Trainers,

We are thrilled to share that Pokémon GO has received the Sport in Life award from the Sports Agency, a subsidiary of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology!

We learned of this inaugural nomination just around Pokémon GO’s third anniversary. This year’s celebrations have become all the more special from being honored by an organization like the Sports Agency—one that shares our mission and commitment to going outdoors, exploring the world, and striving for a healthier physical, mental, and social lifestyle.

Many Pokémon adventures start by asking “Why not?” before stepping out of our homes. Together we’ve taken galleries’ worth of GO snapshots, challenged Legendary Pokémon in raids with friends, completed tons of research for Professor Willow, and succeeded in two parts of the Global Challenge so far. We are incredibly proud and humbled to have been a part of this entire experience with you.

So thank you, Trainers, for playing Pokémon GO and ...

Trainers,

Rayquaza is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years in the ozone layer, descending only to put the clash between Kyogre and Groudon to rest. Seeing as the Sea Basin Pokémon and the Continent Pokémon have both been active recently, it’s no surprise that this normally reclusive Pokémon has reappeared in their place!

Date + Time

• Rayquaza will appear in five-star raids from Wednesday, July 31, 2019, at 1 p.m. until Monday, September 2, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7)

Features

• If your luck soars sky-high, you may encounter a Shiny Rayquaza!

This Dragon- and Flying-type Legendary Pokémon is weak to Ice-, Rock-, Dragon-, and Fairy-type attacks. In fact, Rayquaza has a quadruple weakness to Ice-type attacks, so be sure to have Pokémon with those attacks ready when going into battle!

May the winds of fortune blow in your favor. Let’s GO!

—The Pokémon GO team

Trainers,

Team GO Rocket’s arrival seems to have disrupted Pokémon habitats! We have yet to understand why these Pokémon in particular are suddenly appearing more frequently. Perhaps they have some special significance wherever Team GO Rocket came from?

Date + Time

• Thursday, July 25, 2019, at 1 p.m. until Thursday, August 1, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7)

Features

• Oddly specific Shiny Pokémon have started appearing! Our research has found that if you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny Ekans or Shiny Koffing in the wild, in raids, or in Eggs!
• The following Pokémon will hatch more frequently from Eggs: Rattata, Ekans, Sandshrew, Zubat, Meowth, Machop, Magnemite, Grimer, Gastly, Drowzee, Cubone, Koffing, Murkrow, Sneasel, Houndour, and Poochyena.
• Raids will feature Pokémon that we believe are significant to Team GO Rocket.

Our information is incomplete, and investigations into this phenomenon are ongoing, so be on the lookout for other surprises!

We hope these are the last of t...

Trainers!

The world of Pokémon GO is in peril. An organization called Team GO Rocket has invaded PokéStops and is in possession of Shadow Pokémon that behave strangely and seem to be in pain. Team GO Rocket is clearly up to no good, and we need your help! Professor Willow and the team leaders have been hard at work observing and researching these happenings with Team GO Rocket, and they’ve come up with a plan to restore the PokéStops and rescue the Shadow Pokémon!

1. Encounter Team GO Rocket — Spark and Professor Willow have observed Team GO Rocket members hanging out at discolored PokéStops. It appears they’re after the PokéStops’ resources!

2. Battle Team GO Rocket — Once you begin the encounter with a Team GO Rocket Grunt, they’ll challenge you to a battle. We’re counting on you to accept their challenge and defeat them!

3. Catch the Shadow Pokémon — After a successful battle, you’ll have an opportunity to catch a Shadow Pokémon that Team GO Rocket carelessly abandoned. Cand...

Trainer,

If you enjoy collecting Pikachu wearing amusing hats in Pokémon GO, there’s still one piece to that puzzle that you need. Luckily, the latest in the grand line of behatted Pikachu is arriving soon in the form of Straw Hat Pikachu!

From July 22, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. through July 29, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. local time, this special Pikachu will appear in the wild, giving Trainers plenty of chances to add it to their crew. Pikachu’s kicky straw hat is perfect for keeping the burning sun at bay during these sunny summer months. If you want to coordinate your avatar’s outfit with Pikachu, there will be a matching straw hat available in the Style Shop.

You’re sure to treasure this new addition to your team, so don’t miss out—get ready to head out on another grand Pokémon GO adventure!

