Trainers,

Thank you for another incredible experience in Chicago! Pokémon GO Fest 2019 Chicago, the first-ever four-day Pokémon GO Fest event, was truly bigger and better than ever. With more than 60,000 attendees over the course of the event and 287,000 Trainers playing in the surrounding Chicago area, it was incredible to see players from all walks of life come together for a weekend of fun and adventure. Meanwhile, tens of millions of passionate Trainers across the globe teamed up to complete Team Instinct Leader Spark’s assignment of Professor Willow’s Global Challenge to unlock Candy rewards around the world!

Despite a brief interruption in play due to weather changes on Saturday, our Trainers showed their commitment no matter what the weather! They walked more than 290,000 kilometers, caught 15,000,000 Pokémon, and made 213,000 new friends. We want to thank all of the passionate Trainers in Chicago and around the world who helped kick off our adventures this season and made this one of the most memorable Pokémon GO Fests yet!

Here are just a few of the highlights from this week’s activities.

Pokémon GO Fest 2019 - Chicago Special Research

As Trainers began their Pokémon journey through the park, Professor Willow greeted them and asked to join forces to investigate a very mysterious situation. Their first Special Research tasks were to spin seven PokéStops, send three gifts, and make three new friends. In an urban park stretching 319 acres large and full of players from around the globe, it was amazing seeing Trainers come together to complete their assignment from the professor.

After completing research tasks that included catching unique Pokémon of multiple types, attendees returned lost Pokémon to their natural habitats by taking a GO Snapshot of them. Trainers encountered Jirachi and had an opportunity to catch it for the first time in Pokémon GO history!

Battles, Autographs, Trades!

In the north part of Grant Park, past the Winter Forest and across from the Spooky Woods, sat the Battle Arena—an expansive space for attendees to lock eyes and engage in friendly Trainer Battles. Attendees from around the globe entered 16-player tournaments throughout the day to win exclusive Pokémon GO Fest prizes at various rounds. All rounds were played with the Great League ruleset. The competition was fierce, but our players impressed us with their battle prowess!

Across the field, attendees had the opportunity to meet Trainer Tips, MYSTIC7, REVERSAL, PkmnMaster Holly, and ZoëTwoDots! Attendees with tickets were able to attend daily signings where they could meet, chat with, and get an autograph from these content creators.

Located at the southern part of the park was the Trading Outpost, where attendees were able to conduct up to 5 Special Trades on their event day! Thousands of Trainers from around the world were given customizable Trading Outpost paddles which they used to show which Pokémon they wanted and which they had to trade. Many happy players left with a few more spots filled in their Pokédex.

Global Challenge

Congratulations to all Trainers who took part in the first part of the Global Challenge! Pokémon GO Fest Chicago attendees and players around the world alike worked hard throughout the four-day event and successfully completed Spark’s Candy Research Challenge. Spark hasn’t been able to contain his excitement all weekend and is whooping and hollering with joy as we type this update.

He wants us to let you all know that he says,

“I’m electrified! Thank you, Trainers, for all of your hard work. I knew we could do it! Please keep up the same energy for Candela and Blanche’s challenges too! WOOHOO!”

Look forward to the following bonuses to be active from Tuesday, June 18, 2019, at 1 p.m. until Tuesday, June 25, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT:

2× Catch Candy

Guaranteed 1 Rare Candy per raid

1/2 Hatch Distance

2× Hatch Candy

In addition to those bonuses, Raikou will be available in raids on Saturday, June 29, 2019, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m local time. Players will receive up to 5 free Raid Passes during the event. If you’re lucky, you might encounter Shiny Raikou!

Thank you, Trainers.

We couldn’t have done this without you. This was our biggest Pokémon GO Fest yet and we hope you had just as an amazing time as we did! Please look forward to Pokémon GO Fest in Dortmund and Yokohama and be prepared to tackle Candela and Blanche’s challenges. They’re depending on you! Get ready for some more fun times ahead and we hope you have fun participating in Raikou Raid Day.

Oh...and one more thing…

Did you all see these folks hiding in the shadows, or was it just us?



—The Pokémon GO team