16 January 2026

Pokemon GO Reveals Shadow Raid Day Plans for January 2026

By newsgame

Niantic reveals all the upcoming details for Pokemon GO‘s Shadow Raid Day event for January 2026, confirming bonuses, rewards, and the featured legendary Pokemon that can be captured. The popular mobile title continues to keep its player base busy with new content and events to take part in. In addition to the battle pass to work through, Pokemon GO typically has new limited-time events and activities on a weekly basis, and later this month, Team GO Rocket makes their 2026 debut.

Even though it’s a new year, January 2026 has been no exception to what Niantic has done in the past. Following a special New Year’s Event, which brought back many costumed Pokemon to capture, the mobile title has continued to roll out new activities for players. Recently, players were able to capture newly added creatures like Shiny Fidough during the Precious Pals event, while Pinch Perfect saw the Gen 9 Ambush Pokemon known as Klawf make its debut. Later this month, Team GO Rocket returns and brings with it a powerful legendary for players to potentially capture.

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Pokemon GO Shadow Raid Event Start Time

January 24, 2026, from 2pm–5pm local time

Starting on Saturday, January 24 from 2-5pm local trainer time, Team GO Rocket returns with a new Shadow Raid Day event. The biggest piece of this limited-time event is the appearance of Shadow Raikou, one of the strongest pure-electric type Pokemon available in the game. While many will look to purify the Pokemon upon capture, Shadow Raikou is absolutely viable in Pokemon GO with a recommended moveset of Thunder Shock and Wild Charge to help max out its damage output.

However, beating Shadow Raikou in Pokemon GO is easier said than done, as players will need to work together at taking down Shadow Raikou at specified Raid locations. Originally introduced back in 2023, Pokemon GO Shadow Raids typically feature a tough legendary shadow pocket monster, requiring a solid group of players to help take it down.

Thankfully, the event will have a number of bonuses that players can take advantage of, including an additional 5 Raid Passes (for a total of 6) just by spinning Gym Photo Disks. While players have an increased chance to find a shiny Raikou, the remote raid limit is being increased to 20 for a limited time to help those who may not be near a gym take part. The Pokemon GO Remote Raid Pass bonus will be active from January 23 at 4pm to Saturday, January 24 at 7pm PST.

For those who want a bit more from the event, Niantic is also offering a premium Event Ticket for $4.99 that raises the Raid Pass limit even more, allowing for an additional 8 that can be collected from spinning Gym Disks for a grand total of 14. There’s also an increased chance for Rare Candy XL to be rewarded from Raid Battles, while trainers also get a 50% boost to XP and double the Stardust. Keep in mind that these bonuses are only active during the Shadow Raid event and will expire when it ends.

While it’s unknown if this will be the final event of January 2026, new leaks have seemingly teased some upcoming events that are yet to be announced officially by Niantic. In February 2026, it appears that Vulpix and its Alolan variant will be the Community Day Pokemon. Unfortunately, the leak didn’t include a start date or time, but considering how far in advance Niantic likes to share new events, fans likely won’t be waiting too much longer.