— The Pokémon GO team

July 11, 2019 UPDATE: In an effort to improve your competitive experience, the new switching Pokémon mechanic has been removed from Trainer Battles. We strive to make Trainer Battles intuitive and strategic, and we do not feel this change has met that bar.

While the original implementation had unintended behavior, we’ve been impressed at the depth of gameplay created by real-time switching against incoming attacks. We still plan on fixing what we consider polish issues of Pokémon being able to attack and be attacked during switching animations. Moving forward, we also plan on more deliberately supporting the emergent strategy that has come from the old switching behavior.

Rather than retaining the new behavior, until we can better support this mechanic we’ve decided the best experience would be to return to the previous game rules. We appreciate the community’s passion and dedication to Trainer Battles. Stay tuned for more updates as we work to provide a competitive and fun battle e...

Trainers,

We are in awe of the welcome Pokémon GO received this past weekend. Our first-ever Pokémon GO Fest in Europe was incredible. Thank you for an exciting weekend in Dortmund! More than 85,000 attendees attended over the four-day event and 200,000 Trainers played in the surrounding Dortmund area.

It was inspiring to see so many friendships come to life and adventure together, both in Dortmund and around the world. Globally, Trainers completed Team Valor Leader Candela’s portion of Professor Willow’s Global Challenge to unlock XP rewards for all Pokémon GO players.

Over the course of four days, Trainers at Westfalenpark walked nearly 400,000 kilometers and caught more than 28 million Pokémon. We want to thank all of the passionate Trainers in Dortmund and all over the globe who helped continue our summer adventures and made this Pokémon GO Fest one for the books!

Here are just a few of the highlights from this week’s activities.

Pokémon GO Fest 2019 ...

Trainers,

Mewtwo returns...with a new look. For a limited time, you can encounter this Psychic-type Pokémon in five-star raids.

Date + Time
* Armored Mewtwo will appear in five-star raids from July 10 at 1:00 p.m. PDT to July 31 at 1 p.m. PDT

Features
* For the first time in Pokémon GO, Armored Mewtwo will be available to challenge in raids for a limited time!

Avatar Items
* Do you consider yourself a Mewtwo Trainer? Show off your prowess for power and aesthetics with some stylish new items coming to the Style Shop!

Don’t miss this chance to encounter Armored Mewtwo. Are you up for the challenge?

—The Pokémon GO Team

Trainers,

They say third time’s the charm. Pokémon journeys begin with a choice between three Pokémon. Your journey in Pokémon GO involved joining one of three teams. Today, we celebrate the third anniversary of Pokémon GO’s release! Throughout this incredible journey, we’ve made countless memories along the way.

To commemorate this incredible milestone, you can look forward to these exciting features!

New features starting on June 28 at 1 p.m. PDT

• Shiny Alolan Pokémon — You’ll have a chance of encountering the following Shiny Alolan Pokémon: Rattata, Sandshrew, Vulpix, Diglett, Meowth, Geodude, Grimer, and Exeggutor.
• Team leader avatar items — Avatar items featuring the team leaders’ personal styles will be available in the Style Shop.

From June 28, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT to July 6, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

• A familiar face returns to the party! — Once per day, you might have the chance to encounter a Pikachu wearing a party hat when you take a GO Snapshot photo! Pichu wearing a ...

Trainers,

We’re excited to share a few changes to Field Research rewards and EX Raids in the coming weeks!

Field Research Updates

• From July 1, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) to September 1, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Latias, Latios, Kyogre, and Groudon will be available as Research Breakthrough encounters.
• Spinda will be available in Field Research, and if you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!

EX Raid Updates

• Starting on June 23, 2019, at 8 a.m. PDT, Trainers who receive EX Raid Passes will encounter Speed Forme Deoxys in EX Raids!

Are you new to EX Raids? You can become eligible to receive an EX Raid Pass when you win a Raid Battle at a qualifying Gym! To see whether a Gym can host EX Raids, take a look at the Gym’s details. If you triumph in a qualifying Raid Battle and receive an invitation to an EX Raid, you can check your EX Raid Pass for the date and time when you’ll be able to challenge Speed Forme Deoxys.

Let’s GO!

