Pokemon Go Fest Day 1 Guide: Rotating Habitats, Ultra Unlocks, Raids, And More

Pokemon Go Fest 2021 is almost here. The big two-day event takes place this weekend, July 17-18, and features a myriad of special Pokemon spawns, challenges, and more. Just as last year, each day of Pokemon Go Fest 2021 will have a different focus. Day 1 is all about catching Pokemon, while day 2 will revolve around Legendary Raids. Here’s everything you need to know about the first day of Pokemon Go Fest 2021.

Rotating Habitat Schedule

Like last year, Niantic will hold rotating virtual habitats throughout the first day of Pokemon Go Fest 2021. There will be five habitats in total: Jungle, Desert Mountain, Ocean Beach, and Cave. These will rotate out every hour and determine which Pokemon you encounter in the wild. The habitats will rotate in the following order beginning at 10 AM UTC:

• 10 AM UTC – Jungle
• 11 AM UTC – Desert Mountain
• 12 PM UTC – Ocean Beach
• 1 PM UTC – Cave
• 2 PM UTC – Jungle
• 3 PM UTC – Desert Mountain
• 4 PM UTC – Ocean Beach
• 5 PM UTC – Cave

The habitats will continue to rotate every hour until day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest ends “in the latest participating time zone.” Niantic says that players will only experience the habitats during the event hours in their local time zone. This means US players on the East Coast will first experience the Jungle habitat starting at 10 AM ET (2 PM UTC), while players on the West Coast will begin with the Cave habitat at 10 AM PT (5 PM UTC).

Ultra Unlocks

Niantic is bringing back the Global Challenge Arena for Pokemon Go Fest 2021. Throughout day 1, ticket holders around the world will be able to work toward completing global challenges every hour of the event. If players can successfully complete these challenges, they’ll unlock extra bonuses for the remainder of that hour, as well as special Ultra Unlock events that will take place after Pokemon Go Fest.

Ultra Unlock 1: Time

The first Ultra Unlock event will take place from July 23 to August 3 if players manage to complete at least eight global challenges. This event will be themed around time and will feature Pokemon “from various eras.”

Ultra Unlock 2: Space

The second Ultra Unlock event will run from August 6-17 is players manage to complete at least 16 global challenges. This one will be themed around space, and Pokemon “from various places” will appear more frequently throughout the event.

Ultra Unlock 3: ???

If players can complete 24 global challenges, they’ll unlock the third and final Ultra Unlock event. Niantic hasn’t shared many details about this event just yet, but it will run from August 20-31.

Day 1 Raids And Pokemon Spawns

In addition to the rotating habitats and global challenges, certain special Pokemon will appear in the wild and in Raid Battles during the first day of Pokemon Go Fest 2021. All players, whether or not you’ve purchased a Go Fest ticket, will be able to encounter the following monsters in Raids:

• One-star Raids: Deino, Meloetta hat Galarian Ponyta, and Meloetta hat Galarian Zigzagoon (plus Shiny variants of each)
• Three-star Raids: Galarian Weezing, Hitmontop, and Cranidos

On top of that, Pikachu wearing a Meloetta hat will also appear in the wild throughout both days of the event, and you’ll have another chance to learn a few previous Community Day moves. If you can evolve Kirlia into Gardevoir or Vibrava into Flygon during the event, the Pokemon will know the moves Synchronoise and Earth Power, respectively. You can read more about day 1 of Pokemon Go Fest on Niantic’s website.