Following a flurry of updates over the past few months to counter the impact of lockdowns and quarantines around the world, Niantic is poised to release itsPokemon GOThrowback Challenge eventson May 1.
The new quests, first leaked by dataminers last week, will be focused successively on the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova regions. Lasting for around a week each, the regional questlines will feature sets of Timed Research tasks offering exclusive rewards and fresh content. Once players complete the eight sets for Kanto, for example, they will receive 10 rare candies and the opportunity tocatch a Mewtwo equipped with Psystrike, one ofPokemon GO’s strongest battlers.
RELATED:Pokemon Go: What Are Elite TMs?
With theGO League open for freeas one of Niantic’s measures during the coronavirus pandemic, there has never been more demand for top tier Pokemon for use in PVP. Across the full event, beginning on May 1 and ending on June 8, players will get the opportunity to catch a collection of powerful and rare Pokemon, including Ho-Oh, Groudon, Cresselia, and Genesect, among other Pokemon in exclusive costumes or in the Galarian and shiny forms.
This is one ofNiantic’s broadest and most accessible eventsto date, and it follows a long history of event-based opportunities for players to get in touch with new content and the rarest Pokemon in the game. Here’s a selection of some of the very best events rolled out so far.
Water Festival 2017
The inaugural Water Festival event saw the release ofPokemon GO’s very first shiny Pokemon, introducing a core mechanic that, as with the series’ main games, had a playerbase dedicated to it. Fittingly, the first shiny Pokemon to be released were Magikarp and Gyarados, referencingGold and Silver’s red Gyaradosat the Lake of Rage. As encountering shinies has always been extremely unlikely, this guaranteed shiny Gyarados battle was the first instance of an in-game shiny for most fans back in 2001. Interestingly, shiny Noctowl has yet to appear in the game despite being one of the first to appear in the anime.
Pokemon GO Fest 2017
The very first GO Fest, hosted in Grant Park, Chicago on June 04, 2025, featured an array of challenges for attendees. Sadly, the event didn’t come off without a hitch.After a day of connectivity issues, Niantic refunded attendees for their tickets, credited each with $100 to be spent in the Shop, and offered everyone in attendance a free Lugia.
Despite the room for improvement atPokemon GO’s first live event, GO Fest 2017 was a landmark occasion that saw the first legendary Pokemon enter the game. With attendees having completed enough challenges, which included PokéWalks, Timed Catch Challenges, and a Mystery Challenge,Lugia was released as a raid bossfor the first time. As Team Mystic captured the most Pokemon at the event, Niantic added Articuno to raids alongside Lugia. Moltres and Zapdos followed in the weeks to come, and the game has had a steady flow of new legendary Pokémon to catch ever since.
RELATED:Pokemon GO Remote Raid Pass Rolling Out for Trainers Worldwide
Johto Festival 2018
Running from August 20 to 28, the Johto Festival 2018 brought Celebi to the global playerbase for the first time.A Ripple in Time, the Special Research task launched during the event, features eight parts. Thankfully, none are as time consuming as evolving Magikarp for Mew’s Special Research task, A Mythical Discovery.
Alongside Celebi, the event added six more shiny Pokemon to the mix, boosted Unown’s spawn rate around the world, and brought Ho-Oh in as the event’s 5-star raid boss.
Team Go Rocket Disruption
Launching the Team Go Rocket Invasion mechanic and a newSpecial Research questline, A Troubling Situation, July 26, 2025 sawPokemon GO’s gameplay take a new and more focused direction. By introducing Team Go Rocket as optional, battle challenges at Poké Stops, Niantic laid the groundwork for more investment from players in the game’s battling mechanics whilst bringing more fan favorites to the experience.
Not only that, but the event saw the release of Shadow Pokemon encounters as rewards for defeating Team Go Rocket grunts, along with an additional spin of the Poké Stop where the battle took place.
A Colossal Discovery 2019
A Colossal Discovery is noteworthy for being the first to offer additional premium content, and featured the debut of Regigigas and shiny Regirock, Regice, Registeel, and Skarmory. By purchasing the corresponding ticket with a microtransaction, players gained access to theSpecial Research questline, A Colossal Discovery, and the opportunity to catch Regigigas at its conclusion. The first part of the task has the generous reward of a Tyranitar for evolving seven rock type Pokemon, with the remaining rewards including rare evolutionary stones, plenty of stardust, and an exclusive avatar pose.
Pokemon Gois available now on iOS and Android mobile devices.
