Pokémon Go Fest 2020 Is Coming This July

Many Pokémon Go Trainers around the world continue to experience quarantine measures or, at the very least, the “new normal”. Even with those conditions, it looks like there’s no stopping Pokémon Go from holding the game’s biggest event of the year. Pokémon Go Fest 2020 is happening and it’s going to be on July 25–26. There’s one big difference this year, as the global event is going to be held virtually.

There’s also going to be two new things as the event goes virtual. First is that Trainers can join the event no matter where they are in the world. The second is that all those who have tickets can join the event on both days.

For those who can remember, Pokémon Go Fest started in 2017, a year after the game’s release. It was held in Grant Park, Chicago and featured PokéWalks, Timed Catch Challenges, and a Mystery Challenge. In 2018 the festival was still held in Chicago, but this time in Lincoln Park.

In 2019, the Pokémon Go Fest had the biggest celebration. Instead of just being in Chicago, it was also held in Dortmund, Germany, and Yokohama, Japan. Overall the entire event had more than 600,000 Trainers participating.

In a post, the Pokémon Go team at Niantic said that while it’s not going to be the same as having the traditional gathering of the fans, this year's Fest is going to offer a new experience. The team went on to say that Trainers are not only “in for an exciting weekend of bonuses, Pokémon encounters, and Special Research,” but there are also going to “be exciting ways to connect with other Trainers and experience other fun surprises throughout the entire summer.”

Play at Home

When quarantines were being put in place as the effect of the pandemic worsened, it didn’t take long before Pokémon Go to make measures to allow for playing at home. For example, activating as Incense results in Pokémon being attracted to Trainers wherever they are. Trainers can also now join Raid Battles remotely using Remote Raid Passes. Remote Raid Passes are available in the shop and allow players to invite friends to join no matter where they are in the world.

Learn more about how to play Pokémon Go at home here.