This year’s Pokémon GO Fest is just around the corner, taking place on June 4, 2022, and June 5, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time each day. That’s 16 hours to catch, battle, raid, and research, so if you want to make the most of your Pokémon GO Fest 2022 experience, it’s time to start prepping! The details of your preparations will depend on whether you’re purchasing a Pokémon GO Fest ticket and whether you plan on attending an in-person community event—but either way, there’s plenty of excitement in store. Read on to learn how to purchase a ticket (and a ticket for your friend if you’re feeling generous), which Shiny Pokémon will be appearing, and what to expect on each day of the event.
From stocking up on essential items to practicing useful skills, here are some things you can do to enhance your Pokémon GO Fest experience.
Stock up on Poké Balls. The first day of the event will feature four rotating habitat hours, each featuring different Pokémon. The last thing you want is to run out of Poké Balls at such an important time, so stock up now to make sure you can keep catching Pokémon without interruption.
Gather Berries. Razz Berries make Pokémon easier to catch, Nanab Berries make Pokémon move around less, and Pinap Berries will snag you extra Candy when you catch a Pokémon. You’ll want all three of these Berries to make the most of your Pokémon GO Fest experience.
Stock up on Star Pieces and Lucky Eggs. You’re going to be catching plenty of Pokémon and participating in a lot of raids, so why not maximize the Stardust and XP you earn as a result?
Pick up some Poffins. Save up a few Poffins in case you’re assigned a research task that involves earning hearts with your Buddy Pokémon.
Prepare your Pokémon for Evolution. Research tasks often involve evolving Pokémon, so hold onto some Pokémon that you already know you want to evolve. Consider using a tag so you can easily find these Pokémon when the time comes, and make sure you have all the necessary items to successfully evolve them. Check out our guide to Pokémon GO’s tagging feature to learn how to add a tag to easily find and evolve your Pokémon.
Practice your Nice, Great, and Excellent Throws. Research tasks often require you to make certain type of throws while you catch Pokémon, so if you start practicing now, your skills will be in good shape when called upon.
Prepare to power up. Powering up Pokémon is another common research task. Consider creating a tag for Pokémon you’d like to power up so you can complete those tasks quickly and efficiently.
Prepare to encounter Shiny Pokémon. Several Shiny Pokémon will be appearing for the first time in Pokémon GO during Pokémon GO Fest 2022, including Shroomish, Numel, Karrablast, Axew, and Shelmet. Different Shiny Pokémon will be appearing during each of the rotating habitat hours. Trainers with event tickets will have a greater chance of encountering Shiny Pokémon—both in the wild and when using Incense—and they’ll have the best chance of doing so on Saturday.
You’ll have a chance of encountering the following Pokémon as Shiny Pokémon during Pokémon GO Fest.
City Habitat: Costumed Pikachu, Magnemite, Alolan Grimer, Hitmonchan, Galarian Weezing, Baltoy, Trash Cloak Burmy, Bronzor, Pidove, and Trubbish.
Plains Habitat: Costumed Pikachu, Girafarig, Dunsparce, Larvitar, Numel, Trapinch, Buizel, Patrat, Axew, Shelmet, Rufflet, and Litleo.
Rainforest Habitat: Costumed Pikachu, Mudkip, Seedot, Shroomish, Slakoth, Turtwig, Chimchar, Karrablast, and Binacle.
Tundra Habitat: Costumed Pikachu, Omanyte, Swinub, Wingull, Meditite, Wailmer, Spheal, Piplup, Galarian Darumaka, and Cubchoo.
Plan your snacks and meals in advance. There will be plenty to do during Pokémon GO Fest, and you don’t want to play on an empty stomach. Pack all the snacks and drinks you’ll need to make sure you’re ready for a full day of play!
Connect with other Trainers. Do some research to see if there’s a local Pokémon GO Fest event or meetup happening near you. It’s always more fun playing with friends!
For Pokémon GO Fest Ticket holders
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Event tickets are available in the Pokémon GO in-game shop for US$14.99 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency). Trainers can now gift event tickets to friends with whom they’ve achieved a friendship level of Great Friends or higher. Trainers with tickets for Pokémon GO Fest can complete Special Research tasks to earn an encounter with Land Forme Shaymin. Ticket holders will also have a better chance of meeting Shiny Pokémon both in the wild and when using Incense, especially on Saturday.
Pick a level. Your ticket to Pokémon GO Fest will give you access to event-exclusive Special Research tasks. Before taking them on, you’ll need to choose a difficulty level—Relaxed, Standard, or Master—and a gameplay style: Catch, Explore, or Battle. Consider what you’d like to pick ahead of time to streamline the process.
Stock up on Incense. If you have an event ticket, Pokémon including Unown B, Unown G, Tropius, and Axew will be attracted to Incense throughout the day.
Plan your day. Get used to checking the Today view by tapping the icon near the bottom right corner of the screen. On Saturday, Trainers will be able to take on Global Challenges to unlock special bonuses. You’ll be able to track your progress on these challenges in the Today view.
Pokémon to look out for
With more than 70 Pokémon appearing throughout the event, there’s no shortage of exciting Pokémon to catch during Pokémon GO Fest! If you’re aiming to complete each habitat hour’s Collection Challenge, you’ll likely be trying to catch at least one of every Pokémon you encounter. But if you’re looking for Pokémon that will give you an edge in the GO Battle League, there are a few Pokémon in particular that you might want to look out for. Some of the Pokémon you’ll find may need to evolve, be powered up, or learn a second Charged Attack to perform well in the GO Battle League, so try to catch as many you can to earn ample Candy and Stardust.
City Habitat
Alolan Grimer will be appearing during the City habitat hour. And while Alolan Grimer is not particularly competitive in GO Battle League, its Evolution—Alolan Muk—is effective in the Great League and very useful in the Ultra League. Alolan Muk’s only real vulnerability is to Ground-type attacks, and its own Poison-type attacks pose a threat to many popular Pokémon including Venusaur, Clefable, Meganium, Abomasnow, and Sylveon.
Plains Habitat
If you’re interested in adding a Master League powerhouse to your GO Battle League lineup, get ready to catch as many Drilbur as possible during the Plains habitat hour. Drilbur’s Evolution, Excadrill, is highly rated in the Master League and is an excellent counter against popular Pokémon like Metagross, Togekiss, Dialga, Zekrom, and Melmetal. Excadrill’s Ground-type Charged Attack Drill Run powers up quickly, and Excadrill is resistant to many of the Psychic-, Dragon-, and Fairy-type Pokémon that tend to show up frequently in the Master League.
Rainforest Habitat
With the adorable Mudkip appearing during the Rainforest habitat hour, it’s the perfect opportunity to add its second Evolution—Swampert—to your GO Battle League lineup. The Mud Fish Pokémon dominates in the Great League and the Ultra League, due largely to the fact that its only weakness is Grass-type attacks. Fortunately, Swampert’s Poison-type Charged Attack Sludge Wave makes Swampert effective even against Grass-type Pokémon. Its Fast Attack Mud Shot generates energy very quickly, and the Charged Attack Muddy Water charges quickly as well.
Tundra Habitat
Swinub will be appearing during the Tundra habitat hour, offering Trainers an opportunity to add some Ice-type power to their Master League lineup. Because so many prominent Pokémon in the Master League are vulnerable to Ice-type attacks, Swinub’s second Evolution, Mamoswine, excels in the competition. In addition to posing a threat to Ground-, Flying-, and Dragon-type Pokémon, Mamoswine’s Ground-type attacks effectively counter both Metagross and Melmetal.
Have fun during Pokémon GO Fest 2022, Trainers!
