Pokémon Go players are being tasked with hitting the waves in the Alola region since the Water Festival event is bringing Dewpider, Araquanid, and the guardian deity of Poni Island, Tapu Fini to the game for the first time as the Season of Alola begins to wind down.
Along with the new Alolan Pokémon appearing, players can also encounter a special event Lapras wearing a scarf, which can be Shiny if you are lucky enough to find one. As an added bonus, Binacle will be appearing more frequently during the Water Festival, with its Shiny variant being available for the first time too while the event runs from May 12 to 20.
Unlike some earlier events this season, the Water Festival will feature a Global Challenge from May 11 to 21, which will task players around the world with catching 600 million Water-type Pokémon to unlock double Catch Candy for a limited time.
The Season of Alola Special Research series will also continue with Poni Island Special Research, along with new Timed Research that will give players an encounter with the scarf-wearing Lapras and 50 Gyarados Mega Energy.
As expected, Water-types like Dewpider, Slowpoke, Binacle, Magikarp, and Staryu will be appearing more frequently in the wild, with rare encounters like Poliwhirl, Mantine, and Alomomola appearing occasionally too. Rare Pokémon like Feebas and Mudkip are also going to hatch from seven-kilometer eggs throughout the event.
Meanwhile, the raid rotation has changed to feature Alolan Pokémon and others like the scarf-wearing Lapras, Azumarill, and Feraligatr. Tapu Fini will only be appearing in five-star raids, while Mega Blastoise enters the Mega Raid rotation.
During the event, players can grab a Water Festival Scarf avatar item and take advantage of other bonuses like Rainy Lure Modules lasting for two hours, increased Candy XL for hatching eggs, and double Hatch Candy.
