Gengar (Ghost + Poison), Mega Sceptile (#1 Grass), Mega Tyranitar (Rock + Dark), Mega Gardevoir (#1 Fairy), Mega Lucario (#1 Fighting + #4 Steel), Mega Garchomp (Dragon + #2 Ground). Each Mega also boosts candy and damage for its type — useful coverage even beyond raw attacker rank.
Some bosses look tempting but the regular raid gives no energy toward the form that actually matters. Save your passes:
- Kyogre / Groudon / Rayquaza
Regular raids give no Primal / Mega Energy. If you want Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, or Mega Rayquaza, wait for those specific raids — the energy only drops there. Still fine to raid the regular forms for candy, high IVs, or shinies.
- Kyurem
Black and White Kyurem get their relevance from fusions, and the fusion energy only comes from Black/White Kyurem raids. Wait for those rather than spending passes on regular Kyurem.
- Necrozma
Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings Necrozma need fusion energy from the fused-Necrozma raids. Raid regular Necrozma only if you already have the fusions and want candy / IVs / shinies.
- Zacian / Zamazenta
The Hero forms are far weaker than the Crowned forms. Crowning needs Crowned Sword / Crowned Shield energy — which only drops from Crowned-form raids. Wait for those unless you just want candy, IVs, or shinies.
▸When is Global GO Fest 2026?
Saturday July 11 and Sunday July 12, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM local time each day. The raid rotation is the headline draw — almost every legendary raid boss returns across the two days.
▸Is there a ticket for Global GO Fest 2026?
No. The global event is free for all trainers — there is no paid ticket for the raid weekend. You do get 9 free raid passes from spinning gyms each day. With ~60 raid bosses available you will still want to stock premium and remote raid passes if you intend to chase a lot of them.
▸What are the new raids at GO Fest 2026?
Mega Mewtwo X debuts in Super Mega Raids on Saturday (all day), and Mega Mewtwo Y debuts in Super Mega Raids on Sunday (all day). The X form is Saturday-only and the Y form is Sunday-only — and they do not share Mega Energy, so you must raid each one to get its energy.
▸Mega Mewtwo X or Mega Mewtwo Y — which should I raid?
Both if you can. If you can only commit to one, Mega Mewtwo X is the pick. It is only marginally behind Mega Mewtwo Y as a Psychic attacker, but it is also the #2 Fighting attacker (behind Mega Lucario) — and Fighting covers far more raid matchups than Psychic. Mega Mewtwo Y is the outright #1 Psychic attacker if Psychic coverage is your priority.
▸How do the GO Fest raid hours work?
Each day is split into three themed three-hour blocks. Saturday: Storm Fire Peaks (10-1), Astral Tides (1-4), Dragonfly Summit (4-7). Sunday: Earth Forged Domain (10-1), Verdant Anomaly (1-4), Twilight Battlefield (4-7). Each block has its own set of Mega and 5-star raid bosses plus themed wild spawns. The Mega Mewtwo Super Mega Raid runs all day, independent of the blocks.
▸Which raids should I skip at GO Fest 2026?
Skip raids where a better form exists and the regular raid gives no energy toward it: Kyogre / Groudon / Rayquaza (wait for Primal / Mega raids), Kyurem (wait for Black/White Kyurem), Necrozma (wait for the fusion raids), and Zacian / Zamazenta (wait for the Crowned forms). Raid the regular forms only if you specifically want candy, high IVs, or shinies.
▸Are the GO Fest raids region-locked?
Some are. The lake trio splits by region — Uxie in Asia-Pacific, Mesprit in Europe / Middle East / Africa / India, Azelf in the Americas and Greenland. Several Ultra Beasts also split by hemisphere — Kartana in the Northern Hemisphere, Celesteela in the Southern, Stakataka in the Eastern, Blacephalon in the Western, with Genesect, Pheromosa, and Xurkitree split across the major regions. Remote raid invites from friends in other regions are the way around this.
▸What are Adventure Effect moves and which GO Fest raids have them?
Adventure Effects are activatable field abilities tied to certain signature moves. At GO Fest, Origin Palkia can roll Spatial Rend (doubles encounter radius) and Origin Dialga can roll Roar of Time (pauses premium-item timers). These moves only appear by chance from the raid catch — no regular or Elite TM can teach them — so the Origin-form raids are the priority window to chase them.