Pokémon Go’s sixth-anniversary event and Battle Weekend to feature Charizard, Shadow Latios, and Ultra Unlock bonuses

Pokémon Go is celebrating its sixth anniversary in July, having originally launched in 2016. This means players will get to experience several special bonuses in a new event that has a special focus on Charizard and its evolutionary line. 

Charizard is the sixth Pokémon listed in the Pokédex and is a popular character too, which Niantic is using to promote the anniversary event and Battle Weekend combo using a “sensational six-themed celebration.”

During the anniversary event, which is set to run from July 6 to 12, players will encounter Party Hat Charmeleon, Party Hat Charizard, and Cake Costume Pikachu in the wild for the first time. Party Hat Charmander will also be appearing more frequently, and this is the first time players can openly encounter a Shiny Party Hat Charmeleon and Shiny Party Hat Charizard.

Other featured encounters include Ralts, Litleo, Gabite, Clauncher, and Helioptile. Special event-themed Field Research will also be available, giving players extra encounters with every starter Pokémon currently available in the game. 

Niantic also notes that players could add more content to the event by completing Ultra Unlock conditions during Go Fest: Berlin from July 1 to 3, which will feature Global Challenges for players around the world to participate in. This will likely involve the elemental monkeys from Unova in some way if the teaser in the anniversary event’s main image is anything to go on.

Here are the challenges that will be featured during the Go Fest: Berlin. 

• Global Challenge: Work together with trainers around the globe to defeat Team Go Rocket members to unlock the following:
  • Double Stardust for defeating Team Go Rocket members for the remainder of the Global Challenge period
  • Ultra Unlock: Anniversary Event
  • Ultra Unlock: Battle Weekend.
• Collection Challenges: A selection of Pokémon appearing during Pokémon Go Fest: Berlin will also appear in the wild around the world. Work to collect them all in order to complete this Collection Challenge.

During the anniversary event, players will also experience Battle Weekend on July 9 and 10, where Team Go Rocket Grunts will be appearing more frequently and Giovanni will appear with Shadow Latias. Different Shadow Pokémon will also be featured for Team Go Rocket’s other members, including Shadow Geodude, Shadow Shinx, Shadow Purrloin, and more. 

During Battle Weekend, players can participate in 20 Go Battle League sets per day, for a total of 100 battles, earn quadruple Stardust form GBL rewards, and use Charged TMs to have Shadow Pokémon forget Frustration.