Pokémon Go Fest 2022 is going to cost you extra

A bunch of pokemon in a field
(Image credit: Niantic)

Pokémon Go Fest is back for 2022. The global annual event will introduce a handful of time-limited events, a new pocket monster to catch, and rare shinies to find across a two-day celebration running from June 4 to June 5. But ticket prices have been raised from last year’s discounted cost.

Developer Niantic outlined what’s coming in Pokémon Go Fest 2022 in a recent blog post: Mythical pokémon Shaymin will be introduced; shiny versions of Unown B, Shroomish, Axew, and others will make their way into the wild; and there'll be plenty of opportunities to catch rare pokémon that don’t usually appear.

Many of the weekend’s events will be open to every player, although the best rewards are reserved for ticket holders. In a first for the annual celebration, it'll wrap up with a special finale event on August 27. If you buy a ticket for the global event in June, you'll get free entry into the finale.

Ticket prices have been raised back up to $15 – that’s about £12 / AU$21. The event’s entry price dropped to only $5 in 2021 when Niantic held a hybrid in-person-online event in response to the Covid pandemic. Standalone tickets for the August finale will go up for sale for $10.99 – about £8.80/ AU$15.48 – at a later date.

Find all the details of Pokémon Go Fest 2022 below.

Pokemon Go

(Image credit: Niantic)

Saturday, June 4

The first day of Pokémon Go Fest 2022 will introduce a new Special Research questline. It’ll have you tracking and catching mythical pocket monster Land Forme Shaymin, as well as grabbing some event-exclusive rewards and avatar items along the way. 

In a first for Pokémon Go, the event has an element of customization, letting you set its difficulty to Relaxed, Standard, or Master – each of which comes with different sticker rewards – as well as choose a preferred gameplay focus from Catch, Explore, or Battle.

Four habitats will be in rotation throughout the day, with different pokémon appearing during each hour. The habitats include city, plains, rainforest, and tundra. Ticket holders will also be able to use incense to attract an additional range of pokémon, including Klink and Galarian Weezing, while a new collaborative Global Challenge Arena will earn you hourly bonuses.

A handful of shiny pokémon are making their debuts, including Shiny Shroomish, Shiny Numel, Shiny Karrablast, Shiny Axew, and Shiny Shelmet. Ticket holders will have an increased chance of encountering them using incense.

The event will run from 10am to 6pm local time.

Pikachu and other Pokemon in a field

(Image credit: Niantic)

Sunday, June 5

The second day of Pokémon Go Fest 2022 will introduce a new unnamed pokémon to five-star raids, and a short Special Research questline. All the pokémon that featured on Saturday will also appear again, and every Pokémon Go player, even those without an event ticket, will be able to complete in the Global Challenge Arena.

Ticket holders, meanwhile, will get access to yet another Special Research story and another chance to attract Saturday’s pokémon with incense. Team GO Rocket balloons will appear more frequently, too, and you’ll earn twice the normal amount of Mysterious Components for challenging Team GO Rocket Grunts.

Again, those activities will be running from 10am to 6pm local time.

Pikachu, Squirtle and other Pokemon

(Image credit: Niantic)

Across the weekend

Throughout the event, ticket-holders can earn up to nine free Raid Passes by spinning Gyms, collect special event stickers by opening gifts and spinning PokéStops, and earn a surprise by taking five snapshots.

Pokémon Go players who don’t buy a ticket can also enjoy some goodies. A new costume-wearing Pikachu will debut in the wild and one-star raids, Axew will also appear across one-star raids, and anyone who takes a snapshot during event hours will earn an undisclosed prize.

TOPICS
Callum Bains
Gaming News Writer

Callum is TechRadar Gaming’s News Writer. You’ll find him whipping up stories about all the latest happenings in the gaming world, as well as penning the odd feature and review. Before coming to TechRadar, he wrote freelance for various sites, including Clash, The Telegraph, and Gamesindustry.biz, and worked as a Staff Writer at Wargamer. Strategy games and RPGs are his bread and butter, but he’ll eat anything that spins a captivating narrative. He also loves tabletop games, and will happily chew your ear off about TTRPGs and board games. 

Read more
Nothing teaser image with a pixelated Pokémon
Is Nothing teasing a Pokémon collaboration with its latest cryptic launch hint? Or are we just chasing our (Nine)tails?
Boxy and Winterfest Bushranger standing against a holiday themed background
Fortnite Winterfest 2024 release date and what to expect
Nintendo Switch 2
Have you been chosen? Nintendo Switch 2 Experience invites are being sent out now
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo is set to discontinue Gold Points rewards a week before the Switch 2 Direct
Nintendo Switch Online NES and SNES game selection
Finally got a Nintendo Switch and want to get online? Here's my guide to the best Nintendo Switch Online membership deals
Godzilla in Fortnite, against a pink and purple swirling background
Fortnite Godzilla release date and what's likely to be included
Latest in Mobile Gaming
Asus ROG Ally on blue background with lowest price text overlay
The Asus ROG Ally model I'd recommend to most people is back to a record-low price
Driver 3 being played on the AyaNeo Pocket Micro.
Ayaneo Pocket Micro review: a tiny Android tablet ideal for emulation
The Epic Games Store for iOS and Android.
Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe, and Fall Guys are available on mobile as the Epic Games Store launches for iOS in the EU and for Android worldwide
Key art for Age of Empires Mobile.
Age of Empires Mobile first in-game footage revealed, pre-registration open now
Two soldiers preparing for battle in the new Halo Infinite winter update
Xbox exploring launching its own mobile gaming store, Phil Spencer reveals
Hades
Award-winning roguelike Hades to release on iOS via Netflix Games next year
Latest in News
Rainbow Six Siege X promotional art.
The Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X 6v6 mode might finally pull me away from Black Ops 6
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f will present players with 'a beautiful yet terrifying choice', and I can't wait to see what it is
Google Chromecast 2
Google is finally rolling out a fix for broken Chromecasts – just as new bugs appear on the Chromecast with Google TV
Garmin Instinct 3 in Neotropic Green
"I'm an idiot": Garmin user reveals how fixing one setting completely changed their training after months of making no progress
The main battle pass characters in Fortnite Lawless, including Midas, Sub Zero and a large wolf-man
You'll finally be able to play Fortnite on Windows 11 Arm-powered laptops as Epic Games partners with Qualcomm
DeepSeek on an iPhone
OpenAI calls on US government to ban DeepSeek, calling it ‘state-subsidized’ and ‘state-controlled’