Love is in the air-and in your Poké Balls-as Pokémon Go’s Valentine’s Day 2026 event paints the map pink with rare spawns, themed research, and sweet rewards for Trainers chasing both hearts and shiny catches.
Pokémon Go ‘Valentine’s Day 2026’ event Field Research and rewards
Trainers can take part in special Field Research tasks during the Pokémon Go Valentine’s Day 2026 event, offering encounters with heart-themed Pokémon and bonuses that fit the romantic theme. Tasks may include catching certain Fairy-type or Pink Pokémon, sending gifts to friends, or earning hearts with your buddy. Completing these missions rewards items such as Stardust, Poké Balls, Berries, and potential encounters with event exclusives, making them a fun way to spread a bit of love while progressing through the celebration.
How to complete the Global Challenge in Valentine’s Day 2026 event
The Global Challenge for Pokémon Go’s Valentine’s Day 2026 event is all about sending Gifts; players worldwide must collectively send 100,000,000 Gifts during the event to clear it.
What the Global Challenge requires
-
Objective: Send 100,000,000 Gifts globally during the Valentine’s Day 2026 event window.
-
How you contribute: Every Gift you send to a friend counts as 1 toward the global total.
-
Rewards when completed (active for the rest of the event):
-
Free Valentine’s Timed Research with multiple Heart Pattern Spinda encounters.
-
750 XP for every successful Curveball catch.
-
Gifts can contain Rare Candy.
-
The community has already completed this challenge as of February 11, 2026, so these bonuses and the Spinda Timed Research should now be live in your game.
How you can “help complete” it (or would have)
Even though it’s already done, here’s how you would maximise your contribution and still make use of the mechanics:
-
Max out your daily Gifts
-
Open as many Gifts as your inventory allows so you get new ones from PokéStops and Gyms, then send them back out to friends; every send counts.
-
Try to hit your daily sending cap (typically up to 100 Gifts sent per day), which heavily boosts your share of the global total.
-
-
Add and maintain more friends
-
The more active friends you have, the more Gifts you can reliably send and the more likely they are to open yours, helping them get event bonuses too.
-
Consider adding locals (for extra trades and Lucky Friends) and remote players (for 7 km Eggs).
-
-
Spin Stops frequently for more Gifts
-
When exploring, spin every PokéStop and Gym to restock Gifts, especially in dense areas like downtown or malls.
-
Prioritize areas with many Stops so you can cap your daily inventory quickly and spend the rest of your time sending.
-
-
Time your play sessions
-
Log in at least twice a day (morning and evening) to: open Gifts, spin for new ones, and send them back out, keeping yourself near the daily limits.
-
Pair this with your other event goals (catching for XP, hunting shinies, raids) so your Gift activity stays high with minimal extra effort.
-
-
Coordinate with friends or communities
-
Join local or online groups and agree to open and send Gifts daily during the event, which keeps the global pace high.
-
This also helps everyone unlock the Spinda research and Curveball XP bonuses faster in future similar events.
-
In short, you “complete” the Global Challenge by sending as many Gifts as possible every day, adding more active friends, and playing in high-PokéStop areas so you never run out of Gifts to send; the community has already hit the 100,000,000-Gift goal, so you should now focus on taking advantage of the unlocked Spinda Timed Research and boosted Curveball XP while the event lasts.
How to quickly add friends to send more gifts
To add lots of friends quickly (so you can send more Gifts), combine in-game tools with external friend-code communities.
Fast ways to get new friends
-
Use friend-code communities
-
Post your code and add others in places like r/PokemonGoFriends and other Pokémon Go social groups.
-
Many players there are specifically looking to exchange Gifts; you can gain dozens of active friends in a day.
-
-
Scan QR codes instead of typing
-
When adding friends, use the QR option so you can just point your camera at codes from websites, Discord, or another phone screen.
-
This is much faster than entering 12-digit codes one by one and is what high-volume gifters typically do.
-
-
Add raid and trade partners
-
Whenever you join remote raids (via apps like PokéGenie or local/online raid groups), send friend requests to other raiders who share their codes.
-
These players are usually active and open Gifts often, which keeps your Gift loop going.
-
-
Join local and city-specific groups
-
Search for “Pokémon GO + Montréal” on Discord, Facebook, or WhatsApp and drop your friend code there.
-
Local players are ideal because you can also trade and occasionally meet for raids, making them more likely to stay active long-term.
-
Tips so new friends actually help with Gifts
-
Add many, then prune later
-
Don’t worry about being picky at first; add a lot of people so you can hit your daily send cap.
-
After a couple of weeks, remove anyone who never opens your Gifts or sends their own.
-
-
Prioritize active gifters
-
If someone frequently sends you Gifts or opens yours, star them or move them up mentally in your list so you always Gift them first.
-
This maintains consistent Gift exchange and makes it easier to complete high-Gift tasks.
-
-
Combine with quick-sending tricks
-
On your Friends list, sort by “can receive Gift” or similar, then open the first friend, send a Gift, and swipe to move to the next, instead of backing out each time.
-
You can also tap quickly to skip the Gift animation, reducing total time by about two-thirds when mass-sending.
-
Stick to this pattern-post your code on friend-code hubs, scan QR codes, add raid partners, then gift using swipes and fast animation skipping-and you’ll very quickly reach a large, active friend list that lets you send the maximum number of Gifts every day.
