Festival of Colors returns for 2023; Mega Medicham and Bruxish debut during the colorful celebration’s second year

Trainers,

We’re excited to announce the return of Pokémon GO’s Festival of Colors! This year, two Pokémon will make their vibrant Pokémon GO debuts: Mega Medicham and Bruxish!

Read on for more details!

Festival of Colors

Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. to Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. local time

Mega Medicham debuts

Mega Medicham will make its Pokémon GO debut in Mega Raids!

Mega Medicham

If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny one!

Bruxish debuts

Bruxish, the Gnash Teeth Pokémon, will make its Pokémon GO debut!

Bruxish

Special Bonuses for Trainers in India

Trainers in India will be able to enjoy the following bonuses and content in addition to the other Festival of Colors features.

The following Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild.

Jigglypuff*
Hitmontop*
Emolga
Durant*
Dedenne*
Noibat*

Some Trainers may even encounter the following Pokémon!

Chimecho*

*If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny one!

Upon completing Field Research tasks, Trainers can encounter the following Pokémon.

Unown G
Unown O

Trainers in these regions will also receive 2× XP for catching Pokémon.

Celebratory colors

Keep an eye out! Trainers will find a colorful surprise around PokéStops as they walk close to them.

Event Bonuses

Lure Modules activated during the event will last for three hours.

Take a few snapshots every day during the event for a surprise!*

Friendship levels will increase twice as fast.

*If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny Smeargle. Please note that Smeargle will only appear in snapshots a limited number of times, and while Shiny Smeargle will no longer appear after the event concludes, you may encounter one during future events.

Collection Challenge

A Festival of Colors Collection Challenge is coming soon!

Complete the Collection Challenge by the end of the event to earn 20,000 XP and a Lure Module!

Wild encounters

The following Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild.

Paras

Krabby

Koffing

Natu

Wobbuffet

Shuckle

Wingull

Plant Cloak Burmy

Sand Cloak Burmy

Trash Cloak Burmy

Stunky

Bruxish

Some Trainers might even encounter the following.

Lickitung

Galarian Zigzagoon

If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny one!

Raids

The following Pokémon will appear in raids.

One-star raids

Espurr

Rockruff

Mareanie

Bruxish

Three-star raids

Exeggutor

Alolan Exeggutor

Cryogonal

Druddigon

Five-star raids

Ho-Oh

Mega Raids

Mega Medicham

If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny one!

Field Research task encounters

Event-themed Field Research tasks will be available!

The following Pokémon will be available to encounter when you complete Field Research tasks! A quick reminder, Trainers—the Oricorio you encounter will be of different Styles depending on where they were caught in the world.

Alolan Grimer

Castform

Sunny Form Castform

Rainy Form Castform

Snowy Form Castform

Plant Cloak Burmy

Sand Cloak Burmy

Trash Cloak Burmy

Baile Style Oricorio

Pom-Pom Style Oricorio

Pa’u Style Oricorio

Sensu Style Oricorio

If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny one!

Avatar items

The following new avatar item will be available to purchase in the in-game shop during this event and will continue to be available after the event ends!

Color Toss Pose

Please be aware of your surroundings and follow guidelines from local health authorities when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change. Be sure to follow us on social media, opt in to receiving push notifications, and subscribe to our emails to stay updated.

—The Pokémon GO team