The Pokémon GO team

Trainers,

Congratulations! With all your hard work in successfully completing all three parts of the Global Challenge, you’ve unlocked the Ultra Bonus! We’re excited to finally reveal the details of what’s in store for you during the three weeks of this event.

Week 1: Johto Journey
Trainers can enjoy a chance to work on their Johto Pokédex while exploring and raiding. Put on your walking shoes, as Pokémon never before seen in Eggs in Pokémon GO will be hatching during this time.

Date + Time
September 2, 2019, at 1 p.m. to September 9, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

...

Trainers,

Ready to catch the bug for our newest Safari Zone event? We’re buzzing with excitement over Pokémon GO Safari Zone New Taipei City. In conjunction with the New Taipei City government, we’ll be live in New Taipei Metropolitan Park from October 3 to 6.

Despite being one of the world’s most densely populated metropolises, New Taipei City has always strived to maintain the city’s biodiversity and natural scenery by transforming forgotten areas into beautiful new parks. The New Taipei Metropolitan Park is the largest city park in the Greater Taipei area and is famous for its waterside walkway and wildlife. Trainers will be able to find Scyt...

Three, two, one—GO, Trainers!

The Pokémon GO team is excited to invite you to our Safari Zone Montreal this September. This ticketed event will take place along the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at beautiful Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen’s Island and Notre Dame Island in M...

Trainers,

What an exciting week at the last Pokémon GO Fest event of the summer! We were thrilled to see more than 150,000 attendees at our first ever Pokémon GO Fest in Asia. Over the course of the event, Trainers in Akarenga, Rinko, and Yamash*ta Parks caught more than 24 Million Pokémon. Globally, Trainers completed Team Mystic Leader Blanche’s portion of Professor Willow’s Global Challenge and unlocked Stardust rewards for Pokémon GO players around the world. We want to thank all the passionate Trainers in Yokohama and all over the globe who helped continue our summer adventures and made this Pokémon GO Fest amazing!

Here are just a few highlights from this week’s activities:

...

Trainers,

Time to make a big splash! Even if you don’t live near the water, you can look forward to Water-type Pokémon coming to you soon in Eggs, raids, Field Research, and the wild.

That’s right—the long-awaited Water Festival is back!

Date + Time

• Friday, August 23, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT until Friday, August 30, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

Features

• Water-type Pokémon like Magikarp, Wooper, Wailmer, and more will appear more frequently in the wild.
• The following Pokémon will be appearing more frequently in the wild around water: Wartortle, Poliwhirl, Seaking, Lapras, Qwilfish, ...

Trainers,

Pokémon GO is better with friends. What better way to show appreciation for your friends than with Gifts?

Date + Time

• Monday, August 5, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT to Monday, August 19, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

Features

• All Eggs received from Gifts during the event will require only 2 km to hatch and look like 2 km Eggs, but don’t worry, Trainers! The Pokémon that hatch from them will be ones that normally appear in 7 km Eggs, regardless of whether you incubate or hatch them during or after the event.
• For the duration of the event, the number of Gifts you can open daily will inc...

Trainers,

You’ve seen the photobombs in Pokémon GO Fest Chicago, the hot-air balloon at Pokémon GO Fest Dortmund, and the PokéStop takeover near Herald Square in New York City. Team GO Rocket has invaded Pokémon GO, and the arrival of such an iconic part of the Pokémon franchise required fanfare that matched the excitement of the feature itself. Here’s the behind-the-scenes story of what it’s like to adapt one of the most recognizable fictional villainous organizations from the Pokémon world to ours!

Exploration and battle—with a twist!

The Team GO Rocket feature has the same design philosophy at its core as the...

Trainers,

We are thrilled to share that Pokémon GO has received the Sport in Life award from the Sports Agency, a subsidiary of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology!

We learned of this inaugural nomination just around Pokémon GO’s third anniversary. This year’s celebrations have become all the more special from being honored by an organization like the Sports Agency—one that shares our mission and commitment to going outdoors, exploring the world, and striving for a healthier physical, mental, and social lifestyle.

