Trainers,

Whether you’re a new Trainer just starting on your adventure or an ace with years of experience, we’re all on this journey together. Thank you, Trainers, for all your hard work in becoming the very best over the last four years! Professor Willow must be proud of all of you.

In celebration of Pokémon GO’s fourth anniversary, you’ll enjoy an exciting summer of Pokémon GO events leading up to Pokémon GO Fest 2020! All Trainers globally, regardless of whether they have a Pokémon GO Fest 2020 ticket, will be able to take part in three weekly challenges in the form of Timed Research lines. By completing these Timed Research lines, Trainers can unlock additional species of Pokémon that’ll appear during Pokémon GO Fest 2020.

Week 1: Skill challenge and Pokémon GO’s fourth-anniversary celebration event

The first Pokémon GO Fest weekly challenge will coincide with Pokémon GO’s fourth-anniversary celebration! In the four years since Pokémon GO was released, how have your skills improved, Trainers? Have you been keeping up with your basics? It’s time to put you to the test! This first weekly challenge will focus on catching Pokémon, so be sure to perfect your throwing technique ahead of July 3!

During the fourth-anniversary event, special Pokémon will be appearing in the wild, hatching from Eggs, and appearing in raids—notably Flying Pikachu! If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Flying Pikachu!

Date + Time

Friday, July 3, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Wednesday, July 8, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time

GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Skill

• Complete all three sets of tasks in the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Skill Timed Research to earn an encounter with Ducklett, an encounter with Flying Pikachu, a Star Piece, and more!
• If the following numbers of Trainers from the same team complete this Timed Research, the corresponding Pokémon will appear during Pokémon GO Fest 2020.
• One million Team Instinct Trainers: Chimecho
• One million Team Mystic Trainers: Alomomola
• One million Team Valor Trainers: Chansey
• If you complete the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Skill Timed Research, you’ll earn access to the GO Fest Elite Skill Challenge, a set of difficult tasks that you can complete to earn personal bragging rights! You don’t need to complete these tasks for your Timed Research to count toward the Pokémon GO Fest 2020 unlock goals.

Fourth-anniversary event features

• Flying-type Pokémon and Pokémon wearing party hats will be appearing in the wild, hatching from Eggs, and appearing in raids. If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Pidove!
• Ducklett will be making its Pokémon GO debut! It’ll be appearing in the wild and hatching from 5 km Eggs.
• Flying Pikachu will be appearing in the wild and in raids. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!
• The Jump-Start Special Research will also be available this week for any Trainers who missed out on it during last year’s anniversary celebration, so be sure to open the app during this period to claim it. This Special Research is designed to help you catch up with other Trainers, with a ton of Stardust and XP rewards, as well as some exciting Pokémon encounters.
• Be sure to take a snapshot during this event for a surprise.

Ho-Oh Special Raid Weekend

Ho-Oh will be joining in on the festivities! You can challenge it in five-star raids from Friday, July 3, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, July 6, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time. Be sure to have your Remote Raid Passes stocked—you can purchase them in the shop.

Week 2: Battle-based challenge

Get your Pokémon ready for battle before July 10, Trainers—the second Pokémon GO Fest weekly challenge will test your battle skills!

Date + Time

Friday, July 10, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Wednesday, July 15, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time

GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Battle

• Complete all three sets of tasks in the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Battle Timed Research to earn an encounter with Hitmonlee, an encounter with Absol, a Super Rocket Radar, and more!
• If the following numbers of Trainers from the same team complete their Timed Research this week, the corresponding Pokémon will appear during Pokémon GO Fest 2020.
  • One million Team Instinct Trainers: Ferroseed
  • One million Team Mystic Trainers: Alolan Grimer
• One million Team Valor Trainers: Alolan Marowak
• If you complete the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Battle Timed Research, you’ll earn access to the GO Fest Elite Battle Challenge, a set of difficult tasks that you can complete for personal bragging rights! You don’t need to complete these tasks for your Timed Research to count toward the Pokémon GO Fest 2020 unlock goals.

Battle-themed event

Have your Pokémon ready for battle, Trainers! On Sunday, July 12, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time, there will be a battle-themed event! Hopefully it won’t take over too much of your time.

Week 3: Friendship-based challenge

In the third Pokémon GO Fest weekly challenge, it’ll be time to celebrate what Pokémon GO is really all about: friendship. This challenge will ask you to take a moment to appreciate your pals, like your Buddy Pokémon and fellow Trainers! Send Gifts to friends, and don’t forget to attach a Gift sticker, too—it might make your friends’ day. This challenge’s Timed Research will be available until July 22—just a few days before Pokémon GO Fest 2020 starts!

The Timed Research will be accompanied by an event that celebrates summer! Summer Style Pikachu will be appearing in the wild and hatching from Eggs, and Petilil, the Bulb Pokémon, will be making its Pokémon GO debut.

Date + Time

Friday, July 17, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time

GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Friendship

• Complete all three sets of tasks in the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Friendship Timed Research to earn an encounter with Alolan Raichu, an encounter with Petilil, a Lucky Egg, and more!
• If the following numbers of Trainers from the same team complete their Timed Research this week, the corresponding Pokémon will appear during Pokémon GO Fest 2020.
  • One million Team Instinct Trainers: Togetic
  • One million Team Mystic Trainers: Dratini
• One million Team Valor Trainers: Litwick
• If you complete the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Friendship Timed Research, you’ll earn access to the GO Fest Elite Friendship Challenge, a set of difficult tasks that you can complete for personal bragging rights! You don’t need to complete these tasks for your Timed Research to count toward the Pokémon GO Fest 2020 unlock goals!

Summer-themed event features

• Summer-themed Pokémon will be appearing in the wild, hatching from Eggs, and appearing in raids. If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Bellsprout!
• Petilil will be making its Pokémon GO debut! It’ll be appearing in the wild when the weather is sunny and hatching from 5 km Eggs.
• Summer Style Pikachu will also be appearing in the wild!
• Be sure to take a snapshot during this event for a surprise.

Be sure to check the Niantic blog and the Pokémon GO Fest website for more updates in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to share them all with you. Until we can all meet again in the same park and under the same sky...let’s GO!

Please be aware of your surroundings and follow guidelines from local health authorities when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change. Be sure to follow us on social media, opt in to receiving push notifications, and subscribe to our emails to stay updated. For the latest on in-game events and feature updates, be sure to check this help center article.