Pokémon GO Fest 2025 Day 2: Sword-Themed Spawns, Habitat Rotations, and Global Bonuses Revealed

Pokémon GO Fest 2025 Global concluded its second day, Sunday, June 29, 2025, bringing an end to a weekend of intense Pokémon catching, raiding, and community engagement for Trainers worldwide. The day featured a distinct “sword-themed” focus, complementing Saturday’s “shield-themed” activities, alongside continued habitat rotations and a host of global bonuses designed to enhance the player experience. Niantic, the developer behind the augmented reality mobile game, delivered on its promise of a captivating event, allowing both ticketed and free-to-play Trainers to participate in the festivities.

Key Takeaways:

• Pokémon GO Fest 2025 Day 2 centered on a “sword-themed” spawn pool, featuring Pokémon like Galarian Farfetch’d, Cubone, Ralts, Karrablast, Pawniard, Deino, and Passimian, with a rare chance to encounter Jangmo-o.
• The rotating habitats – Moonless Volcano, Galvanic Dojo, Hypnotic Tundra, and Fae Swamp – repeated their hourly cycles from Day 1, offering diverse Pokémon encounters.
• Ticket holders benefited from increased shiny odds, exclusive Incense spawns (Torkoal, Skiddo, Pachirisu, Klefki), and a special research line for the global debut of Mythical Pokémon Volcanion.
• Day 2 raids prominently featured Crowned Sword Zacian, providing Trainers an opportunity to earn Crowned Sword Energy.
• Global bonuses included one-hour Lure Modules, extended eight-hour Party Play duration, and GO Snapshot surprises. Ticket holders received additional perks like more free daily Raid Passes, increased gift openings, and reduced Stardust trade costs.
• Shiny Carbink and Shiny Frigibax made their global debuts during the event, appearing in the Moonless Volcano and Hypnotic Tundra habitats, respectively.

A Sword-Wielding Finale: Day 2 Wild Spawns

The second day of Pokémon GO Fest 2025: Global, held on Sunday, June 29, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time, embraced a “sword-themed” motif. This focus directly contrasted with Saturday’s “shield-themed” encounters, providing a thematic progression throughout the weekend. Trainers venturing into the wild on Day 2 frequently encountered Pokémon associated with the Sword and Shield regions.

Notable wild spawns tied to the sword theme included:

• Galarian Farfetch’d: The regional variant of Farfetch’d, known for its leek-wielding prowess.
• Cubone: A classic Ground-type Pokémon, recognized by the skull it wears.
• Ralts: A Psychic/Fairy-type Pokémon that evolves into Gardevoir or Gallade.
• Karrablast: A Bug-type Pokémon that evolves into Escavalier when traded with Shelmet.
• Pawniard: A Dark/Steel-type Pokémon that evolves into Bisharp.
• Deino: A Dark/Dragon-type Pokémon, the first in a line that culminates in the powerful Hydreigon.
• Passimian: A Fighting-type Pokémon from the Alola region.

For lucky Trainers, a rare encounter with Jangmo-o, the Dragon-type Pokémon that evolves into Hakamo-o and eventually Kommo-o, was also possible. The presence of these specific Pokémon provided a clear narrative link to the Galar region and its flagship titles, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.

Repeating the Rhythms: Day 2 Habitat Rotations

Consistent with previous GO Fest events, Day 2 maintained the hourly rotating habitat schedule, ensuring Trainers had multiple opportunities to target specific Pokémon. Each habitat returned for a second two-hour block throughout the day, allowing players to plan their hunting strategies effectively. The four distinct habitats were:

