Pokémon Go Fest is back for 2022. The global annual event will introduce a handful of time-limited events, a new pocket monster to catch, and rare shinies to find across a two-day celebration running from June 4 to June 5. But ticket prices have been raised from last year’s discounted cost.
Developer Niantic outlined what’s coming in Pokémon Go Fest 2022 in a recent blog post: Mythical pokémon Shaymin will be introduced; shiny versions of Unown B, Shroomish, Axew, and others will make their way into the wild; and there'll be plenty of opportunities to catch rare pokémon that don’t usually appear.
Many of the weekend’s events will be open to every player, although the best rewards are reserved for ticket holders. In a first for the annual celebration, it'll wrap up with a special finale event on August 27. If you buy a ticket for the global event in June, you'll get free entry into the finale.
Ticket prices have been raised back up to $15 – that’s about £12 / AU$21. The event’s entry price dropped to only $5 in 2021 when Niantic held a hybrid in-person-online event in response to the Covid pandemic. Standalone tickets for the August finale will go up for sale for $10.99 – about £8.80/ AU$15.48 – at a later date.
Find all the details of Pokémon Go Fest 2022 below.
Saturday, June 4
The first day of Pokémon Go Fest 2022 will introduce a new Special Research questline. It’ll have you tracking and catching mythical pocket monster Land Forme Shaymin, as well as grabbing some event-exclusive rewards and avatar items along the way.
In a first for Pokémon Go, the event has an element of customization, letting you set its difficulty to Relaxed, Standard, or Master – each of which comes with different sticker rewards – as well as choose a preferred gameplay focus from Catch, Explore, or Battle.
Four habitats will be in rotation throughout the day, with different pokémon appearing during each hour. The habitats include city, plains, rainforest, and tundra. Ticket holders will also be able to use incense to attract an additional range of pokémon, including Klink and Galarian Weezing, while a new collaborative Global Challenge Arena will earn you hourly bonuses.
A handful of shiny pokémon are making their debuts, including Shiny Shroomish, Shiny Numel, Shiny Karrablast, Shiny Axew, and Shiny Shelmet. Ticket holders will have an increased chance of encountering them using incense.
The event will run from 10am to 6pm local time.
Sunday, June 5
The second day of Pokémon Go Fest 2022 will introduce a new unnamed pokémon to five-star raids, and a short Special Research questline. All the pokémon that featured on Saturday will also appear again, and every Pokémon Go player, even those without an event ticket, will be able to complete in the Global Challenge Arena.
Ticket holders, meanwhile, will get access to yet another Special Research story and another chance to attract Saturday’s pokémon with incense. Team GO Rocket balloons will appear more frequently, too, and you’ll earn twice the normal amount of Mysterious Components for challenging Team GO Rocket Grunts.
Again, those activities will be running from 10am to 6pm local time.
Across the weekend
Throughout the event, ticket-holders can earn up to nine free Raid Passes by spinning Gyms, collect special event stickers by opening gifts and spinning PokéStops, and earn a surprise by taking five snapshots.
Pokémon Go players who don’t buy a ticket can also enjoy some goodies. A new costume-wearing Pikachu will debut in the wild and one-star raids, Axew will also appear across one-star raids, and anyone who takes a snapshot during event hours will earn an undisclosed prize.