—The Pokémon GO Team

Trainers,

Thank you for another incredible experience in Chicago! Pokémon GO Fest 2019 Chicago, the first-ever four-day Pokémon GO Fest event, was truly bigger and better than ever. With more than 60,000 attendees over the course of the event and 287,000 Trainers playing in the surrounding Chicago area, it was incredible to see players from all walks of life come together for a weekend of fun and adventure. Meanwhile, tens of millions of passionate Trainers across the globe teamed up to complete Team Instinct Leader Spark’s assignment of Professor Willow’s Global Challenge to unlock Candy rewards around the world!

Despite a brief interruption in play due to weather changes on Saturday, our Trainers showed their commitment no matter what the weather! They walked more than 290,000 kilometers, caught 15,000,000 Pokémon, and made 213,000 new friends. We want to thank all of the passionate Trainers in Chicago and around the world who helped kick off our adventures this season and ma...

Trainers,

Due to severe thunderstorms in the surrounding area, The National Weather Service in collaboration with the City of Chicago authorities advised evacuating the event site on Saturday, June 15th during Pokémon GO Fest Chicago 2019. For the safety of attendees, the event was paused given the incoming forecast of lightning.

As soon as city safety officials notified the Pokémon GO team that the weather was clear, gameplay resumed and attendees were invited to return to the park.

As a token of our appreciation for attendees’ cooperation during the evacuation and afterwards, Pokémon GO Fest Chicago 2019 Saturday ticket holders will see increased appearances of event Pokémon featured during Pokémon GO Fest Chicago 2019 next Saturday. See below for more information:

[Features]

• Pokémon GO Fest Chicago featured Pokémon like Machop, Horsea, Lapras, Lotad, Ralts, Mawile, Absol and many others will appear more frequently in the wild for Pokémon GO Fest Chicago 2019 Saturday ticket hold...

Trainers,

Attention, Team Instinct, Mystic, and Valor Trainers!

Get ready for a Global Challenge like you’ve never experienced before! This year, Professor Willow has tasked Spark, Blanche, and Candela to take on new challenges and grow as leaders. While they’re already accomplished Pokémon GO Trainers, the professor wants to make sure they’re ready to take on any trouble that might come their way.

Each team leader will be responsible for rallying Trainers to complete research both around the world and at each of the three Pokémon GO Fest events this summer. Complete the Global Challenge research alongside the Trainers at every Pokémon GO Fest, and unlock exciting bonuses designed by none other than your very own team leaders the following week! If all three teams and the event attendees meet the research goals, a special bonus Raid Day will be unlocked during the bonus week. And if all goals are met by the end of summer, an even more exciting bonus will be unlocked!

The ...

Trainers,

Over the past few months, we’ve received over 57,000 entries for the #GOsnapshot Challenge from all around the world. We asked you to snap photos for three challenges, and you definitely showed off your AR photography skills! You’ve shown us the powerful bond between you and your Pokémon and the beautiful habitats that they interact with. We’ve been especially blown away by your limitless creativity in the last challenge and beyond.

Each challenge featured a grand-prize winner and two runners-up that greatly impressed our judges. We’re excited to recap the grand-prize winners from our three challenges for you!

Adventure #1: Buddy Challenge

Adventure #2: Habitat Challenge

Adventure #3: Go Create Challenge

The grand-prize winners will receive:

• A special PokéStop featuring their winning photo that will remain no less than three months
• Travel and ti...

Trainers,

Thank you for your feedback on our experimental Legendary Raid Hours over the past few months. We’re excited to announce that there will be more Legendary Raid Hours taking place in June!

For one hour every Wednesday evening, Raid Battles with the currently featured Legendary Pokémon will appear in greater numbers. Mark your calendars!

Date + Time
From 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in your local time zone on the following dates:

• Cresselia, the Lunar Pokémon—June 5 and 12, 2019
• Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokémon—June 19 and 26, 2019

Features

• There will be an increased number of ★★★★★ raids during the event hour.

As always, Trainers, be mindful of your surroundings and others around you while playing Pokémon GO. Stay tuned for more updates.

Happy raiding!

—The Pokémon GO Team

Trainers,

Pack your bags and lace up your hiking boots—it’s almost Adventure Week! The groundbreaking event returns this year, bigger and better than ever. Keep your eyes peeled for new Shiny Pokémon to discover, limited-time Field Research, and rewards for exploring new areas with your Buddy Pokémon!

