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).

Temper expectations for...

The start of Go Fest this week. This is for the Tokyo leg, which starts fully on Friday, where attendees can get their hands on Mega Mewtwo X & Y (likely as part of the datamined new Unity Raids feature), mythical Zeraora, new costumed Pikachu and more. You can see the full offering on the official website.

However, due to the ticketed requirements, most players cannot access these just yet, meaning you'll have to wait until other regional Go Fests in Chicago and Copenhagen (assuming you have a ticket) or the free Go Fest: Global in mid-July.

That said, there are some raids you can Remote Raid into as of the Monday when the City Explorer experience begins. However, you won't get location backgrounds, or in the case of Paldean Tauros, a shiny version, as all those are reserved for ticketed attendees only.

Those Go Fest: Tokyo raids in question are:

• Aqua Breed Paldean Tauros, Mewtwo, Articuno, Suicune, Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, Shadow Articuno, Shadow Suicune, Shadow Kyogre, Shadow Groudon

Here's a look at what local attendees are getting their hands on already.

Wait, what about Saturday?

Because of Go Fest Tokyo, for the first time this season, there's no Saturday event to take part in. As an aside, the regional Go Fest legs sometimes have a global Timed Research to mark the occasion, so players around the world feel a little involved - but chances are the Instinct, Mystic, Valor leader-themed research (starting with Blanche) will likely serve that purpose.

Otherwise, the above Remote Raids are there to keep you busy, assuming you can swing an invite.

What's new in Pokémon and Pokémon Go?

• It's been a year since since Pokémon Go developer Niantic was acquired, and Scopely has released a video titled "Beyond the Deal" to celebrate, with chats with various development team members about their concerns and the realities pre- and post-deal.
  • As official comms don't expect anything juicy here, but if you wanted to hear from some of the folks who make Niantic's games, and the San Francisco and Tokyo offices these games are made in, it's worth a watch:

• Visiting Chicago from now until April 11th, 2027? If you go to the Field Museum, you can take part in a Pokémon Fossil Museum event with exclusive Timed Research, Field Research, and the chance to catch Excavator Pikachu.
  • This overlaps with this year's Go Fest: Chicago dates, so be sure to swing by if you're attending. I'm rather jealous of such an event - but those in Copenhagen at least get a LEGO event to check out.

Celebrate with Pokémon GO at the Pokémon Fossil Museum in Chicago!

Pokémon GOPokémon GO

• For those in England and Wales, the National Trust's Pokémon trails are now available. I popped along to one this weekend and may post some impressions in the week, and you can see where your local one is with this announcement story I published earlier in the month:

National Trust to offer Pokémon walking trails this year

15 properties will host themed walks between May and September, with further TCG activity from the summer.

One More CatchMatthew Reynolds

• Niantic isn't interested in a Pokémon Go follow-up, by the sounds of things. With news this week that development of Destiny 2 will end (RIP), it's a good reminder why making a sequel to a live service game rarely works out, so staying the course sounds wise.

There are no plans for Pokémon Go 2, says Niantic

“Creating a sequel that divides the community doesn’t make as much sense.”

One More CatchMatthew Reynolds

One More Catch notes

I don't know about you, but I've encountered a fair few visual issues in Pokémon Go recently. So in a mini investigation, I asked a game developer what might be going on. Hope it provides some insight into why bugs like this can happen:

What’s going on with Pokémon Go’s visual glitches?

Bug out.

One More CatchMatthew Reynolds

Beyond that, I've been focused on more behind-the-scenes tweaks and drafting articles for the busy period ahead. There should be plenty on the site this week as a result, if all goes to plan - so be sure to follow on social media (links at the end of the newsletter) or RSS to see everything as it all goes live.

Before I go - it's the final week for the Independent Media Collective bundle. You have until Friday 29th May to get access to some great sites at a discount:

Read A Bunch Of Great Sites With Our Independent Media Collective Bundle

Subscribe to a bunch of cool worker-owned outlets for one low price

AftermathRiley MacLeod

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Hope you have a great week!