The long-awaited Pokémon GO Fest has finally made its debut, featuring several events, rewards and rare Pokémon to add to the Pokédex. The two-day global event took place June 4 and 5, 2022, with a bonus Pokémon GO Fest finale event on August 27, 2022. This year’s GO Fest included rotating habitats, boosted incense encounters and unique research quest lines. Players who may have missed out on the two-day event can still purchase their tickets for the finale in the in-game shop on the app.
This year’s GO Fest was full of surprises, allowing players to catch rare Pokémon that are typically difficult to find during regular gameplay. More so, the event included exclusive avatar items for players to obtain. This was directed at those who want to be able to customize their in-game avatars with some cool cosmetics. This year also included more shop items for players to purchase and quite a few free items available to give everyone a boost.
On day one of the event, the rotating habitats were available to all Trainers inside the world of Pokémon. For ticket holders, there were some additional bonuses available. Players who purchased their tickets had access to exclusive incense spawns as well. During event hours, ticket holders had an increased chance of encountering shiny Pokémon in the wild using their incense. The chances were slightly higher on Saturday than Sunday, but it was exciting nonetheless.
Other exclusive features of the event were Unown and rare Pokémon spawns. This occurred when Unown B made its Pokémon GO debut. During specific time frames throughout the event, players could use incense to catch rare Pokémon exclusive to the habitat rotation. Some Pokémon available to catch in the city habitat included Galarian Weezing, Unown O, Unown U and Klink. In the rainforest habitat, Tropius and Pancham would appear. Lastly, in the Tundra habitat, players could find Galarian Mr. Mime and Galarian Darumaka, very rare and extraordinary creatures to add to their Pokédex.
With the event’s start, the Global Challenge Arena rolled out for players to work together to complete a co-op challenge every hour. If players succeeded in their objective, they would gain a bonus for the remainder of the hour. Global challenges are nothing new to the Pokémon GO players who have entered into events like this before. These challenges and objectives are meant to bring the community together to achieve a common goal in exchange for rewards. They not only benefit those who participated; they aid Trainers who were unable to contribute. Depending on the objective, it takes players anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes to complete these Global challenges, wholly dependent on how many people joined.
While most of the fun from the two-day event may be over, players can still purchase tickets to the finale. This will be a one-day-only event on August 27, and will feature a Special Research story, many new Pokémon encounters and much more. Those who got their tickets to the two-day event will receive the finale ticket free of charge this year as a bonus. Pokémon GO has changed the way we view the franchise entirely, with its travel features, Pokéstops players can visit and even the ability to see the creatures inside their own homes. This year’s GO Fest was a huge success, and now players must wait to see what surprises the finale holds.