Pokemon Go Ultra Unlock 2021 challenge, rewards & dates explained

Niantic have announced another set of rewards trainers can collect following Pokemon Go Fest 2021, with Ultra Unlock challenges and bonuses coming soon. 

As part of the major Go Fest 2021 celebrations, Trainers who owned a ticket were invited to take part in the Global Challenge Arena, where they could compete in collaborative challenges to earn bonus rewards like double Candy or double XP.

That’s not all, though, as Niantic also announced that if Pokemon Go players around the world were able to complete enough Global Challenges, they would then get to enjoy three separate Ultra Unlock rewards later in the year.

Well, the event was a huge success, as Trainers were able to complete 24 Global Challenges together and unlock all three parts of the Ultra Unlock. These are Time, Space, and a third mystery one that will be announced soon.

So, without further ado, let’s run through how this is going to work in-game.

Pokemon Go Fest Ultra Unlock bonuses

Ultra Unlock Part 1: Time

• Start date and time: Friday, July 23, 2021, at 10am local time.
• End date and time: Tuesday, August 3, 2021, at 8pm local time.
• Challenge: Complete 8 Global Challenges during Go Fest 2021.
• Rewards:
  • Dialga will be appearing in five-star raids. If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Dialga!
  • Magneton, Aerodactyl, Porygon2, and Golurk will be appearing in three-star raids.
  • Unown U, Cranidos, Shieldon, Bronzor, and Klink will be appearing in one-star raids. If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Unown U!

As well, if you manage to snag a 7km egg, then you’ll have the chance to hatch “Omanyte, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Lileep, Anorith, Cranidos, and Shieldon” from these eggs. There’s also going to be an abundance of Pokemon within the wild such as, “Voltorb, Porygon, Omanyte, Kabuto, Baltoy, Cranidos, Shieldon.”

Ultra Unlock Part 2: Space

• Start date and time: Friday, August 6, 2021, at 10am local time.
• End date and time: Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at 8pm local time.
• Challenge: Complete 16 Global Challenges during Go Fest 2021.
• Rewards:
  • Palkia will be appearing in five-star raids. If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Palkia!
  • Alakazam, Kangaskhan, and Heracross will be appearing in three-star raids. If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Kangaskhan or a Shiny Heracross!
  • Unown U, West Sea and East Sea Shellos, Elgyem, and Espurr will be appearing in one-star raids. If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Unown U!

Similar to the other parts, there’s going to be specific Pokemon within the wild and through eggs. “West Sea and East Sea Shellos, Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin, Heatmor, and Durant” may hatch out of the 7km eggs. While, “Clefairy, Munna, Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin, Elgyem, Heatmor, Durant” may appear within the wild during these times.

Ultra Unlock Part 3: Mystery

• Start date and time: Friday, August 20, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.
• End date and time: Tuesday, August 31, 2021, at 8:00 p.m. local time.
• Challenge: Complete 24 Global Challenges during Go Fest 2021.
• Reward: Currently unknown. It looks like Trainers are in for a surprise.

While Niantic have yet to announce what the theme of Ultra Unlock Part 3 is, there’s no reason we can’t speculate. Some fans believe this mystery bonus could feature the arrival of the Mythical creature Hoopa.

This is because it appeared in promotional material for Pokemon Go Fest 2021, including a loading screen, and there was even a Hoopa-themed Special Research story – but Trainers couldn’t actually catch it.

With all this teasing, Hoopa will no doubt be arriving in the game soon, and this seems like the perfect opportunity to make its big debut.

How to track Ultra Unlock progress

To track the progress of this Pokemon Go Ultra Unlock event, Niantic confirmed the Global Challenge Arena screen would be the place to look during Go Fest 2021.

Now the event is over and 24 challenges have been completed, Trainers simply need to sit back and wait for the dates above so they can enjoy the Ultra Unlock rewards.

How to play Ultra Unlock in Pokemon Go Fest 2021

As Pokemon Go players needed to have a Go Fest 2021 ticket to be able to take part in the Global Challenge Arena, it’s likely that the Ultra Unlock rewards will also only be available for those who purchased a ticket.

We’ll keep this page updated with all the Ultra Unlock-specific Pokemon spawns and rewards as they get announced, so in the meantime, mark your calendars and stock up on Poke Balls!