Trainers! Niantic is celebrating Pokémon GO coming to the 2022 Pokémon World Championships, and there’s a lot coming to the game this week. This includes a new costumed-Pikachu, Raid Battles, as well as the return of some Legacy moves. Let’s take a look at what’s coming up in Pokémon GO!
This Thursday, Aug. 18 at 10:00 a.m. local time until Tuesday, Aug. 23 8:00 p.m. local time, Pokémon GO will be celebrating its first time in the Pokémon World Championships. Taking place from Aug. 18-21 in London, the top qualifying players from around the globe will compete to determine the 2022 Pokémon GO World Champion.
‘Pokémon GO’ Celebrates the 2022 Pokémon World Championships
To celebrate the first year Championship, the winner of this event will receive a World Champion 2022 outfit and pose. Additionally, during this time the Great League and Fighting Cup will be active during the GO Battle League.
Furthermore, a new World Championship Pikachu will be making its debut in Pokémon GO through raids, Field Research and Timed Research. Lucky players may even encounter a shiny.
For this event, bonuses will include new Challengers at certain PokéStops. Similar to the Team Rocket grunts, teams inspired by the Trainers participating in the Pokémon GO Regional Championships will be appearing at PokéStops. Users will also be able to battle in the GO Battle League 50 times per day. This is in increase from the typical 10. Additionally, users will get 3x Stardust from GO Battle League win rewards.
In terms of spawns, Nidoran♀, Mankey, Machop, Mudkip, Sableeye, Meditite, Swablu, Spheal, Croagunk and Dewpider will be appearing in the wild. Out of these Pokémon, only Dewpider is currently not shiny. Additionally, rare spawns include Scraggy and Galarian Stunfisk. Scraggy will not have an available shiny during this event.
Raids, Timed Research and Legacy Moves
In terms of Raids, Trainers can expect the following,
- 1-Star Raids: World Championships 2022 Pikachu, Galarian Farfetch’d, Marill, Barboach, Timburr and Scraggy
- 3-Star Raids: Primape, Lickitung, Skarmory
- 5-Star Raids: Zacian and Zamazenta
- Mega Raids: Mega Slowbro
(Note that Zacian, Zamazenta and Scraggy cannot be shiny.)
Concerning Field Research tasks, the following Pokémon will be available: Bulbasaur, Ghastly, Magikarp, Mudkip, Fletchling, Beldum, World Championships Pikachu, Rhyhorn, Chikorita, Galarian Zigzagoon and Galarian Stunfisk. All Pokémon in the Field Research tasks are available in their shiny forms.
Additionally, Timed Research will be available during this event. Users will need to find a code that is premiering on Twitch Aug. 18 to receive the Timed Research. Complete the tasks to receive rewards such as an encounter with World Championships 2022 Pikachu, an Elite Fast TM and an Elite Charged TM.
During this event, Trainers will also get to Evolve certain Pokémon so that they learn their legacy moves. Let’s take a quick look at each. For this, the power ratios for moves are (Trainer Battles/Gyms and Raids).
- Evolve Rhydon into Rhyperior to learn the Charged Attack Rock Wrecker (110/110).
- Evolve Haunter into Genera to get the Charged Attack Shadow Punch (40/40).
- Evolve Magikarp into Gyardos to learn the Charged Attack Aqua Tail (50/50).
- Evolve Metang into Metagross to learn the Charged Attack Meteor Mash (100/100).
- Evolve Fletchinder into Talonflame to learn the Fast Attack Incinerate (15/29).
Avatar Items and More
Lastly, Avatar Items will be available in the shop. This includes the 2022 Worlds Tee that will be available through the Twitch code. Users will also have access to the following items for sale:
- Dragon-type Sport Top
- Dragon-type Sport Shorts
- Dark-type Sport Top
- Dark-type Sport Shorts
This is a rather interesting event. For Trainers, getting the Legacy moves if you do not yet have them should be a top priority. The Legacy moves don’t come around too often and can be incredibly useful. Additionally, be on the lookout for Shiny World Championships Pikachu, as that will no doubt be a rare catch.
Don’t forget that this Aug. 27 is the final event for this year’s Pokémon GO Fest 2022. We’ll have more details as we approach the event.
Are you looking forward to this Pokémon GO event? Keeping your coins to get the Pikachu? Let us know in the comments.