Date + Time

• Tuesday, June 4, 2019, at 1 p.m. to Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7)

Features

• Rock-type Pokémon like Geodude, Rhyhorn, Omanyte, Aron, Lileep, Anorith, and many others will appear more frequently in the wild.
• Hatch Rock-type Pokémon such as Onix, Larvitar, Lileep, Anorith, and Shieldon from 2 km Eggs.
• Challenge Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon, and other Rock-type Pokémon in raids.
• You may encounter a Shiny Onix, Lileep, or Anorith if you’re lucky!

Bonuses

• Earn 4× Buddy Candy (Tip: Turn on Adventure Sync to make every step count!)
• Visit new PokéStops and earn 10× XP on your first spin of each Photo Disc
• Trainers who have Adventure Sync activated and walk ...

Trainers,

The next few months are going to be filled with some amazing adventures—even Pokémon are getting ready in their own ways. We’re hearing reports from all over the world that Trainers are finding Snorlax in deep slumber. Do you think they’re getting ready for an eventful summer?

Date + Time

• Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at 6 p.m. to Monday, June 3, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7)

Features

• Trainers will have the chance to encounter Snorlax snoozing in the wild.
• Once caught, Snorlax will be awake and ready for battle as usual.
• Remember to take a photo during your encounter as Snorlax will only be asleep during your encounter!

Move

• Snorlax caught during the event will know the exclusive event move Yawn.

Speaking of sleeping, don’t miss a related announcement at the Pokémon 2019 Press Conference!

Time to get up (or wake up) and GO!

—The Pokémon GO Team

Trainers,

We hope you’re enjoying Extraordinary Raid Week so far! We’re excited to announce the next three Legendary Pokémon you can look forward to seeing in five-star Raid Battles. Expect to see some Legendary Pokémon return—riled up and ready to battle!

Cresselia
This Psychic-type Legendary Pokémon is said to represent the crescent moon, but don’t let its graceful exterior lull you during battle. Psychic-type Pokémon are weak against Bug-, Ghost-, and Dark-type Pokémon, so be sure to have those ready!

Date + Time

• Monday, May 27, 2019, at 1 p.m. to Tuesday, June 18, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7)

Features

• If the workings of the cosmos are in your favor, you may encounter a Shiny Cresselia!

Kyogre
The Sea Basin Pokémon is said to have widened the seas and waged battle with Groudon. This Water-type Pokémon is weak against Grass- and Electric-type Pokémon. Can you earn this powerful creature’s trust and convince it to battle alongside you?

Date + Time

• T...

Trainers,

We’re excited to announce that more Pokémon originally discovered in the Sinnoh region are coming to Pokémon GO! From seas and beaches to mountains and beyond, be on the lookout for Cherubi, Gible, Hippopotas, and others. We hope you’ll enjoy the fun and surprises as you encounter these Pokémon in the wild and hatch them from Eggs. Also arriving in Pokémon GO is a powerful Ground-type move—Earth Power!

Plus, we have more exciting news to share. Thanks to your dedication in helping Professor Willow with his research, he has made some amazing improvements to our favorite module—the Lure Module. Inspired by research collected from around the world, three upgraded Lure Modules have been developed. These modules attract Pokémon in the surrounding area while creating a temporary special habitat. Soon you’ll be able to harness the power of Glacial Lure Modules, Mossy Lure Modules, and Magnetic Lure Modules. These lures might even have the potential to ...

Trainers,

Get ready for the summer with a special week of events! Prep your best teams, and get your Raid Passes ready for our upcoming Extraordinary Raid Week. To test your battle skills, we have a full week of exciting raids for you to show off your Trainer prowess.

Extraordinary Raid Week
Date + Time

• Tuesday, May 21, 2019, at 1 p.m. to Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7)

Raids

• ★: Machop, Slakoth, Shinx, Bronzor
• ★★: Misdreavus, Kirlia, Mawile, Feebas, Clamperl, Bibarel
• ★★★: Alolan Raichu, Chansey, Scyther, Aerodactyl, Floatzel
• ★★★★: Alolan Marowak, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Absol, Metagross

Features

• If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny Bronzor!

Bonuses

• 2× Raid Stardust
• 2× Raid XP

Raid Hour
Date + Time

• Wednesday, May 22, 2019, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. (local time)

Features * The number of raids of all levels will increase during the event hour.

Lapras Raid Day
Date + Time

• The Americas, Greenland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India:...