How to prepare for Pokemon Go Fest 2023 Day 1 – A simple guide

Daniel Megarry
Diancie appearing in Pokemon Go Fest 2023 Global Day one

Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global will include loads of features to enjoy, from Special Research quests to the Global Challenge Arena – so here’s everything you need to know to get prepared.

The biggest event of the year for Pokemon Go fans has arrived! Following live events in London, Osaka, and New York City, Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global will let players around the world take part in the fun on August 26 and August 27, 2023.

Whether you’re purchasing a ticket to get those exclusive features or you’re sticking with the free version, you’ll need to know what’s taking place so you can make the most of the event. It only happens once a year, after all!

Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about Day 1 of the Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global event.

Contents

Diancie appearing for Pokemon Go Fest 2023 ticketholders

Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global Day 1 start & end time

Day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global will take place from 10AM to 6PM local time on Saturday, August 26, 2023. This means you’ve got eight hours to get everything done.

How to prepare for Day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global

There are a few things you can do in advance to make sure you get the most out of Day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest 2023:

  • Stock up on Poke Balls, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls. The last thing you want to do is find a rare Pokemon and run out of Poke Balls while trying to catch it.
  • Clear out your Pokemon Storage. You’ll be doing a lot of catching during Go Fest 2023, and having to transfer Pokemon mid-event will only slow you down.
  • Study the Habitat Hour schedule and make a note of which Pokemon you want to prioritize. They’ll only stick around for a short amount of time.
  • Make sure you’ve got a solid team of counters ready for the Raid Bosses you want to take on during the event.

Free features during Day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global

The logo for Pokemon Go Fest 2023 Global

These are the features that trainers can enjoy during Day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global, regardless of whether they’ve purchased a ticket or not:

Habitat Hours

There will be four Habitats to enjoy during the Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global event, each with its own set of themed Pokemon encounters.

Here’s the wild spawn schedule for each Habitat Hour:

Habitat HourWild Spawns
Quartz TerrariumAudino, Buneary, Clefairy, Foongus, Heracross, Lickitung, Luvdisc, Miltank, Morelull, Shellos (East Sea), Skitty, Whismur, Wurmple
Pyrite SandsAlolan Diglett, Binacle, Gible, Girafarig, Grubbin, Helioptile, Hippopotas, Joltik, Psyduck, Sandshrew, Shuckle, Timburr, Trapinch
Malachite WildernessBellsprout, Caterpie, Cottonee, Ferroseed, Fomantis, Oranguru, Remoraid, Rosalia, Scyther, Snorlax (Cowboy Hat), Snover, Spinarak, Stunfisk
Aquamarine ShoresBagon, Barboach, Beldum, Carvanha, Goomy, Horsea, Lapras, Mareanie, Marill, Shellos (West Sea), Tympole, Wobbuffet, Woobat

These Habitats will rotate every hour during the day, so you’ll get two chances to experience each one. You’ll be able to check which Habitat is in play on the in-game ‘Today View’ screen.

A special costume Pikachu wearing a quartz crown will also appear as a wild spawn during each Habitat Hour.

Raid Schedule

You can see the full Raid schedule for Day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest 2023 below:

Raid TierRaid Bosses
1-Star RaidsGoomy, Pikachu (Aquamarine Crown), Pikachu (Malachite Crown), Pikachu (Pyrite Crown), Pikachu (Quartz Crown)
2-Star RaidsCarbink
3-Star RaidsSnorlax (Cowboy Hat)
Primal RaidsPrimal Groudon, Primal Kyogre

New Shinies

The following Pokemon will make their Shiny debut during the event:

  • Shiny Goomy
  • Shiny Joltik
  • Shiny Oranguru
  • Shiny Shellos (East Sea)
  • Shiny Shellos (West Sea)

The following Pokemon will know featured attacks when evolved during the event:

Pokemon EvolutionFeatured Attack
Metapod > ButterfreeBug Bite (Fast Attack)
Sandshrew > SandslashNight Slash (Charged Attack)
Clefairy > ClefablePound (Fast Attack)
Vibrava > FlygonEarth Power (Charged Attack)
Shelgon > SalamenceOutrage (Charged Attack)
Metang > MetagrossMeteor Mash (Charged Attack)
Roselia > RoseradeBullet Seed (Fast Attack) & Fire-type Weather Ball (Charged Attack)
Lickitung > LickilickyBody Slam (Charged Attack)

Event Bonuses

All trainers can enjoy the following bonuses, regardless of whether they have a ticket or not:

  • All Lure Modules will last for one hour.
  • 2x friendship bonus damage in Raid Battles.
  • Field Research tasks themed around the different Habitats.
  • The Remote Raid Pass limit will be increased to 20 per day.
  • A surprise when you take Snapshots.

Ticketed features during Day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global

A ticket for Pokemon Go Fest 2023 Global

These are the features that trainers can enjoy during Day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global if they’ve purchased a ticket from the in-game shop:

Special Research quest

On Day 1 of the Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global event, ticketholders will be given a Special Research quest that leads to an encounter with the Mythical Diancie.

There are plenty of other in-game rewards to unlock during this quest, too, including a Diancie T-shirt and a Treasure Map Pose for your avatar.

Mega Diancie debut

Ticketholders will also be able to Mega-Evolve Diancie before anyone else. You can collect Diancie Mega Energy by defeating Carbink in Raid Battles during the event.

Incense Spawns

The following Pokemon will be attracted to regular Incense during event hours for ticketholders:

Habitat HourIncense Spawns
Quartz TerrariumHisuian Growlithe, Unown A, Unown D, Unown I, Unown M, Unown N, Unown O
Pyrite SandsPawniard, Unown A, Unown D, Unown I, Unown M, Unown N, Unown O
Malachite WildernessCarnivine, Unown A, Unown D, Unown I, Unown M, Unown N, Unown O
Aquamarine ShoresPachirisu, Unown A, Unown D, Unown I, Unown M, Unown N, Unown O

Global Challenge Arena

The Global Challenge Arena makes its return for ticketholders during Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global.

During each Habitat Hour, trainers around the world will work together to complete a huge challenge. Once it’s completed, a special bonus will apply for the remainder of that hour.

If Trainers manage to complete 20 Global Challenges in total, they’ll gain access to several Ultra Unlock features including a special event taking place from September 10 to September 15, 2023.

Event Bonuses

Ticketholders can enjoy the following bonuses during the event:

  • An increased chance of encountering Shiny Pokemon.
  • Up to six Special Trades can be made.
  • Up to 9 free Raid Passes from spinning Photo Discs at Gyms.
  • Special 7km Egg hatches.
  • Level up your Elite Collector medal with Habitat-themed Collection Challenges.

That’s everything you need to know about Day 1 of the Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global event! We’ll have more guides closer to the time, so check back soon.

While you’re here, take a look at some of our other Pokemon Go guides below:

Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | Type chart | How to catch Ditto | Best Eeveelutions | Field research rewards and tasks | Promo Codes | How to get Pinap Berries | Spotlight Hour schedule | Current Raid bosses