The Pokémon GO 2025 World Championships Celebration ran from August 15 to 17, 2025, with a varsity-jacket Pikachu debut, event-exclusive attacks, raid and research encounters, and a separate GO Battle Weekend. The event and its limited-time rewards have ended.
When was the event?
The global celebration ran Friday, August 15, at 10:00 a.m. through Sunday, August 17, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. local time. Its related GO Battle Weekend had a longer daily window: midnight on August 15 through 11:59 p.m. on August 17, local time. The GO Battle League arena and music began earlier, on August 11 at 1:00 p.m. PDT, and ran through August 17 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Pokémon GO’s August 1, 2025 announcement gives the event schedule and features.
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Pokémon TCG GO Elite Trainer Box | $199.37 | Buy on Amazon |
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The celebration coincided with the 2025 Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim, California, held August 15–17. The official announcement said top qualifying Pokémon GO players would compete for the world title; the champion’s listed in-game prizes included a World Champion 2025 outfit and pose. Viewers could watch from 9:00 a.m. PDT each day: the Pokémon GO Twitch channel carried the first two days, while the Pokémon Twitch channel carried day three. Details appeared in the official Pokémon World Championships announcement.
What were the event’s headline bonuses?
- Varsity-jacket Pikachu debuted. Its Shiny form was possible to encounter, with an increased Shiny encounter chance during the event.
- Special Trades: Trainers could make up to five per day.
- GO Battle League encounters: The reward track offered additional Pokémon encounters.
Which Pokémon appeared, and where?
Encounter options varied by source. The event announcement did not promise that a particular Pokémon would appear to every player.
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| Source | Announced encounters | Shiny availability noted |
|---|---|---|
| One-star raids | Varsity-jacket Pikachu, Honedge | Varsity-jacket Pikachu |
| Three-star raids | Lapras, Dusclops, Diggersby | Lapras |
| Field Research | Varsity-jacket Pikachu, Marill, Paldean Wooper, Honedge | Pikachu, Marill, Paldean Wooper |
| More frequent wild spawns | Nidoran♀, Mankey, Marill, Paldean Wooper, Spoink, Inkay, Rookidee, Fuecoco | Species marked as potentially Shiny in the announcement |
| Other possible wild encounters | Male Frillish, Vullaby | Not specified in the announcement |
Honedge was available from both one-star raids and Field Research. For the wild-spawn list, the official announcement marked some species as potentially Shiny; it did not establish that every listed species had an increased Shiny rate.
What event-exclusive attacks could you get?
These moves depended on catching or evolving Pokémon during the celebration’s August 15–17 local-time window:
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- Lapras caught during the event knew the Charged Attack Ice Beam.
- Evolving Mankey produced a Primeape that knew the Charged Attack Rage Fist.
- Evolving Primeape produced an Annihilape that knew the Charged Attack Rage Fist.
- Evolving Paldean Wooper produced a Clodsire that knew the Charged Attack Megahorn.
The announcement describes which moves were available through those event actions; it does not rank them for current PvP play.
What did GO Battle Weekend offer?
GO Battle Weekend: Delightful Days ran from midnight August 15 to 11:59 p.m. August 17, 2025, local time. Great League, Ultra League, and Master League were active.
- 4× Stardust from win rewards, excluding end-of-set rewards.
- Up to 20 battle sets per day, or 100 battles total per day, instead of the usual five sets.
- Free battle-themed Timed Research, with avatar shoes inspired by a Battle Tower battler among its rewards.
- Greater variance in Attack, Defense, and HP for Pokémon received through GO Battle League reward encounters.
The new GO Battle League arena and background music had a distinct, earlier schedule: August 11 at 1:00 p.m. PDT through August 17 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
What did the paid Timed Research include?
The event-exclusive paid Timed Research cost US$5.00 or the equivalent local-currency pricing tier. Its announced rewards were one Premium Battle Pass, 25,000 Stardust, and encounter opportunities with Lickitung, Lapras, Azumarill, Sableye, Swalot, Claydol, Carbink, Guzzlord, and Lokix. All tasks had to be completed and all rewards claimed by Sunday, August 17, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. local time.
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Tickets could be gifted to Pokémon GO friends at Great Friends level or higher. They could not be purchased with PokéCoins; purchases were non-refundable except as required by applicable law or permitted under the Terms of Service. This ticket and its deadline are historical: they are no longer available.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which World Championships items were available?
- A white 2025 Worlds Tee was available globally through a code shared during the first day of the championship stream.
- The 2025 Worlds Jersey and 2025 Worlds Visor were listed for purchase in the in-game shop during the event, with the announcement saying they would remain available afterward.
- Themed stickers could be obtained from PokéStops, Gifts, or the in-game shop.
The 2025 announcement also listed a US$4.99 GO Battle Weekend Ultra Ticket Box, containing an event ticket and bonus Premium Battle Pass, and a US$19.99 TM Elite Master Box, containing two Elite Fast TMs, two Elite Charged TMs, six Fast TMs, and six Charged TMs. These are prices and offers from the 2025 announcement, not current availability.
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