This week in Pokémon Go (25th to 31st May): Go Fest begins

Welcome to the latest One More Catch weekly newsletter, offering you a guide to the week ahead in Pokémon Go.

It's a big week as Go Fest season begins, with the Tokyo leg starting in full on Friday. This will usher in a handful of exciting new Pokémon for those attending - including the long awaited arrival of Mega Mewtwo X & Y - but for everyone else around the globe, they'll be waiting a little while yet. That said, there be local raids to remote into (with caveats) and the first of three build-up events to take part in to keep folks busy.

So here's a snapshot of everything coming to Pokémon Go in the days ahead, the biggest opportunities available, and a roundup of Pokémon news and site updates you may have missed.

Events in Pokémon Go this week (23rd to 29th May)

All times are at your local time, unless otherwise stated.

What to know about this week

Here's the biggest opportunities and observations for the days ahead:

Non-Go Fest highlight of the week...

New spawns in the 'Blanche's Quest for Knowledge' event. Starting on Tuesday, this is the first of three Instinct, Mystic and Valor leader-themed events that build up to each regional Go Fest.

Surprisingly, the most attractive element is new wild spawns. Once an event staple, the appearance of new Pokémon in the wild is something that's been lacking this season. There's a few other things happening of course, such as new Field Research, Incense, and a Go Pass, but a refresh of creatures roaming the map jumps out the most.

In terms of what to expect, here's the list, according to the official event blog post. All of these can be shiny, by the way:

• Common wild spawns: Squirtle, Alolan Vulpix, Krabby, Staryu, Galarian Zigzagoon
• Uncommon wild spawns: Lapras*, Vaporeon, Larvitar
• Incense spawns: Cubone, Horsea, Lapras, Vaporeon, Larvitar, Sableye, Clamperl, Cubchoo
  • *The costumed Lapras (wearing a Blanche-themed accessory with a background inspired by Team Mystic) appears to only be in the Go Pass (one encounter for each of the free and Deluxe tracks, for up to two total)

New debut...

Beyond what's coming to Go Fest: Tokyo - see below - Dynamax Combee is a new Dynamax debut this week. Remember to evolve Combee into Vespiquen, you'll need to catch a female, which has a much lower appearance rate - but the good news is these can be detected before you enter the encounter, including on the Power Spot menu (thanks reddit for confirming).