Pokemon Go Fest 2021

Can you believe Pokémon GO has now been around for almost five years? How time flies.

Niantic and The Pokémon Company have shared all the juicy details on this year's Pokémon GO Fest event which is set to celebrate the game's fifth anniversary in style. It's boasting a music-festival-themed Special Research Story, the return of the Global Challenge Arena and more.

So, let's jump into all the details.

What Date and Time is Pokémon GO Fest 2021?

Pokémon GO Fest 2021 is taking place on July 17th and 18th. On both days, the event will run from 10am to 6pm your local time, and you'll need a ticket to play.

Pokémon GO Fest 2021 Tickets

Tickets for Pokémon GO Fest 2021 can now be purchased in the Pokémon GO shop. They're available for US$4.99 or your local equivalent, but note that you cannot use PokéCoins to buy one.

Saturday's Events

With a ticket, you'll be able to access the Pokémon GO Fest 2021 Special Research story starting on the first day of the event! In this Special Research story, you'll be the event director for a music festival. You'll get to pick between Pokémon to join your musical group and help Professor Willow to put on the best concert possible. Choose between Pikachu Rock Star and Pikachu Pop Star to join you in this mission—depending on which Pikachu you choose, a different track created by Pokémon music producer Junichi Masuda will play during the event! Plus, Pokémon related to music will be appearing more frequently in the wild throughout the day.

The Global Challenge Arena is returning, offering ticket holders a different collaborative challenge each hour. If they complete the challenge, they'll benefit from a special bonus for the remainder of the hour.

Four themed habitats will feature on an hourly rotation: Jungle, Desert Mountain, Ocean Beach, and Cave. During each habitat hour, certain Pokémon will be appearing in the wild for all Trainers. For ticket holders, other featured Pokémon will be attracted to Incense depending on which habitat is currently active, and ticket holders will also have an increased chance of encountering featured Shiny Pokémon. Ticket holders will also be able to complete four Collection Challenges, each one corresponding to a habitat.

Sunday's Events

Day two of Pokémon GO Fest 2021 is all about raids! On Sunday, July 18, all Trainers will be able to participate in raids featuring fan-favourite Pokémon. Ticket holders will earn an additional 10,000 XP for completing raids that day, and they'll also be able to stock up on Raid Passes during event hours, including up to 10 Raid Passes from spinning Gym Photo Discs, up to eight Remote Raid Passes from Timed Research, and a bundle of three Remote Raid Passes at no cost from the shop.

Plus, all the Pokémon featured on Saturday will also be appearing on Sunday, so it'll be a good opportunity for you to encounter any that you might have missed on the first day of the event!

Anything else?

It's worth noting that some features will be available on both days. Ticket holders will find that both Unown F and Unown G will be attracted to Incense throughout the event, and you'll also have the chance to find a shiny variant of each.

For all players, Lure Modules activated during event hours will last for three hours, and Eggs placed in an Incubator will require half the usual Hatch Distance.


Are you planning on grabbing a ticket for Pokémon GO Fest 2021? Let us know with a comment.