Welcome to the latest One More Catch weekly newsletter, offering you a guide to the days ahead in Pokémon Go.
It's time for Go Fest... again! This Mega Finale week is a replay of this year's many new additions to the Mega Evolution roster, along with the debut of three new ones for each end evolution of the Kalos region's starters. You can, however, only choose one...
So here's a snapshot of everything coming to Pokémon Go in the days ahead, the biggest opportunities available, and a roundup of Pokémon news and site updates you may have missed.
Events in Pokémon Go this week (31st August to 6th September)
All times are at your local time, unless otherwise stated.
What to know about this week
Here's what jumps out to me in the days ahead:
Mega Ascension has a big choice to make
Leading up to the Mega Finale weekend is the 'Mega Ascension' event, which starts on Monday with a branching Timed Research quest between Mega Chesnaught, Delphox or Greninja.
Unlike most branching Timed Research quests where the outcome often doesn't matter, here your choice sees you given enough Mega Energy to Mega evolve Chesnaught, Delphox and Greninja respectively, but only that choice. For now, anyway - they'll all be available in a future event of course.
But even if your chance to Mega Evolve the others eventually will arrive, it certainly adds weight to the decision. As for what to pick, here's some factors to consider.
The TLDR is all three Mega Evolutions are very powerful in their respective types:
- Chespin's final evolution, Mega Chesnaught, is in the top three best Grass-type attackers, behind Kartana and Mega Sceptile
- Fennekin's final evolution, Mega Delphox, is the best Fire-type attacker full stop
- Froakie's final evolution, Mega Greninja, is the best Water-type attacker apart from Primal Kyogre
With all being very good, it's best to consider what would benefit your current collection (i.e. are you lacking a decent Grass-, Water-, or Fire-type attacker?).
Otherwise, if we're going by what tops their typing tables, Mega Delphox is the strongest Mega of the bunch - and there won't be anything beating it in the Fire-type stakes for the foreseeable, either.
It's also going to be the first Fire-type that can reach Mega Level 4, if that makes any difference - especially when you consider that with the Deluxe version of the event Go Pass, you get enough Mega Energy to Mega Evolve your choice to Mega Level 4. (A little pay to win perhaps, but it'll at least save you grinding a load of raids or walking one as your Buddy for Energy down the line.)
But since they're all strong, you can't really go wrong here, and you should really just opt for whatever jumps out to you. Personally, as someone who loves Greninja, Froakie is likely going to be my pick - though the lure of a very powerful Mega Delphox may sway me on the day.
Level 4 Megas return (and are easier to battle)
Pretty much every Mega Evolution that can reach Mega Level 4 is returning this week, and the good news is they aren't in Super Mega Raids - so no frustrating shield mechanic, meaning they will be much easier to battle in smaller groups.
This is a very useful week if you still need Mega Energy to level anything up. There's also the excuse of a new Special Background on new catches that animates whenever they Mega Evolve.
The Mega Finale raid schedule is as follows, and note that Mega Mewtwo X and Y at the weekend will be Super Mega Raids (shields and all) so bring some friends:
- Monday: Mega Victreebel, Mega Dragonite, Mega Malamar
- Tuesday: Mega Falinks
- Wednesday: Mega Skamory
- Thursday: Mega Starmie
- Friday: Mega Raichu X, Mega Raichu Y
- Saturday:
- All day: Mega Mewtwo X (Super Mega Raid)
- 10am to 11am: Mega Beedrill, Mega Victreebel, Mega Pinsir, Mega Abomasnow
- 11am to 12pm: Mega Alakazam, Mega Slowbro, Mega Starmie, Mega Medicham
- 12pm to 1pm: Mega Gengar, Mega Houndoom, Mega Banette, Mega Malamar
- 1pm to 2pm: Mega Raichu X, Mega Ampharos, Mega Manectric
- 2pm to 3pm: Mega Beedrill, Mega Victreebel, Mega Pinsir, Mega Abomasnow
- 3pm to 4pm: Mega Alakazam, Mega Slowbro, Mega Starmie, Mega Medicham
- 4pm to 5pm: Mega Gengar, Mega Houndoom, Mega Banette, Mega Malamar
- 5pm to 6pm: Mega Raichu X, Mega Ampharos, Mega Manectric
- Sunday:
- All day: Mega Mewtwo Y (Super Mega Raid)
- 10am to 11am: Mega Steelix, Mega Skamory, Mega Aggron, Mega Glalie
- 11am to 12pm: Mega Sharpedo, Mega Camerupt, Mega Lopunny, Mega Falinks
- 12pm to 1pm: Mega Gyarados, Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Dragonite, Mega Altaria
- 1pm to 2pm: Mega Raichu Y, Mega Sableye, Mega Mawile, Mega Audino
- 2pm to 3pm: Mega Steelix, Mega Skamory, Mega Aggron, Mega Glalie
- 3pm to 4pm: Mega Sharpedo, Mega Camerupt, Mega Lopunny, Mega Falinks
- 4pm to 5pm: Mega Gyarados, Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Dragonite, Mega Altaria
- 5pm to 6pm: Mega Raichu Y, Mega Sableye, Mega Mawile, Mega Audino
If the above seems a little underwhelming, then consider it a catch up week to get any Mega Energy you've missed out on this year - because that's essentially what this event is.
