Pokémon Go Fest 2020 is finally here and we've got a weekend full of excitement, battles, challenges, fun, and of course Pokémon! While this year, Pokémon Go Fest will look a bit different, Niantic has been working hard behind the scenes to make this event enjoyable for players all around the globe, even those of us still social distancing. One of the new features to help make that happen is Habitat Rotation. This feature will use a slightly complicated schedule based that varies depending on where you are playing, but we here at iMore have everything you need to know to make the most of Rotating Habitats.
What is Habitat Rotation?
Much like the Incense Day Type Shuffle Event back in April, Habitat Rotation changes every hour during day one of Pokémon Go Fest 2020. There are five different habitats and each brings different Pokémon spawning on the map. Regardless of where you live, each Habitat will be featured twice. The first Habitat will be available at 10 AM local time and the last will end at 8 PM local time. However, the Habitats will be the same for every time zone where the game is active, so depending on your time zone, your schedule will vary.
What are the Habitats?
There will be five Habitats featured throughout the day. Although three of them are pretty obvious as to what type Pokémon they will feature, the other two are a bit of a mystery:
Fire
- Pikachu Visor Charmander*
- Charizard Incense
- Vulpix
- Ponyta*
- Alolan Marowak*
- Magmar*
- Flareon
- Houndour*
- Torchic*
- Numel
- Tepig
- Darumaka
- Litwick
- Heatmor*
Water
- Pikachu Visor Squirtle*
- Poliwag*
- Tentacool
- Slowpoke
- Magikarp*
- Chinchou*
- Qwilfish*
- Mudkip*
- Carvanha*
- Clamperl*
- Oshawott
- Tympole
- Alomomola*
Grass
- Pikachu Visor Bulbasaur*
- Venusaur Incense
- Oddish*
- Exeggcute*
- Alolan Exeggutor*
- Tangela*
- Sunkern*
- Treecko*
- Seedot*
- Overcast Cherrim
- Sunshine Cherrim
- Snover*
- Leafeon
- Snivy
- Foongus
- Ferroseed
Battle
- Machop*
- Alolan Grimer*
- Dratini*
- Sneasal*
- Skarmory*
- Slakoth*
- Sableye*
- Meditite*
- Swablu*
- Zangoose*
- Seviper*
- Gible*
- Croagunk*
- Stunfisk
- Durant*
Friendship
- Pikachu*
- Clefairy
- Jigglypuff
- Chansey*
- Eevee*
- Snorlax
- Togetic
- Marill*
- Sudowoodo*
- Wobbuffet
- Mantine
- Roselia*
- Feebas*
- Woobat
Raid Pokémon
There are also Event specific Raids, including:
- Venusaur
- Charizard
- Blastoise
- Alolan Exeggutor
- Chansey
- Aerodactyl
- Skarmory
- Kirlia
- Kyogre
- Groudon
- Gible
Other Pokémon
There will be more than 70 species of Pokémon featured during the weekend, so there will be plenty more tomorrow, as well some which will be available during all of the Habitats, including:
- Chimecho - unknown
- Unown G* - available in all Habitats
- Unown O* - available in all Habitats
- Wash Rotom - Snapshot Surprise
- Asterisk indicated potential to be Shiny
When will the Habitats be featured?
While the event runs from 10 AM through 8 PM local time, the Habitat currently being featured in one time zone will be the same everywhere else that is currently active. This is important for the Global Challenges, which will be based on the current Habitat. The Habitat Rotation Schedule for the contiguous US will feature the following:
- 10 AM EST: Battle
- 11 AM EST: Friendship
- 12 PM EST: Fire
- 1 PM EST and 10 AM PST: Water
- 2 PM EST and 11 AM PST: Grass
- 3 PM EST and 12 PM PST: Battle
- 4 PM EST and 1 PM PST: Friendship
- 5 PM EST and 2 PM PST: Fire
- 6 PM EST and 3 PM PST: Water
- 7 PM EST and 4 PM PST: Grass
- 5 PM PST: Battle
- 6 PM PST: Friendship
- 7 PM PST: Fire
- 8 PM PST: End of the day on the West Coast
Note about global Habitat Rotation: The event will begin with Grass Habitat UTC+12 (10 AM in Wellington, NZ) and rotate through habitats in the following order (Grass, Battle, Friendship, Fire, Water) until UTC-10 (8 PM in Maui, US).
Challenges
In addition to the Habitats featuring different Pokémon, there will also be global challenges tied to each Habitat. Every hour, when the Habitat changes, Trainers around the world will have different challenges to complete. If enough players complete these challenges, the whole of Pokémon Go will be rewarded with Ultra Unlock Bonuses in the form of week long events following Pokémon Go Fest. Some of these challenges will have the same theme as the Habitat currently in play.
Important Note Trainers are encouraged to save their daily Gift interations for the Friendship Habitat. At least some of the Friendship Habitat challenges will involve sending or receiving Gifts. With the current bonuses in play, players can receive 30 Gifts per day and hold up to 20 Gifts at a time. Buddy Pokémon are also still bringing Gifts to players who cannot travel to PokéStops and Gyms.
Questions?
Do you have any questions about how the Rotating Habitats will work for Pokémon Go Fest 2020? Which Pokémon are you most hoping for? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check out our Complete Pokédex, as well as our in depth coverage of Pokémon Go Fest 2020 so you too can become a Pokémon Master!
