Updated

Updated · Polygon · Sep 11

Pokémon Go Starts Mega Squads Part 2 With Mega Houndoom Raids and 5km Maschiff Eggs

Updated

Updated · Polygon · Sep 11

Pokémon Go Starts Mega Squads Part 2 With Mega Houndoom Raids and 5km Maschiff Eggs

Q: What happens to Maschiff after September 14, and why is Niantic keeping its future availability completely hidden from players?

After September 14, Maschiff’s guaranteed event sources end, and its post-event availability is unknown. Niantic has only confirmed Maschiff for the Mega Squads event window, which runs until September 14 at 8 p.m. local time. During that period it can be found in 5 km Eggs, the event-exclusive “Hatch an egg” Field Research, and the GO Pass. Once the event ends, there has been no official announcement that it will remain in Eggs, move into the wild, stay in research, or disappear until a later return. That uncertainty is why players are being urged to catch and evolve it now. The current reporting and event guides all point to the same practical reality: Maschiff is a new debut Pokémon, and like many recent Pokémon Go debuts, Niantic often does not immediately reveal the long-term spawn plan once the launch event expires. As for why Niantic is keeping the future completely hidden, the company has not given a public explanation. The most evidence-based reading is that this is standard release strategy rather than a special mystery around Maschiff. Pokémon Go frequently introduces new species as limited-time event content, then decides later whether to rotate them into Eggs, research, seasonal spawns, raids, or hold them back for another event. Keeping that unannounced preserves flexibility for future event scheduling and encourages engagement during the debut window. So, the honest answer is simple: after September 14, nobody outside Niantic knows yet.

Q: Are Pokémon GO's newest Gen 9 additions secretly designed to force players into buying premium incubators and deluxe passes?

Not necessarily, but the event is clearly structured to nudge players toward paid speed-ups. Maschiff is not locked behind a purchase. Players can get it for free through the Mega Squads event’s “Hatch an egg” Field Research, from 5 km Eggs, and at Rank 30 on the free GO Pass. That means a patient free-to-play player can realistically obtain Maschiff and evolve it into Mabosstiff with 50 candy. What makes the design feel monetization-heavy is how those free paths are built. The key research task itself requires hatching an egg, which naturally encourages incubator use. Maschiff is also in a shared 5 km Egg pool rather than guaranteed, and the research reward is only a 50-50 split between Maschiff and Flamigo. On top of that, Deluxe GO Pass holders appear to get extra advantages, including another Maschiff reward at higher rank, Super Incubators, and a reduced hatch-distance perk during the event. That does not prove Maschiff and Mabosstiff were “secretly designed” only to force spending. It does show a familiar Pokémon GO pattern: free access remains available, but the most efficient route is tied to mechanics that premium items accelerate. The pressure is stronger because Maschiff is a new species, the event is time-limited, and Niantic has not said when it will return after September 14. So the fairest reading is that the debut is not paywalled, but it is engineered to make premium incubators and Deluxe upgrades more tempting than usual.

Q: With Shiny Flamigo debuting, is the 50-50 event research split actually a hidden blessing for dedicated shiny hunters?

Yes—for players focused on shiny Flamigo, the 50-50 split is more helpful than harmful. Maschiff cannot be shiny at launch, while Flamigo’s shiny has just debuted and is available from multiple sources during Mega Squads, including wild spawns, 5 km eggs, GO Pass rewards, and the same “Hatch an egg” event Field Research that can also award Maschiff. That means every time the research rolls Flamigo instead of Maschiff, a shiny hunter gets another meaningful Flamigo check rather than a dead reward. The split is especially useful because the task is efficient to stack with the event’s egg pool. Trainers hatching 5 km eggs are simultaneously advancing the research, and both the egg pool and research pool can produce Flamigo. For dedicated shiny hunters, that creates repeated low-cost encounter volume without relying only on wild spawns. Research encounters are also controlled and easy to grind if players can farm the correct event-exclusive task from PokéStops. The trade-off is that the split slows pure Maschiff targeting. Players who only want the new Dark-type and its 50 Candy evolution into Mabosstiff would prefer a guaranteed Maschiff reward. But for anyone prioritizing shiny value, the split reduces the feel-bad factor because the alternate outcome is one of the event’s headline prizes. So the research pool is effectively a hidden blessing for shiny Flamigo hunters, even if it is slightly less ideal for Pokédex-focused Maschiff collectors.

3 articles · Updated · Polygon · Sep 11

Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. local time, Pokémon Go switched Mega Squads into Part 2, replacing the event’s spawns, Field Research, raids and 5km egg pool through Sept. 14.
Mega Houndoom now takes over event raids, while Houndour and Carvanha become the featured boosted wild spawns for the second half.
Maschiff is newly obtainable from 5km eggs, the "Hatch an egg" Field Research reward, or Go Pass rank 30; evolving it into Mabostiff costs 50 Candy.
Field Research also shifts to Dark-type tasks from Sept. 11-14, with rewards including Carvanha, Houndour, Nickit, Flamigo or Maschiff.
The broader Sept. 8-14 event also includes shiny Flamigo, a 30-rank Go Pass with 30 bonus ranks, and a $4.99 deluxe pass that adds extra hatch perks.