Pokemon GO Flying Pikachu Raid Being Added for Its 4th Anniversary

The Pokemon GO anniversary 2020 events have been revealed by Niantic. The game is turning four this year, and three weeks’ worth of events have been revealed to celebrate. That means different Research Tasks, special Pokemon appearances, party hats on more Pokemon, and themed challenges for Pokemon GO Fest 2020. There will also be a whole new kind of Pikachu, as the Pokemon GO Flying Pikachu Raids will be drifting in. Everything starts on July 3, 2020 and, while there are Pokemon GO Fest labels, Niantic pointed out that “All Trainers globally, regardless of whether they have a Pokémon GO Fest 2020 ticket, will be able to take part in three weekly challenges in the form of Timed Research lines.”

The first week of events will run from July 3-8, 2020. (The Ho-Oh raids are only July 3-6, 2020.) This is the “flying” week. People will see the Pokemon GO Flying Pikachu (and its shiny variant) in Raids. Party hats will be on some characters, Ducklett will be added to 5km eggs, shiny Pidoves will land, Jump-Start Special Research tasks will show up, and Niantic has been telling people to take pictures.

Here are its Weekly Challenge opportunities.

GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Skill

• Complete all three sets of tasks in the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Skill Timed Research to earn an encounter with Ducklett, an encounter with Flying Pikachu, a Star Piece, and more!
• If the following numbers of Trainers from the same team complete this Timed Research, the corresponding Pokémon will appear during Pokémon GO Fest 2020.
• One million Team Instinct Trainers: Chimecho
• One million Team Mystic Trainers: Alomomola
• One million Team Valor Trainers: Chansey
• If you complete the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Skill Timed Research, you’ll earn access to the GO Fest Elite Skill Challenge, a set of difficult tasks that you can complete to earn personal bragging rights! You don’t need to complete these tasks for your Timed Research to count toward the Pokémon GO Fest 2020 unlock goals.

The July 10-15, 2020 week is the one for people who prefer to battle. One “surprise” event will be held at 11am-2pm local time on July 12, 2020. There will also be some Weekly Challenges revolving around fights for Pokemon GO Fest participants.

Here are the second block of challenges.

GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Battle

• Complete all three sets of tasks in the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Battle Timed Research to earn an encounter with Hitmonlee, an encounter with Absol, a Super Rocket Radar, and more!
• If the following numbers of Trainers from the same team complete their Timed Research this week, the corresponding Pokémon will appear during Pokémon GO Fest 2020.
  • One million Team Instinct Trainers: Ferroseed
  • One million Team Mystic Trainers: Alolan Grimer
• One million Team Valor Trainers: Alolan Marowak
• If you complete the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Battle Timed Research, you’ll earn access to the GO Fest Elite Battle Challenge, a set of difficult tasks that you can complete for personal bragging rights! You don’t need to complete these tasks for your Timed Research to count toward the Pokémon GO Fest 2020 unlock goals.

Finally, the third week of events goes from July 17-22, 2020. Summer Style Pikachus and other summer characters will be in eggs and roaming around. Petilil will appear in the wild too, as will shiny Bellsprout.

Here is the last group of Weekly Challenges.

GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Friendship

• Complete all three sets of tasks in the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Friendship Timed Research to earn an encounter with Alolan Raichu, an encounter with Petilil, a Lucky Egg, and more!
• If the following numbers of Trainers from the same team complete their Timed Research this week, the corresponding Pokémon will appear during Pokémon GO Fest 2020.
  • One million Team Instinct Trainers: Togetic
  • One million Team Mystic Trainers: Dratini
• One million Team Valor Trainers: Litwick
• If you complete the GO Fest Weekly Challenge: Friendship Timed Research, you’ll earn access to the GO Fest Elite Friendship Challenge, a set of difficult tasks that you can complete for personal bragging rights! You don’t need to complete these tasks for your Timed Research to count toward the Pokémon GO Fest 2020 unlock goals!

Editor’s Note: The picture is from the Pokemon Trading Card Game XY Evolutions Flying Pikachu card.

Pokemon GO is available for Android and Apple iOS devices.