Some might see it as one of the casualties of the coronavirus pandemic, but the fact that Pokémon GO Fest can’t be held as it has been in previous years is actually a huge advantage to millions of trainers around the world.
That’s because there’s no limit on the number of tickets and you can play anywhere you like.
So, if you’ve bought your ticket and you’re eagerly waiting for the start of the event, here are some tips on how to prepare and what to expect from the two days.
Preparation for GO Fest 2020
Events like this are great for forcing you to have a good sort out and dump the stuff that you’ve been keeping but don’t really need.
- Go through and remove low IV Pokémon
You can filter them easily by using 0*,1* which will show only those which have a 0* or 1* rating. It can be dangerous to also transfer all 2* because some are good for battling. The game’s appraisal system doesn’t show you how good a Pokémon is in battle, which is why you should install a separate app such as Poke Genie which will show each of your Pokémon’s battle rating as well.
Plus, don’t forget to check Shadow Pokémon IV – each stat increases by 2 (up to a maximum of 15) when you purify them. Here are more tips for using Pokémon GO’s search bar.
- Remove unneeded items and save space for balls
Niantic has increased the maximum limit to 3500. But unless you have loads of coins or are prepared to spend real money, you probably have less than half of that. So, clear out Potions and just keep a sensible number of Max Potions, and delete other items such as King’s Rock and Metal Coats if you’re inadvertently carrying around way too many of these.
Rare candy is one item you’re probably hoarding, so now’s a good time to use these on legendaries to free up bag space. You don’t have to power up those Pokémon, but changing Rare candies into those specific Pokémon candies means they no longer take up space.
You can’t delete eggs, so to make space for eggs during GO Fest you’ll have to walk to hatch them.
What to do during GO Fest 2020
- Catch different Pokémon each hour
- Use Incense which will attract Pokémon (each Incense lasts 1 hour)
- Participate in Global Challenges each hour (see progress on the Today screen)
If local restrictions have lifted enough, you can attend GO Fest at your local park or anywhere that offers lots of PokéStops to spin. You’ll need them because you’ll need balls and possibly berries to catch hundreds of Pokémon.
Note: Each day offers a different set of Special Research tasks. These DO NOT have to be completed by the end of the day. You can complete them at your own pace. All you need to do is open the app on each day to receive those tasks.
The event runs from 10am – 8pm in your local timezone and there will be different types of Pokémon appearing each hour.
There will be 32 challenges in total and each will unlock various bonuses after GO Fest. You can read about these on the Pokémo GO Live blog.
Here’s the schedule for Saturday:
- 10am: Battle
- 11am: Friendship
- 12pm: Fire
- 1pm: Water
- 2pm: Grass
- 3pm: Battle
- 4pm: Friendship
- 5pm: Fire
- 6pm: Water
- 7pm: Grass
- 8pm: Event ends
Save your gifts for Friendship
Niantic has advised trainers to keep their gifts for the Friendship hour, as that’s when one of the Global Challenges will happen and you’ll need to send gifts to friends to hit the target.
Trainers, we recommend saving your gift interactions during GO Fest Day 1 until the friendship habitat comes to you, as it will feature a Global Challenge to send gifts to friends. If the goal is met, gifts opened in the rest of the habitat’s time may contain an unexpected item!
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp)
July 21, 2020
Sunday
The schedule hasn’t been revealed because it’s meant to be a ‘big surprise’ but it seems that Team Rocket will be involved and there are rumours that trainers will be able to battle Giovanni and catch Shadow MewTwo on Sunday.
? #TeamGORocket pic.twitter.com/efSxXThT1q
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp)
July 22, 2020
Previously Niantic hinted that a new Mythical Pokémon would also be available, and this is Victini.
Team lounges & decorations
During the festival you can drop into your (virtual) team lounge and take a break from catching. Here is the schedule for what’s happening in the lounges.
At 10pm BST (2pm PDT) is the GO Fest global kick-off, so tune in if you can’t wait for the festival to start.
There are printable decorations including PokéBalls and Gifts as well as life-size team leaders that you can download, print and place around your home.
