Summer Marathon: Arctic Embers Event Guide (Pokémon GO)

The next chapter of Pokémon GO’s Summer Marathon series, Arctic Embers, runs from Tuesday, August 4 at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, August 10, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. local time. The Summer Marathon format has become a recurring fixture of Niantic’s northern-hemisphere summer calendar — a run of themed week-long chapters, each with its own GO Pass and a rotating cast of debuts and shiny releases, rather than one single mega-event. The headline draw of this chapter is the first-ever chance to catch a Shiny Snom — here’s what else is worth knowing before it starts.

Shiny Snom makes its debut

Snom, the Ice/Bug-type Worm Pokémon introduced in Galar, gets its shiny release during this event. Its shiny form trades the usual blue-white coloring for a warmer, frosted look that’s easy to spot once you know what to check for. Snom evolves into Frosmoth at 50 Candy, so it’s worth stocking up on catches even beyond the shiny hunt — Frosmoth is a solid Ice-type attacker in both raids and Great League.

Boosted shiny rates and spawns

As with previous Summer Marathon chapters, expect a curated pool of Pokémon with increased shiny odds for the week, on top of the usual wild spawn boosts tied to the event’s Arctic theme. Cold and Ice-adjacent Pokémon are likely to see increased spawns, mirroring how earlier Summer Marathon events themed their encounter pools around the chapter’s name.

New GO Pass and Timed Research

Arctic Embers ships with its own GO Pass, giving trainers a fresh set of Timed Research steps to work through over the week-long event window. Expect the usual mix of catch, spin, and battle tasks, with Snom encounters as one of the milestone rewards for trainers who complete the free track.

How this fits into the bigger August calendar

Arctic Embers overlaps with the tail end of Gigantamax Rillaboom’s debut week and leads directly into Fire and Ice Hatch Day on August 8 — meaning the first full week of August is genuinely non-stop. If you’re planning your event time carefully, prioritize:

• Completing Arctic Embers’ Timed Research before it expires on August 10 at 8:00 p.m. local time — Timed Research doesn’t carry over once an event ends.
• Saving a few Poké Balls and Berries for Fire and Ice Hatch Day two days later, since eggs from that event won’t wait for you to restock.
• Checking Snom’s shiny rate against your other event priorities that week — if you’re also trying to hatch shiny Magby or Smoochum on August 8, you’ll want a healthy Incubator supply heading into the weekend.

Is Snom worth prioritizing?

For Great League players, Frosmoth is a legitimately useful pick — Ice/Bug typing gives it relevant resistances against Grass, Ground, and Fighting-type metagame staples, and its moveset hits hard for its low CP cap. Even if PvP isn’t your focus, a shiny Frosmoth is a striking addition to any collection, and the debut window is historically the best time to guarantee shiny odds before Niantic quietly lowers them in future re-releases.

Best moveset and catching tips

Once you evolve Snom into Frosmoth, look for the Fast Attack Bug Bite paired with the Charged Attacks Bug Buzz and Ice Beam — that combination gives it neutral or super-effective coverage against most of the Grass and Ground-type Pokémon it’s likely to face in Great League. For the catching phase, keep an eye on in-game weather: Snowy weather boosts Ice-type Pokémon’s CP and catch stats, so hunting during a snow window (or waiting for one during the event) makes for noticeably easier, higher-IV-looking encounters even before you check the actual IV spread.

How Arctic Embers fits the summer’s theme

Despite the icy branding, Summer Marathon events run through the northern hemisphere’s warmest months, and Niantic has leaned into that contrast before — pairing frozen or winter-themed Pokémon debuts with a “summer” event umbrella. Arctic Embers follows that same pattern, giving trainers a cold-weather species to chase in the middle of August regardless of what the actual weather looks like outside. If you enjoyed this format, expect more themed weekly chapters to keep rotating through the rest of the season under the same Summer Marathon banner.

Don’t forget the free Research rewards

Even trainers who aren’t chasing the shiny Snom specifically should still clear the free Timed Research track before the event closes. Summer Marathon chapters have historically included useful item rewards alongside the featured encounters — Rare Candy, Star Pieces, and occasional Poffin or Incubator bundles — that are easy to miss if you’re only logging in for the headline Pokémon. Set a reminder for the evening of August 10 if you’re close to finishing but haven’t wrapped up the final steps.

Check our Event Calendar to see exactly how Arctic Embers lines up against everything else happening in August, and use the IV Calculator to check the IVs on any Snom you catch during the boosted week.