August is one of the biggest months for Pokémon Go each year. And thanks to the upcoming addition of some recognizable creatures in the mobile title, players will have even more to indulge in before the massive celebration capping off the month.
In celebration of the 2023 Pokémon World Championships, Niantic is providing Pokémon Go players with a plethora of in-game bonuses from Aug. 11 at 10am local time to Aug. 15 at 8pm local time, including the anticipated debut of Passimian and Shiny Scraggy, Niantic announced today. Following the popular trend that accompanies nearly every Pokémon Go event, a new costumed Pikachu will also appear during the event’s duration with a shirt commemorating the festivities.
In addition to these new faces, the World Championships celebration will have Pokémon Go players encountering multiple Pokémon that have proven to be powerhouses in the Go Battle League over the past several years. Machop, Onix, Lickitung, Chinchou, Wooper, Sableye, Meditite, Spheal. Drilbur, Scraggy, Bunnelby, and Wooloo will appear more frequently in the wild, while costumed Pikachu, Alolan Sandshrew, Gligar, Skarmory, Scraggy, Galarian Stunfisk, and Passimian will star in Raids.
Five-star Raids and Mega Raids will be headlined by Cresselia and Mega Gyarados respectively, both powerful Pokémon that have proven to be formidable forces in their respective PvP and PvE game modes. Completing Field Research during this event will reward players with an encounter with costumed Pikachu, Alolan Sandshrew, Seel, Magikarp, Galarian Zigzagoon, Spheal, Passimian, or Wimpod. Players should also take advantage of the event-exclusive Timed Research since they can earn a rare Elite Fast TM and an encounter with a costumed Pikachu.
A handful of Pokémon will also be able to learn moves that have previously been exclusive to Community Days or Elite Fast/Charged TMs upon evolving to their final evolutions, including Alolan Sandslash, Machamp, Dewgong, Walrein, and Obstagoon. After the World Championships event ends, these moves will once more become locked behind Elite TMs, though they may be learnable without them at some point in the future.
Related: All Amazon Prime Gaming Pokémon Go bundles and rewards in August 2023
Pokémon Go players can take part in all of the Pokémon encounters and bonuses accompanying the 2023 World Championships event from Aug. 11 to 15. It is likely that this event will be put on a slight pause on Aug. 13 from 2pm to 5pm local time due to the Froakie Community Day. Afterward, the game will look toward its next celebration leading up to the most important event of the year: Pokémon Go Fest: Global.
The 2023 Pokémon World Championships itself is set to take place in Yokohama, Japan from Aug. 11 to 13 and feature the best players internationally in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Go, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and Pokémon UNITE, all vying for the title of champion.
