In Pokémon GO the Nostalgia Event starts in May 2020. This sends you on a journey through the generations – and brings the first Gen-8 Pokémon in the finale.
When does the Nostalgia Event take place? The Nostalgia Event will run for almost the entire month of May. It starts on May 1 and ends on May 29. During this time, there will be limited research every week to complete the Nostalgia Challenge. The twist: Every week, the challenges will focus on a different region – culminating in a grand finale.
This is how the Nostalgia Event works
One region per week: You will receive a research series every week consisting of eight sets with three different, time-limited “projects” each. These will revolve around well-known regions and generations from the main games. Sequentially, you will travel to:
- Kanto (May 1 to May 8)
- Johto (May 8 to May 15)
- Hoenn (May 15 to May 22)
- Sinnoh (May 22 to May 29)
In these weeks, you will encounter Pokémon from the respective generation and region more frequently to complete as many research projects as possible.
What do the rewards look like? The rewards for the Nostalgia Event are worth it. Depending on the region, you will receive different bonuses and exciting Pokémon as rewards.
Kanto Rewards
This is what you get in week 1 from May 1 to May 8: In the Kanto week, you will receive 10 special candies and a meeting with the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo with Psycho Cut upon completing eight sets. All tasks of the Kanto Nostalgia research can be found here. The following bonuses also apply:
- You will encounter Kanto monsters like Chansey and Bluzuk more frequently. Bluzuk can be obtained as Shiny.
- From 7 km eggs, you can hatch more Bluzuk, Machop, Onix, Slurpuff, Tangela, Scyther, Pinsir, Lapras, and Eevee.
- You can catch Pikachu with Charizard hat.
- There will be double Catch, Raid, and Hatch XP.
Johto Rewards
This is what you get in week 2 from May 8 to May 15: In Johto, you can also grab 10 special candies. You can encounter Ho-Oh with Earthquake if you complete all task sets. The following also applies:
- More Johto Pokémon like Dunsparce and Porygon2. Dunsparce appears as Shiny.
- From 7 km eggs hatch: Lanturn, Yanma, Girafarig, Turtwig, Dunsparce, Skarmory, Protto, Porygon2, and Phanpy.
- Pikachu is wearing a Umbreon hat.
- You will receive double Stardust from catches and Raids.
Hoenn Rewards
This is what you get in week 3 from May 15 to May 22: Hoenn also has 10 special candies to offer, along with a special Pokémon. Here, you will find Groudon with the move Fire Punch. Additionally, you can find:
- Hoenn monsters like Swablu, Surskit, and Whismur – Swablu also as Shiny.
- Lotad, Swablu, Nincada, Swablu, Sableye, Breloom, Treecko, Feebas, and Bagon from 7 km eggs.
- Pikachu with Rayquaza hat is in the wild.
- The hatching distance for eggs and the buddy candy distance are halved.
Sinnoh Rewards
This is what you get in week 4 from May 22 to May 29: Sinnoh offers 10 special candies and the Pokémon Cresselia, which knows Leaf Storm. Additionally, the fourth week offers:
- Sinnoh Pokémon like Cherubi and Charizard – Charizard also in Shiny.
- From 7 km eggs hatch: Cranidos, Shieldon, Charizard, Lickilicky, Snover, Wailmer, Drifloon, Munchlax, Riolu, and Mantine.
- Pikachu with Lucario hat.
- One-hour Star Pieces, Incense, and Lucky Eggs.
Grand Finale with Genesect and Galar Pokémon
This is what the finale looks like: The finale consists of the special research “Champion of the Nostalgia Challenge 2020”. To receive it, you must have completed all four limited researches from the previous weeks.
New Pokémon from Gen 8: Together with Dr. Willow, you will then encounter Pokémon from the Unova and Galar regions, which have been missing in Pokémon GO so far. This brings the first Generation-8 monsters into the game. The mysterious Pokémon Genesect, which has only been available as special research before, can also be challenged.
The rewards look like this in total when you complete all four stages of the final research:
- Encounter with Genesect
- Five special candies
- Encounter with the new Galar Meowth
- Encounter with the new Galar Gengar
- Prof. Willow’s glasses for your avatar
New Pokémon will also be available for other players: If you have not unlocked the Champion research, you can still receive some of the bonuses.
This means that starting June 3, the Gen-8 monsters Galar Meowth, Galar Zigzagoon, and Galar Flapple will be newly available in the game for all players. All three can also be evolved into their Galar evolutions.
Additionally, Galar Gengar will be newly introduced into the game. All four Pokémon will also be available from 7 km eggs.
Furthermore, there will be increased Unova spawns. However, for Genesect, you will initially have to complete the Champion research.
