Pokémon GO's special 5th Anniversary event for players

Well, 2021 will certainly be a milestone year to remember in the Pokémon world, as this marks the 25th Anniversary of Pokémon as a whole and the 5th Anniversary of one of its most popular games: Pokémon GO. To celebrate the 5th year of the game, Niantic has rolled out a special event that trainers like you can take part in. The event was officially released on July 6 and will last until 8 p.m. PST on July 15. 

During that time, you will have the opportunity to participate in a host of challenges/events that will test your skills and reward you handsomely upon completion of each. I’ll give you a brief rundown of each event/challenge in what follows. It’s actually really exciting and I’m glad that they’ve committed to making it special for fans who have been playing since the beginning.

First, you’ll notice that certain starter Pokémon have been given higher spawn rates and longer Lure Modules. There are also some Flying Pikachu 5-shaped balloons floating around, which can be found and caught either in the wild, by completing the special 5th Anniversary Collection Challenge, or via raids. 

Speaking of raids, there are five special Pokémon, including the Flying Pikachu, that are appearing in the special event raids. Specifically, one-star raids. Those Pokémon are:

Also, there is a Shiny Darumaka lurking somewhere in the wild. So, remember to look long and hard if you find yourself just roaming around the land. Actually, Darumaka isn’t the only shiny Pokémon waiting to be discovered throughout this special event. A Shiny Meltan is available for those trainers who choose to open the Mystery Box. It will take a bit more luck than skill to catch the Shiny Meltan, but at least you still have as good a chance as any.

Trainers will be gifted a bonus for any Field Research tasks that involve certain Pokémon, such as Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie.

Pokémon GO is also introducing a little something called ‘Jump-Start Special Research’. In case you weren’t aware (or were, but didn’t participate), Pokemon GO held a special anniversary celebration at this time last year as well. Through Jump-Start Special Research, Trainers will be given the chance to claim some of the rewards that were missed out on. I thought that was pretty cool, especially since summer 2020 wasn’t the best year for everyone.

Again, this was just a brief overview of what Pokémon GO has in store for Trainers during the celebration of their 5th Anniversary. Even with all of this valuable info, there is still more to know. But, instead of just listing it out and trying to make it sound different than the other hundred blogs out there, I think it would be better if you got it directly from Niantic/Pokémon GO. So, feel free to check out Pokémon GO’s website, which I will link and leave for you right here. 

We recently covered the upcoming Pokémon Unite game in another blog post, and there are some new Pokémon Sword & Shield: Chilling Reign products available on our site as well. Be sure to check those out before you leave. As I said, there’s a lot going on with Pokémon this year and we’re just happy to be a part of it.

Let me know if you’re planning on or already have been participating in Pokémon GO’s special 5th Anniversary event/celebration and whether you’ve caught some cool Pokémon yet. Give me all the details in the comments below.

Until we meet again,

Vince The Prince