The 2025 Pokémon World Championships have kicked off, and with it comes a packed Pokémon Go event full of rare spawns, battle bonuses, and new rewards. From field research and exclusive costumed Pokémon to high-tier raids and a Go Battle Weekend, there is plenty for Trainers to dig into — but only until Sunday, August 17 at 8pm local time.

Pokémon World Championships adds Varsity Jacket Pikachu and research rewards

This year’s event introduces Varsity Jacket Pikachu, a new costumed version of the franchise mascot with boosted shiny odds. You can encounter it through field research tasks and raids. Several other research rewards tie into PvP mechanics and raid wins.

Key research task rewards include:

• Battle in the Go Battle League: Paldean Wooper, Marill, or Varsity Jacket Pikachu
• Win a raid: Honedge or Varsity Jacket Pikachu
• Power up Pokémon: Varsity Jacket Pikachu
• Spin PokéStops or Gyms: Poké Balls, Super Potions, or Revives

Expect more PvP-related tasks during the event, reflecting the tournament’s competitive spirit.

Pokémon World Championships unlocks rare wild spawns and raid bosses

You will see a variety of rare Pokémon appearing more frequently in the wild. Several are tied to PvP relevance or past Community Days.

Wild Pokémon during the event:

• Nidoran♀, Mankey, Marill, Paldean Wooper
• Spoink, Frillish♂, Vullaby, Inkay
• Rookidee, Fuecoco

Raid lineups also get a shakeup, with battles across all tiers:

• One Star: Varsity Jacket Pikachu, Honedge, Diggersby
• Three Star: Lapras, Dusclops
• Five Star: Ho-Oh
• Mega: Mega Slowbro

Pokémon World Championships brings back featured attack evolutions

Four Pokémon can be caught or evolved with exclusive moves during the event window:

• Lapras: Ice Beam
• Primeape and Annihilape: Rage Fist
• Clodsire (from Paldean Wooper): Megahorn

Make sure to evolve during the event or catch them from raids and tasks to lock in these attacks.

Pokémon World Championships introduces a $5 timed research quest

A special pay-to-play Timed Research is available for $5 (or local equivalent). This one-time-only quest includes rare encounters and valuable items. You must complete it before August 17 at 8pm local time.

Rewards include:

• Premium Battle Pass
• 25,000 Stardust
• Encounters with Pokémon like Sableye, Guzzlord, Lickitung, Lapras, and Lokix

Players can gift the ticket to Great Friends or higher.

Go Battle Weekend adds Stardust and high-tier PvP bonuses

Alongside the main event, Go Battle Weekend: Delightful Days is active through August 17 at 11:59 pm local time. You can fight in all three leagues and enjoy upgraded PvP rewards.

Event bonuses include:

• 4x Stardust from win rewards
• Up to 100 battles per day
• Timed Research with an Elite Charged TM and Battle Tower Leon-style Boots
• Wider stat ranges on encounter Pokémon

The timed research includes 7,500 XP per task and ends with Rare Candies and exclusive avatar gear.