Go Fest 2023 is the main event in the Pokémon Go calendar this year and, as the name suggests, Go Fest Global brings players from around the world together during a weekend-long celebration.

After three in-person Go Fest 2023 events in London, Osaka and New York, Go Fest Global 2023 sees the worldwide release of Mega Rayquaza in Pokémon Go and, if you’ve brought a ticket, the chance to catch the mythical Diancie.

To help you prepare for the event, you’ll find the Go Fest 2023 date and start time, ticket price and an overview of the weekend’s activities for both free-to-play and ticketed players below.

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Pokémon Go Fest 2023 start time: When is the Go Fest Global 2023 event?

The Go Fest Global 2023 event is running on Saturday 26th August and Sunday 27th August. With the event starting at 10am (local time) and ending at 6pm (local time) each day.

Image credit: Niantic

Whether you’ve purchased a ticket or not, you’ll be able to battle Mega Rayquaza in Mega Raids, catch Carbink and hunt down shiny Pokémon during the rotating habitat hours. Purchasing a ticket, however, gives you the chance to add the mythical Diancie to your Pokédex.

If you’d like to learn more about the Go Fest Global 2023 event, including the different free-to-play and ticketed activities, then continue reading…

Free-to-play activities during Pokémon Go Fest 2023

Below you’ll find all of the free-to-play activities available for every Pokémon Go player during Go Fest 2023. While some of these activities are live on both days, a number are exclusive to either Saturday or Sunday. This means it’s important to know when everything is happening so you don’t miss anything!

Activities live throughout Go Fest 2023

There are five bonuses running throughout the event hours on both Go Fest 2023 days.

One sees Incense lasting for an hour, while another offers you the chance to collect field research tasks themed around the different habitat hours. Every player also has the chance to deal double friendship bonus damage in raids and the Remote Raid Pass limit has been raised to 20 per day between the hours of 12am (local time) on Saturday 26th August to 11:59pm (local time) on Sunday 27th August.

Outside of the habitat hour field research tasks, there are two tasks which are running throughout the event. These tasks are:

Catch 10 Pokémon reward - 10 Poké Balls, 5 Pinap Berries, Onix or Carbink encounterSpin 10 PokéStops or Gyms reward - Onix or Carbink encounter

Remember to take a snapshot or two during Go Fest 2023! A good surprise might be awaiting you…

Go Fest 2023 also sees the release of four new costume Pikachus. Each Pikachu is wearing a little crown (at least it’s not a flower) and is themed around one of the four habitat hours. Keep an eye out for these royal mice, so you can add Quartz Crown, Pyrite Crown, Malachite Crown and Aquamarine Crown to your costume Pokémon collection!

Image credit: Niantic

Eight Pokémon can learn a featured attack if you earn them via evolution during Go Fest 2023.

These Pokémon, along with the moves, are:

Butterfree - Bug Bite (Bug-type Fast Attack)Trainer Battles - 3Gyms and raids - 5Sandslash - Night Slash (Dark-type Charged Attack)Trainer Battles - 50Gyms and raids - 50Clefable - Pound (Normal-type Fast Attack)Trainer Battles - 4Gyms and raids - 7Flygon - Earth Pound (Ground-type Charged Attack)Trainer Battles - 90Gyms and raids - 100Salamence - Outrage (Dragon-type Charged Attack)Trainer Battles - 110Gyms and raids - 110Metagross - Meteor Mash (Steel-type Charged Attack)Trainer Battles - 100Gyms and raids - 100Roserade - Bullet Seed (Grass-type Fast Attack)Trainer Battles - 5Gyms and raids - 8Roserade - Weather Ball (Fire-type Charged Attack)Trainer Battles - 55Gyms and raids - 55Lickilicky - Body Slam (Normal-type Charged Attack)Trainer Battles - 60Gyms and raids - 50

A selection of avatar items have also been released as part of Go Fest 2023, including the Go Fest 2023 Tee, Diancie Headphones, Mega Rayquaza Set and Mega Rayquaza Helmet. All of these can be purchased from the in-game avatar store.

