Pokemon Go Fest 2020 Day 1: Habitat Schedule, Ultra Unlock Rewards Revealed

Update: Pokemon Go Fest 2020 has ended, but Niantic has plenty more events lined up for Pokemon Go soon. You can see the full list of August 2020 events here.

Niantic's annual Pokemon Go celebration, Pokemon Go Fest 2020, has arrived The event takes place this weekend, on July 25 and 26, and for the first time in its history, it will be a global experience open to players around the world. Go Fest 2020 will also feature a number of new gameplay elements specific to the event, including rotating habitats, and Niantic has now shared more details on how those will work.

Virtual Habitats And Rotation Schedule

There will be five themed virtual habitats available throughout the first day of Pokemon Go Fest: fire, water, grass, battle, and friendship. These will rotate every hour during the event and bring out certain kinds of Pokemon to catch; for example, Grass types will appear more frequently when the grass habitat is active.

Although Pokemon Go Fest runs from 10 AM to 8 PM local time, habitats will rotate out at set times. You can see the full rotation schedule below:

• 10 AM ET - Battle Habitat
• 11 AM ET - Friendship Habitat
• 12 PM ET - Fire Habitat
• 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT - Water Habitat
• 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT - Grass Habitat
• 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT - Battle Habitat
• 4 PM ET / 1 PM PT - Friendship Habitat
• 5 PM ET / 2 PM PT - Fire Habitat
• 6 PM ET / 3 PM PT - Water Habitat
• 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT - Grass Habitat
• 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT - Battle Habitat
• 6 PM PT - Friendship Habitat
• 7 PM PT - Fire Habitat
• 8 PM PT - Water Habitat

Ultra Unlocks

Like previous Pokemon Go Fests, Niantic will also hold a series of global challenges during day one of this year's event that players around the world will need to work together to complete. There will be 32 challenges in all during the first day of Go Fest, and every eight that are completed will unlock a week-long Ultra Unlock event focused around certain types of Pokemon.

Ultra Unlock 1: Dragon Week

The first Ultra Unlock will revolve around Dragon types. This event will kick off on July 31 at 1 PM PT and run until the same time on August 7. Throughout the week, Dragon Pokemon such as Alolan Exeggutor, Horsea, Dratini, Bagon, Trapinch, Swablu, and even Gible will appear in the wild more frequently than normal, and the Legendary Rayquaza will return to five-star Raid Battles.

Additionally, Niantic will offer a special Timed Research questline throughout Dragon Week. Completing it will lead to an encounter with two Deino. You'll also have your first chance to catch a Shiny Deino during the event.

Ultra Unlock 2: Enigma Week

The second Ultra Unlock event will run from August 7 to August 14 and focus on mysterious and enigmatic Pokemon. Staryu, Jigglypuff, Clefairy, Lunatone, Solrock, Baltoy, Bronzor, and Elgyem will all appear in the wild more frequently during the week, while the Mythical Deoxys will be featured as a five-star Raid Boss. You'll also have a chance to encounter Shiny versions of Staryu and Deoxys.

Ultra Unlock 3: Unova Week

The third and final Ultra Unlock will take place from August 14 to August 21. This bonus event will be themed around Gen 5 Pokemon. Throughout the week, Sewaddle, Cottonee, and other monsters originating in the Unova region will appear in the wild and hatch from eggs more frequently, while Bouffalant will spawn in the New York area.

Additionally, Roggenrola and other Gen 5 Pokemon will be featured in Raids, with the Mythical Genesect appearing as a five-star Raid Boss. You'll also have a chance to catch Shiny versions of Roggenrola and Genesect during the event.