Early this morning, Niantic revealed three weeks of Pokemon GO fourth anniversary events that will lead up to Pokemon GO Fest 2020. These events will be filled with special raid events, new shiny Pokemon, and other bonuses.
The first week begins July 3 at 8 AM local time and ends on July 8 at 10 PM local time. Flying Pikachu will be the featured Pokemon for this week as it’ll be in Eggs, raids, and the wild.
There will also be a list of GO Fest challenges that focus on player skill. There’s no indication of what that means exactly, but we’ll report on it as soon as the details become available. However, we do know that all of these tasks are free for all players. You don’t need to buy a GO Fest ticket to participate in these upcoming events.
We also know that if you finish the timed research during this week, then you’ll be able to get Ducklett, Flying Pikachu, and a Star Piece. There are also certain Pokemon that will appear more often in the wild during if enough trainers from each team complete the tasks.
The magic number is one million trainers from each team that must complete the Skill tasks. If that goal is hit, then we’ll get Chimecho (Instinct), Alomomola (Mystic), and Chansey (Valor) appearing in the wild during GO Fest.
There will also be a set of more difficult tasks made available to trainers who finish the timed tasks before the end of the first week.
On top of that, you’ll also get to enjoy the following 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.
- 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.
The last bit of news for week one is Ho-Oh raid weekend. The Legendary Pokemon will be coming back to level-five raids from July 3 at 8 AM local time until July 6 at 10 PM local time.
Next, week two of the Pokemon GO fourth anniversary challenges will throw down the gauntlet with a packed list of Battle-themed tasks. This timed research will feature rewards like Hitmonlee and Absol encounters as well as a Super Rocket Radar.
There’s no word if this means that Giovanni’s shadow Legendary Pokemon will finally change again, but that’ll be something to look out for.
Again, if one million trainers from each team complete the research then we’ll get more uncommon Pokemon appearing in the wild during GO Fest. This time around it’ll feature Pokemon that are good for competitive teams and ones that can evolve into solid battlers.
Ferroseed (Instinct), Alolan Grimer (Mystic), and Alolan Marowak (Valor) could all be featured if the requirements are met. Alolan Muk and Marowak see tons of competitive play and Ferrothorn is a solid choice as well.
They also teased a limited-time event on July 12 from 11 AM to 2 PM local time. We currently don’t know any details about the workings of the event, but we’ll surely report on them as soon as Niantic reveals more information.
Finally, we’ve reached the week before GO Fest 2020 and the final set of Pokemon GO fourth anniversary challenges. From July 17 at 8 AM local time until July 22 at 10 PM local time, this last week of timed research will focus on Friendship. This will include both your real friends and your buddy in Pokemon GO.
If you complete all the tasks before time runs out, then you’ll be able to bag an Alolan Raichu, Petilil, a Lucky Egg, and other rewards yet to be announced.
If you liked that Alolan Raichu, but you somehow don’t already have enough Pikachu, then you’re in luck. You’ll be able to find a Summer Style Pikachu in the wild and in eggs during this third week of timed research.
But don’t worry because the Pokemon that you’ll unlock at GO Fest if one million trainers from each team complete the timed research are fantastic. Togetic (Instinct), Dratini (Mystic), and Litwick (Valor) are the three mons we’ll hopefully be seeing more often in the wild.
Just like the skill challenges, if you complete the friendship challenges early, then you’ll get a list of more difficult tasks to complete.
Lastly, there will also be a handful of Summer-themed features going on during this third week of challenges:
- 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.
- Be sure to take a snapshot during this event for a surprise.
If you would like to read the official release about Pokemon GO’s fourth anniversary, it can be found on Pokemon GO Live.
And while you’re here, don’t forget to check out the rest of our Pokemon GO coverage:
- Go Battle League Will Return Today in Pokemon Go
- SuperData: Digital Spending Soars Again in May, Pokemon GO Enjoys Growth
- Daily Free Boxes and Guaranteed Encounters Coming to Pokemon Go
