Pokémon Go 'Steeled Resolve: Taken Over' 2026 event guide

Pokémon Go’s "Steeled Resolve" event for 2026 runs from April 28 until May 4. This event features steel-type Pokémon and debuts Orthworm, the worm Pokémon from Paldea.

Alongside the bonuses you can see below, Mystery Boxes will be able to yield shiny Meltan during this event, so make sure to crack those open and seek out a little nut-head with a blue cable coming out of its backside. As a reminder, you don't need to use Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! or Let's Go, Eevee! to get a Mystery Box anymore. You can get one by transferring Pokémon from Go to Pokémon Home.

Below we list the bonuses for Pokémon Go's "Steeled Resolve" 2026 event, as well as an explainer on where to find Orthworm.

Update (April 30): We've updated this guide with information about the Team Go Rocket takeover portion of this event.

Pokémon Go 'Steeled Resolve: Taken Over' event bonuses

This event is much smaller than the usual Team Go Rocket takeover, as there is no longer a Special Research task set to complete to battle Giovanni and earn shadow Landorus. Instead, you'll need to either hit rank 30 on the event Go Pass or pay $4.99 for the deluxe Go Pass to get a Super Rocket Radar, allowing you to battle Giovanni. The line-ups for both Giovanni and the Team Go Rocket Leaders have changed around, as they usually do with these takeovers.

That being said, the usual bonuses are live as part of the Team Go Rocket takeover, until the event ends on May 4:

• Team Go Rocket members will appear more often.
• You can used Charged TMs to replace the move Frustration from shadow Pokémon.
• Shadow Pokémon caught at one- and three-star raids will have a wider variance in stats.

Additionally, Varoom (which is hatched from Team Go Rocket's 12 km eggs) has a chance to be shiny for the first time.

Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Niantic

How to find Orthworm in Pokémon Go

During its debut event, there is only one way to find Orthworm in Pokémon Go: raids. Orthworm will appear in three-star raids during the event, and it's debuting shiny, so keep your eye peeled for a blue worm. Orthworm will not be in the wild or a reward for any research during this event.

Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Niantic

Pokémon Go 'Steeled Resolve' 2026 event Go Pass bonuses

Since this event is going to have a Team Go Rocket "Taken Over" portion later on, this Go Pass features Rocket-related items: Shadow Shards and Super Rocket Radars, mainly. This pass also has a few Meltan encounters, so if you're not into using the Mystery Box, you can earn a few Meltan through this pass instead.

There's also bonuses at these ranks:

• Rank 10: doubled catch candy
• Rank 20: doubled Stardust from Team Go Rocket battles

Additional bonuses will go live during the "Taken Over" event.

Pokémon Go 'Steeled Resolve' 2026 event Field Research and rewards

Spinning a PokéStop during the event period may yield one of these tasks:

• Catch 5 steel-type Pokémon (Nosepass, Bronzor, or Drilbur encounter)
• Power up steel-type Pokémon 5 times (Magnemite, Pineco, or Ferroseed encounter)
• Use a steel-type charged attack in a battle (Beldum or Shieldon encounter)

Pokémon Go 'Steeled Resolve' 2026 event boosted spawns

These Pokémon will spawn more frequently during the event period, according to the blog:

• Magnemite
• Aron
• Ferroseed
• Pawniard

These Pokémon have also been spotted in the wild by players:

• Pineco
• Nosepass
• Bronzor
• Drilbur

Pokémon Go 'Steeled Resolve' 2026 event raid targets

The following changes to the raid schedule will take place as part of the event: