I looked at my watch. It was only 1pm, and Bulbasaur was already asleep.

For the last few days, I have been getting to grips with Garmin's new Pokémon Sleep integration, released to coincide with last week's World Sleep Day (and the long-running franchise's 30th anniversary).

As well as integration with the Pokémon Sleep app, the collab also debuted new watch faces that react to your current sleep and Body Battery. As Garmin users likely know, Body Battery is a metric that helps determine daily readiness for activity, a score from 0-100 based on sleep quality, activity, stress and heart rate variability. Body Battery depletes during the day, and gets restored at night.

A Body Battery of 100 means you're fully rested and ready to take on the day, resulting in a happy, energetic-looking Pokémon pal on your wrist. This particular Pokémon Sleep integration feature is very clever: it's like a Tamagotchi for adults, and you 'feed' the digital animal by taking care of yourself and getting good sleep.

I hadn't seen Bulbasaur look happy and energetic at all, even after I first downloaded the Pokémon Sleep watch face on my Garmin Fenix 8 Pro (the best Garmin watch overall, if you don't mind paying the premium) the previous day. As soon as I enabled the integration and picked my Pokémon, Bulbasaur's face dropped into a neutral expression, then a droopy, tired one, falling asleep around 8pm. It was another four hours before I finally followed suit and went to bed.

I woke up with a Body Battery of 49. Not only had I exhausted my reserves the previous day, but I only regained around 40% of my capacity, despite a decent-ish sleep score of 78. Consequently, Bulbasaur awoke looking tired, and fell asleep by the early afternoon as my Body Battery score depleted once again.

I knew what was to blame, of course: I'm in the middle of a very busy house move, which also includes a fair bit of renovation. I've been spending evenings and weekends packing, painting and DIY-ing, cursing to myself as I attack skirting boards with the wrong type of saw for the job, shirking water for coffee, and throwing salty frozen meals in the oven at 9pm because I'm too tired to cook. None of this is conducive to waking up well-rested.

I've been tempted to take my watch off for this, or least disable the Pokémon Sleep integration so I don't feel responsible for a sleep-deprived starter 'mon. A report from Newcastle University found that fitness trackers can actually be a source of stress, citing research indicating that "the negative psychological reactions that arise from the features and designs of fitness technologies — such as feedback systems, goal-setting functions, and gamified or social elements.

"For instance, unmet goals or negative feedback can make consumers feel anxious and guilty, while comparative aspects of these technologies are associated with stress."

In what was already a stressful time as I juggled work and the house move process, the pressure to take care of myself could have piled yet more stress on. Gamifying wellness means you feel good when you 'win', but you also feel bad when you 'lose'. A bad sleep score on my wrist makes me feel like I've failed in a way, but waking up to an exhausted little plant-creature adds another emotional layer to the disappointment.

Nevertheless, I was determined to see Bulbasaur happy. Despite being as busy as ever and eating late yet again, I made a concerted effort to optimize my sleep as best I could over the next two nights. I rehydrated as soon as I got in, made a point of switching a mid-stress comfort snack (chocolate) to a healthy one (apple), and eventually went to bed armed with a chamomile tea and a book, leaving my phone in the other room. No more doomscrolling to distract myself from my lengthy jobs list.

Success! After night two, Bulbasaur awoke with a big smile on its face, feeling happy and energized. It lasted around 30 minutes before his expression shifted back to neutral, indicating that I still had a ways to go to improve my Body Battery score, but I did manage to snap a picture as soon as I saw it.

This is the brilliance of Garmin's new Pokémon Sleep integration: Bulbasaur managed to convince me (via emotional blackmail) that even a little self-care is worth it, as I'm now equipped with more energy to attack another busy week. Pokémon's shameless gamification of my health helped me reclaim a nightly routine, even if it guilt-tripped me into it.

The watch faces are free to download if you're a Garmin user. If Bulbasaur doesn't do it for you, there's 47 other Pokémon to choose from, as well as a 'Snorlax & Friends' watch face – here's how to download your watch face of choice.

Remember the summer of 2016 when the entire world felt like it was playing Pokémon Go? Well, the data you collected by playing that augmented reality (AR) game and others like it may be the key to a new kind of AI model.

Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, revealed its ambitions to develop a Large Geospatial Model (LGM), an AI designed to help machines navigate and understand the physical world.

It's as fascinating an evolution for technology as any Pokémon evolution. Interactive, real-world gaming experiences are now the source of potential futuristic AI powers. Who knows what this kind of AI can achieve thanks to unsuspecting players pouring data into company servers? Many of us even paid them for the privilege of exploiting our data.

At the heart of Niantic’s latest venture is its Visual Positioning System (VPS), which lets AR apps position virtual objects in the real world, like how you see the Pokémon on your phone. Niantic has built a massive geospatial data repository through its games, where players scan real-world locations to place virtual creatures.

The recent “Pokémon Playgrounds” feature even lets users place Pokémon in specific locations, improving little details about angle and elevation in the database. Players may view it as just a fun feature, but every time someone maps a landmark or scans a park, they’re contributing to the training of Niantic’s AI.

Pokémon Go AI

Traditional maps rely on cars or flying drones to take pictures, but Niantic’s data comes from a pedestrian perspective and counts areas machines could never reach – so congratulations on expanding the net of data Nianctic can use. Niantic has used this trove of information to train millions of neural networks, creating localized models for specific places. Now, the company aims to combine these individual models into a global system, a constantly evolving 3D world map.

These user-generated maps are then used to teach the LGM how to recognize objects, predict spatial layouts, and infer missing details about scenes – all skills critical to spatial intelligence. Niantic pitches the model as a way to improve gaming. However, it remains to be seen if the average player is okay with making these contributions to a private company's map of the world without compensation, especially as wearables that can do the same thing, like AI-powered smart glasses, become more common.

"As we move toward more scalable models, Niantic’s goal remains to lead in the development of a large geospatial model that operates wherever we can deliver novel, fun, enriching experiences to our users. And, as noted, beyond gaming Large Geospatial Models will have widespread applications, including spatial planning and design, logistics, audience engagement, and remote collaboration," Niantic wrote in a blog post. "The path from LLMs to LGMs is another step in AI’s evolution. As wearable devices like AR glasses become more prevalent, the world’s future operating system will depend on the blending of physical and digital realities to create a system for spatial computing that will put people at the center."

You might also like

• Google wants Gemini AI to be the star of every part of your life
• Google is making Gemini AI part of everything you do with your smartphone – here's how
• Gemini will soon call and text for you, without you needing to unlock your phone

Augmented reality monster-catching game Pokémon Go is known for taking its players to strange new places, but one trainer found themselves in an especially bizarre situation. 

For Reddit user ichigodevil, it was a day on Pokémon Go like any other - that is until they seemed to be transformed into a raid encounter by a glitch. 

For those not in the know, raid encounters are boss battles that become available when a powerful boss Pokémon takes over a Gym. Available for a limited time, this usually involves a tough battle where, should you prove victorious, you'll be rewarded with special items and a chance of capturing that Pokémon. 

However, much to the Reddit user's surprise, a raid countdown clock appeared above their character's head. Prompting them to take to Reddit with a screenshot of the event and a declaration to the world: "who wanna square up?"   

Guess i’m a raid from r/pokemongo

Amused Reddit users from across the world flocked to the post. 

"At least you're rated five stars," chimed in one user, while another said, "It's time to catch a PokéGo player."

Reddit user PokeOneKenobi offered a surprisingly dark take: "If you [have] one of the following symptoms: weird countdowns appearing over your [head], the feeling of impending doom, [or] people flocking around you to party up [,] please report to Niantic [for] assistance immediately."

Pokémon Go released back in 2016, garnering attention from fans across the world. Though the monster-catching game has yet to recapture its its peak of 28.5 million daily unique visitors (via Vox), the game still has roughly 11.2 million players, making it a powerful force in the world of mobile gaming (via MMOstats).

When it comes to Pokémon as a whole, competition has arrived in the form of third-person survival game Palworld, which has catchable monsters with a striking resemblance to Pokémon's own roster.

Want more games with great communities? Check out our lists of the best co-op games and the best MMO games.

If you've wondering where to buy the Pokémon Go Plus+ accessory then you're in the right place. We're showing you all the current US and UK retailers stocking the must-have device enabling you to get the most out of Pokémon Sleep and the perennially popular Pokémon Go, too. 

The Pokémon Go Plus+ device's main purpose is to enhance Pokémon Sleep, a new sleep-tracking app that launched earlier this month. Inside of going out and roaming the real-life streets for AR Pokémon near you as in Pokémon Go, this app instead helps you to monitor your sleeping patterns and the types of sleep you have while rewarding you with new entries to your Pokédex. 

What's more, the Pokémon Go Plus+ accessory is pretty advanced. It utilizes a low-latency form of Bluetooth to connect to your iOS or Android smartphone. Within Pokémon Go itself, you'll be able to use it to spin Pokéstops and throw Pokéballs automatically which could help increase your productivity in the game. Here's where to find Pokémon Go Plus+ where you're based.

Where to buy Pokémon Go Plus+ in the US

Where to buy Pokémon Go Plus+ in the UK

Pokémon Go and Pokémon Sleep will play ideally on some of the best gaming phones to make the rich AR worlds a reality. For more on the series, we're rounding up the best Pokémon games and the best RPGs for those after more action-oriented experiences.

Niantic has confirmed it'll be strongly focusing on Pokémon Go and other unreleased projects going forward, at the cost of two games being canceled and swathes of layoffs.

Pokémon Go, is largely considered to be one of the best mobile games, and holds pride of place as Niantic's top earner. In order to strengthen its focus on Pokémon Go, Niantic CEO John Hanke confirmed in an email to employees that the company will be closing its LA-based studio.

"As a result, we will be sunsetting NBA All-World and stopping production on Marvel: World of Heroes," writes Hanke. "This means we are laying off around 230 Niantics."

The reason for this, Hanke cites, is that the company "allowed our expenses to grow faster than revenue. In the wake of the revenue surge we saw during Covid, we grew our headcount and related expenses in order to pursue growth more aggressively, expanding existing game teams, our AR platform work, new game projects, and roles that support our products and our employees."

To combat this, Niantic is looking to scale back and focus on a few core projects. Pokémon Go is chief among them, but also the recently released Pikmin Bloom and the upcoming Monster Hunter Now which is launching this September. In short, it means that Niantic has seen fit to lay off 230 staff members, shut down the popular NBA All-World, and cancel Marvel: World of Heroes before it ever released.

Hanke's statement on the Covid-19 pandemic is backed up by data. According to Statista, Pokémon Go earned just over $900 million in revenue in 2020. There was a slight drop-off in 2021, with the mobile title earning $874 million. In 2022, we see a substantial fall to $645 million. 

With that in mind, it's understandable that Niantic would want to refocus its resources on increasing revenue for its most well-known game. But, it's nonetheless frustrating and disheartening that the decision has come at a steep cost of layoffs and cancellations.

The Niantic layoffs aren't the only piece of bad news circling the industry of late. Meanwhile, Ubisoft has confirmed it's developing a play-to-earn game on the popular Oasys blockchain.

Pokémon Go’s Remote Raid Pass is due to have its price raised on April 6. 

Remote Raids were a feature introduced during the COVID pandemic. It allowed players to continue playing during the lockdown – a time when it was tough for anyone to Pokémon Go anywhere. Remote Raids allowed players to engage in tough PvE battles from the comfort of their own homes; however, it looks like Niantic, the developers behind the AR mobile-based monster-catching simulator, are placing a higher premium on the feature. 

Niantic will increase the Remote Raid Pass three-pack price from 300 to 525 PokéCoins, while a single Remote Raid Pass will now set you back 195 PokéCoins up from 100. However you look at it, this is a significant increase in cost, almost doubling the amount of currency required to enjoy the feature. 

Price hikes in a video game will never be popular, but the increased cost of Pokémon Go’s Remote Raids cause even more concern than you might expect. Both disabled players and players who live in remote parts of the world benefitted hugely from the feature, and will now have a more challenging time enjoying the raids. 

One Reddit user, Sweaty_cockroach7708 has called for a mass boycott in a post that has since been removed by the subreddit’s moderators. Another user, hjuvapena, shared an image likening Pokémon Go to the Titanic, doomed to sink on April 6 as “millions of players lost their interest.”    

Prepare for trouble

The price rise certainly seems like a cheap shot from Niantic, who have made over $6 billion from Pokémon Go over the past six years. Though Pokémon Go always encouraged players to get out and about, there is a lot to be said about the importance of accessibility. Walking to a nearby Pokéstop isn’t as easy for some as it is for others. Plus, for folks living in remote parts of the world, getting to an important location may be a much taller order than you might expect. 

Rather than charge more money for existing features, it would be a far better look for Niantic to introduce new features and charge for those instead. Pokémon Go has enjoyed plenty of events in the past that did just that. The GO Fest and Johto Tour in 2022 generated significant revenue for Niantic by charging players for a “ticket”, comparable to a battle pass in other titles. 

There are, therefore, clearly ways Niantic could have its cake and eat it. Resorting to price hikes, especially when they disproportionately affect more vulnerable players, is unlikely to win the company or its product any favor with fans. Hopefully, Niantic will respond well to the discourse surrounding these changes. However, I wouldn't hold my breath given Niantic’s response to previous price hikes.      

• Pokémon Go: A complete beginner's guide

If you want to know about the latest Pokémon Go updates, then you've come to the right place. Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game by Niantic that allows you to live out the age-old fantasy of roaming the land, capturing, befriending, and battling adorable pocket monsters.  

Available on iOS and Android and iPadOS, Pokémon Go enjoyed a period of elevated popularity in 2016, back when it was first released. Though the game has never quite captured the heart of popular culture again in the way it once did, Pokémon Go has been a juggernaut in mobile gaming, enjoying a constant stream of events and updates over the course of its seven-year lifespan. 

The steady stream of new content from Niantic shows no sign of letting up any time soon. There are a lot of features for trainers to explore, so much so that it can get more than a little overwhelming. Fortunately, we've broken down all the details surrounding the game's latest updates and upcoming content drops. We've also included a handy index of all our guides to help you become the best Pokémon master you can be. 

Pokémon Go updates: cut to the chase

• What is it? An augmented reality Pokémon mobile game
• Released: July 16, 2016
• What can I play it on? Android, iOS, and iPadOS

Pokémon Go updates: what's new?

• What's new? New Season: Hidden Gems

Pokémon Go Hidden Gems arrived on June 1, 2023 and is bursting with new features that are sure to keep even veteran trainers busy. For starters, there's a few big events on the horizon. There's also new Cups to enjoy, and new rewards for ranking up in Battle League. We'll go into more detail on each new addition below.

Pokémon Go upcoming events

• Pokemon Go 7th Anniversary Party - Thursday, July 6, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. to Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at 8:00 p.m.
• Pokémon Go World Championships event - Friday, August 11, 2023, to Tuesday, August 15, 2023

The next Pokémon Go event is the 7th Anniversary Party. It featuring rotating bonuses, glimmering Gimmighoul coins, different Pokémon appearing each day to help celebrate, the return of a shiny Masterwork Research Story, and more!

Party Hat Wartortle  and Party Hat Blastoise will be added, as well as new wild encounters and event bonuses. For full details, visit the Pokemon Go website.

After that it's the Pokémon Go World Championship event. During this event, the following cups will be active: Great League, Ultra League and Master League. There will be 3× Stardust from win rewards.

That's all you need to know about the latest season of Pokémon Go. For more on the game, be sure to check out our best Pokémon to use in Pokémon Go guide.

Pokémon Go developer Niantic is making an augmented reality mobile game based on the Marvel universe.

Marvel World of Heroes will mix the AR gameplay of Pokémon Go with the tight spandex of superheroes. Announced in a short teaser trailer, it will let you customize your own crime-fighting character to thwart villains in your local (AR) neighborhood

“Create your own hero, patrol your neighborhood to foil crimes, and team up with your friends as well as iconic Marvel heroes such as Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine to save the Multiverse,” reads the game's description.

The game is slated to release in 2023 for Android and iOS. Watch the trailer below.

Marvel Go

Marvel World of Heroes looks to pull from Niantic’s expertise in AR mobile games, but isn’t replicating the pocket monster-catching mega-hit wholesale. In a blog post, lead game designer Neil Melville says the game “gives a lot of flexibility for players to express different body types, gender expressions, and outfit customization”.

Senior producer Lyza Faylona says the dev team was inspired by MMORPGs and wants to replicate that genre's expansive feeling. The developers are placing a lot of emphasis on exploration, as well as interacting with the ordinary world with the preternatural powers of a Marvel superhero.

In a change from Pokémon Go, you won’t just be walking around catching critters to launch into battles, but it seems like you’ll do the fighting yourself. The short trailer shows players wielding Thor’s hammer Mjölnir, Cyclops’ laser-shooting eyes, and Doctor Strange's circular orange energy shields. You’ll also be able to team up with other players, although exactly how co-op battles work hasn’t been detailed.

World of Heroes will soft launch “soon”. You can sign up for its beta test on the game’s website. 

This is by no means the first time Niantic has transferred Pokémon Go’s hit AR gameplay to another title. It released pet simulator Peridot earlier this year, although we’ll have to wait and see whether World of Heroes makes its way to the list of best Android mobile games on the market. 

• Assassin's Creed Mirage is just one of three newly revealed games in the series

Pokémon Go Psychic Spectacular 2022 is here, bringing with it a whole bunch of mind-manipulating goodies and exclusive events.

A celebration of all psychically enhanced pocket monsters, Psychic Spectacular is already live. With a new Mega Pokémon to catch, shinies to nab, and research tasks to complete, there’s a lot to keep you busy over the next few days.

We’ve rolled up all you need to know about Pokémon Go Psychic Spectacular 2022 right here. Don’t miss out on that Mega Alakazam.

Pokémon Go Psychic Spectacular 2022 start time

Psychic Spectacular 2022 is already underway. The event kicked off on September 6 and will be running until Monday, September 12 at 8pm local time.

All pokémon in Psychic Spectacular 2022

First-generation pokémon Alakazam is headlining Psychic Spectacular 2022, making their Mega Raid debut. If you catch Alakazam in a raid or evolve one from a Kadabra during the event, they’ll know the Psychic move – a charged attack that deals 90 damage.

Shiny Elgyem will also be available for the first time. You’ll be able to find them more frequently in the wild while the event is running, and will encounter them after completing the event’s Field Research tasks. Several Timed Research tasks focusing on throwing Curveballs will also be available, which can be completed to earn even more encounters with Elgyem.

A bunch of other Psychic pokémon will also appear more frequently in the wild, including:

• Abra
• Slowpoke
• Drowzee
• Natu
• Rals
• Spoink
• Munna
• Woobat
• Gothita
• Solosis
• Elgyem
• Kadabra
• Kirlia

Raids have had a spruce up, too. You’ll be able to the following pokémon across each tier:

• One-star Raids: Unown E, Unown, P, Unown S, and Espurr
• Three-star Raids: Alolan Raichu, Wobbuffet, Girafarig, and Oranguru
• Five-star Raids: Normal Forme Deoxys, Attack Forme Deoxys, Defense Forme Deoxys, Speed Forme Deoxys
• Mega Raids: Mega Alakazam

Psychic Spectacular 2022 Deoxys Raid Day

A special Raid Day is being held on Sunday, September 11. From 2pm to 5pm local time, all forms of Mythical pokémon Deoxys will appear more frequently in five-star Raids. 

You’ll also have a higher chance of encountering a Shiny Deoxys, and can earn up to five additional daily Raid Passes by spinning Gyms.

Psychic Spectacular 2022 Field Research tasks

Several Field Research tasks will be live during Psychic Spectacular 2022. Spin pokéstops to collect them, and tick each one off to earn a special reward. 

Reddit user SilphScience has compiled all the tasks and their respective rewards:

• Make 5 Curveball Throws – Elgyem encounter
• Make 5 Curveball Throws in a row reward - Chimecho encounter
• Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms – Baltoy encounter
• Spin 15 PokéStops or Gyms – Hypno encounter

Timed Research tasks

Additional event-exclusive Research tasks are also live. They’ll expire at the end of the event. You'll earn an encounter with Elgyem for completing each one, as well as 30 Poké Balls and 10 Great Balls for tying up the mall.

• Make 5 Curveball Throws
• Make 10 Curveball Throws
• Make 15 Curveball Throws
• Make 20 Curveball Throws
• Make 25 Curveball Throws
• Make 30 Curveball Throws
• Make 35 Curveball Throws
• Make 42 Curveball Throws

• The Callisto Protocol builds on the organic scares of Alien Isolation

The best psychic type Pokémon are not to be underestimated. In this guide, we’ll give you a rundown of their strengths and weaknesses so that you take only the best telekinetics into battle with you in Pokémon Go.

The wait for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is almost over, but there’s still lots to do in the mobile version of the popular video game franchise.

The many creatures in Pokémon Go not only have type-specific vulnerabilities, but each has unique move-sets to consider. These will build the bare bones of your gameplay, whether you’re going up against a gym, a Team Rocket member, or heading into PvP to gain victory over your friends. For an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each type at a glance, study our Pokémon Go type chart.

When it comes to psychic types, there’s a little more to the story. Psychic Pokémon can be common but tricky to catch, like Abra - or elusive and legendary, like Mew. However, they all share core abilities that you should be aware of before going into battle.

Keep reading to find out what those are, as well as to find out which of the most powerful mind-bending creatures deserve your hard-earned powerup resources.

The best psychic type Pokémon in Pokémon Go

The best psychic type Pokémon: Strengths and weaknesses

Psychic creatures are resistant to the following damage types:

• Fighting
• Poison
• Psychic

Psychic pokémon are vulnerable to the following damage types:

• Bug
• Ghost
• Dark

Psychic attacks will also not do so much damage to psychic, steel, and especially dark type Pokémon.

The best psychic type Pokémon: Mewtwo

Mewtwo is simply one of the strongest Pokémon in Pokémon Go.

Mewtwo is only obtainable through five-star raids, and legendary pokémon cycle in and out of the raid pool, so you may need to check whether it is available to be caught.

Mewtwo is a pure psychic type, so it is resistant to damage from fighting and other psychic types. However, it will take additional damage from bug, ghost, and especially the best dark type Pokémon.

The best psychic type Pokémon: Mew

The classic legendary Pokémon Mew doesn’t have the best stats in Pokémon Go, but it can learn moves from almost any type, making it extremely flexible for when you need different kinds of special effective moves.

You can get Mew by completing the Special Research quest called A Mythical Discovery.

Mew is also a pure psychic type. It is resistant to damage from fighting and other psychic types. However, it will take additional damage from bug and dark types, as well as the best ghost type Pokémon. This is important to keep an eye on since you might be using it to fill in type coverage with its great move pool.

The best psychic type Pokémon: Lugia

Lugia has some solid stats in Pokémon Go, especially defense, so it can be good for long, tanky battles.

However, like other legendary Pokémon, it can only be obtained through raid battles. Legendary Pokémon cycle in and out of the raid pool, so you may need to check whether it is available to be caught depending on when you’re reading this.

Lugia is a psychic and flying type Pokémon. It is resistant to grass, psychic, and especially fighting and ground type attacks. However, it is vulnerable to the best rock type Pokémon as well as attacks from ghost, electric, ice, and dark-types.

The best psychic type Pokémon: Hoopa

Hoopa is a powerful attacker for use in battles in Pokémon Go, up there with Mewtwo.

You could get Hoopa by participating in the Misunderstood Mischief Special Research tasks, although these are not currently available in the game at the time of writing. If you did manage to complete the research tasks, however, your reward was a Hoopa in the Confined form, and you’ll need to use candy to unlock the more powerful Unbound form. 

Hoopa is a psychic and dark type Pokémon, so psychic attacks deal very little damage. However, it is weak to fairy and especially bug-type attacks from the best grass type Pokémon.

The best psychic type Pokémon: Espeon

Since all these other psychic type Pokémon are difficult to obtain, you might be looking for a more manageable option. Although Espeon isn’t as powerful as some of the other Pokémon on this list, it’s a more accessible option for when you want a psychic type pokémon on your team.

You can get an Espeon by evolving Eevee. You’ll need to walk 10km with Eevee as your buddy and evolve it during the daytime using 25 candy. Alternatively, once per account, you can name your Eevee “Sakura” to encourage it to turn into an Espeon.

Espeon is a pure psychic type, so it is resistant to damage from the best fighting type Pokémon and fellow psychic types. However, it will take additional damage from bug, ghost, and dark types.

• The best Pokémon titles across the franchise? We've got you covered.

Halloween is nigh, and the best ghost type Pokémon are a haunting option against certain opponents in Pokémon Go - especially if you’re a fan of using sly and sneaky tactics to gain victory.

The wait for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is almost over, but there’s still lots to do in the mobile version of the popular video game franchise.

There are hundreds of Pokémon available in Pokémon Go, so it can be difficult to know which are the best to add to your collection or commit resources to when training up for battle. Aside from type-specifics, each creature has its own unique vulnerabilities and skillsets to consider. If you’re looking for a more general guideline, take time to study our Pokémon Go type chart for an at-a-glance look.

In this guide, we’ll be talking about the best ghost type Pokémon. Wreaking havoc against your foes has never been easier, especially since ghost type Pokémon come in all shapes and sizes to suit your tastes. From the spooky-cute Duskull to the camouflaged Sinistea, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Keep reading to find out our top picsk for the best ghost type Pokémon you should onsider spending resources on, and how you might be able to find them while exploring your local area in Pokémon Go. 

The best ghost type Pokémon in Pokémon Go

The best ghost type Pokémon: Strengths and weaknesses

In Pokémon Go, ghost types will take reduced damage from:

• Normal
• Fighting 
• Poison
• Bug

Ghost type moves are also super effective against psychic and other ghost type Pokémon.

Ghost type Pokémon are vulnerable to attacks from the following damage types:

• Ghost
• Dark

Ghost type moves are also not very effective against dark and especially normal type Pokémon.

The best ghost type Pokémon: Giratina

Giratina is a powerful Pokémonin Pokémon Go and you can often find people using it in PvP battles.

It comes in two forms. Its Origin form has more defence, while its Altered form has more attack, so you can choose which is more important to you. Both can be found in five-star raid battles, although the pool of Pokémonthat can appear in these battles is constantly changing, so you may need to check whether it is available at the time you’re reading this.

Giratina is a ghost and dragon type legendary Pokémon. It will take less damage from bug, electric, fighting, fire, grass, normal, poison, and water type attacks. 

However, bear in mind that it is vulnerable to dark, dragon, fairy, ghost, and ice type attacks. 

The best ghost type Pokémon: Gengar

Gengar is one of the most powerful ghost type pokémon in Pokémon Go. It also has a Mega Evolution, which can be used for even greater power in battle.

Gengar can be evolved from Gastly (via Haunter) with candy. However, if you trade a Haunter with a friend you can also get it without needing to save up all those candies. Or, if you get really lucky, you can sometimes just catch Gengar in the wild.

Gengar is a ghost and poison type, so it is resistant to grass and fairy, and especially normal, poison, bug, and fighting damage. However, it is vulnerable to ground, ghost, psychic, and dark type attacks.

The best ghost type Pokémon: Chandelure

Chandelure is a powerful Pokémonfor taking into battle in Pokémon Go. It also has a Shadow form which amps up its attack power.

Chandelure can be evolved from Litwick, which can rarely be found in the wild or can be hatched from 10km eggs.

As a ghost and fire type, Chandelure has a lot of resistances. It will take reduced damage from poison, steel, fire, grass, ice, and fairy attacks, and even more reduced damage from normal, fighting and bug-type attacks. 

However it is vulnerable to ground, rock, ghost, water, and dark type attacks.

The best ghost type Pokémon: Trevenant

Trevenant is an interesting Pokémon that has a well-rounded set of stats. With its variety of strengths, it can be a good pokémon to have on hand if you’re not sure what to expect from your opponent. 

It can be evolved from Phantump for 200 candy, so catch as many as you can, walk with it as your buddy, and feed it berries when it’s in gyms to gather those up.

Trevenant is a ghost and grass type, making it resistant to ground, water, grass, electric, normal, and fighting type moves. 

However, it is weak to flying, ghost, fire, ice, and dark type moves. 

• Want some more chills and thrills? The Killer Klowns are coming for you.

The best flying type Pokémon will swoop to victory in Pokémon Go. We’re going to give you a rundown of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as which are the best to choose for your next big Team Rocket face-off.

The wait for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is almost over, but there’s still lots to do in the mobile version of the popular video game franchise.

With so many winged companions up for grabs in Pokémon Go, it can be hard to know which ones you should be focusing on. You should also bear in mind their unique benefits and drawbacks, so study our Pokémon Go type chart for a more in-depth look at the type matchups.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re going up against a gym, Team Rocket member, or heading into PvP to gain victory over your friends - you should be aware of each Pokémon’s strengths and weaknesses.

In this guide, we’ll be talking about the best flying type Pokémon in Pokémon Go. Flying type pokémon can vary a lot, from the everyday birds like Pidgey and Pikipek, to the dramatic legendaries like Ho oh and Rayquaza. 

Keen to get started? Take to the skies and snag these powerful winged Pokémon.

The best flying type Pokémon in Pokémon Go

The best flying type Pokémon: Strengths and weaknesses

Flying type Pokémon are strong against the following damage types:

• Grass
• Fighting
• Bug
• Ground

Flying type attacks are also strong against grass, poison, and bug type Pokémon.

Flying type Pokémon are vulnerable to the following attack types:

• Electric
• Ice
• Rock

Flying type attacks are also weak against electric, rock, and steel type Pokémon.

The best flying type Pokémon: Tornadus

Tornadus is a powerful option for battle in Pokémon Go, especially in its Therian Form.

Either form can be caught during raid battles. However, the pool of pokémon available in Raids is constantly changing, so be sure to check whether or not it is currently available before searching it out.

Tornadus is one of the few Pokémon which is a pure flying type. It is resistant to fighting, bug, grass, and especially ground-type attacks. 

Watch out if you're up against the best rock type Pokemon, as well as any electic or ice-types; their attacks deal a great deal of damage.

The best flying type Pokémon: Pidgeot

Pidgeot is one of the most accessible strong Pokémon available in Pokémon Go, so it’s a great choice for newer players.

It can be evolved from Pidgey, one of the most common Pokémon, using candies. It also has a Mega Evolution which gives it even more power. Collect Mega Energy and choose when to use it on your Pidgeot wisely for maximum effect in your battles. 

Pidgeot is a normal and flying type Pokémon that is resistant to attacks from the best grass-type Pokemon as well as bug, ground, ghost-type attacks. However, it is vulnerable to rock, electric, and ice type attacks.

The best flying type Pokémon: Rayquaza

Rayquaza is another great legendary Pokémon available in Pokémon Go. It also has a Mega Evolution for even more power, so gather up that Mega Energy when you can.

It is available from five-star raid battles. However, the pool of Pokémon available in raids is constantly changing, so be sure to check whether or not it is currently available before going looking for it.

Rayquaza is a double ace in the hole, being one of the best dragon type Pokemon as well as a formidable flying type, too. 

It is resistant to fighting, bug, fire, water, and especially ground and grass type attacks. However, it is vulnerable to rock, dragon, fairy, and especially ice type attacks.

The best flying type Pokémon: Charizard

Charizard comes in many forms. Mega Charizard Y is an especially powerful form, and retains the fire and flying typing of the normal Charizard. 

The Mega Charizards can be obtained by Mega Evolving a normal Charizard. To do this you will need Mega Energy, obtained through Mega Raids. You will be able to choose which one you want. Keep an eye out though, because Mega Charizard X loses its flying type to become dragon instead.

A normal Charizard and Mega Charizard Y are Fire and flying types. They are vulnerable to electric and water-type attacks, and especially vulnerable to rock-type attacks. However, they are resistant to ground, fighting, steel, fire, and fairy-type attacks from some of the strongest magical monsters out there - and are especially strong against bug and grass-type attacks.

The best flying type Pokémon: Ho oh

Ho oh is a powerful legendary Pokémon. 

Like other legendaries, it is only available in raid battles, so depending on when you are reading this you may need to wait for it to rotate back into the available pool. If it’s not available, don’t worry too much - Charizard has the same typing, and is a powerful but accessible alternative.

Ho oh can also be found in Shadow form, and even Apex Shadow for those who attended the Go Tour: Johto event. Apex Shadow Ho oh is particularly powerful.

Ho oh is a flying and fire type. It is vulnerable to electric and water type attacks from the best water Pokemon in Pokemon Go, and is especially weak against rock-type attacks. However, it is resistant to ground, fighting, steel, fire, and fairy-type attacks, and especially resistant to bug and grass-type attacks.

• Gotta catch 'em all? Here's our list of the best Pokémon games out there.

The best fighting type Pokémon are a great option for the martial arts masters of Pokémon Go. This guide will detail the type’s unique strengths and weaknesses, which will serve you well to remember before heading into battle.

When it comes to the best Pokémon in Pokémon Go, fighting type Pokémon pack a punch. They come in many forms, from the heavy-footed stomper Hitmonlee to the deceptively cute Pancham, but each has its own particular effectiveness and vulnerabilities to consider when matched up against Pokémon of other types. 

You should take a look at our Pokémon Go type chart, as you’ll need to keep these in mind when taking any Pokémon into a battle, no matter whether you want to beat a gym, a Team Rocket member, or a friend or stranger in the game’s PvP mode. Once you know, though, you’ll be winning matches in no time.

With so many creatures out there and only so many hours in the day, which should you be focusing on? This guide will help you consider your options, and explain where you can find them or how to evolve them in the game, as well as let you know the strengths and weaknesses of the fighting type.

The best fighting type Pokémon: Machamp

Machamp is a powerful option in Pokémon Go. Machamp also comes in a shadow form, which boosts its attack at the expense of its defense. This can be a strong option if you don’t mind taking a little extra damage. 

It can be evolved from Machamp via Machoke using Candy. Walk with a Machamp or Machoke as your buddy, feed them berries in gyms, or catch additional copies to get enough candy for a Machamp.

Machamp is a pure fighting type Pokémon, so it is resistant to rock, bug and some of the best dark type Pokémon attacks. However, it is vulnerable to flying, fairy, and psychic type attacks.

The best fighting type Pokémon: Lucario

Lucario is another strong option, especially in the attack stat department. It's a particularly fast Pokemon too, with strong moves like Counter and Aura Sphere being great options for battles.

To get Lucario, your best bet is to hatch plenty of Eggs, hoping to get yourself a Riolu. This can then be evolved into Lucario, with the help of 50 Riolu Candies.

Lucario is a dual-type with Fighting and Steel moves, a fairly unique mix in Pokemon Go. It is resistant to Bug, Dark, Dragon, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Rock, and Steel moves. However, it is vulnerable to Fighting, Fire and Ground.

The best fighting type Pokémon: Poliwrath

Poliwrath is a good all-rounder to have on your team in Pokémon Go. Thanks to its bulky HP and defence stats, it’s not going to be knocked down too easily by your opponents’ Pokémon when you send it into battle. 

Poliwrath can be evolved from Poliwag via Poliwhirl simply using candy. Do not use a King’s rock, otherwise Poliwhirl will instead become Politoad, which is not a fighting type.

Poliwrath is one of the best water type Pokémon as well as being a top-tier fighting type Pokémon. It is resistant to rock, bug, steel, fire, water, ice, and dark-type attacks. However, it is vulnerable to flying, grass, electric, psychic, and fairy-type attacks.

The best fighting type Pokémon: Lopunny

Although it does not normally have it, Lopunny gains the fighting type when it Mega Evolves. You can do this by using Mega Energy, and it will raise the stats as well as give it this powerful typing.

Lopunny itself can be evolved from the common Buneary for just 50 Candy, so it is a very common pokémon to obtain.

With its normal and fighting type, Mega Lopunny becomes resistant to rock, bug, dark, and especially the best ghost type Pokémon. However, it is vulnerable to fighting, flying, psychic, and fairy-type moves.

The best fighting type Pokémon: strengths and weaknesses

Fighting type Pokémon are resistant to the following types' damage classes:

• Bug
• Rock
• Dark

Fighting-type moves are also super effective against normal rock, dark, ice, and steel type Pokémon.

Fighting type Pokémon are weak to the following damage types:

• Fairy
• Flying
• Psychic

Fighting type moves are also not very effective against poison and especially ghost type damage.

You Might Also Like...

• Why not check out our list of the best Nintendo Switch accessories
• The best Nintendo Switch controllers to use in 2024
• Princess Peach review

Pokémon Go is teaming up with its tabletop counterpart for a crossover event that will roll out a handful of new features to the mobile game.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is receiving a Pokémon Go-themed expansion set this July, bringing several of Niantic’s AR pocket monsters to physical cards. According to a blog post, Pokémon Go will be running a crossover event from June 16 to June 30 to coincide with the release, and will debut a handful of new releases for the mobile game.

Chief among them is a new version of Pikachu. The electric mouse will soon be found in the wild wearing a hat. It’s not just any hat, either, but a Pokémon TCG hat – which amounts to a blue baseball cap emblazoned with the two crossed Pokémon trading cards on its front. It'll be joined by bug/water type Wimpod and its evolved form Golisopod, who will also be making their debuts.

Challenge accepted

Six collection challenges will go live during the event, tasking you with catching specific pocket monsters that are part of the upcoming Pokémon TCG: Pokémon Go expansion set. The challenges will be of varying difficulties, and reward you with XP, Lures, Incubators, and the chance to encounter Venasuar, Blastoise, Meltan, and Charizard – who’s still one of the best fire-type pokémon in Pokémon Go.

An additional three challenges will launch on June 23, and a bunch of time-limited raids will be available throughout. Any Mewtwo that’s caught in its five-star raid during the crossover event will know the Charged Attack Psystrike as an added bonus.

Pokémon Go hasn’t had a slow past few weeks, with its most recent community day going live on May 21. And it won’t slow down for Amazon Prime members. Anyone who’s subscribed to Amazon’s premium service will be able to bag a bunch of freebies over the next couple of months. Don’t expect a hatted Pikachu to be among them, though.

• Find your strength using our Pokémon Go type chart

The best fire type Pokémon in Pokémon Go amount to one blazing squad. In this guide, we’ll give you a rundown of what they can be used for, their weaknesses, and which fiery fiends you need to catch and train.

The wait for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is almost over, but there’s still lots to do in the mobile version of the popular video game franchise.

It can be difficult to know which creatures in Pokémon Go are worth adding to your collection or training up for a battle, especially given that each type will have its own advantages and vulnerabilities to consider.

In this guide, we’ll go over the best fire type Pokémon for when you want to scorch the competition. Fire types can be flamboyant and flashy, like the flaming wings of Moltres, or sweet and unassuming like the diminutive Litten - but they all have certain strengths and weaknesses to be aware of.

Keep reading to find out what those are, as well as find out which are the best fire type Pokémon you should keep an eye out for and spend resources on in Pokémon Go. 

If you're looking for guides on how to change teams in Pokémon Go, or how to get Remote Raid Passes in Pokémon Go, or even how to trade Pokémon in Pokémon Go, we also have you covered.

Now, onto the hot stuff.

The best fire type Pokémon

The best fire type Pokémon: Strengths and weaknesses

Fire type Pokémon are resistant to fire-type attacks themselves. They are also resistant to grass, ice, bug, steel, and fairy-type attacks. Fire-type attacks are super effective against grass, ice, bug, and steel types. 

Fire type pokémon are vulnerable to the following damage types:

• Water
• Ground
• Rock

Fire type attacks will not do much damage to other fire Pokémon, as well as the following other types:

• Water
• Rock
• Dragon

The best fire type Pokémon: Charizard

This fully evolved starter Pokémon comes in many forms. 

Typically, the strongest is Mega Charizard Y, but Mega Charizard X is also a good contender. Mega Charizard Y has stronger maximum stats, but Mega Charizard X does not have the additional flying type which makes Mega Charizard Y extremely vulnerable to rock-type attacks.

The Mega Charizards can be obtained by Mega Evolving a normal Charizard. To do this you will need Mega Energy, obtained through Mega Raids. You will be able to choose which one you want.

A normal Charizard and Mega Charizard Y are fire and flying types. They are vulnerable to electric and water-type attacks, and especially vulnerable to best rock type Pokémon. 

However, they are resistant to ground, fighting, steel, fire, and fairy-type attacks, and will take even less damage from bug and grass-type attacks.

Mega Charizard X is instead fire and dragon type. 

It is still weak to rock-type attacks, but it’s not so devastating. It’s also weak to ground and dragon-type attacks. It is resistant to bug, steel, electric, and especially fire and grass-type attacks.

The best fire type Pokémon: Reshiram

Reshiram is a powerful legendary Pokémon that served as the mascot for Pokémon Black. 

Its strong fire-type attacks make it a popular choice for a team that needs to bring the burn. However, it is only available in Raid Battles, so depending on when you are reading this you may need to wait for it to rotate back into the pool of available legendary Pokémon.

Reshiram is one of the best dragon type Pokémon as well as being a hench fire type Pokémon. 

It is weak to rock, ground, and dragon type attacks. It is resistant to bug, steel, electric, and especially fire and grass-type attacks.

The best fire type Pokémon: Ho oh

Ho-oh is a powerful Legendary Pokémon best known for being the mascot for Pokémon Gold and the HeartGold remake.

Being legendary, it has high maximum stats for taking out tough opponents. 

However, like Reshiram and other legendary Pokémon, it is only available in Raid Battles, so depending on when you are reading this you may need to wait for it to rotate back into the available pool. If it’s not available, don’t worry too much - Charizard has the same typing and is a powerful but accessible alternative.

Ho-oh can also be found in Shadow form, and even Apex Shadow for those who attended the Go Tour: Johto event. Apex Shadow Ho-oh is particularly powerful.

Ho-oh is a flying and fire type. It is vulnerable to electric and water-type attacks, and especially vulnerable to rock-type attacks. However, it is resistant to ground, fighting, steel, fire, some of the best fairy type Pokémon attacks, and even more resistant to bug and grass-type attacks.

The best fire type Pokémon: Victini

The mythical pokémon Victini isn’t as powerful on its own as some of the other pokémon on this list, but it has its uses, especially in PvP battles. 

Unfortunately, like all mythical and legendary Pokémon, it is only available in Raid Battles. Since these are constantly rotating, you might have to wait a while before it appears again.

Victini is one of the best psychic type Pokémon and fire type Pokémon. It has many resistances - it won’t take as much damage from fighting, steel, fire, grass, psychic, ice, or fairy attacks. 

However, it is still weak to ground, rock, ghost, water, and dark attacks.

The best fire type Pokémon: Darmanitan

Darmanitan is a powerful attacker in Pokémon Go. However, while it hits hard, it also doesn’t have much defense, so be careful what you put it up against.

It can be evolved from Darumaka for 50 Candies. Darumaka might hatch out of an Egg.

Just make sure you’re looking at the standard Darmanitan, though - the Galarian form is ice type! You can tell which is which by its red or blue coloring.

Unlike the other entries on this list, Darmanitan is a pure fire type. That means that it’s vulnerable to ground, rock, and even attacks from the best water type Pokémon. However, it is resistant to bug, steel, fire, grass, ice, and fairy type attacks.

• Got the Poké bug? Check out our picks of the best Pokémon games of all time.

Wondering how to get Remote Raid Passes in Pokémon Go? You’re not alone. The special tickets act as virtual passports, letting you join Raids without needing to travel to their location. 

Stay indoors and plant yourself firmly on the couch, as you buddy to take on Legendary Pokémon without moving a muscle. Remote Raid Passes are a handy way of joining battles you wouldn’t otherwise be able to take part in.

But getting your hands on them can be tricky. Here’s how to grab the coveted items.

How to get Remote Raid Passes in Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go’s Remote Raid Passes aren’t like other items in the game. You can’t collect them by walking about town, spinning pokéstops, or opening gifts. Instead, you’ll have to purchase them using your cold, hard cash – or collect them during special events.

You can currently purchase Remote Raid Passes from Pokémon Go’s in-game shop for 100 pokécoins each. You can also nab them in bunches of three, although there’s no discount for buying in bulk.

To access the shop, head to the main map screen and tap the poké ball symbol at the bottom. Then, simply touch the icon with a shopping bag in the middle of it. From there, search for the passes and buy as many, or as few, as you want.

Special Pokémon Go community events will sometimes reward players with Remote Raid Passes for attending. Given their value, they’re not often given away as freebies, so keep your eye out to bag them when you can.

But don’t get too greedy. You can only keep a maximum of three of the passes in your Bag at any time. If you’ve already reached that limit, make sure to use them.

How to use a Remote Raid Pass in Pokémon Go

Now you’ve got a Remote Raid Pass, how do you use it? You’ve got two options. First, you can navigate to the map screen and select any Gym that’s currently hosting a Raid. Second, you can tap the Nearby button in the bottom right of the Map Screen, select the Raid option, and view the ongoing brawls near you.

Once you’ve selected a raid, you’ll join as normal. There’s no difference between the fighting mechanics of a remote raid and an in-person battle, but the attack power of Pokémon commanded by remote trainers will be lower than that of pokémon controlled by in-person players.

Remember, only up to five players can join a raid remotely. If you try to join after the limit has been reached, you’ll automatically be placed in a new lobby.

• Expand your collection by learning how to trade in Pokémon Go

Niantic has unveiled a new social media app that doubles as a companion to Pokémon Go, introducing a slate of new features to the game.

Although not specifically created for Pokémon Go, Campfire is pitched as a social networking app that can be used in conjunction with the developer's augmented reality mobile games. It includes a slate of features that fans have been asking Niantic to add to the Pokémon Go app for years. 

An integrated messaging system will let you chat with other users, and you’ll be able to organize meet-ups with local players. It’ll also mark Gyms and Raids on your map as players are battling for them in real-time, in an effort to promote the game’s social elements.

Campfire is already live for Ingress, Niantic’s other hit AR mobile game, and Eurogamer reports it'll be rolling out to Pokémon Go this summer. Screenshots of the new app in action show the Pokémon Go and Ingress logo beside one another in a column, suggesting you’ll be able to switch between various Niantic games at the tap of a button.

“Campfire is a real-world social network which starts with a map and adds people, events, communities, and messaging,” Niantic said in the announcement. 

“We think of it as the ‘homepage’ of the real-world metaverse – a place where players can discover other players in their local area, message one another and share content, organize their own events and meetups, and foster the kinds of real-world social connections that have always been at the core of what Niantic does.”

More social, more of the time

Pokémon Go players might be a little annoyed that Niantic isn’t rolling out an integrated messaging and meet-up system directly to the game’s app, but this is certainly better than nothing. Campfire will at least give players a way of accessing several much-requested features, even if you have to download a separate platform to access them.

Niantic is likely reticent to integrate a direct messaging system into the Pokémon Go app itself to issues over moderation and misuse. By shifting the feature to a separate app, it can maintain the game as a child-friendly space.

Campfire isn’t the only change coming. Last week, it was revealed that Pokémon Go is rolling out a bunch of exclusive freebies for Prime members. If you’re subscribed to Amazon’s premium service, you can bag some free poké balls and items throughout the next few months.

• Do you know how to heal your pocket monsters in Pokémon Go?

Pokémon Go is receiving a major, temporary shake-up, as Mega Evolved pocket creatures come to the game’s competitive PvP battle mode.

To celebrate Pokémon Go’s recent Mega Evolutions overhaul, Niantic has announced it’s rolling out a surprise Battle Day on Sunday, May 29. The day-long event will let Trainers take their Mega Evolved pokémon into the Go Battle League’s Master League, letting you pit your souped-up pocket creatures against others for a limited time.

During the event, the maximum number of battle sets you can play will be raised from five to 20, meaning you can take part in 100 total battles. You’ll be able to earn Stardust as a victory bonus and pick up the Gladian’s Pants avatar item for completing a set at any rank. Unfortunately, if you’ve already unlocked that item, you won’t be given anything else as compensation.

Mega shake-up

Mega Evolved pokémon can usually only be used in co-op Raids, and have never before made their way to competitive PvP battles. Their inclusion is bound to shake up Pokémon Go’s metagame and throw some popular strategies off-kilter, but you’ll only have to deal with those changes for a single day.

Niantic overhauled Pokémon Go’s Mega Evolutions system only last month. You’re now able to Mega Evolve your pokémon for a one-time cost, rather than having to spend energy every time you want to boost the strength of your fully-evolved pocket monsters. They can gain experience, too, advancing to new Mega Levels each time you pump them full of extra energy.

The changes were intended to solve many of the frustrations that players had been facing for years. The new system makes the rewards of Mega Evolutions more worthwhile, and prevents players from having to slog through tedious raids.

Alongside announcing the PvP event, Niantic revealed the dates of this season’s community days in a separate blog post. The next three months’ community events will take place on:

• Saturday, June 25
• Sunday, July 17
• Saturday, August 13

We can expect more details about their bonuses and promo content in the coming weeks.

Go Battle Day: Stardust Surprise will launch on May 29 and run from 12am to 11:59pm local time.

• Do you know how to catch Ditto in Pokémon Go

Amazon Prime members will be able to grab a bunch of free Pokémon Go goodies over the next few months, as developer Niantic hands out several exclusive bundles to subscribers.

The free Pokémon Go bundles will release every two weeks, letting Prime members claim stacks of in-game items. In a press release, Niantic didn’t say exactly how long the promotion will last, but described it as a “summer” event, suggesting it’ll be running for a couple of months.

The first free drop will be released on May 19 ahead of the Pokémon Go Community Day on May 21. It’ll net you 30 Poké Balls, five Max Revives, and one Star Piece. The contents of future bundles will be revealed in the run-up to their release.

How to redeem the freebies

To nab the free goodies, you’ll have to claim the offer through the Pokémon Go Prime Gaming page. Head over to that website, select the offer you want to redeem, and follow the instructions. Once you're done, you should be given a unique code.

That code can be redeemed in two ways: through the Pokémon Go website or the Pokémon Go app. If browsers are more your thing, head over to the Pokémon Go website’s redemption page and log into your account. Plug the code into the text box, click redeem, and, hey presto, you’ve just bagged yourself some prizes.

To redeem the code in the app, navigate to the main map screen and tap the Poké Ball at the bottom. Click the shop icon and copy the code into the text box listed under the “Promos” section. Just hit the redeem button, and you’re done.

However, only Android users can redeem codes through the Pokémon Go app. If you’re playing on an iOS device, you’ll have to use the website.

• Do you know how to catch Ditto in Pokémon Go?

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.

• Get any 'mon you want by learning how to catch Ditto

Pokémon Go is receiving a major overhaul to its Mega Evolution system, making it easier and more rewarding to evolve your pokémon into the ultimate versions of themselves.

Announced by developer Niantic in a blog post, the update will rework the Mega Evolution feature, which allows you to temporarily boost the strength of your fully-evolved pokémon. The update – that was first teased in a recent Pokémon Go datamine – is live now for players in Australia and New Zealand and is expected to roll out to the rest of the globe “soon”.

It looks to solve many of the frustrations that players have had with the mechanic since it was added back in 2020. Rather than having to collect and spend Mega Energy every time you want to Mega Evolve your pokémon, Mega Evolutions are now a one-time cost. After you Mega Evolve a pokémon for the first time, you can do so again, free of charge, after a short rest period.

If you’re desperate to evolve them again, though, and can’t wait for the cooldown to end, you can reduce the rest period by spending additional Mega Energy.

How Pokémon Go has fixed Mega Evolutions  

That tweak will solve one of the community’s biggest existing criticisms of Mega Evolutions – that their benefits don’t match their required time or resource investment. Niantic says the new one-time purchase system will make evolving your pokémon much more affordable, encouraging more players to use the boost.

Additionally, a new Mega Evolution leveling system has been introduced. Every time you Mega Evolve a pokémon, it’ll gain experience towards a new Mega Level. When it reaches a new level, the pokémon will receive bonus rewards, such as a reduction to their rest period. You’ll also have a higher chance of earning Candy XL and earning higher XP rewards when using the Mega Evolved pokémon to catch other pocket monsters of the same Type.

Those changes will go a long way to making Mega Evolutions more worthwhile. With Mega Evolution benefits now persistent, there’s a lot more incentive to use the feature.

Most Mega Raids – the multiplayer battles you must complete to get your hands on Mega Energy – have also been made easier. You should be able to tackle many of them by yourself, so you don’t have to spend time finding other players to team up with. That’ll make acquiring Mega Energy less of a hassle.

Niantic says the pokémon you have Mega Evolved before this update will also feature bonus visual effects to commemorate your achievement. It hasn’t specified when these changes will be implemented outside of Australia and New Zealand just yet.

• Expand your collection of 'mons by learning how to trade in Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go has teamed up with search engine Ecosia to run a new community day event that lets you plant trees while playing the game.

In celebration of Earth Day, Ecosia says it will plant a tree for every player who jumps into Pokémon Go on April 23 – the game’s next community day – and walks at least 5km. The event will roll over to every community day until the end of July, with Ecosia committed to planting up to a total of 100,000 trees a month as part of the partnership.

You don’t have to spend your time catching pokémon to take part. Pokémon Go developer Niantic’s other augmented reality mobile games Pikmin Bloom and Ingress are also part of the event. Walk 5km in those games, and you’ll also have a tree planted by Ecosia on your behalf. 

Ecosia, a self-styled “green search engine”, has made a name for itself since it launched in 2009 by promising to donate a share of its profits to global reforestation projects. It says the trees planted as part of this event will be placed in reforestation and biodiversity hotspots.

“We’re delighted to provide a simple way for Niantic’s millions of players to be climate active as they come together for Community Days over the next few months, said Ruby Au, Tree Planting Projects Network and Impact Officer at Ecosia 

“Partnering with world-leading companies like Niantic enables us to continue to fund reforestation and biodiversity projects around the world to support communities and invest in our planet for the future.” 

Community days have recently become a hot topic in the Pokémon Go community. Niantic angered some players by returning the monthly events to their pre-pandemic, outdoor formats. They were modified in early 2020 to run for six hours, instead of three, in an effort to encourage social distancing and prevent unnecessary mixing between players.

That’s been reversed for this upcoming April community day. The main event will run for three hours from 2pm to 5pm local time. 

While some players are concerned about the inflated risks of catching and spreading Covid, Niantic says it wants to get Trainers outside, and has been keen to emphasize the social aspect of the game.

As well as Ecosia's tree-planting event, April's community day will introduce new Pokémon Stufful to the game, an event bundle, and the usual slate of bonus buffs. 

• Learn how to catch Ditto in Pokémon Go to expand your pocket monster collection

Quick steps

• Pick up a Potion or Revive
• Select them from your items menu
• Tap which pokémon you want to heal

If you want to survive the wilds of Pokémon Go, you’ll need to make sure your pocket creatures are in tip-top shape. Healing them between battles is vital.

To do that, you’ve got to know how to heal your pokémon. You can’t boost their health whenever you fancy it, but will need to use specific items.

What do you need?

• Potions
• Revives
• An injured pokémon

 How to heal pokémon in Pokémon Go 

Pokémon aren’t indestructible. They can be injured by fighting in raids and battles. 

To restore your pocket monsters' HP, you'll need to give them a Potion. But if they’ve fainted, you’ll need a Revive to get them up again. 

Potions and Revives can be picked up by spinning PokéStops and Gyms, completing research tasks, defeating Raid bosses, increasing your Pokémon Go level, or opening gifts.

Potions come in four varieties – regular, super, hyper, and max – each of which heals an incrementally larger portion of health. You can acquire them by spinning PokéStops and Gyms once you reach level five.

Revives, meanwhile, come in two forms – regular, which restores a pokémon to half HP, and Max, which fully heals them. They can only be used on pokémon that have fainted. You can get regular Revives from PokéStops and Gyms once you reach level 5, but will need to hit level 30 to get the Max versions.

Steps 

• Collect Potions and Revives using one or all of the methods above
• Navigate to the Pokémon Go map view – that’s the main screen, which displays the location of pokémon and PokéStops across the world
• Open up the main menu by tapping the poké ball at the bottom center of the screen
• Open your Bag by tapping on the ‘items’ icon
• Select a Potion or Revive from your inventory
• Tap the injured or fainted pokémon you want to heal, which will appear in a list of all your hurt ‘mons.

Final thoughts

If you do a lot of battling in Pokémon Go, you’ll find your precious pocket monsters get injured pretty often. It’s a good idea to stock up on Potions and Revives when you can. Spin PokéStops and Gyms whenever you walk past, so you’re not left in the lurch when your favorite pokémon takes a beating.

Remember that Revives can only be used on pokémon that have fainted. They’re powerful consumables, but you’ll want a bevy of Potions, too, to keep your conscious ‘mons in good shape.

Niantic has unveiled its next AR mobile game, Peridot, which looks to be the perfect pet simulator.

Peridot is inspired by classic virtual pets, like Tamagotchi, with the core mechanics focused around raising uniquely adorable critters affectionately nicknamed Dots. The game is a fresh and original IP from Niantic, whose biggest success to date has undoubtedly been Pokémon Go.  

While Niantic followed Pokémon Go with another Nintendo property – Pikmin – the game was less focused on building on the level of interactivity between the player and the creatures. Instead, Pikmin Bloom is a walking app, so it's interesting to see Niantic double down on the bond between the player and the Dots this time around. 

Coupled with the cutesy aesthetic, people looking to bond with a pet without any of the responsibility should love Peridot.  

What can you do with your Peridot?

Peridot's game loop is pretty straightforward. You raise, nurture and eventually breed the Dots from an egg to adulthood. 

 The premise is that Peridots are eons old and have awoken in a strange new world – and it's your job to take care of them.

You can feed, play with, and take your Dot on adventures but it's best not to get too attached as it's a fairly short journey from birth to a fully-fledged adult who's ready to fly the nest.

You can play with and train your Peridot, and explore the world with it. Niantic loves getting players out and about, and it's done a lot of legwork to make your Dots' interactions with the real world as varied and interesting as possible. 

How does breeding Peridots work? 

Dots can recognize different terrain, and forage for resources that are unique to particular environments. They have their own desires, like eating a certain food, going for a walk, or visiting nearby points of interest.

They also sport different looks, personality traits, abilities, and likes and dislikes thanks to their 'DNA'. The entire breeding system has been built around this system, which is modeled after the way DNA works in reality. 

The combination of "hand-crafted assets and procedural generation" is going to make for a huge variance in Dots, which is the incentive for players. Ideally, you want to breed different types of Dots to unlock, whether that's a specific look, or traits you're trying to foster.

Jumping back to the loose narrative of the game, players are helping diversify the newly-awoken species. Archetypes like 'Unicorn', 'Peacock', 'Cheetah', 'Ram', 'Rabbit', and 'Clownfish' are just a few examples of the patterns available.

Like Pokémon Go, the game incorporates points of interest (POI) from real life, but rather than Gyms to go battle pokémon in, Peridot's POIs are Habitats. Basically, places to go send off your adult Dot to go make nasty and pop out an egg. 

Nests around Habitats are used for breeding, and they can offer a variety of mutations that result in certain features, like a zebra pattern. It can take a few generations to finally get the traits and patterns you're after, but with such a short birth-to-breeding cycle, that shouldn't be too much of a grind. And as an added plus, there are no negative consequences for abandoning your Dot for days. It'll be alive and well, and happy to see you, presumably.

Once you release a Dot into the wild after it's bred, you can still see it again. It'll live at the POI it made whoopee at, and you can recall it any time to play and hang out. 

Interestingly, the world is populated with NPC Dots as well as player Peridots, so your hatchlings can go on to seed countess other Dots. 

At some point down the line, you'll be able to buy items and accessories at the in-game store to jazz up your Dot, or imbue it with certain buffs. You can feed it items to make it grow faster, or give it 'Dot nip' to make it happier – all of which feeds back into the breeding loop. 

Peridot is rolling out with a soft launch on Android and iOS this month in select markets which will function as a beta. More regions will be added as testing continues and expands, so keep an on the official Peridot website for updates. 

Spring has sprung and so has the newest season of Pokémon Go. Expect to see costumed pokémon looking like extras from Midsommar, sporting their festive flower crowns. And you can evolve Exeggcute into Alolan Exeggutor for the duration of the Spring into Spring event.

There's also a collection challenge that tasks you with catching flower-festooned pokémon to win XP, Stardust, and an encounter with Togetic wearing a flower crown of its own. And of course, there's Pokémon GO special research and field research tasks, as well as GO Battle Day: Beginner’s Paradise for a gentle introduction to GO Battle League.  

So let's break down the Spring into Spring event and see what we've got to look forward to.

Pokémon Go Spring into Spring: when is it?

There are a few different events going on within Pokémon Go's Season of Alola that you'll want to get in on. 

Here are the times and dates for each one so you can pick and choose what you'd like to take part in. Note that the events listed are in local time. 

• Flower crown costumed pokémon: 10am Tuesday, April 12 - 8pm Monday, April 18
• Limited Research day: Saturday, April 16, 11am - 2pm 
• Ula'ula Island Special Research: Tuesday, April 12 - Sunday, June 1
• GO Battle Day: Sunday, April 17, 12am - 11:59pm 

Pokémon Go Spring into Spring: new pokémon and event bonuses

As you can see being sported in the image at the top of the page, a handful of pokémon are getting into the seasonal mood with flower crowns. Costumed Togetic, Togekiss, and Lopunny can be caught throughout the event, while the Legendary Pokémon Tapu Bulu also makes it debut.

Encounter rates are up for the following wild pokémon during the Spring into Spring event. Flower crown-wearing Pikachu, Eevee, Buneary, and Chansey can be run into when you complete Field Research tasks:

• Pikachu (wearing a flower crown)
• Nidoran (male and female)
• Jigglypuff
• Eevee (wearing a flower crown)
• Whismur
• Buneary (wearing a flower crown)
• Bunnelby
• Chansey (wearing a flower crown)
• Togetic (wearing a flower crown)

Meanwhile, you can enjoy these Spring into Spring event bonuses until the event wraps up:

• 2× Hatch Candy
• 1/2 Hatch Distance
• 2× Lucky Egg Duration
• Team GO Rocket grunts will have more Shadow Whismur and Shadow Exeggcute in their parties

More themed pokémon can be added to your pokédex by hatching them from eggs. Here's what hatching 2km eggs could get you during the Spring into Spring event. All listed pokémon could be a Shiny variant with the exception of Munchlax and Chingling. Tapu Bulu will be appearing in Five-Star Raids.

• Pichu (wearing a flower crown)
• Igglybuff
• Azurill
• Munchlax
• Happiny (wearing a flower crown)
• Togepi (wearing a flower crown)
• Exeggcute
• Chingling
• Riolu

As if you needed more incentive to capture flowery pokémon, there's a new Collection Challenge afoot. Just round up the Spring into Spring event-themed pokémon to earn 2,000 XP, 2,000 Stardust, and an encounter with Togetic wearing a flower crown.

And of course, a bunch of new stickers have landed that you can unlock by spinning PokéStops, opening Gifts, and purchasing them from the in-game shop.

Pokémon Go Spring into Spring: Limited Research Day

The Pokémon Go Spring into Spring research event is scheduled for Saturday, April 16 from 11am to 2pm local time. 

Swing by PokéStops to receive the missions, and your reward will be an Exeggcute encounter – and it might be a Shiny. If you manage to evolve it before the Season of Alola ends on June 1, at 10am, you'll get an Alolan Exeggcutor that knows the Charged Attack Draco Meteor.

The bonuses up for grabs during the Limited Research event include double XP for catching pokémon, and more frequent encounters with the following wild pokémon:

• Bulbasaur
• Oddish
• Paras
• Bellsprout
• Tangela
• Chikorita
• Sunkern
• Treecko
• Seedot

Pokémon Go Spring into Spring: Ula'ula Island Special Research

Running from April 12 to June 1, you can complete various Special Research lines to beef up your knowledge of the islands of Alola. It's a pretty generous window, that wraps up at the end of the Season of Alola. 

Ticking them all off will unlock a bonus Special Research line at the end of the Season.

Look out for them from 10am on the specified days. And don't forget, you can complete a research line any time after you pick it up, so grab what you can when you can, but be sure to finish them by June 1 for the reward. 

Pokémon Go Spring into Spring: GO Battle Day

If you've been considering dabbling in the more competitive side of Pokémon Go, this is a perfect time. 

The Great League and Little Cup will be active on Sunday, April 17 from 12am to 11.59pm local time. 

Bonuses include a bump to Timed Research XP and the Gladion's Hoodie avatar item. You can read more about the GO Battle League's Interlude Season on the dedicated website. 

• Pokémon Mega Evolutions are getting the overhaul fans have been clamoring for

Pokémon Go Ditto disguises vary every few months or so, making it quite hard to track down this Pokémon at times. You see, to catch Ditto in Pokémon Go, you will need to know which Pokémon it can be hiding as.

The shapeshifting pocket monster has been a staple of the franchise since it was introduced as part of the original 150 Pokémon, and Ditto’s legacy persists in AR mobile gaming frontrunner Pokémon Go. This time around, Ditto can be a really useful Pokémon to have. If you can catch one first, that is.

Here's all of Ditto's disguises in Pokémon Go for May 2023. This page is updated regularly, so that you can go after the right Pokémon in the hopes of getting your very own Ditto. Also, you'll find some tips in catching Ditto below, as well as how to catch a Shiny Ditto as well.

How to catch Ditto in Pokémon Go

Let's take a look at how to catch Ditto in Pokémon Go. You'll find a list of Ditto disguises below, as well as some general tips on tracking down the shapeshifting Pokémon.

Pokémon Go Ditto disguises for May 2023

Here are the Pokémon Go Ditto disguises for May 2023:

• Corphish
• Diglett
• Grimer
• Litleo
• Roggenrola
• Snubbull
• Starly
• Tympole

How do you know one of these Pokémon is a Ditto? After you catch one, instead of saying “Catch” the word “Oh?” will pop up above the Pokémon's head, and Ditto will reveal itself. 

This won’t happen until after the Pokémon is caught, however, so make sure you actually catch the Pokémon and don’t give up early. 

Tips on catching Ditto in Pokémon Go

Now you know which Pokémon to target, how can you improve your chances of nabbing a Ditto? You need to increase the rate of Pokémon you encounter and catch, hoping that at least one of those will be the blobby chap of your dreams.

The easiest way of doing that is to take advantage of lures and incense. Dittos are attracted to the same lures and incense as the Pokémon they’re pretending to be, allowing you to drop one of the traps and wait for the ‘mons to come to you. See a creature that appears in the list above? Jump on it and hope it's actually a Ditto.

If you are going to use lures and incense, we would recommend doing so only for a bit and using up one of your Lucky Eggs to increase the amount of Pokémon nearby and the amount of XP you get per catch – it’s a great way to power level. With that in mind, however, sometimes there are special events in Pokémon Go that will increase Incense time from 60 minutes to three hours, so you could be much more efficient if you wait until an event is happening.

It’s also worth remembering that disguised Ditto locations are universal. If another player captures a Ditto from a specific spot, you can head there and do the same. Ask your friends if they’ve seen a Ditto recently, or check out online Pokémon Go groups local to you in case anyone can give you useful neighborhood tip-offs.

How to catch Shiny Ditto in Pokémon Go

That's right, Ditto can indeed be Shiny in Pokémon Go. The main problem is that, well, it's usually disguised as another Pokémon. To get a Shiny Ditto you will need to go after the Pokémon from the current disguises list, until you find one. 

There is a very small chance of getting one, like with most Shiny Pokemon, and it's worth noting that other Shiny Pokémon cannot be a Shiny Ditto. If you catch a Shiny Pokémon from the disguises list above, it will not turn into a Shiny Ditto, or indeed a Ditto at all. Keep going after Pokémon like Starly and Grimer, and you will eventually get yourself a Shiny Ditto. You'll just need to get lucky.

• Venture outside the world of Pokémon with the best Android games.

Pokémon Go’s Mega Evolutions, the system through which you can temporarily upgrade your fully evolved pocket monsters, looks to be getting a major do-over, changing the stilted process for the better.

A recent datamine by backend explorers PokeMiners suggests Pokémon Go will be overhauling Mega Evolutions with a new leveling system in an upcoming update (thanks, Eurogamer). It suggests that you’ll soon be able to upgrade the temporary evolutions of your pokémon through a series of tiers, unlocking extra perks including additional XP, reduced ability cooldowns, and extra candy.

The datamine also revealed a Free Mega Evolution Icon, which suggests you’ll occasionally be able to upgrade pokémon to a new evolutionary tier without cost.

Necessary changes

Pokémon Go’s Mega Evolution system has been something of a sticking point for fans of the mobile game since the mechanic was added back in 2020. Currently, players need to collect enough Mega Energy to activate one of the temporary evolutions, earning the consumable resource by taking on specific Pokémon in Raid Battles.

Not only do those raids require you to find other players to join up with, but they also earn you notably little Mega Energy. You’ll need to complete multiple raids to get your hands on enough of the finicky resource to upgrade your pokémon. You can also earn Mega Energy by walking your Buddy Pokémon, but only after you’ve previously evolved them through raids.

On top of that, the Mega Evolutions only last for a few hours, leading some players to conclude they’re not worth the hassle.

The Free Mega Evolution Icons mentioned in the datamine suggest it will soon be easier to evolve pokémon without resorting to grinding raids. Further, a level system may make the benefits of such mega evolutions more permanent, and the rewards for achieving them more worthwhile.

Remember, these changes haven’t been officially announced or confirmed by Pokémon Go developer Niantic, and the exact tweaks may differ from what’s presented here. But the datamine does suggest a revamp to the much-maligned mechanic is on the way, which will be welcome news to Pokémon Go fans disappointed with the current system.

We can expect more details of the new system to be revealed in the coming weeks, through future datamines and official announcements.

• Don't want to catch 'em all? Check out all the best Android games you should play

The Pokémon Go April Community meet-up has been revealed, and Niantic has a lot in store for the upcoming in-person event.

Taking place on April 23 across three hours, the next Pokémon Go Community Day will introduce a new pocket monster to the game, an event bundle, and the usual slate of bonus buffs.

As the event's official blog post details, Fighting Pokémon Stufful is making its debut as part of the game’s current Alola Season of content. You’ll have a higher chance of spotting the bear-like critter during the event, as well as a higher likelihood of bagging a shiny version.

As with past Community Days, you’ll be able to bag the exclusive Stufful Special Research story for $1 (around £0.75 / AU$1.33), event bonuses will grant you extra XP, and a free event bundle will be available in the game’s online shop.

The three-hour event will run from 2pm to 5pm local time. That pivots from the six-hour Community Days that were introduced in response to the pandemic, something not all fans are happy with.

Find the full details of the Pokémon Go April Community Day below.

Pokémon Go April Community Day full details

Stufful
The Alola Pokémon Stufful is coming to the game for the first time. It'll appear more frequently in the wild during the event, and if you evolve one into a Bewear during that time or up to two hours after the event ends, your new pocket monster will know the Charge Attack Drain Punch ability. You’ll need 400 Stufful Candy to evolve the critter.

Special Research Story
You can pay $1 (roughly £0.75 / AU$1.33) to unlock Strong Stuff, a Stufful-themed Special Research story.

Event bonuses
Plenty of buffs and perks will be activated for players across the event. They include:

• 3× Catch XP
• 2× Catch Candy
• 2× chance to receive Stufful XL Candy from catching Stufful
• Incense activated during the event will last for three hours
• Lure Modules activated during the event will last for three hours
• Take a few snapshots during Community Day for a surprise
• 1 extra special trade can be made during the event and two hours after the event (maximum of 2 for the day)
• Trades made during the event and two hours after the event will require 50% less Stardust

Group Play Bonuses
As in other Community Days, you’ll be rewarded for working with other Trainers. If sufficient Pokémon are caught from a Lure, a 4x XP bonus will activate in the vicinity around that Pokéstop.

Event Bundles
You’ll be able to pick up a bundle containing 30 Ultra Balls for free in the game’s shop. Or, you can splash 850 PokéCoins on 15 Ultra Balls, 15 Pinap Berries, 1 Elite Fast TM, and 1 Remote Raid Pass.

Stickers
Visit PokéStops or open gifts from Pokémon Go’s in-shop to earn event-specific stickers, too.

• Best free Android games

Niantic is doubling down in its efforts to get Pokémon Go Community Days back to their pre-pandemic splendor. But not everyone is thrilled at the idea of mingling with other Trainers out in the wild.

Following March's in-person Pokémon Go Community Day meetups, Niantic is tweaking subsequent events, starting next month. The April Community Day is being cut down from six hours to three in the name of getting Trainers outside and mingling. 

Paired with February's removal of the Incense stationary bonus, the developer is really hammering home the message that Pokémon Go is a social experience – and it's high time we all got back out there together. 

The Pokémon Go Community Day adjustments are currently in the test phase. But it looks like Niantic is keen to return to the pre-pandemic state of affairs. And apparently, the players want that too, according to the developer.

Community Day Hours were extended from three to six in 2020 to cater to the new norm the pandemic ushered in. Since then, only a paltry 5% of Pokémon Go Trainers have been participating in the events for more than three hours.

We got a little taste of the return to the game's original Community Day format in January, with Community Day Classic. Speaking to Dot Esports, Niantic's Michael Steranka, Pokémon Go's live game director, said that there were "calls from Trainers to revert it back to three hours." Coupled with the data, it seems to check out. But not everyone is thrilled about the post-pandemic plan to 'get back to normal'.

Analysis: is it a bit Farfetch'd?

Some people are still citing Covid concerns, with April's meetup generating a thread on the topic. As well as general health and safety being flagged up, some people are having to test regularly for their jobs and don't want the increased risk. 

"Just a reminder to you Pokémon Go, we are STILL in a pandemic. Not all of us WANT to go out and be around people, even with masks and the increased spawn rate with incense was really nice for those of us who are trying to protect those around us," tweeted @bipanicmode.

"Absolutely to this," added @jenhopediva. "I play community day events for shinies. I don't want to encounter players in person. I work in film and must test negative to work. I'm not interested in paying and playing if I have to risk getting sick and not being able to work."

Others are lamenting not being able to participate because of their work hours. While accessibility is another key issue that Niantic's decision will have an effect on.

“For those Trainers who haven’t yet attended a Pokémon Go event in person, or experienced a Community Day in their neighborhood with other Trainers, I hope they’re able to suspend judgment on these changes and wait until April 23 to experience what it’s like for themselves," says Steranka.

"I bet they’ll find that having a real community around them during Community Day will make the entire event a helluva lot more fun.”

That doesn't seem likely given the reception on social media, but it's not set in stone just yet. 

"If it becomes clear that a gameplay change significantly impacts those core tenants in a negative way, we review it with a cross-functional team and carefully put together a plan to course-correct," he adds. 

"The vast majority of changes added to Pokémon Go over the past two years are here to stay: daily encounters, daily research tasks, Team GO Rocket balloons, the removal of the walking requirement in GBL, and PokéStop / Gym interaction radius, to name a few."

Steranka was keen to highlight that Community Days aren't just for shinies – they're about getting out and about and meeting people. Which was all well and good pre-2020, but people are understandably reticent about diving back into in-person gatherings; especially in regions where the government is putting an end to financial support for those that test positive, and no longer sending out free testing kits. 

There's very much a push to get people back to work and school, with no more requirements to self-isolate if you test positive in some areas. People are traveling again, and so Steranka's outlook isn't extreme when put in that context. 

“Long time Trainers will recall that the best part about Community Day used to be about going out and actually meeting your local community – not just the shinies you caught throughout the event," he says, apparently oblivious to the goings-on of the past two years.

“Our goal here is to bring communities back together."

It certainly seems to be a divisive decision, but Niantic is obviously eager to have Pokémon Go be played the way it intended. How the community has actually been participating in these events, and what their focus is doesn't seem to be a factor.

For Pokémon Go players, the true villain of the game isn’t Team Go Rocket and their shadow Pokémon, it's the ever-elusive Kecleon.

That’s because this chameleon-like critter is one of a handful of Pokémon still missing from the game. But what makes Kecleon special is that it’s the only unreleased creature left in the Hoen Pokédex.

Since Jirachi’s arrival in June 2019, Kecleon is the sole reason players have yet to complete this part of their collection and earn the Hoen platinum medal. From our own experience, this missing entry is the source of much annoyance.

So, when given the chance to talk to Niantic about its Pokémon Go event plans, we took our chance to also find out once and for all when we’ll be able to capture Kecleon. 

Upon hearing the question Michael Steranka’s (Pokémon Go’s Director of Global Product Marketing) first response was to chuckle, “Yeah, I knew that that [question] was gonna come up.”

Explaining their absence so far he said, “Kecleon has unique properties in the main series games, abilities that no other Pokémon shares so we want to make sure we do right by its original design when incorporating it into augmented reality.”

Steranka is referencing Kecleon’s first appearance in Pokémon Ruby and Saphire. It was incredibly unlikely you’d find one in the game’s tall grass – which is how most regular Pokémon are found. Instead, the best way to encounter a Kecleon was by accidentally running into invisible ones that developers hid in the game’s overworld.

Steranka’s comment brought to mind a similarly unique Pokémon, Ditto. In Go, rather than finding the distinctive purple blob out in the open, Ditto is pretending to be one of several very common Pokémon – only revealing its true identity after you capture it.

When we asked if Niantic had plans to do something similar, Steranka responded “Yeah, you probably won’t just encounter Kecleon in the wild, we want to make this encounter meaningful.

“I’m really looking forward to the day we’re able to release Kecleon.”

You and us both, Steranka.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get an exact date for Kecleon’s release in Pokémon Go, but Steranka made it clear that Niantic knows fans have eagerly awaiting its addition and that we won’t be disappointed when it finally arrives in the game.

• Looking for more? You can check out our full Pokémon Go interview with Niantic

The Covid-19 pandemic and the measures governments enacted in order to slow its spread brought huge changes to our lives in 2020 and 2021. Work moved from the office to our homes and social interaction online became the only way to see friends and family.

Businesses were hit hard too as they grappled with how to handle their customer’s new habits, and for some companies, the pandemic led them to shutter their doors for good.

It wouldn’t have been a surprise if Niantic had followed this unfortunate trend - with its game Pokémon Go specifically designed to encourage users to gather together and wander the outside world. Yet, thanks to changes to how Pokémon Go operates, particularly with regards to its live events, Niantic managed to turn 2020 into its most financially successful year ever, and its 2021 performance is expected to be strong as well.

But as restrictions are relaxed what can we expect from its upcoming Pokémon Go Johto Tour and the rest of its 2022 lineup; will we see a drop in the number of digital events or are in-person meet-ups a thing of the past?

During the Liverpool Safari Zone last year, TechRadar had the chance to talk to Philip Mars (Pokémon Go’s Product Marketing Lead for the EMEA region) and Michael Steranka (Pokémon Go’s Director of Global Product Marketing) to ask them just that. Here’s what they told us.

Pokémon is best played live

From the start of the interview, the pair made it clear that Niantic plans to keep on hosting events that require in-person attendees to show up at a specific location in the real world. And not out of devotion to Niantic's original vision for its games, but because players have shown time and again that they want to explore different areas of the world.

To give an idea of the popularity of their events, Steranka said around 60% of live event attendees are willing to come from “outside of the market” to take part. In other words, they’re willing to travel for hours by car, train, and plane in order to catch the event’s ‘mons and meet up with fellow fans.

In pre-Covid times Steranka explained that these events average an in-person attendance of around 20,000 people per day - across the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday that they run. 

Liverpool didn’t see quite this many attendees during its Covid-era Safari Zone, but over 10,000 ticketed players jumped into the game while in the city’s Sefton Park area over that weekend - with a further 10,000 general players logging into the game in the wider Liverpool city area.

Of those ticketed players, 89% weren’t from Liverpool.

Additionally, of the further 20,000 people who had bought tickets in 2020 to come to Liverpool in-person (but then chose to take part digitally in 2021) only 50% of them were from the UK.

For Mars, the draw isn’t just the event’s special Pokémon spawns - for the Liverpool Safari Zone the typically New Zealand-exclusive fish Relicanth was able to be found and caught - but to explore the real-world area.

As he puts it, “You’re not just playing Pokémon Go, you’re playing Pokémon Go in Liverpool at an event - and we want to get that experience across by melding the real and digital world together.”

In practical terms, this means creating an event that feels special to the location. For example, Liverpool’s Docks which formerly held world heritage status were the inspiration for the Safari Zone’s water Pokémon theme. While it was canceled due to Covid, a City Explorer pass was also designed to encourage players to explore Liverpool’s streets and discover what it has to offer.

More generally at these events, Niantic sets up real-world stations across the event’s area that is represented in-game as PokeStops or Gyms. These stations provide free wifi, areas to sit and grab a bite to eat, or recharge your phone.

By highlighting these spots, players are encouraged to congregate here and play together by battling, taking on a raid, or trading - you’ll even find event staff handing out signs so you can easily show the crowds what Pokémon you’re looking for.

Mars explained, “Seeing friends walking together with huge smiles on their faces, or watching Trainers form new friendships and connections is the most positive confirmation that these [in-person] events are worth hosting.”

That said, those of you who have enjoyed digital access to events from afar shouldn’t be worried that will be going away any time soon.

It's time for Pokémon Go's digivolution

Early on in the Covid-19 pandemic, Niantic realized that its model for Pokémon Go wasn’t going to work as restrictions tightened.

“In March of 2020, as this pandemic really started to show signs that it was going to impact the entire world and be longer lasting than first thought,” said  Michael Steranka, “we knew we had to make some really quick pivots as a team and adjust how players engage with the game.”

As players saw at the time, this meant that your buddy Pokémon would deliver items and a new challenge to you every day, that in-game points of interest could be interacted with from further away and remote raid passes were introduced so that players could interact from afar.

Steranka went on to say, “At the time, when these measures were introduced, we saw them as a temporary thing - they’d eventually go away so that we could go back to what made Pokémon Go feel like this special experience of outdoor exploration.

“But, what we’ve come to learn is that there are ways to continue to incorporate these elements as more permanent fixtures that don’t take away from our vision," Sterenka explains. "You know, the pandemic has really changed how people live their lives. We have to make sure we’re engaging our users in a way that best suits them and adapt our game as the world changes.”

As part of that adaptation, Steranka suggested that Niantic will continue to explore digital events saying, “we've heard players loud and clear, we definitely think that those global experiences are here to stay.”

What that means is players can expect to see similar events to 2021’s Global Pokémon Go Fest and the Kanto Tour. Case in point, Niantic is hosting a Johto Tour offering global gameplay options.

But as the world reopens we can expect to see these events become more hybrid, so that Niantic can offer its players the “best of both worlds”.

Once again turning to the Johto Tour, Niantic has announced that certain European cities will be hosting in-person celebrations including Warsaw, Linz, London, and Bristol to name just a few.

As Philip Mars explained “We really believe that having an in-person live experience is what makes [our events] special.

“Players can stay at home and enjoy a similar gaming experience, but we want players from all over the world to be able to come together because we love seeing that and we know players love that too.”

So while Pokémon Go's digital events won't be going away soon, you can expect to see a slew of in-person and hybrid events kicking off in the coming years. We echo Ninatic's sentiments that you should only attend in person if you're comfortable, but if you're on the fence we'd highly recommend you go along.

It's as awesome an experience as they say.

• Check out: our picks for the best Android games in 2022

Niantic has updated the iOS app of Pokémon Go to make better use of native frame rates on iPhone – and the results are gorgeous.

The latest update (version 1.191.0) allow players to move past the 30fps frame rate that the iOS app was previously limited to – unlocking the potential of 60Hz or even 120Hz screens on the latest iPhones.

If you're playing Pokémon Go on iOS, you'll want to head to the advanced settings in the Pokémon Go app, and select “Unlock your device’s native refresh rate for higher FPS.” 

While a frame rate boost for Pokémon Go doesn't sound like a game-changing move, early responses from players seem overwhelmingly positive. 

Players are reporting on social media that "the game now runs buttery smooth on my iPhone 11", with some praising the improvements while admitting "it will probably make it the battery deplete faster" – so it's worth weighing up whether the frame rate enhancement is worth it for you.

If you're playing Pokémon Go out and about, you may want to conserve that battery, after all, though some experimentation here is likely a good idea – some iPhones will fare better for battery life than others.

What's all the fuss about frame rates?

Basically, the frame rate is the number of frames inserted in a single second. Relatively few frames would look a bit like a slide presentation, jumping from one image to the other; a lot of frames gives a fluid feel to motion, and moving between frames too fast to focus on them individually. The more frames there are, the smoother the image feels.

There's a reason gamers so often decry 30fps performance in PC or console games, compared to the improved 60fps standard – having twice the amount of frames makes for a very different, higher-quality experience. And while Pokémon Go isn't a fast-paced shooter, the upgrade should still make the game feel nicer to play.

You'll get the most benefit on the latest iPhones – only the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, which launched in 2021, have a 120Hz refresh rate (which equates to 120fps, or frames per second). Even then, not all apps were able to take advantage of the higher frame rate right away – because of a software bug, and because many apps need to be individually primed to work with that capability consistently.

However, 60Hz displays are much more common in handsets, so many players should still benefit from a move from 30fps to 60fps by unlocking the feature.

• Everything you need to know about Pokémon Go 

In June 2019 Niantic, famous for this little mobile game called Pokémon Go, launched a very similar title; Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was, as the name suggests, a wizard and spells-based AR game.

Apparently the game forgot its broomstick though as it didn't quite fly, and Niantic has now announced that the game is due to shut down. A longer blog post tells us that the title won't be downloadable from December 6, with the servers being fully turned off on January 31, 2022.

The blog tells us that Niantic isn't just abandoning the game, with several events per month until the end, but it's not clear how interested gamers will be in in-game events when the rewards will be disappearing shortly.

• These are the best gaming phones
• We've found the best iPhone games
• And these are the best Android games

So why is Wizards Unite closing? While Niantic hasn't shared official player stats, it seems the player count is way lower than on Pokémon Go. On the Play Store, Wizards Unite has nearly 319,000 ratings, while Pokemon Go has almost 15 million.

Sure, Pokemon Go has been out for three years more than the Harry Potter game, but that difference in rating wouldn't be as stark if they were even remotely close in popularity.

Analysis: bad news for AR games?

After Pokémon Go's huge popularity, many similar AR games sprung up to try to rival the $1,000,000,000-per-year-revenue mobile game.

Alongside Harry Potter: Wizards Unite we saw Jurassic World Alive, The Witcher: Monster Slayer, recently Pikmin Bloom and soon Transformers: Heavy Metal too.

These games are all very, very similar, as they're AR-based games where you wander around the real world collecting in-game resources, battling (or collecting) creatures and claiming territory.

So far, none of the titles has come close to rivaling Pokémon Go in terms of audience popularity, and this Wizards Unite news suggests they may not be tenable to run at all. 

That's surprising, given the popularity of Harry Potter as a franchise, and it shows there's more to a good AR game than brand recognition. 

Pokémon Go is notable as it's one of the few where you collect, instead of fight, the creatures you find around the map, making it a more relaxing play. It also has multiplayer online, territory-controlling and step-counting features, while lots of the rivals only have some (or none) of those.

We're curious to see what happens with the myriad other AR games, some of which don't seem as similar as Harry Potter: Wizards Unite; perhaps a runner-up to the animal-collecting leviathan will emerge, but it's also possible the AR bubble will pop.

• The Witcher: Monster Slayer hit a million downloads already, but it's no Pokémon Go

Earlier in the year we learned that Niantic, the creators of smash-hit mobile AR game Pokemon Go, were working with Nintendo again on a similar title in the Pikmin universe.

Pikmin Bloom launched today in Australia and Singapore on the series' 20th anniversary and will be rolling out to other regions around the globe in "the next few days", according to a tweet from the company.

• I went to the first in-person Pokémon Go event in two years and it was amazing

As with Pokemon Go, the new Pikmin Bloom title features gameplay that encourages and heavily relies on the player walking and exploring their real world surroundings – a reality that is much more possible as global vaccine rollouts reinstate freedoms in a Covid world.

Although somewhat light on gameplay, the launch video shows a Nintendo Mii-esque avatar walking through a virtual rendition of streets while the titular Pikmin plant flowers as you rack up your steps in the real world.

As Niantic states, the game is intended to "inspire people to go outside, explore their neighborhoods, and have fun at the same time", all the while encouraging the obvious benefits of walking for your physical and mental health.

Check out Apple's App Store or the Google Play Store to see if Pikmin Bloom has landed for you and, if it hasn't, rest assured it should be arriving in the near future.

• The best Android games available today

Do we need another Pokemon Go?

For those that sighed when they learned another AR mobile game in the same vein as Pokemon Go had been released, it's alright – you don't have to play it. But do the cynics have a point? Do we need another reason for people to bury their face in smartphones as they walk the streets?

While the case against increasing smartphone usage for the sake of physical and mental health is certainly a strong one, some studies conducted on the effects of Pokemon Go specifically have found the opposite to be true for this app.

One such research paper found that users were, on average, taking around 2,000 more steps per day, while another discovered an overall reduction (albeit minor) in psychological distress for players of the game.

Corporate success and addictive qualities aside, if we're going to be presented with smartphone games that truly entrance us, the mental and physical health benefits of those that get us out and about surely should hold preference over those that don't encourage physical and social interaction whatsoever.

• The best fitness trackers you can buy

On March 9, 2020, Niantic alerted Pokémon Go players that the St. Louis Safari Zone would be canceled. The Covid-19 pandemic was starting to look a lot more serious than many had first thought and in-person gatherings were becoming a huge safety risk. As the situation worsened over the following weeks, Pokémon Go’s Liverpool (UK) and Philadelphia (US) live events were canceled too.

I was one of the many trainers looking forward to those events, having picked up a ticket to attend the Liverpool Safari Zone in April 2020 as a birthday treat for myself. I held onto that ticket in the hope I would eventually get to my first Pokémon Go live event, and in October 2021 I finally got the chance.

The rescheduled Liverpool Safari Zone is the first major live event Pokémon Go has had since November 2019 – and the first of the three Safari Zones to take place this year. But after a nearly two-year break, how well did Niantic return to the live event game, and should you try heading to one of these Safari Zones for yourself?

• Pokémon Go: Does anyone even care anymore?
• The best Android games in 2021

What is a Pokémon Go Safari Zone?

For the uninitiated, a Safari Zone is a special Pokémon Go event set in a specific real-world location. The city plays host to Pokémon that normally wouldn’t spawn there, giving players a chance to catch exclusive ‘mons and complete special in-game quests for rewards.

The Liverpool Safari Zone saw an abundance of water-type Pokémon flood Sefton Park including the New Zealand-exclusive critter Relicantch washing up in the city for the first time ever. Lucky players also had a chance to catch Unknown that spell out Liverpool, or Pikachu wearing a cattleman hat.

This year Niantic has turned its Safari Zone events into hybrid experiences allowing players with event tickets to catch the specially selected Pokémon either in the cities themselves or from the comfort of their own home.

I had the chance to try both the at-home and in-person experience across Friday and Saturday; while playing locally is no doubt much more convenient, there’s a secret sauce with live events that you just can’t replace.

Adventuring together

What made the Safari Zone more than just playing Pokémon Go in any other park was the sense of community. Thousands of people hadn’t just gathered to play Pokémon Go but to play Pokémon Go together. 

People had come from all over the world to meet up with friends, compete against others in tense Pokémon battles, and help strangers complete their Pokédex. Some even got in on the spirit of things by coming in cosplay (shout out the Glaceon and PokéStop pair – you guys looked great).

The event staff were just as kind; they were always on hand to help point you in the right direction whenever you needed and to hand out a treasure trove of goodies from exclusive Pokémon cards to badges, hats, and posters.

Even my partner, who was only level nine when we showed up at 11am, found herself enamored by the community feel and was sucked back into Pokémon Go. She managed to reach level 20 by the time we left at 6pm and hasn’t put her phone down since – the Safari Zone has firmly reignited her passion to become the best there ever was.

Going in-person also gave me the chance to pick up the exclusive 2021 Safari Zone T-shirt from the merch store and (more importantly) the opportunity to have my picture taken with Pikachu and Eevee.

As you’d expect there are queues for these activities, but I was at the front before I realized. This wasn’t just because lines moved quickly but because these areas also had a huge congregation of PokéStops and Gyms – in-game markers where Pokémon and items can be collected.

This meant that even if I was waiting around physically – my virtual world fun never had to stop. This attitude of ensuring trainers could play for as long as possible was felt throughout everything else at the event too. 

Free event WiFi worked incredibly well even with 1000s of people in attendance, and ensured that I didn’t have to worry about my data allowance; meanwhile, easy to spot public charging stations fashioned as PokéStops gave me the chance to recharge long before my battery died.

Oh no! It broke free!

Everything was running so smoothly that I kept worrying it would eventually all go wrong. I was convinced that my phone signal would vanish or that the event would get canceled for some reason but none of that happened; Niantic’s preparation held strong.

Over the seven hours I spent wandering Sefton Park, my only major gripe was that Special Trades were still limited to just one per day. Usually, these kinds of in-person get-togethers take away (or at least lessen) trading restrictions to encourage trainers to interact more and to swap region-locked Pokémon and other rare critters.

To help you find other trainers you’re even given a little sign to say what ‘mons you’re looking for and willing to trade. Thanks to the Pokémon Go community, I only had to stand around for a minute or so before some kind player came up and offered to trade me the Carnivine I was so desperate for.

However later in the day when I paused to seek out another trade – this time after a Tropius – I was disappointed to find out my Special Trade allowance had been spent.

Overall though this was hardly a catastrophic disaster, I still came away with a slightly more filled-up Pokédex, a bag full of trinkets and plenty of great memories. If you have your Safari zone ticket, and feel comfortable attending in-person events again I’d strongly recommend you go along.

• Pokémon Go developer teases what the future holds for the popular mobile game

There are eight Pokémon Go Eevee Evolutions to collect while playing. Each features a slightly different Evolution method and path, meaning you have many choices as to what to do with any Eevee you have caught.

In Pokémon Go, Eevee evolves a little differently when compared with the main games. You see, players will need to complete different tasks to get the Eeveelution of their choice. It's well worth the effort, however, given how powerful some of Eevee's Evolutions can end up being once powered up. 

Here's how to evolve Eevee into Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Leafeon, Sylveon, Umbreon, Espeon, and Glaceon.

How to evolve Eevee in Pokémon Go

Each Eeveelution requires a different method to obtain in Pokémon Go. Here's some info on each, as well as details on how to evolve Eevee into Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Leafeon, Sylveon, Umbreon, Espeon, and Glaceon using the nicknames method.

Pokémon Go Eevee Evolutions: how to evolve using nicknames

The classic means of getting the Eevee evolution you want in in Pokémon Go is to give them each a specific nickname before they evolve. With this method, all you have to do is rename your Eevee with one of the names below and then, when you get the requisite 25 candies to evolve it, everything will fall into place. 

If you really hate giving your Pokémon nicknames, you can always change it back after your Eevee has evolved. 

• Vaporeon (Water-type): Rainer
• Flareon (Fire-type): Pyro
• Jolteon (Electric-type): Sparky
• Umbreon (Dark-type): Tamao
• Espeon (Psychic-type): Sakura
• Glaceon (Ice-type): Rea
• Leafon (Grass-type): Linnea
• Sylveon (Fairy-type): Kira

Something important to note with this method for Eevee evolutions in Pokémon Go, though, is that it only works once for each nickname. 

So, once you’ve evolved an Eevee into each of the available evolutions using this method then you’ll need to start resorting to other means if you want any more. Keep reading to find out what those are. 

How to evolve Eevee into Jolteon, Vaporeon, and Flareon in Pokémon Go

We’ll get the bad news out of the way first; for these three original Eevee evolutions in Pokémon Go, after you’ve used the nickname trick, we’re afraid there isn’t really much more you can do to guarantee them. 

In order to get any more, you’ll have to revert to random evolutions by gathering Eevees and candies and keeping your fingers crossed that when it evolves you’ll get what you’re looking for. 

How to evolve Eevee into Leafeon and Glaceon in Pokémon Go

In order to evolve Eevee into Leafeon and Glaceon in Pokémon Go you’ll have to get specific items: either the Glacial Lure Module for Glaceon or the Mossy Lure Module for Leafeon, both of which can be purchased in the in-game shop for 200 coins each. 

Once you have the correct Lure Module, simply apply it to a PokéStop. While you’re still close to that PokéStop and the Lure is active, evolve your Eevee using the usual 25 candies and you should get the form you’re looking for. If everything is working properly, the evolution button should show the outline of the Eevee evolution you're going to get before you press it, rather than the usual question mark. 

How to evolve Eevee into Espeon and Umbreon in Pokémon Go

To evolve Eevee into Umbreaon or Espeon, you have to set your Eevee as your buddy and have it walk with you for 10km in order to earn two candies (earning two candies is key). 

Once that’s done, you can evolve your Eevee, but the time of day shown in-game will determine which of the evolutions you get. Evolve Eevee during the day and you’ll get the Psychic-type Espeon. At night, on the other hand, you’ll get the Dark-type Umbreon. 

This trick can be somewhat finicky, so do make sure that Eevee is still your buddy when you evolve it and ensure that you have GPS signal so that the game has the time of day absolutely right where you are. Fortunately, this isn’t limited like the nicknames so you can do it as often as you like (if you can be bothered). 

How to evolve Eevee into Sylveon in Pokémon Go

To evolve Eevee into Sylveon, you will first need to make an Eevee your Buddy (the one you wish to turn into Sylveon). Now, earn 70 Buddy Hearts with it by walking with it, feeding it and taking photos. Once you've done this, you will see Sylveon's silhouette on the evolve button for Eevee. You can then spend 25 Eevee Candy to evolve it. Note that Poffins can speed up this process.

• On the lookout for a sneaky Ditto? Here's how to catch one in Pokémon Go.

Oculus Quest 2 devices could be about to change the game for augmented reality (AR) technology.

Ever since the monumental success of Pokémon Go in 2016, companies around the world have been working hard to improve – and develop applications for – mixed reality experiences that combine real-world environments with virtual objects.

Pokémon Go developer Niantic told us earlier this year of its plans to introduce an accessible range of tools for prospective AR designers, while the trio of Apple, Samsung and Facebook are all reportedly working on a pair of AR glasses for everyday use.

The latter, though, has also begun applying the technology in its existing VR hardware. Facebook has added a new feature to the Oculus Quest 2 which allows developers to create mixed reality experiences using the headset’s cameras – and we’re starting to see just how important this could be for the future of gaming. 

• Everything we know about the Oculus Quest 3
• Oculus Quest will work with Steam Deck for VR on the go
• The new Oculus Quest 2 boasts better VR value than ever

As per VRScout, developers are already proving the creative potential of Oculus’ new Passthrough API Experimental by applying the feature to brand new VR/AR experiences on the Oculus Quest 2.

For instance, as below, one design team has demonstrated the productivity benefits of AR by creating a round-table office space combining the real-world environment with virtual avatars.

But not only are developers working on entirely new AR experiences like this one, but they’re also porting existing Quest games into AR by merging the real and virtual. 

Developer Field of Vision, for instance, recently released Crazy Kung Fu on the Oculus App Lab, which sees players battling training dummies in VR as part of a workout-driven fitness experience. Using the Passthrough API Experimental, though, Field of Vision has been able to implement the same principle into the real-world – essentially creating a mixed reality dojo for wherever you fancy punching some panels.

The company teased the new experience on Reddit, and it proves that AR integration into systems like the Oculus Quest 2 could be a game-changer for VR.

The same is true of VR puzzle game Gravity Lab, which developer Mark Schramm has turned into another mixed reality experience powered by the Passthrough API Experimental. 

In a similar Reddit post, Schramm demonstrates being able to freely walk around his virtual environment without having to worry about knocking into any real-world objects.

Analysis: A hybrid strategy

Essentially, then, this means the integration of AR into the world of VR gaming – on Oculus devices, at least – won’t be stagnated by a lack of brand new, AR-exclusive titles at launch. 

If existing VR games are compatible with the new technology in this way, there’s no reason why we won’t see a slew of already-popular Oculus titles get the same AR treatment in the months to come. 

As for where AR might be beneficial elsewhere, those aforementioned applications like mixed reality office spaces seem a logical and practical extension of the technology. But we could also see AR become integrated into more traditional fitness experiences like running or boxing, with virtual landscapes or opponents superimposed into your real environment.

The possibilities, it seems, are endless, and judging by the success of Facebook’s new tool in just the first few weeks of its arrival, the future looks bright for AR technology.

Oh, and the Oculus Quest 3 is now a much more exciting proposition, too... 

• People are buying the Oculus Quest 2 just to access Facebook accounts

Via VRScout 

UPDATE: Pokémon Go developer Niantic has responded to discontented fans, saying it is "assembling an internal cross-functional team" to look into possible solutions or changes it could implement around "interaction distance", with findings to be shared by September 1. Its statement also says Niantic will be "reaching out to community leaders in the coming days to join us in this dialogue." To see what all the fuss is about, read the original story below...

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has revealed that Gen 8 Pokémon – from the region of Galar in the Pokémon Sword and Shield games – will be landing in the hugely popular AR mobile game this month, but there's an issue.

The official Pokémon Go Twitter account made the announcement, revealing that the "Skwovet, Wooloo, Falinks, Zacian, and Zamazenta" Pokémon would all be arriving in the game soon, as part of the upcoming Ultra Unlock event beginning August 20.

Ultra Unlock is a recurring global event that tasks trainers with completing set challenges every hour, with new Pokémon being added alongside higher spawn rates for thematically linked Pokémon – such as prehistoric Pokémon in the first Ultra Unlock back in July.

It's not all sunshine and Jigglypuffs, though, as players are still smarting from the reversal of so-called 'Covid bonuses', which increased the distance players could be at when coming across Pokémon in the app. 

The increased distance allowed players to more easily access Pokémon on their travels, without having to stand in a specific spot that could be crowded by other trainers, or simply be a bit out of reach.

The reversal has many players calling for the temporary distance buff to be brought back, with some even trying to get #BoycottNiantic trending on Twitter or posting screenshots of their low usage metrics – while others express disappointment that Gen 8 creatures are being added before earlier generations get a look in.

• Pokémon Go creators are raising the bar for AR… again
• Pokémon Go developer’s AR glasses could make you a real-life trainer 
• 3 things we’ve learned about Facebook’s AR glasses    

Analysis: Lay out your unrest

Player unrest is nothing new, especially around big game updates. Some will always be disappointed or confused by what's been added or removed, and it usually means that a developer is catering to some players while overlooking others. With a massive player base like that enjoyed by Niantic, that's somewhat inevitable.

However, the distance increases seemed to have helped a lot of players feel safer, especially for events with large gatherings of users – while those in rural areas were more able to find Pokémon in hard-to-reach players, given that country roads and landscapes aren't as easily accessed as densely-packed city streets.

One of the largest community blogs, Pokémon Go Hub, has even taken to releasing a  post around how best to voice discontent to Niantic, noting that "With no communication at all from Niantic, to anyone in the community, it is time for us to raise our voices in other ways."

Fan pressure can beget change, of course, though it's often the case that larger developers and publishers can be slower to move or less flexible in their roadmaps. And, ultimately, given the scale of Pokémon Go, we don't see even a loud minority of players managing to overturn a decision from up high – though we'd love to be surprised.

• Everything you need to know about Pokémon Go 

Sylveon has finally been added to Pokémon Go, marking the last of the Eevee evolutions coming to the popular mobile game. 

Originally introduced in Pokémon X and Y, Sylveon is a fairy-type Pokémon adorned with pink ribbons and bows arriving to sit alongside Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Umbreon, Espeon, Leafeon and Glaceon.

To get it – and let’s be honest, we all want it – you’ll have to use the naming trick, which we’ll walk you through below.

• How to catch a Ditto in Pokémon Go
• How to catch Mew or Mewtwo in Pokémon Go
• Pokémon Go creators are raising the bar for AR… again  

The easiest way to the Eevee evolution your heart desires is to give it a specific nickname before it evolves, and Sylveon is no different. 

So, grab yourself an Eevee and the 25 candies you’ll need to evolve it, and then give it the nickname “Kira”. Once you do that, you should see a silhouette appear underneath the standard “evolve” button. Tap that, and you’ve got yourself a Sylveon.

It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that this method only works once for each Eeveelution.

For help obtaining all seven of the other Eevee evolutions through the naming trick – as well as the tricks to getting more than one – check out our guide. 

The end of an era?

Pokémon Go has now been going strong for near-on five years, so where does it go next?

Well, the game’s developer, Niantic, recently hinted at the future of the mega-popular mobile game, suggesting that "exciting things are in the works." 

In an exclusive interview with TechRadar, lead product manager for augmented reality (AR) at Niantic, Kjell Bronder, described the company’s ambition to reach the multiplayer potential of Pokémon Go first established by its launch trailer back in 2016.

“If you look at that original Pokémon Go trailer,” Bronder said, “you'll see that there's a lot of stuff in there we still want to do.” This coincides with the launch of Niantic’s new developer platform, Niantic Lightship, which aims to bring a host of new AR capabilities to market – suggesting Pokémon Go could be set for a major update very soon.

In the meantime, catching Sylveon should keep you busy.

• Pokémon Go Eevee evolution name guide: how to evolve Espeon, Umbreon and more 

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has hinted at the future of the mega-popular mobile game, suggesting that "exciting things are in the works." 

In an exclusive interview with TechRadar, lead product manager for augmented reality (AR) at Niantic, Kjell Bronder, described the company’s ambition to reach the multiplayer potential of the mobile game first established by its launch trailer back in 2016.

“If you look at that original Pokémon Go trailer,” Bronder said, “you'll see that there's a lot of stuff in there we still want to do.” This coincides with the launch of Niantic’s new developer platform, Niantic Lightship, which aims to bring a host of new AR capabilities to market – suggesting Pokémon Go could be set for a major update very soon.

• Pokémon Go creators are raising the bar for AR… again
• Pokémon Go developer’s AR glasses could make you a real-life trainer 
• 3 things we’ve learned about Facebook’s AR glasses    

In the interview, Bronder described the new functionalities made possible by the company’s latest technology, among them real-time mapping, semantic segmentation and a more robust multiplayer experience. 

The former aims to more accurately superimpose virtual objects onto the real world using smartphone cameras, essentially adding physics to virtual objects. “To better augment reality, objects have to act naturally or behave as you would expect, so real-time mapping allows software to better understand your environment,” said Bronder. 

In the same vein, semantic segmentation allows virtual objects to look, feel and move in realistic ways. Niantic says Lightship can automatically segment different natural outdoor objects in a scene, enabling AR content to interact with specific surfaces. It’s not hard to imagine the above concept video being applied to virtual Pokéballs bouncing around real-life urban spaces, and it’s a feature we could see introduced into the game in the near future.

A second Niantic source added that the goal is to keep the Pokémon Go universe “alive and vibrant” – which somewhat douses the flames on rumors of an outright sequel – but that the developer intends to add the “amazing multiplayer battles” debuted in the game’s original concept video.

Multiplayer madness

That focus on multiplayer is perhaps the most exciting addition we expect to see added to Pokémon Go in future updates.

With Niantic’s new Lightship technology, the game may soon be capable of allowing eight players to share the same AR experience, with peer-to-peer messaging features introduced to better cultivate a sense of community among users.

“There's nothing that's going to bring a virtual object to life more than if multiple people are seeing the same thing at the same time,” Bronder said in the interview. “But you have to actually understand the pose of all the different devices that are looking at that same scene. You're overlaying on top of the real world, so it's more important than ever that you have real-time communication to keep all of the different objects in sync.”

In the above concept video, Niantic demonstrates software which allows individual users to throw and catch virtual objects with one another – again, a feature that seems primed to work well with the real-time visual exchange of Pokéballs.

Could we potentially see the explosive Pokémon duels fictionalized in the game’s early trailers become a reality, then? It certainly seems a possibility, especially if these concept clips represent ready-to-go technology.

In any case, with the launch of its new developer platform – now in the private beta stage – it’s safe to expect some major Pokémon Go updates are on the way soon. “There’s so much more to do,” Bronder added, "and we're working on more than a dozen games.”

Let’s hope a new version of Pokémon Go is among them.

• Everything you need to know about Pokémon Go 

Viral sensations are nothing new. The accessibility of social media platforms means any piece of content has the potential to reach billions of screens around the world at the tap of a button, and it’s a phenomenon we’ve seen take hold of music, images and videos that have since become immortalised in the annals of popular culture.

It’s rare, though, to see an entire app just as quickly find its way into the hands of millions of mobile users in every corner of the globe. It was pretty much unheard of, in fact, until the arrival of Pokémon Go in 2016.

The brainchild of developer Niantic and Nintendo, the free-to-play mobile game introduced a novel gameplay system combining GPS and augmented reality (AR) software to generate hundreds of virtual Pokémon to be caught by players in real-world locations. The rest, as they say, is history.  

• Apple Glasses may offer the most comfortable mixed reality experience yet
• Pokémon Go developer’s AR glasses could make you a real-life trainer 
• 3 things we’ve learned about Facebook’s AR glasses  

It became the fastest mobile game to earn $100 million, the most downloaded in its first month of release and has since been downloaded over a billion times. For comparison, Angry Birds – which first launched in 2011 – boasts an equivalent figure of around 300 million downloads. Pokémon Go wasn’t just a technological novelty, it was a cultural force. 

It comes as no surprise, then, to learn that Niantic is continuing to pave the way for the widespread, mainstream use of AR in our everyday lives. The San Francisco company has announced a planet-scale AR platform for current and future generations of AR hardware – Niantic Lightship – offering developers the opportunity to build a diverse range of applications which could see the technology evolve from novel pastime to real social tool. 

TechRadar sat down with Kjell Bronder, lead product manager for AR at Niantic, to talk about Lightship and how these new developer tools could impact the future of gaming, tourism and other industries.

“AR is the perfect way to make the world more engaging, more fun, more interesting,” Bronder tells us over a Zoom call.

“There's been Pokémon games since and Pokémon games after, but none of them have had that same level of success as Pokémon Go. So how do we take everything from this type of location-based AR game and create a platform where we can start building other things?”

Niantic’s new Lightship technology aims to combine real-time mapping, semantic segmentation and a more robust multiplayer experience to offer developers the “richest selection of AR tools and technologies to date.”

Let's get physical

That first key development area, real-time mapping, is concerned with more accurately fitting virtual objects into the real world using smartphone cameras. Lightship essentially aims to make physics possible for virtual objects. “To better augment reality, objects have to act naturally or behave as you would expect, so real-time mapping allows software to better understand your environment,” says Bronder. 

Similarity, semantic segmentation – which isn’t to do with the meaning of words, apparently – allows virtual objects to look, feel and move in realistic ways. Niantic says Lightship can automatically segment different natural outdoor objects in a scene, enabling AR content to interact with specific surfaces. 

“Semantics identifies physical barriers in the real world,” Bronder says. “A virtual ball would bounce off a real-life wall and roll around on the ground, for example. If it hits water, it would splash into it. These are the types of scenarios this technology allows.”

Bronder is keen to stress that this functionality would be made available to as broad an audience as possible, since Lightship only requires the RGB color sensors found in most cameras (as opposed to the LiDAR scanners only available on high end devices like the iPhone 12 Pro). “We want to make sure that we can reach the largest audience, that's something we've learned from Pokémon Go.”

It’s clear, though, that the potential for greater social interaction is at the heart of Niantic’s mission. 

“How do we incite people to explore the world together?,” Bronder continues. 

“There's nothing that's going to bring a virtual object to life more than if multiple people are seeing the same thing at the same time. Naturally, that's really hard when it comes to AR, because it's a computer vision problem. You have to actually understand the pose of all the different devices that are looking at that same scene. You're overlaying on top of the real world, so it's more important than ever that you have real-time communication to keep all of the different objects in sync.”

Lightship aims to offer developers an “easy-to-use, shared area service” which could allow up to eight players to share the same AR experience. Peer-to-peer messaging features would also be built-in to the software. Given that many of today’s mixed reality experiences suffer from a lack of community – even the most successful VR devices, like the Oculus Quest 2, fail to cultivate much meaningful social engagement – Lightship aims to keep future AR applications from being short-lived novelties.

“I think the gaming side is where there’s huge potential for getting people outside exploring the world, as we see with Pokémon Go, but we want to go beyond just gaming – there are many other opportunities out there,” says Bronder. 

“Our game teams are making these tools available to third party developers in several industries – think about tourism, festivals, cities, entertainment, education. AR can help people visualise things and see the world with new eyes. It's going to be really interesting to see what all of these different companies, brands and developers come up with.”

What’s next for Niantic? 

But what about games from Niantic themselves? “I forget how many games we’re working on internally, but I can say it's more than a dozen. We’ve talked recently about partnerships with Nintendo, Pikmin and [popular board game] Catan – but there’s lots of others. Exciting things are in the works.”

Thanks to a Twitter post from Niantic CEO John Hanke earlier in the year, we know the developer is also working on its own pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses, so one of those “exciting things” could be the launch of a fully-fledged Niantic mixed reality device in the near future.

And, of course, we couldn’t let one of the brains behind the most successful mobile game of all time leave without a nod towards the future of the Pokémon Go franchise.

“Let’s just say that the universe continues to expand,” teases Bronder. 

“We're coming up on five years [since its release] and we’re going to celebrate that with the Pokémon Go fest. We envision the Pokémon universe is just going to get broader – there's so much more to do.”

Given how far along Niantic seems to have moved AR technology since 2016, another billion downloads could be on the way soon. With major players in the tech industry like Apple, Samsung and Facebook all reportedly working on their own AR-focused products, too, the technology seems primed to experience an explosion in growth in the years to come. Could a pair of Apple Glasses be the catalyst for the industry-wide adoption of AR software?

In any case, expect a host of new innovative AR applications to arrive in the near future, ready to augment – as is their purpose – our everyday lives in ways we can’t yet imagine. 

“It's creative development, it’s storytelling, it’s imagination,” says Bronder. It’s also just around the corner.

The private beta for the Niantic Lightship Developer Kit is available to join at Niantic.dev.

• Pokémon Go tips and tricks guide: be the best trainer you can possibly be  

Niantic is best known for developing Pokémon Go, an augmented reality game that lets players catch Pokémon in the real world using their mobile phones. Now it seems like Nintendo has entrusted the developer with another one of its properties, as a new Pikmin game is on the way.

As announced by Niantic earlier today, an open test for the Pikmin App has begun in Singapore. Some fans are already getting to try it and have shared their thoughts on Twitter. Players had been asked not to share any images or gameplay footage online, but some fans have predictably shared details from the game's FAQ pages (thanks, Eurogamer), which give us more of an insight as to what we can expect.

Apparently, players will need to walk around when using the Pikmin App to create Step Energy. This energy can be used to grow seedlings into Pikmin, which can then be named and fed nectar that makes them bloom different flowers.

• Be the very best with Pokémon Go tips and tricks
• Take a look at the latest Pokémon Go updates
• Check out the best Nintendo Switch games

The more you walk around with your gang of Pikmin, the more chances you'll have of finding fruit, which can then be turned into nectar. Basically, the more you walk, the more your Pikmin will grow, but you can also send them out on expeditions to gather seedlings from places you've previously visited.

There are seven familiar species of Pikmin available to grow: Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, White, Rock and Winged, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. There will also be "Decor" versions of Pikmin to find that will appear in certain areas.

Not available worldwide, at least for now

As you might have ascertained from the details above, the Pikmin App is being described as a "walking experience" so it doesn't sound like it'll be very complicated to grow and collect your Pikmin. 

This test is only available in Singapore for now, but those who are interested in testing the app can pre-register here. The Pikmin App is currently planned for a wider release later in 2021, so hopefully we shouldn't have to wait too long before we get to try it out. 

With no sign of Pikmin 4 appearing on Nintendo Switch anytime soon, it's at least encouraging to see that Nintendo hasn't forgotten about the franchise. Pikmin 3 Deluxe also released on Nintendo Switch last year, after first appearing on Wii U, so we're still hopeful a fully-fledged sequel will arrive in the future. 

• Pokémon Go developer’s AR glasses could make you a real-life trainer

Pokémon Go developer Niantic looks like it’s been hard at work developing its own pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses, as evidenced by a post on Twitter from Niantic CEO John Hanke. The preview image makes the product look non-intrusive and stylish enough that they won’t look too out of the ordinary when wearing them out in public.

In the tweet, Hanke specifically states the desire to “enable new kinds of devices that leverage our platform.” Likely, this means that Niantic’s AR glasses will benefit the most from the company’s in-house projects like Pokémon Go and its upcoming Pikmin mobile game. 

• Pokémon Go updates: news and rumors for what's coming next
• Pokemon Go tips and tricks guide: be the best trainer you can possibly be!
• Fake GPS for Pokémon Go: spoof your location with a VPN

Currently we have nothing to go on in terms of the tech used for the device, or even a release date, and Niantic itself hasn’t released any info outside of Hanke’s tweet. Last month though, Microsoft showed off a Pokémon Go proof of concept demo with its own HoloLens mixed reality device. This suggests that Niantic has been playing with the technology for some time now, and could be gearing up for a full announcement later in the year. 

Super effective?

We think there’s great potential waiting to be tapped into with Niantic’s AR glasses, especially when it comes to Pokémon Go. And it makes sense that Niantic would want to grow the app even further, as Pokémon Go had a phenomenal 2020, making $1 billion in revenue over a ten month period.

If Pokémon Go continues to grow year on year, then it’s understandable that Niantic would want to supplement that growth with new ways to play. Niantic’s AR glasses would likely overlay Pokémon Go’s augmented reality gameplay over your current real world location.

The Pokémon Go app might then be used as it normally is: aiming and throwing your Pokéball to catch any critter you’ve come across. We must admit, having your thrown Pokéball immediately show up through the lenses of Niantic’s AR glasses sounds like it could be a blast, if the transition from phone to glasses display is as smooth as it needs to be.

• Pokémon Legends Arceus trailer, release date, news and what we know so far

Pokémon Go fans were given a treat during the Microsoft Ignite 2021 event in the form of a demo for an immersive augmented reality Pokémon experience. But even if you own a HoloLens 2 you won’t be able to play it.

As explained by Niantic CEO John Hanke while he explored a real-world space surrounded by wild Pokémon with his partner Pikachu - this proof-of-concept merely “offers an early glimpse into the future evolutions in both software and hardware.”

Niantic - which is no stranger to both augmented and virtual reality with games like Pokemon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite - has teamed up with Microsoft to work with its new Microsoft Mesh AR platform. We may see something like this demo headed our way in the future, then, but we just might have to wait several years first. 

• Pokémon Unite Android beta details and how to take part
• Leaked videos show off Samsung's AR glasses
• Apple AR Glasses could arrive in 2022

The Pokémon Go AR demo video

As captured in the video above, the demo sees John Hanke showing off what Pokémon Go could look like on the HoloLens 2 or a similar device. Wild Pokémon roam open spaces like they do in the TV show and mainline video games, and players can play with their partner Pokémon by interacting with a controllerless interface. 

 What is the future of AR gaming?

This Pokémon Go demo is exactly what many expect to be the future of AR gaming. Unlike VR - virtual reality as is seen with the Oculus Quest 2 and Valve Index - AR, or augmented reality, doesn’t look to create a whole new world but instead builds off the one around us and adds to it.

In the case of Pokémon Go, this is introducing virtual critters into the environment. Other applications we've seen include being able to add information centers to real-world landmarks or letting users craft digital objects with their hands.

But if you thought VR was expensive, AR devices are in another league with the HoloLens 2 costing $3,500 (about £2,600 or AU$4,900) and Apple’s upcoming AR lens rumored to sell for anywhere from $500 to $5,000.

Over time we’ll hopefully see these wearable AR prices drop, letting us regular folk try out immersive AR for ourselves. Until then we’ll have to settle for Pokémon Go on our smartphones.

• Pokémon Diamond and Pearl remakes are coming to Nintendo Switch

Pokémon Go Fest usually sees avid trainers congregate in cities all over the world to celebrate the popular mobile game by working together to achieve goals, catch rare Pokémon and just generally have a good time. But this year, thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, Niantic had to make some changes to Go Fest resulting in it becoming a truly global event where players could participate from home.

Now, we’ve already seen Niantic introduce an array of sweeping changes to the way Pokémon Go could be played, enabling anyone in lockdown to still play the game to some extent. But bringing their annual celebration in line with those changes was certainly their most ambitious post-lockdown move yet, though one that presented them with a unique opportunity. It allowed Niantic to bring the event to a much bigger audience than usual, opening it up to people who otherwise wouldn’t have the means to travel, pay hotel costs and so on. 

What happened during Pokémon Go Fest 2020

Go Fest itself ran over two days for the first time ever, another perk of the event's unique circumstances. Each day had a different set of challenges and tasks for players to complete. Day one featured hourly rotating habitats of different types of Pokémon, as well as the aforementioned global challenges to unlock cool new themed weeks in the future, as well as in-game bonuses for during the festival. Day two saw players trying to save the festival from Team Rocket and encountering a never-before-seen Mythical Pokémon.

In terms of the Pokémon available, Niantic offered a wide range of sought after and rare Pokémon that ticket holders and non-participants could catch, many of which had been unlocked by all players completing challenges in the weeks prior. There were a few event exclusives, however, like the photobombing new debut Rotom, Unown ‘O’ and ‘G’, the three Kanto starters wearing Pikachu visors, the normally region-locked Durant and Heatmor, a group of Shadow legendary Pokémon and mythical Pokémon Victini.

Also exclusive to the event were the two ‘Go Fest 2020’ research tasks that reward players with a bucket-load of items, including, perhaps crucially to players playing from home and unable to reach Pokéstops, all the Pokéballs you could need for the event (even though I still almost ran out). Both research tasks were fun, rewarding really nice amounts of items and Pokémon and weren’t too difficult to complete.

There were also some added visual flourishes in the game, with themed confetti filling the sky as you played and even fireworks at night to signify the end of a hard day’s worth of catching 'em all. There were also some fun ‘Go Fest’ stickers given out, and some lucky trainers were also able to pick up ‘Go Fest’ souvenirs through their Buddy Pokémon.

What went wrong during Pokémon Go Fest 2020? 

Unfortunately, there were a few niggles over the course of the two days, with a few moments of in-game lag and crashes that caused a plethora of errors, particularly for a large chunk of day one. These included being kicked from remote raids and unable to re-join, or being unable to catch Pokémon and access the friends list or send gifts. That said, Niantic did work to resolve these issues as quickly as possible, and have since announced they’re going to throw another event to make up for this.  

Some weren’t happy with the rate of shiny Pokémon encounters as well. This was just a case of being unlucky rather than an actual issue with the event itself, though, since loads of people online caught a metric ton of the sought after rare variants. Still, I can see why unlucky people who paid money with expectations that Go Fest would be more lucrative than previously free shiny events, like Community Day, would feel those expectations haven’t been met.

Personally, I do feel that Pokémon Go Fest could have done more with the two days we were given. The two Go Fest tasks were really fun, but ultimately quite short in length, meaning that once they were completed there wasn’t much more to do other than just catch Pokémon as normal. Also, as the Pokémon available stayed the same over both days, it did get a little repetitive and directionless. I would like to have seen more tasks to complete later on in the day and a greater variety of Pokémon on offer.   

Was Pokémon Go Fest 2020 a success? 

Ultimately, it was a great weekend that made the game feel like a big event again, coming close to matching the buzz around its initial release. I saw more people out playing the game than I have in a long time. I've talked more with my friends about the Pokémon we did or didn’t catch than we have in a long time, and that’s certainly positive!

But, more importantly, the sense of community and shared experience was an incredibly needed and necessary thing because of the situation we're all in right now. As a result, it’s undeniable that Pokémon Go Fest was a success in one very important regard: it brought people together when they’ve never been further apart. 

Anyone who started playing Pokémon Go from the very beginning will surely remember the glorious summer of 2016 where you couldn’t go outside without seeing large groups of happy Pokémon Go players discovering the joy of interacting with, and catching, Pokémon in the real world.

However, venturing outside to play Pokémon Go isn't always possible, particularly right now as many players are having to self-isolate as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In light of this, Niantic has been making some changes to the game that make it easier for trainers to keep aiming for the very best, even when it's not possible to stray far from home. 

The changes are happening over time, so we've put together this guide on how you can continue to play Pokémon Go from your home that we'll continue to update as Niantic alters the game. 

• Best Nintendo Switch games: the most essential Switch titles
• Our Pokemon Go Eevee Evolutions guide
• Best co-op games 2020: the top games to play with friends on console and PC

How Covid-19 has affected Pokémon Go

Coronavirus has swept through every country in the world leading to a global pandemic being declared. As a result several countries have declared a nationwide lockdown preventing people from going outside and therefore dramatically reducing the playability of Pokémon Go in a significant way. 

It’s easy to scoff at the thought of Pokémon Go players being unable to visit Pokéstops or Gyms, but one of the prevailing positive things that emerged from the advent of the game was how it was changing people’s lives for the better - players were getting regular exercise, it was improving mental health and communities and friendships were developed. As a result the lockdown will have been a huge blow to the health and well-being of many Pokémon Go players. 

Pokémon Go developers Niantic acted to put the safety of their players first and extended, delayed and then cancelled many of the events it had announced. In particular the game's Community Day, Raid Hour and Safari Zone events were stopped as they encouraged mass gatherings of players - while other raid events have also been cancelled "until further notice".

Beyond that though, Niantic has also done its best to make the most out of a bad situation by implementing a set of sweeping changes to the playability of Pokémon Go which are designed to enable players to still get their Pokémon Go fix from the comfort of their own homes. 

What you can do on Pokémon Go from your own home?

Niantic has made many home-friendly changes so you can play Pokémon Go without venturing outside. In an initial update released on March 12, Niantic made the following changes:

• Incense duration has been extended from half an hour to one hour
• The hatching distance for eggs has been halved
• Pokéstops now drop more gifts than usual
• Inventory limit of gifts has been increased from 10 to 20
• The number of Pokémon that spawn in the wild has been increased
• A bundle of 30 incense has been made available in the shop for the significantly reduced price of one Pokécoin.

In a further update on March 23, more in-game changes were made. A new one Pokécoin bundle was made available - this time for 100 Pokéballs. Both the Pokéball and Incense bundles were made available until March 30 but these bundles are replaced on a weekly basis (read on to find out the latest). In addition, the following changes were also made. 

Safari Zone ticket holders are receiving in-game bonuses for playing at home, which include eight hour incense and a guarantee that all Safari Zone tasks will be able to be completed from home. The Genesect event was also adapted so that anyone purchasing the event ticket could complete it from home. 

Niantic has also announced a new feature called 'Today View' which collects a whole bunch of useful information like streaks and current events in one place to allow players to keep tabs of their game better.

While the Lugia Raid week was cancelled, an update on March 30 added a new one Pokécoin bundle which was available as a one-time purchase and contained 50 Great Balls. Remember, these Pokécoin bundles rotate weekly, with the contents changing each week. These bundles are now no longer in the game. 

"We are continuing to prioritize updates to Pokémon GO features and experiences that can be enjoyed in individual settings," Niantic wrote in the update. "Events may vary in certain areas until further notice."

On March 31, Niantic rolled out a further updates, including changes to Pokémon Go Gym interaction distances to allow players to "team up in Raid Battles from home". 

"The distance from which you can interact with Gyms has been temporarily doubled, allowing you to be farther from Gyms and other Trainers as you challenge Raid Bosses," Niantic wrote. "This change also allows you to spin Photo Discs at Gyms if you are within the doubled distance; however, it will not change the distance required to spin Photo Discs at PokéStops."

A further update from Niantic introduced on April 15 introduces the Remote Raid Pass - which can be purchased in the in-game shop individually for 100 PokéCoins.

The Remote Raid pass allows Trainers to join Raid Battles as soon as they begin, as long as the raid is on the Nearby Raid view or tappable on the Map View. Only one Remote Raid Pass will be required to join the raid and you’ll only be able to hold a limited amount of Remote Raid Passes at a time. In addition, only a certain number of remote players can join a raid at any one time. 

At launch, those who battle remotely will have the same attack power as those battling in person; however this increase is temporary, with Niantic stating it will be reduced "at a later time". After that, those who battle in person at a Gym in person will have higher attack power than a Trainer battling remotely. Remote Raid Battles will still count towards any raid-related research and achievement medals.

"We will be adjusting this feature over time, including the ability to invite friends to raids regardless of their location along with the mentioned adjustment to Trainer attack power from remote locations and the number of Trainers who can join remotely," Niantic has said.

In addition, players will receive one daily bonus Field Research task - without having to spin a Pokéstop and a new buddy system has been implemented that sees a "buddy" venturing to Pokéstops for you to collect gifts. And, if that's not enough, you'll be able to power up your Pokémon faster: with the ability to give your Pokémon all the Candy and Stardust they need to power it up to your desired CP level at once. 

Finally, Trainers will be able to stack the number of Star Pieces, Lucky Eggs, and Incense they want to use - up to 200 of each item. So you can stack the activation of multiple items at once.

In May, Niantic confirmed that it would be ending its 1 PokéCoin bundles but, in order to keep it easier for players to get items, it's still possible for Buddies to bring you Gifts from PokéStops, allowing players to send and receive Gifts with friends to receive items like Poké Balls and Berries. There's also a daily bonus Field Research task that can be accessed without having to spin a PokéStop, which can be completed to earn items. Finally, the distance from which players can spin a PokéStop has been doubled for a limited amount of time. 

Those looking to take part in the Go Battle League will also see some changes that make home-play more possible. For the second season of the Battle League starting in June, Niantic is continuing to waive the walk and pay entry requirements. In addition, Players who are not in-game close friends will no longer need to be physically close to one another to Battle and will be able to send Battle requests to Good Friends and above. Trainers can now also initiate battles through QR codes which can be used regardless of friendship levels and distance.

On June 2, Niantic announced that it would make it possible to invite friends to Raids, regardless of their location. The feature is being rolled out but when it's available players who join a Raid in person will see a + button in both public and private lobbies. Tapping this button will allow them to invite up to five friends to join the Raid too. Those being invited to Raids will see their invite either via a push notification or in their Nearby screen. Accepting the invitation will allow them to enter the Raid lobby, though their Remote Raid Pass will not be used until the battle starts. 

Niantic also announced that its annual Pokémon Go Fest taking place on July 25 and 26 2020 will be a completely virtual experience, allowing players to take part in the traditionally in-person collaborative event from wherever they are. 

One ticket purchased at $14.99/£14.99 for the event will cover two days of play and Niantic has said that it's working on a microsite "which will bring some of our favorite event activities to Trainers around the world. Just like the team lounges at an in-person Pokémon GO Fest, this site will give players a chance to take a break from catching Pokémon and interact with other Trainers, participate in fun giveaways, and get event updates." More information on this feature is expected closer to the event. 

Tips and tricks for playing Pokémon Go at home

While the above changes from Niantic do certainly make Pokémon Go much easier to play at home, there are few other tips and tricks you can do to make playing Pokémon Go from your home a little easier. 

If you are in a lockdown that allows for daily exercise, and there are gyms and Pokéstops within walking distance of your home, we’d recommend planning a walking or cycling route that incorporates them - but only if you are able to safely. 

Pokémon Go also has many incredible online communities, including many local groups. It’s definitely worth checking them out.  You can add them all as friends, battle them and send each other gifts to keep your stock of Pokéballs and eggs up during the lockdown. Plus when all this has blown over you have a new community of friends to meet!

And that’s it! Enjoy playing Pokémon Go from home and stay safe!

• Best Pokémon games: ranking from Gold to Sword and Shield

Pokémon Go is a game that usually encourages its players to get out and about but, due to the coronavirus pandemic, this isn't necessarily possible for players to do. But, have no fear, Niantic, has temporarily changed some mechanics to allow you to continue to play Pokémon Go from inside your home.

In a statement to Polygon, Niantic said it is currently “prioritizing updates to Pokémon Go features and experiences that can be enjoyed in individual settings.” 

These changes, which are effective immediately, include increasing habitats so that players have a better chance of catching Pokémon from their homes. But what else is changing?

• Best Pokémon games: ranking from Gold to Sword and Shield
• Pokemon Sword and Shield review
• Check out our Pokémon Go tips and tricks guide

What's changed?

Well, Niantic is offering 99% off incense packs - which are bought with real life money and increase Pokemon spawns. These packs will also last an hour when they're active rather than the cur30 minutes.

In addition, incubators will allow players to hatch eggs "twice as fast". Incubators require players to take a certain number of steps before an egg will hatch, but this number has now been decreased. And, last but not least, PokéStops are dropping gifts more often.

As Polygon points out, coronavirus concerns have already seen Niantic postponing its Abra Community Day alongside other real-world events. However, events like Battle League are allowing players to compete with each other remotely. Meanwhile the upcoming Special Research Adventure will apparently involve tasks that players can complete solo.

“While we’ve made these updates based on the current global health situation, we also encourage players to make decisions on where to go and what to do that are in the best interest of their health and the health of their communities,” Niantic told Polygon.

• How to download and play Call of Duty: Warzone right now

Pokémon Go is getting off to a strong start in 2020 with a big update that introduces new Pokémon as well as a new mechanic: Trade Evolution. 

Although it’s just being introduced to Pokémon Go, Trade Evolution is already a fairly established mechanic in the mainline Pokémon games. Essentially, it means that trading eligible Pokémon will reduce the amount of Candy needed to evolve them. 

This is a pretty great mechanic to take advantage of if you still haven’t been able to collect the large amount of Candy required to evolve Pokémon like Machoke and Haunter. 

No candy required

The number of Pokémon that benefit from Trade Evolution in Go isn’t expansive but at the moment it includes Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler, and Haunter as well as some of the new Unova additions Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast, and Shelmet. If you’ve previously received any of the eligible Pokémon through a trade prior to this update don’t worry; they retroactively qualify. 

Speaking of new Unova Pokémon, there’s a large number of the Generation 5 locals coming to the game. Now players will have the chance to encounter and catch Unova favorites like Boldore, Roggenrola, Rumple, Karrablast, Dwebble, Joltik, Shelmet and Trubbish in the wild. Others, like Venipede, Temple, Tirtouga, Archen and Axew will hatch from eggs, while Timburr will be appearing in one star Raids. 

Some other new Pokémon in the game will be region exclusive. Players in North America, South America, and Africa will now be able to encounter the red fighting-type Pokémon Throh, as well as hatch it from 10 km eggs. Players in Europe, Asia, and Australia, on the other hand, will get Throh’s blue counterpart Sawk. 

In addition, those living in the Southern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America will see grass-type Maractus begin to appear. Egypt and Greece, meanwhile, will see the Psychic Flying-type Sigilyph.

The final and least significant divide is between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, the former of which is getting the red-striped form of the water Pokémon Basculin, while the latter gets the blue-striped form. 

After a stellar 2019, according to Sensor Tower, Niantic and Pokémon Go show no signs of slowing down in 2020.

• All the latest news from Pokémon Go

Earlier this year, Niantic announced its Wayfarer Tool for Pokémon Go which would finally allow players to have some influence on key points on the game’s map. 

The tool's various features have been steadily rolling out to players in limited numbers; however, Niantic has been forced to suspend its recently-launched Gym and PokéStops contributions system due to “overwhelming response” from players. 

It almost takes you back to those early days of Pokémon Go in 2016, when the game’s servers couldn’t quite keep up with the amount of player demand. This time, however, Niantic is getting ahead of the issue and acting first by disabling the contributions system to “avoid stability issues”. 

Proving popular

If you’ve been away from Pokémon Go for a while, or you missed the announcement with all the festive distractions, Niantic’s Wayfarer Tool is part of Niantic’s efforts to improve the Pokémon Go experience. 

The wider idea of the Wayfarer Tool is that it allows players (currently only those over level 40 in Pokémon Go) to nominate and review new locations for PokéStops and Gyms as well as make edits to existing ones. The hope is that allowing community contributions will encourage players to get out and explore while the review and improvements system will keep locations and information accurate and informative. 

The contributions system which has been disabled allows players over level 40 to make suggestions for changes to current locations. The changes that can be made include titles, descriptions and photos. Nominations for new locations, however, can still be submitted by players.

Niantic has made it clear that PokéStop and Gym contributions won’t be offline forever but it hasn’t given any indication as to when the tool will be fully restored. The only thing it’s said is that there will be an update on its social media channels when things are up and running again.

In the meantime, Pokémon Go's Holiday event is running from now until the new year, with special festive Pokémon to catch and bonuses to enjoy.  

• All the latest on events and updates in Pokémon Go

Since its launch in 2016, Pokémon Go has had many updates which have improved and deepened the gameplay experience, keeping players returning past that initial summer heyday. But one area where the game has always lacked is in its sparse distribution of Pokémon and Pokéstops outside of busy cities and towns. 

It’s a problem that has caused swathes of fans to turn away, because there’s no chance of catching ‘em all if there’s nothing to catch. But it seems that Niantic may be taking steps to address the issue. 

In a recent blog post, the Pokémon Go developer has stated that recently, it’s been “dedicated to improving the experience of Trainers who live and play in areas of the world that may not have as many PokéStops or Pokémon to encounter as others.” 

More locations worldwide

The result, according to Niantic, is that Pokémon are now appearing in more places than before and players who previously encountered little to no Pokémon in their area are more likely to see an improvement. In fact, according to Niantic, the number of locations where wild Pokémon can be found and caught in the game has “nearly doubled”. 

Balancing this out, areas of the world which were disproportionately densely populated with Pokémon will now find they’re more evenly spread out. 

In a similar vein, Niantic is introducing its Wayfarer tool. Still in its early stages, this tool will make it easier to bring new PokéStops and Gyms into the more quiet parts of the world, hopefully improving accessibility. At the moment, select players in the game are able to review and vote on new location nominations, with winning nominations being added to the game. 

Niantic hopes that these improvements will “encourage Trainers to get out there and explore, as exploration is one of the core principles that drives everything we do at Niantic.”

At the moment, the game is preparing to celebrate the festive season with its Holiday 2019 event which kicks off on December 24. 

• Struggling to catch a Ditto in Pokémon Go? Here's how you can do it