Image credit: Niantic

Finally, you can continue collecting Go Fest 2023 themed stickers from Gifts, spinning PokéStops or by purchasing them from the in-game store until Sunday 27th August.

Image credit: Niantic

Day One Activities - Saturday 26th August

There will be four habitats rotating on an hourly basis during Day One, Saturday 26th August, of Go Fest 2023. A selection of Pokémon, including a crown wearing Pikachu, themed around each habitat will appear more frequently in the wild during these hours.

The habitats for Go Fest 2023 are called Quartz Terrarium, Pyrite Sands, Malachite Wilderness and Aquamarine Shores.

Throughout this day, you’ll also have the chance to partake in a number of raids:

One StarThree StarFive StarPrimalAquamarine Crown PikachuCarbinkCowboy Hat SnorlaxPrimal KyogreMalachite Crown PikachuPrimal GroudonPyrite Crown PikachuQuartz Crown PikachuGoomy

Day Two Activities - Sunday 27th August

Sunday 27th August sees the global release of Mega Rayquaza. Previously this Mega Evolution had only been available to those attending the in-person Go Fest events earlier on in the month, but now everyone has the chance to get this legendary evolution.

Yet, before you can use Mega Rayquaza, you need to find a Meteorite as this item is required for teaching the legendary Dragon Ascent - the Charged Attack which, alongside Mega Rayquaza Energy, is required for this evolution. Thankfully, you can find Meteorites by completing the special research quest which unlocks on Day Two of Go Fest.

Image credit: Niantic

Alongside this, the habitat Pokémon from the previous day will continue to appear throughout the wild, but they will no longer be tied to a specific time period. This means that it may take you a little longer to find a specific Pokémon!

Finally, you can also partake in a number of raids throughout Day Two of Go Fest:

One StarThree StarFive StarMegaPrimalAquamarine Crown PikachuCarbinkCowboy Hat SnorlaxMega RayquazaPrimal KyogreMalachite Crown PikachuPrimal GroudonPyrite Crown PikachuQuartz Crown PikachuGoomy

Pay-to-play activities during Pokémon Go Fest 2023

One of the main reasons you may want to purchase a ticket for Go Fest 2023 is the additional special research quests it will unlock. Keep in mind that you do have to play Pokémon Go during event hours if you wish to unlock these quests.

The first special research quest - Fascinating Facets - will unlock on Saturday 26th August and, during it, you’ll be able to catch the mythical Diancie. By continuing the quest, you’ll eventually be able to Mega Evolve Diancie. Though you may need to win some Carbink raids for some additional Mega Diancie Energy.

It's important to note that, according to the Niantic Support Twitter account, if you partook in one of the in-person Go Fest 2023 events in either London, Osaka or New York you will not recieve an additional Diancie encounter from this quest. You will, however, earn additional Diancie Candy instead.

Diancie and Mega Diancie. | Image credit: The Pokémon Company

The second unlocks on Sunday 27th August and is an extended version of the Mega Rayquaza special research quest available to all players. During this quest, you’ll find yourself collecting Meteorites which are crucial to Rayquaza’s Mega Evolution. Without a Meteorite, you won’t be able to teach Dragon Ascent to Rayquaza and, without this Charged Attack, you can’t Mega Evolve this Pokémon. Remember - you will still need to collect Mega Rayquaza Energy too!

Image credit: Niantic

Pokémon and Meteorites aren’t the only rewards you’ll earn from these quests though, because, among other items, you’ll also receive the Diancie T-shirt and Treasure Map Pose.

Image credit: Niantic

Outside of the exclusive special research quest, ticketed players will also benefit from five additional bonuses during Go Fest 2023.

