Pokémon GO 5th Anniversary: Dates, quests, featured Pokémon and more

Since its launch in 2016, Pokémon GO has become a media phenomenon, being one of the most downloaded mobile games worldwide, with a player base that exceeds 150 million people, being the most successful title of Niantic and one of the most profitable launches, both in the Google Play Store and in the App Store to date.

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the developers of this iconic title have announced an unprecedented party, which will bring back many Pokémon more than known and longed for by all fans of the franchise, along with many surprises prepared throughout the celebration, which we will review below.

Pokémon GO 5th Anniversary: Featured Pokémon

As part of the anniversary celebration, all starter Pokémon from the Kanto to the Kalos region will play a major role in this special event, appearing more frequently both in PokéStops using Lure Modules, as well as in rewards from certain Field Researches, and even with a chance to find them in the wild.

However, the biggest surprises of the event will come with the appearance of the flying Pikachu, which you will find floating around with a special balloon in the shape of a number 5, in addition to being able to meet Darumaka, the Zen Charm Pokémon, and even catch it in its Shiny form.

Another of the big surprises will come from the side of the new Mystery Boxes, which you can activate to find a Shiny Meltan, very difficult to find outside of these kinds of events.

Pokémon GO 5th Anniversary: Quests and new content

Within the missions of the event, the main attraction will be the Collection Challenge, being focused on finding all the featured Pokémon of the anniversary, and rewarding us with a guaranteed encounter with the flying Pikachu, Rare Candies, and a massive amount of Pokéballs.

Also available will be the Jump-Start Special Research, which was also active during last year's anniversary celebration, allowing players to earn stacks of Stardust, EXP, and encounters with rare Pokémon.

In addition, players will be able to enjoy daily field research tasks where you can meet initial Pokémon as a guaranteed reward, making it easier to complete the Collection Challenge or even to be able to find your ideal Pokémon.

The fifth anniversary event will also bring a great first to the game, as a new real-time sky mechanic will be available globally for the first time, affecting how players can find Pokémon at certain times, depending on the time of the region in which you are located and its current climate.

As well as the implementation of a new classification for the Pokédex, making it more accessible to everyone depending on the encounters they have had previously.

Don’t forget to look up at the sky at all times within the game, as you will be able to find fireworks for the celebration of the five years of Pokémon GO.

Pokémon GO 5th Anniversary: Special offers and limited-time bonuses

The game store will also have changes for a limited time, by allowing you to obtain unusual objects from the Special, Ultra and Adventure boxes, as well as you can find fifth-anniversary gift stickers in PokéStops, when opening gifts, or inside the in-game store.

Finally, all the Lure Modules will have an extended duration of up to one hour throughout the event, allowing you to enjoy many unique encounters just by using one of these. This effect can be applied with any type of Module available.

The Pokémon Go 5th Anniversary celebration event will be available from 6th July at 10 AM to 15th July at 8 PM, local time.

• Read more: Pokémon Go Promo Codes July 2021: Free Ultra Balls, Incubators, PokéCoins, Raid Pass, more

You can find more news, guides, announcements and updates about the Pokémon franchise in our section dedicated to this Nintendo saga.