Niantic says over 194,000 people attended Pokémon GO Fest 2023 and 90 million Pokémon were caught across all three cities in this year’s Pokémon GO Fest 2023

Pokémon GO Fest 2023: Global promises a whirlwind of excitement, so buckle up, Trainers! The excitement begins Saturday, August 26, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time and picks up the following day, August 27, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time. Each day is a unique experience, although some event bonuses will be in place throughout the entire event. These event-long bonuses include the following.

• Lure Modules will last for one hour.
• Friendship bonus damage in raids will be twice as effective.
• The Remote Raid limit will increase to 20 per day.
• The following Pokémon will know featured attacks when they’re evolved during the event.
  • Evolve Metapod to get a Butterfree that knows the Fast Attack Bug Bite.
  • Evolve Sandshrew to get a Sandslash that knows the Charged Attack Night Slash.
  • Evolve Clefairy to get a Clefable that knows the Fast Attack Pound.
  • Evolve Vibrava to get a Flygon that knows the Charged Attack Earth Power.
  • Evolve Shelgon to get a Salamence that knows the Charged Attack Outrage.
  • Evolve Metang to get a Metagross that knows the Charged Attack Meteor Mash.

The event features four unique habitats that will rotate every hour. Different Pokémon will appear in each habitat, so be sure to check them all out!

• Quartz Terrarium: Pikachu wearing a quartz crown, Clefairy, Lickitung, Heracross, Miltank, Wurmple, Whismur, Skitty, Luvdisc, East Sea Shellos, Buneary, Audino, Foongus, and Morelull
• Pyrite Sands: Pikachu wearing a pyrite crown, Sandshrew, Alolan Diglett, Psyduck, Girafarig, Shuckle, Trapinch, Gible, Hippopotas, Timburr, Joltik, Binacle, Helioptile, and Grubbin
• Malachite Wilderness: Caterpie, Pikachu wearing a malachite crown, Bellsprout, Scyther, Snorlax wearing a cowboy hat, Spinarak, Remoraid, Roselia, Snover, Cottonee, Ferroseed, Stunfisk, Fomantis, and Oranguru
• Aquamarine Shores: Pikachu wearing an aquamarine crown, Horsea, Lapras, Marill, Wobbuffet, Carvanha, Barboach, Bagon, Beldum, West Sea Shellos, Woobat, Tympole, Goomy, and Mareanie

For Trainers that enjoy battling, this is a great opportunity to train up several Pokémon that are strong contenders in the GO Battle League. Clefairy evolves into Clefable, which does well in the Great League and is a top choice in the Ultra League. Lickitung is considered an absolute powerhouse in the Great League, but Trainers who want to help their Lickitung reach its full potential will require a lot of Candy and Candy XL. Bunnelby’s Evolution, Diggersby, has had some luck in the Great League. Snorlax and Shadow Snorlax are solid choices in all levels of the GO Battle League, although they aren’t the most popular. Stunfisk is a frequent sight in the Great League. And certainly not least, Beldum’s final Evolution, Metagross, is a heavy hitter in the Master League.

In addition to themed habitats, there will be plenty of opportunities to take part in raids.

• One-star raids:
  • Pikachu wearing a quartz crown
  • Pikachu wearing a pyrite crown
  • Pikachu wearing a malachite crown
  • Pikachu wearing an aquamarine crown
  • Goomy
• Two-star raids:
• Three-star raids:
  • Snorlax wearing a cowboy hat
• Primal Raids:
  • Primal Kyogre
  • Primal Groudon

There won’t be any rotating habitats on Sunday—instead, any Pokémon from Saturday’s habitats may appear in the wild. But the true star of GO Fest 2023 is undoubtedly Mega Rayquaza, which makes its global debut on Sunday. Keep an eye out for Meteorites, a new item in Pokémon GO that can be acquired via Special Research. Giving Rayquaza a Meteorite will allow it to learn the Charged Attack Dragon Ascent. Rayquaza that know Dragon Ascent will then be able to Mega Evolve when given Mega Energy. In addition to Mega Rayquaza, the same Pokémon that appeared in raids on Saturday will also appear on Sunday.

Pokémon GO Fest 2023: Global is a free event available to everyone, but Trainers can upgrade their experience by purchasing a ticket that gives access to special content and bonuses. Tickets are available in the in-game shop for US$14.99, or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency, and provide access to exclusive Special Research, Global Challenges, bonuses, and exclusive Incense encounters. On Saturday, ticket holders can complete Special Research for an opportunity to encounter the Mythical Pokémon Diancie. On Sunday, the exclusive Special Research will feature Mega Rayquaza and Meteorites. During habitat hours on Saturday, Trainers with tickets can work together to complete challenges—if they’re successful, those Trainers will earn a special bonus for the remainder of that habitat hour. Also, throughout the event, ticket holders who activate Incense—excluding Daily Adventure Incense—will attract the following Pokémon.

• Quartz Terrarium: Hisuian Growlithe, Unown A, Unown D, Unown I, Unown M, Unown N, Unown O
• Pyrite Sands: Unown A, Unown D, Unown I, Unown M, Unown N, Unown O, Pawniard
• Malachite Wilderness: Unown A, Unown D, Unown I, Unown M, Unown N, Unown O, Carnivine
• Aquamarine Shores: Unown A, Unown D, Unown I, Unown M, Unown N, Unown O, Pachirisu

Additional ticket-holder exclusives include the following bonuses.

• Increased chance of encountering Shiny Pokémon
• Up to six Special Trades each day
• Up to 9 free Raid Passes from spinning Photo Discs at Gyms
• Special 7 km Eggs

Happy Pokémon GO Fest, Trainers!

Source: Pokemon.com