A Pokémon Go event is a regular event these days, with something new happening pretty much every week. If you're a huge fan of the location-based monster collector, there's very little reason never to play, whether it's participating in Raid Hour, Community Day, Go Fest 2020, or the smaller events that happen in between.
Now, while that's a positive because you always have something to keep you busy, there's also a downside because it's really hard to keep up to date with everything that's happening in Pokémon Go at any given time. But that's where we come in. We want to make your life easier by providing a nice chronological list of upcoming Pokémon Go events that you can participate in.
Please find that below. We're also keeping a list of all recent Pokémon Go updates, so you can check out the latest patch notes at a glance, and we've put together a comprehensive guide to Pokémon Go raids, which will help you when it comes to participating in the Raid Hours.
Pokémon Go event: Every upcoming Pokémon Go event listed
In this section, we'll detail all current and upcoming Pokémon Go events. We will keep it regularly updated and remove events from previous months that are no longer applicable.
team go rocket balloons
We've been reporting on Team Go Rocket shenanigans for days, and we finally know what this pesky group is up to: invading the world of Pokémon Go. Host a brand new event, the details of which are below:
- Every few hours, Team Go Rocket balloons will appear on your in-game map
- Tap the ball and you can battle Team Go Rocket to save their Shadow Pokemon
- Equip a rocket radar and you can encounter Team Go members when you tap a balloon
- You can encounter Giovanni by equipping your Super Rocket Radar
Meet Pokémon Go Research Breakthrough: July 2020 with Larvitar
July's Breakthrough Research encounter features Larvitar, the Pokemon Rock Skin. Here are the full details:
- Event begins Wednesday, July 1 at 13:00 p.m. PDT and ends Saturday, August 1 at 13:00 p.m. PDT
- Larvitar is available as a breakthrough encounter
- You may encounter a Shiny Larvitar
Pokémon Go Spotlight Hour: July 2020
Spotlight Hours returns, as always, to Pokémon Go in July. Here are the full details:
- Hours of operation are weekly on a Tuesday, between 18:00 p.m. and 19:00 p.m. local time
- July 7: Taillow is in the spotlight and you earn double candy for transferring Pokémon
- July 14: Zubat is in the spotlight and you get double XP for evolving Pokémon
- July 21: Oddish is in the spotlight and you earn twice as much stardust for catching Pokémon
- July 28: Buizel is in the spotlight and you get double XP for catching Pokemon
Pokémon Go Raid Time: July 2020
Kyurem is coming to Pokémon Go this month in a series of Raid Hours. Here are the full details:
- Kyurem will arrive in Pokémon Go on Tuesday, July 7 at 13:00 p.m. PDT in five-star raids
- Raid Hour events featuring Kyurem will take place throughout July on the following dates and times:
- July 8 from 18:00 p.m. to 19:00 p.m. local time
- July 15 from 18:00 p.m. to 19:00 p.m. local time
- July 22 from 18:00 p.m. to 19:00 p.m. local time
- July 29 from 18:00 p.m. to 19:00 p.m. local time
Pokémon Go Community Day: Gastly featured in July
Niantic has announced details for July's Community Day, which features Gastly. Here are the full details:
- July Community Day takes place on Sunday, July 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m. local time
- Gastly will spawn more frequently in the wild
- Shiny Gastly has a chance to make an appearance
- If you evolve Haunter, the evolved form of Gastly, during the event, the next Gengar will know Shadow Punch
- You can get a surprise by taking snapshots during the event
- A Jully Community Day Box, including 30 Ultra Balls, an Elite Fast TM, two Incense and two Super Incubators will be available in the store
- A special research story, 'The Great Gastly', is available for $1/£1 in the shop, and sees Professor Willow investigate spooky happenings
- Eggs require a quarter of the hatching distance when placed in incubators
- The incense will last for three hours
Pokémon Go fourth anniversary: all the celebrations planned
But wait, there's more! During the three weeks leading up to Pokémon Go Fest 2020, all trainers can participate in timed research lines that will unlock additional Pokémon appearances during the festival. It's to celebrate the fourth anniversary of Pokémon Go.
Here's a full rundown of how it works:
First week: July 3, 8:00 a.m. – July 8. 22:00 p.m. local time
- Go Fest Weekly Challenge: Skill starts with a timed search to complete
- There are three tasks to complete, and you'll earn a Ducklett and Flying Pikachu encounter, a Featured Coin, and more.
- If one million team members complete the Timed Research, you'll get an encounter with the following Pokemon:
- Instinct: Chimecho
- Mystic: Alomomola
- Valor: Chansey
- If you complete the Timed Research, you'll gain access to the Go Fest Elite Skill Challenge, which is just for bragging rights
Second week: July 10, 08:00 – July 15, 22:00 local time
- Go Fest Weekly Challenge: The battle kicks off with a timed search to complete
- Complete all tasks to earn an encounter with Hitmonlee and Absol, a Super Rocket Radar, and more
- If one million team members complete the Timed Research, you'll get an encounter with the following Pokemon:
- Instinct: Ferrose
- Mystique: Alolan Grimer
- Valor: Alolan Marowak
- If you complete the Timed Research, you'll gain access to the Go Fest Elite Battle Challenge, which is just for bragging rights
third week: July 17, 08:00 – July 22, 22:00 local time
- Go Fest Weekly Challenge: Friendship kicks off with a timed search to complete
- Complete all tasks to earn an encounter with Alolan Raichu and Petilil, a lucky egg, and more.
- If one million team members complete the Timed Research, you'll get an encounter with the following Pokemon:
- Instinct: Togetic
- Mystique: Dratini
- Valor: Litwick
- If you complete the Timed Research, you'll gain access to the Go Fest Elite Friendship Challenge, which is just for bragging rights
A minimum of $5 million will be donated for projects that support diversity on the Niantic platform, while the other half will go to nonprofits that help local communities rebuild.
If you want to buy a ticket for Pokémon Go Fest 2020, you can do so in Pokémon Go itself. Just follow these instructions:
- Open the shop
- Press the image Pokémon Go Fest 2020
- Click on “Buy”
- The ticket will appear in your item bag
- Come back on day one and two of the event to get access to the full experience
Pokémon Go Fest 2020
A virtual version of Pokémon Go Fest will take place in July, Niantic has announced. This changes the previous events, which had taken place in real places, like Chicago, Dortmund and Yokohama.
This year's Pokémon Go Fest will take place from July 25-26 and is an entirely global event. Ticket holders can also attend both days, rather than just one as before.
Here are the full details:
- Pokémon Go Fest 2020 will take place over two days: July 25 and 26
- The first day will include:
- A special research story
- Five habitats of Fire, Water, Grass, Battle, and Friendship will rotate every hour, featuring special Pokemon each time
- Trainers can work together to complete tasks in the Global Challenge Arena, although this feature is exclusive to ticket holders
- You can encounter over 75 different species of Pokémon in the wild, raids, and special research encounters
- The second day, on the other hand, is completely different from the first day. All we know so far is:
- There will be another special research story
- Everything else about day two is a surprise
On top of that, you can buy a physical Pokémon Go Fest 2020 t-shirt online at the Pokémon Center, and there will be free printable paper crafts to help you decorate your home to celebrate the festival.
Finally, a special micro-site will be put online to help you follow the various events, interact with other trainers and take part in giveaways.
If you fancy something similar, our Minecraft Earth update guide can help you get started.