Finally, though the official site doesn't mention Raid Hours between Monday to Friday, chances are your local Community Ambassadors will be hosting them anyway - so be sure to check your Campfire app for details.
There are no Daily Discoveries
As with the proper Go Fest week earlier in the summer, there are no Daily Discoveries this week - meaning no usual Wednesday raid refresh, no Spotlight Hour, no Friendship Friday, etc. But as per last time, there is sort of a Max Monday, with Eevee as the focus.
What's new in Pokémon and Pokémon Go?
Here's a roundup of stories from the week:
- If you're reading this on Sunday, then you still have time to claim three of the four free Timed Research from the 2026 Pokémon World Championships, which ends later today (a fourth Timed Research was only made available during a PokémonXP panel on Saturday only). Details on how to claim these are in the below guide, alongside links to the tasks themselves:
Matthew Reynolds
- Speaking of Saturday's PokémonXP panel, if you missed it, a reupload can be found on YouTube. There's not much new here: it seems to be largely a repeat of what was told to press behind closed doors during the 10th anniversary New York celebration event - but there's some useful insight on the history of the game all the same:
- Pokémon Go's next season, Twilight Trails, has been fully revealed. It will see the debut of two new Mega Pokémon - Mega Staraptor and Mega Chandelure - as well as Gen 9 unreleased Pokémon such as Maschiff, Mabosstiff, "and more":
Matthew Reynolds
- As part of it, September's events schedule has also been officially revealed, and something worth highlighting is a Spotlight Hour involving Rattatta, which will see boosted XXS appearance rates.
- Even as a day-one player, I'm still 539 short of reaching the 1,000 XXS required - and with Platinum Medals becoming increasingly hard to source as you progress through the level ranks, I'll be there to make the most of it.
Matthew Reynolds
- As it becoming the norm with new features, a new 'Quick Appraise' button has quietly appeared for some players (via reddit). The feature means it takes one less tap to see a Pokémon's stats, and while it's not as fast as it could be (you still need to tap past a message before you see the IVs proper), it's still a useful addition.
New 'Quick Appraise' button rolling out for some accounts
by u/AmbitiousCubone in TheSilphRoad
- In wider Pokémon news, James Turner - the first Westerner to design a Pokémon (creating the likes of Phantump, Vullaby, Golett and more) has returned to The Pokémon Company after working on 2024's The Plucky Squire. See VGC for the full story.
- Though Worlds is still ongoing - the Closing Ceremony airing Sunday night will likely have a bevy of news - we already have a few announcements. One is the first proper teaser of Aardman's The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu, along with the detail that it's coming to Disney+ in 2027:
- Moving away from Pokémon, a unique feature has arrived in another Scopely Explore game, Monster Hunter Now, where starting this week you can now play high speeds - but only on trains. It works by matching up player locations with real-world data of where railway lines are.
- Unlike Pokémon Go, since launch Monster Hunter Now has always removed map features when you move at pace (so no playing as a passenger on a bus, for example). So while the train-only gameplay is still restrictive, it's an interesting compromise nonetheless. I look forward to giving this a go the next time I'm on an extortionately-priced off-peak train to London.
Matthew Reynolds
- Finally, during gamescom, we learned Aniimo's mobile release will arrive on week after other platforms. There's also a web event where you can earn an exclusive Profile Background ahead of launch by logging in and hatching creatures each day.
Matthew Reynolds
One More Catch notes
With it being a very busy week for news and Worlds-related updates, there's not in terms of other site updates - so let's shine a spotlight on some fellow indies instead.
My former Polygon colleague Nicole Carpenter wrote for Aftermath explaining how it's the best and worst time to get into Pokémon cards. As someone who keeps being tempted to dip their toe into collecting again, this certainly resonates:
Nicole Carpenter
Aftermath also co-published a piece with San Francisco-based publication Coyote, delving into the "many reasons why Pokémon is gay as hell":
Marisa Ingemi
Finally, a belated shoutout to VGIM, which published a list of the five games journalists you should be following, including yours truly and this very site. Very flattered to be mentioned!
George E. Osborn
That's the end of this week's newsletter! As usual, we wrap with a reminder that you can subscribe to One More Catch for bonus articles, extra site functionality such as ad-free browsing, and as a way to show your support for the newsletter and site in general.
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Hope you have a great week!
