News from Niantic regarding Pokémon GO’s upcoming Pokémon GO Fest 2022 has revealed the debut of Land Forme Shaymin and new Shiny Pokémon as part of the festivities. Large events in Pokémon GO are often used to introduce new Pokémon to the game, and the small hedgehog-themed Mythical Pokémon will likely be an exciting addition for fans. The announcement could also help draw more Pokémon GO players to the event.
Currently, Pokémon GO fans have been building up to the warmer months with exciting long-term celebrations like the “Seasons of Alola” event, which has added numerous Sun and Moon Pokémon species to the game. This includes the Alolan starters Litten, Rowlet, and Popplio, as well as the popular Rock-type Rockruff and its powerful evolution Lycanrock among many others. While Pokémon GO’s Seasons of Alola event has been a fun way to explore Generation Seven content, the event will come to a close at the start of June, just in time for Pokémon GO Fest activities.
According to a press release shared by Niantic, the Global event for Pokémon GO Fest 2022 will be taking place Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5, 2022, from 10 AM to 6 PM local time, offering players two days of exciting content to participate in. The event will debut the Mythical Pokémon Shaymin in its Land Forme via a Customized Special Research, as well as introduce the Shiny forms of Shroomish, Numel, Karrablast, Axew, and Shelmet. Shiny Unown B will also debut, but only for Pokémon GO players with a GO Fest 2022 event ticket.
Additionally, it has been announced that a new Pokémon will debut in Pokémon GO’s Five-Star Raids during the GO Fest event, offering players a new Raid challenge to take on with friends. This announcement comes alongside the reveal of Mega Kangaskhan in Pokémon GO during the Mega Evolution Dev Diaries update, indicating that Niantic may continue to expand the types of Pokémon found both in standard Raid battles and Mega Raids throughout the course of the summer.
Unfortunately, a large portion of Pokémon GO Fest 2022’s content will be locked behind a special event ticket that players will need to purchase from the Pokémon GO in-game store for 14.99 USD in order to access. The content locked to tickets is similar to the Pokémon GO Tour: Johto event from February, including increased Shiny rates, certain Pokémon appearances, and large portions of Special Research tasks. While participation in the event will likely be enjoyable for those who purchase the ticket, Pokémon GO players unable to spend the money will miss out on tasks and rewards. Despite this, the event should be a fun and exciting way to enjoy Pokémon GO as the weather continues to heat up.