Many Pokémon adventures start by asking “Why not?” before stepping out of our homes. Together we’ve taken galleries’ worth of GO snapshots, challenged Legendary Pokémon in raids with friends, completed tons of research for Professor Willow, and succeeded in two parts of the Global Challenge so far. We are incredibly proud and humbled to have been a part of this entire experience with you.

So thank you, Traine...

Trainers,

Rayquaza is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years in the ozone layer, descending only to put the clash between Kyogre and Groudon to rest. Seeing as the Sea Basin Pokémon and the Continent Pokémon have both been active recently, it’s no surprise that this normally reclusive Pokémon has reappeared in their place!

Date + Time

• Rayquaza will appear in five-star raids from Wednesday, July 31, 2019, at 1 p.m. until Monday, September 2, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7)

Features

• If your luck soars sky-high, you may encounter a Shiny Rayquaza!

This Dr...

Trainers!

The world of Pokémon GO is in peril. An organization called Team GO Rocket has invaded PokéStops and is in possession of Shadow Pokémon that behave strangely and seem to be in pain. Team GO Rocket is clearly up to no good, and we need your help! Professor Willow and the team leaders have been hard at work observing and researching these happenings with Team GO Rocket, and they’ve come up with a plan to restore the PokéStops and rescue the Shadow Pokémon!

1. Encounter Team GO Rocket — Spark and Professor Willow have observed Team GO Rocket members hanging out at discolored PokéStops. It appears they’re after the PokéStops’ resources!

2. Battle Team GO Rocket — Once you begin the encounter with a Team GO Rocket Grunt, they’ll challenge you to a battle. We’re counting on you to accept their challenge and defeat them!

3. Catch the Shadow Pokémon — After a successful battle, you’ll hav...

Trainers,

Team GO Rocket’s arrival seems to have disrupted Pokémon habitats! We have yet to understand why these Pokémon in particular are suddenly appearing more frequently. Perhaps they have some special significance wherever Team GO Rocket came from?

Date + Time

• Thursday, July 25, 2019, at 1 p.m. until Thursday, August 1, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7)

Features

• Oddly specific Shiny Pokémon have started appearing! Our research has found that if you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny Ekans or Shiny Koffing in the wild, in raids, or in Eggs!
• The follo...

Trainer,

If you enjoy collecting Pikachu wearing amusing hats in Pokémon GO, there’s still one piece to that puzzle that you need. Luckily, the latest in the grand line of behatted Pikachu is arriving soon in the form of Straw Hat Pikachu!

From July 22, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. through July 29, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. local time, this special Pikachu will appear in the wild, giving Trainers plenty of chances to add it to their crew. Pikachu’s kicky straw hat is perfect for keeping the burning sun at bay during these sunny summer months. If you want to coordinate your avatar’s outfit with Pikachu, there will be a matching straw hat availabl...

Trainers,

We are in awe of the welcome Pokémon GO received this past weekend. Our first-ever Pokémon GO Fest in Europe was incredible. Thank you for an exciting weekend in Dortmund! More than 85,000 attendees attended over the four-day event and 200,000 Trainers played in the surrounding Dortmund area.

It was inspiring to see so many friendships come to life and adventure together, both in Dortmund and around the world. Globally, Trainers completed Team Valor Leader Candela’s portion of Professor Willow’s Global Challenge to unlock XP rewards for all Pokémon GO players.

Over the course of four days, Trainers at Westfalenpark walked nearly 400,000 kilometers and caught more than 28 million Pokémon. We want to thank all of the passionate Trainers in Dortmund and all over the globe who helped continue our summer adventures and made this Pokémon GO Fest one for the books!

Here are just a few of the highlights from this week’s activities.

...

July 11, 2019 UPDATE: In an effort to improve your competitive experience, the new switching Pokémon mechanic has been removed from Trainer Battles. We strive to make Trainer Battles intuitive and strategic, and we do not feel this change has met that bar.

While the original implementation had unintended behavior, we’ve been impressed at the depth of gameplay created by real-time switching against incoming attacks. We still plan on fixing what we consider polish issues of Pokémon being able to attack and be attacked during switching animations. Moving forward, we also plan on more deliberately supporting the emergent strategy that has come from the old switching behavior.

