Pokemon Go September Events: Victini Research, Legendary Raids, And More

September is officially here, and Pokemon Go developer Niantic has a number of events in store for the popular Pokemon mobile game this month. Over the next few weeks, the studio will bring a handful of Legendary Pokemon back to Raids and introduce a new Research Breakthrough encounter, while Team Rocket's Jessie and James will be blasting off at the end of the month. Here's a rundown of the events that are happening in Pokemon Go in September 2020.

September Research Breakthrough: Alolan Raichu

A new set of Field Research tasks and rewards will go live starting September 1, and completing enough of these will lead to a new Research Breakthrough encounter. Each time players achieve a Research Breakthrough in September, they'll encounter Alolan Raichu. There's a chance this Alolan Raichu will be Shiny as well.

Legendary Raid Bosses

Niantic is bringing a different Legendary Pokemon back to five-star Raids every week in September, giving players another chance to catch some rare and powerful monsters. The Legendaries will be available from the following dates:

• August 21 - September 10: Heatran
• September 10 - 18: Cresselia
• September 18 - 25: Articuno
• September 25 - October 2: Zapdos

Pokemon Spotlight Hours

Every Tuesday evening in September, Niantic will spotlight one specific Pokemon and bonus for one hour. These spotlight events will all run from 6-7 PM local time. You can see the full schedule below:

September Community Day

September's Community Day event takes place on Sunday, September 20. As chosen by players, the featured Pokemon this month will be Porygon. The Virtual Pokemon will appear in the wild much more frequently than usual throughout the event, and if you can evolve it into its final form, Porygon-Z, up to two hours after the Community Day ends, it'll learn the event-exclusive move Tri Attack.

Mega Evolution Events

To celebrate the arrival of Mega Evolutions, Niantic is holding three Mega Evolution-themed events throughout September. The first runs from September 1-7 and challenges players to complete as many Mega Raids as they can. The second will follow from September 11-17 and tasks players with using Mega-Evolved Pokemon in battles against Team Go Rocket members and Raid bosses. The final event runs from September 22-28 and has players building up their friendship level with their Mega-Evolved Pokemon.

Go Battle Night

Niantic is hosting a battle-themed event on September 24. From 6 PM to 11:59 PM local time, you'll earn twice the usual amount of Stardust for winning Pokemon Go battles and ranking up in the Go Battle League. On top of that, Niantic is increasing the number of battle sets you can complete that night to 20 instead of the usual five.

Team Rocket's Departure

Team Rocket's Jessie and James are set to leave Pokemon Go at the end of the month. The infamous duo will be appearing in the game until September 30, making this your last chance to challenge them. Like other Team Rocket grunts, you'll periodically see Jessie and James flying above the world map in their distinctive Meowth balloon; if you spot them, tap on the balloon to initiate a battle.

Victini Special Research

The Mythical Pokemon Victini made its debut in Pokemon Go during Pokemon Go Fest 2020, but all players will have a chance to encounter it in September. Niantic is rolling out a new Special Research questline revolving around the Mythical Pokemon at the end of the month. If you've already completed the Victini Special Research from Go Fest, you'll earn additional Victini Candy from this new questline.