The first is an increased chance of encountering shiny Pokémon, which is perfect for all the shiny hunters out there. Ticketed players can also collect nine free Raid Passes by spinning the Photo Discs at Gyms and conduct six Special Trades each day, meaning you can conduct 12 Special Trades over the course of Go Fest 2023.

Opening Gifts as a ticketed player during the event may lead you to earning a special 7km egg.

These eggs can hatch the following Pokémon:

Hisuian GrowlithePachirisuEast Sea ShellosWest Sea ShellosCarnivineJoltikPawniardGoomyOranguru

By purchasing a Go Fest 2023 ticket, you’ll also gain access to the Collection Challenges for each rotating habitat. Using Incense during these hours will also grant you access to a second pool of Pokémon for each hour, which, depending on the habitat, will grant you the chance to catch two regionally exclusive Pokémon - Carnivine and Pachirisu.

Ticketed players have the chance to catch Carnivine and Pachirisu during Go Fest 2023.

Finally, the Global Challenge Arena will return for ticketed players on Saturday 26th August. This features tasks you, along with every other Pokémon Go player who brought a ticket, with completing a challenge and, if it's completed, an additional bonus will be unlocked for that hour.

If 20 Global Challenges are successfully completed, then this year's Ultra Unlock bonuses will be, well, unlocked.

While the full details for these Ultra Unlocks are yet to be revealed, we do know the following:

A ??? Adventure event bonuses - Additional bonuses will be unlocked for this event, which is running from Tuesday 5th September to Sunday 10th September. The event will run regardless of how many Global Challenges are completed.Ultra Unlock: ??? event - An event running from Sunday 10th September to Friday 10th September, which will include the debut of, at the time of writing unannounced Bug, Electric, Flying and Ice-type Pokémon.

We'll learn more about these Ultra Unlocks after Go Fest 2023.

The Season of Adventures Abound is here! The Halloween event has returned, bringing with it Greavard and Houndstone.Party Play - Pokémon Go's multiplayer feature - is here, along with the Welcome Party quest.You can also work on the Timed Investigation: Master Ball quest and compete in the Go Battle League.Be sure to compete in Shadow Raids, complete Routes, use Daily Adventure Incense for the chance of encountering Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos and Galarian Moltres. This incense may also give you encounters with other rare Pokémon in Pokémon Go.

Pokémon Go Fest 2023 ticket price: How much does Go Fest Global 2023 cost?

A ticket for Go Fest Global 2023 costs £13.99, $14.99 or the equivalent in your local currency.

Tickets are currently available to purchase and you will be able to buy them during the event. It’s also important to remember that tickets are non-refundable and can’t be purchased using PokéCoin.

If you purchased a Go Fest ticket during June or July make sure you complete both the In The Rough and/or Shimmering Strides research quests before 9am (local time) on Saturday 26th August or else you won’t be able to earn their rewards.

How to purchase a ticket for Pokémon Go Fest 2023

A ticket for Pokémon Go Fest Global 2023 can only be purchased through the in-game Pokémon Go store. You can purchase a ticket during the event if you decide to partake during event hours.

To purchase a ticket, visit the in-game store accessed via the game’s main menu. From there, you simply need to find the banner that advertises the event.

Selecting this banner will bring up more information about Go Fest Global and, to purchase it, select the 'Buy' option before following the purchase instructions specific for your device. You can also gift a Go Fest Global 2023 ticket to another player if you so choose.

Image credit: Niantic/Eurogamer

After purchasing a ticket, it will appear in your Item Bag. You’ll then receive the event’s medal before Go Fest Global 2023 begins, but, for the special research quests, you need to make sure you log into Pokémon Go when the event itself goes live.

Remember - you don’t need to purchase a Go Fest Global 2023 ticket to partake in the event. You’ll still be able to partake in a range of features for free! Yet if you want full access to the event, including the Diancie special research quest, you’ll need to purchase a ticket.

Hope you enjoy Go Fest 2023!

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