Rather than retaining the new behavior, until we can better support this mechanic we’ve decided the best experience would be to return to the previous game rules. We appreciate the community’s passion and dedication to Trainer Battles. Stay tuned for more updates as we work to prov...

Trainers,

Mewtwo returns...with a new look. For a limited time, you can encounter this Psychic-type Pokémon in five-star raids.

Date + Time
* Armored Mewtwo will appear in five-star raids from July 10 at 1:00 p.m. PDT to July 31 at 1 p.m. PDT

Features
* For the first time in Pokémon GO, Armored Mewtwo will be available to challenge in raids for a limited time!

Avatar Items
* Do you consider yourself a Mewtwo Trainer? Show off your prowess for power and aesthetics with some stylish new items coming to the Style Shop!

Don’t miss this chance to encounter Armored Mewtwo. Are you up for the challenge?

—The Pokémon GO Team

Trainers,

They say third time’s the charm. Pokémon journeys begin with a choice between three Pokémon. Your journey in Pokémon GO involved joining one of three teams. Today, we celebrate the third anniversary of Pokémon GO’s release! Throughout this incredible journey, we’ve made countless memories along the way.

To commemorate this incredible milestone, you can look forward to these exciting features!

New features starting on June 28 at 1 p.m. PDT

• Shiny Alolan Pokémon — You’ll have a chance of encountering the following Shiny Alolan Pokémon: Rattata, Sandshrew, Vulpix, Diglett, Meowth, ...

Trainers,

We’re excited to share a few changes to Field Research rewards and EX Raids in the coming weeks!

Field Research Updates

• From July 1, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) to September 1, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Latias, Latios, Kyogre, and Groudon will be available as Research Breakthrough encounters.
• Spinda will be available in Field Research, and if you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!

EX Raid Updates

• Starting on June 23, 2019, at 8 a.m. PDT, Trainers who receive EX Raid Passes will encounter Speed Forme Deoxys in EX Raids!

Are you new to EX Raids? Y...

Trainers,

Thank you for another incredible experience in Chicago! Pokémon GO Fest 2019 Chicago, the first-ever four-day Pokémon GO Fest event, was truly bigger and better than ever. With more than 60,000 attendees over the course of the event and 287,000 Trainers playing in the surrounding Chicago area, it was incredible to see players from all walks of life come together for a weekend of fun and adventure. Meanwhile, tens of millions of passionate Trainers across the globe teamed up to complete Team Instinct Leader Spark’s assignment of Professor Willow’s Global Challenge to unlock Candy rewards around the world!

Despite a brief interruption in play due to weather changes on Saturday, our Trainers showed their commitment no matter what the weather! They walked more than 290,000 kilometers, caught 15,000,000 Pokémon, and made 213,000 new friends. We want to thank all of the passionate Trainers in Chicago and around the world who helped kick off our adven...

Trainers,

Due to severe thunderstorms in the surrounding area, The National Weather Service in collaboration with the City of Chicago authorities advised evacuating the event site on Saturday, June 15th during Pokémon GO Fest Chicago 2019. For the safety of attendees, the event was paused given the incoming forecast of lightning.

As soon as city safety officials notified the Pokémon GO team that the weather was clear, gameplay resumed and attendees were invited to return to the park.

As a token of our appreciation for attendees’ cooperation during the evacuation and afterwards, Pokémon GO Fest Chicago 2019 Saturday ticket holders will see increased appearances of event Pokémon featured during Pokémon GO Fest Chicago 2019 next Saturday. See below for more information:

[Features]

• Pokémon GO Fest Chicago featured Pokémon like Machop, Horsea, Lapras, Lotad, Ralts, Mawile, Absol and many others will appear more frequently in th...

Trainers,

Attention, Team Instinct, Mystic, and Valor Trainers!

Get ready for a Global Challenge like you’ve never experienced before! This year, Professor Willow has tasked Spark, Blanche, and Candela to take on new challenges and grow as leaders. While they’re already accomplished Pokémon GO Trainers, the professor wants to make sure they’re ready to take on any trouble that might come their way.

Each team leader will be responsible for rallying Trainers to complete research both around the world and at each of the three Pokémon GO Fest events this summer. Complete the Global Challenge research alongside the Trainers at every Po...