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The Pokemon World Championship is taking place this week, giving top-tier Pokemon Go players an opportunity to compete and potentially be crowned the 2023 Pokemon Go World Champion. To celebrate this, Pokemon Go is hosting an in-game event, providing you with several exciting features and bonuses.

Related: Pokemon Go: Mega Tyranitar Raid Guide

Allowing you to enjoy these event bonuses from any location, this in-game event will take place from Friday, August 11, at 10AM local time to Tuesday, August 15, at 8PM local time. Proving to possess more aspects and features than other Pokemon Go events, there's a lot to take in if you plan to make the most of this celebration - don't worry, we've got you covered.

Updated on August 8, 2023, by Christian Pellegrino: With this year's release of this event comes a handful of new additions and changes. We've made changes and updated this guide to include all of these, allowing you to make the most of this event.

Pokemon Debuts

Image of Passimian and Pokemon Championship 2023 Pikachu standing on a grass field

For this year's Pokemon World Championship Event, there will be one Pokemon making its Pokemon Go debut and one Pokemon getting a new costumed variation.

First, Passimian will be appearing in Pokemon Go for the first time. This Fighting-type Pokemon will be available through Three-Star Raids and Field Research Task Encounters throughout the duration of this event.

Additionally, you will have the opportunity to encounter and catch World Championships 2023 Pikachu during this event, a brand-new costumed version of this Pokemon. World Championships 2023 Pikachu can be encountered through Timed Research, Field Research Encounters, and its One-Star Raid.

Event Bonuses

The Pokemon Go Great League, Ultra League, and Master League logos with a cave background

Throughout the duration of this event, there will be two bonuses offered to all players. Both have to do with battling and the Pokemon Go Battle League, and include:

  • Pokemon caught as rewards for competing in the Go Battle League will have a larger variance of its different stats (HP, Defense, and Attack)
  • Maximum number of daily Go Battle League sets increased from five to ten, for a total of up to 50 battles per day.

Make sure to log in and take advantage of these while they are available.

Related: Pokemon Go: August Raid Guide

Event Wild Encounters

Different Pokemon from Pokemon Go on a stone walkway

During this event, there will be several Pokemon that will appear more frequently in the wild. Make sure to log in during this event window for a chance to encounter and catch the following Pokemon.

Event Wild Encounter Pokemon

Wooper

Lickitung

Machop

Drilbur

Sableye

Meditite

Wooloo

Bunnelby

Spheal

Onix

Chinchou

Scraggy

Event Research

Professor Willow with Pikachu on his shoulder, with Mew and the Pokemon Go logo on the right

Timed Research

There will be Event Timed Research available during the time of this year's Pokemon World Championships Event. Completing the different tasks that are a part of this Timed Research will reward you with an encounter with World Championships 2023 Pikachu and an Elite Fast TM.

All tasks and rewards for this Timed Research will only be available while this event is active.

Once it is over, you will no longer be able to complete tasks or claim rewards from it.

Additionally, there will be Timed Research available to all players who tune in to the Pokemon Go Twitch stream during this event, requiring that you watch for at least 30 minutes.

Doing this on the first day of the competition will earn you Timed Research, which rewards you with three different options when it comes to a trio of Pokemon, designed to perform well in the Great League. Each of these options can be found below.

Completing this Timed Research will also earn you 8,000 Stardust, a Premium Battle Pass, and a Star Piece.

Option One

Option Two

Option Three

Skarmory


Vigoroth


Swampert

Trevenant


Noctowl


Lanturn

Azumarill


Umbreon


Mandibuzz

The Timed Research earned from watching the Pokemon Go Twitch stream on the second day of the competition will be themed around last year's Pokemon Go World Champion, DancingRob. Completion of this Timed Research will reward you with an encounter with Galarian Stunfisk, an Elite Charged TM, and more.

Field Research Task Encounters

You'll also encounter different Pokemon as rewards for completing Event Field Research Tasks, acquired by spinning different PokeStop Photo Discs. Log in and successfully complete these for a chance to encounter one of the following Pokemon.

Event Field Research Encounters

Magikarp

Alolan Sandshrew

Wimpod

Seel

Passimian

Spheal

Galarian Zigzagoon

2023 World Championships Pikachu

Event Raids

Four different Pokemon Go Raids in a park crowded with people

There will be different Pokemon featured in Raids while the event is taking place. They'll vary depending on the difficulty of the Raid Battle, some requiring the help of other Trainers to successfully complete them. Each of these Raid Pokemon are provided below with the difficulty of the Raid that they will be appearing in.

Raid Pokemon

Raid Difficulty

2023 World Championships Pikachu

One-Star

Alolan Sandshrew

One-Star

Gligar

One-Star

Scraggy

One-Star

Galarian Stunfisk

Three-Star

Passimian

Three-Star

Skarmory

Three-Star

Cresselia

Five-Star

Mega Gyarados

Mega Raid

Related: Pokemon Go: Cresselia Raid Guide

Two people, one with a Charmander and one with a Charizard, both from Pokemon Go

When evolving specific Pokemon during this event, they will learn a Featured Attack; a move that is not traditionally learned when this is done at other times. Each of these Featured Attacks and their stats are provided below, with the evolution required to learn it.

Evolution Required

Featured Attack

Attack Stats

Alolan Sandshrew to Alolan Sandslash

Shadow Claw (Fast Attack)

  • Trainer Battles: 6 Power
  • Gym/Raid Battles: 9 Power

Machoke to Machamp

Payback (Charged Attack)

  • Trainer Battles: 110 Power
  • Gym/Raid Battles: 100 Power

Seel to Dewgong

Icy Wind (Charged Attack)

  • Trainer Battles: 60 Power
  • Gym/Raid Battles: 60 Power

Sealeo to Walrein

Icicle Spear (Charged Attack)

  • Trainer Battles: 60 Power
  • Gym/Raid Battles: 60 Power

Galarian Linoone to Obstagoon

Obstruct (Charged Attack)

  • Trainer Battles: 15 Power
  • Gym/Raid Battles: 20 Power

Avatar Items

Two Pokemon Go avatars, wearing the 2023 Worlds Jersey and Jacket

There will be two different avatar items available once this event has kicked off, both being brand-new to the game. This includes the 2023 Worlds Jersey and the 2023 Worlds Jacket. Both of these will be available for purchase at the in-game shop.

Additionally, there will be two avatar T-Shirts available for this event. The Yellow 2023 Worlds Tee can be obtained through a code displayed during the World Championships Stream, specifically on the first day of the competition.

The second tee, the Gray 2023 Worlds Tee, will be available to all players at no cost, acquired through the Pokemon Go in-game shop.

Lastly, the player who is crowned as the Pokemon Go World Champion will receive both the World Champion 2023 outfit and World Champion 2023 pose.

Next: Pokemon Go: Spotlight Hour Guide