There’s a lot happening in Pokemon Go in September 2021.
Niantic

September is underway, and it’s shaping up to be another busy month for Pokemon Go. Developer Niantic has a variety of events lined up for the mobile game this month, including the debut of Hoopa, the return of the Psychic Spectacular and more. Here’s a roundup of all the biggest events and activities that are happening in Pokemon Go in September 2021.

September Special Research encounter: Ditto

Beginning Sept. 1, a new batch of Field Research tasks and rewards will be available in Pokemon Go, as will a new Research Breakthrough encounter. Each time you complete enough tasks to achieve a Research Breakthrough in September, you’ll earn an opportunity to catch a Ditto. Not only that, but there’s a chance that the Ditto you encounter will be shiny.

In order to achieve a Research Breakthrough in Pokemon Go, you need to collect seven stamps. You’ll receive one stamp for the first Field Research task you complete each day, so you’ll need to complete tasks over at least seven days to achieve a Research Breakthrough and encounter Ditto.

Legendary raid rotation

Several legendary Pokemon will return to five-star raid battles throughout September. Lugia will be available during the first half of the month, and each one you encounter is guaranteed to know the Charged Attack Aeroblast. After Lugia leaves the game again on Sept. 14, the legendary trio Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie will replace it in different parts of the world until Oct. 1. You can see September’s legendary raid schedule below.

Sept. 1-14

Sept. 14 – Oct. 1

Azelf (Americas/Greenland)
Mesprit (Europe/Middle East/Africa/India)Uxie (Asia-Pacific)

September Pokemon Spotlight Hours

Every Tuesday evening, Niantic holds a Spotlight Hour event in Pokemon Go from 6-7 p.m. local time. During that hour, a certain Pokemon will spawn in the wild much more frequently than usual, and a special bonus will be active in the game, netting you additional experience points or candy. Here are September’s spotlight Pokemon and bonuses:

Sept. 7

Spotlight Pokemon: Spoink
Spotlight bonus: 2x catch Stardust

Sept. 14

Spotlight Pokemon: BaltoySpotlight bonus: 2x catch XP

Sept. 21

Spotlight Pokemon: SkittySpotlight bonus: 2x catch candy

Sept. 28

Spotlight Pokemon: Alolan MeowthSpotlight bonus: 2x transfer candy

Hoopa’s Arrival event

Pokemon Go is kicking off its Season of Mischief with an event on Sept. 5 revolving around the mythical Pokemon Hoopa. As part of the event, there will be a new Special Research task line that culminates in an encounter with Hoopa, marking your first chance to catch one in Pokemon Go.

In addition, psychic, ghost and dark Pokemon will be appearing more frequently throughout the event. The types that you’ll encounter in the wild will rotate every hour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time. There will also be a new Collection Challenge to complete, and you’ll earn twice the usual amount of candy each time you transfer a Pokemon during the event hours.

Psychic Spectacular event

Inkay is making its Pokemon Go debut during the Psychic Spectacular event.
Niantic

Pokemon Go’s Psychic Spectacular event returns Sept. 8-13. As part of the event, the dark/psychic Pokemon Inkay and its evolved form, Malamar, will be available in Pokemon Go for the first time. According to Niantic, Inkay will evolve “only under unique circumstances,” presumably by holding your phone upside down — similar to the way it evolves in mainline Pokemon games.

In addition to Inkay, other psychic Pokemon such as Abra, Gothita and Solosis will spawn more frequently in the wild, while Alolan Raichu, Wobbuffet, Medicham and Metagross will all appear as three-star raid bosses. There will also be themed Field Research tasks to complete, as well as new psychic Pokemon stickers that can be obtained from gifts, PokeStops or the in-game shop. Finally, the next chapter in the season-long Misunderstood Mischief Special Research story will go live during the event.

September Community Day

Pokemon Go’s September Community Day takes place on Sunday, Sept. 19. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time, the water Pokemon Oshawott will be spawning in the wild much more frequently than normal, and you’ll earn triple the usual amount of XP for catching Pokemon. Additionally, any Dewott that you evolve into Samurott until 7 p.m. local time will learn the Community Day-exclusive move Hydro Cannon.