• Moonless Volcano: This habitat featured Fire and Dark-type Pokémon, among others. Spawns included Houndour, Numel, Duskull, Gothita, Golett, Fletchling, Red Flower Flabébé, Skrelp, and Fuecoco. Critically, Carbink, making its global shiny debut, was a rare but sought-after encounter in this habitat. Its dual Rock/Fairy typing makes it a formidable presence in the Great League.
• Galvanic Dojo: Focused on Fighting and Electric-type Pokémon, this habitat saw increased spawns of Machop, Electabuzz, Teddiursa, Scraggy, Chespin, Yellow Flower Flabébé, Pancham, Dedenne, and Crabrawler. Mienfoo was a rare spawn within this habitat.
• Hypnotic Tundra: This icy habitat showcased Ice and Psychic-type Pokémon. Trainers found Alolan Sandshrew, Swinub, Spheal, Piplup, Snover, Munna, Elgyem, Blue Flower Flabébé, and Bergmite. The highly anticipated global shiny debut of Frigibax, an Ice/Dragon-type Pokémon that evolves into Arctibax and Baxcalibur, was a highlight here.
• Fae Swamp: Emphasizing Fairy and Poison-type Pokémon, this habitat offered encounters with Clefairy, Tentacool, Mawile, Gulpin, Venipede, Popplio, Mareanie, Morelull, and Orange Flower Flabébé. Togetic was a rare find in the Fae Swamp.

Each habitat rotation provided a fresh set of Pokémon to pursue, keeping the gameplay dynamic and engaging throughout the eight-hour event window.

Unlocking Potential: Global Bonuses for All Trainers

Pokémon GO Fest 2025: Global ensured that even Trainers without tickets could partake in substantial benefits. These global bonuses were active for all players from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time on both Saturday and Sunday. On Day 2, these continued to offer significant advantages:

• One-hour Lure Modules: Standard Lure Modules, typically lasting 30 minutes, were extended to one hour, encouraging longer play sessions at PokéStops.
• Eight-hour Party Play Duration: The duration of Party Play, a feature allowing groups of Trainers to collaborate on challenges, was significantly increased, fostering social interaction and teamwork.
• GO Snapshot Surprises: Taking snapshots of Pokémon provided surprise encounters, a popular feature that often leads to additional Pokémon or special photobombs.

These bonuses aimed to create a broadly inclusive event, allowing a wider community of Trainers to feel the excitement of GO Fest.

Ticket Holder Advantages: Enhanced Experience and Exclusive Rewards

For Trainers who purchased a Pokémon GO Fest 2025: Global ticket for US$14.99 (or local equivalent), Day 2 offered a premium experience with a range of exclusive perks. These enhancements were designed to maximize the event’s potential for dedicated players:

• Increased Shiny Odds: Ticket holders experienced a higher chance of encountering shiny Pokémon in the wild, including the newly released Shiny Carbink and Shiny Frigibax. This significantly boosted the excitement of every Pokémon encounter.
• Special Research for Volcanion: The Mythical Steam Pokémon, Volcanion, made its global debut during GO Fest 2025. Ticketed Trainers received exclusive Special Research that led to an encounter with this rare Fire/Water-type Pokémon. This was a one-time encounter, regardless of how many tickets a Trainer might have acquired.
• Branching Special Research: Sword or Shield: Reflecting the event’s thematic connection to the Galar region, ticket holders engaged in a branching Special Research story. Day 2’s sword theme directly influenced this research, allowing Trainers to delve deeper into the lore and potentially earn rewards specific to Zacian.
• Unique Incense Spawns: Incense, a consumable item that attracts Pokémon, proved invaluable for ticket holders. During Day 2, using Incense (excluding Daily Adventure Incense) attracted region-locked or rare Pokémon based on the active habitat:
  • Moonless Volcano: Torkoal
  • Galvanic Dojo: Skiddo
  • Hypnotic Tundra: Pachirisu
  • Fae Swamp: Klefki These exclusive spawns offered a rare chance for Trainers to acquire Pokémon that are otherwise difficult to find outside their specific regions.
• Hourly Global Challenges: Ticket holders contributed to hourly global challenges, with successful completion unlocking further rewards and even future Ultra Unlock events. The cumulative effort of the global community directly influenced the overall event benefits.
• Habitat-themed Collection Challenges: To encourage exploration and diverse catching, ticket holders had access to Collection Challenges specific to each rotating habitat. Completing these challenges yielded additional Stardust and encounters with rare Pokémon like Carbink, Mienfoo, Frigibax, and Togetic.
• Additional Daily Raid Passes: Ticket holders received up to nine free Raid Passes per day from Gyms, a significant boost for participating in the high-tier raids.
• Increased Gift Openings and Reduced Trade Costs: The ability to open up to 40 gifts per day and make up to six Special Trades per day at half the Stardust cost further facilitated item acquisition and Pokémon exchanges within the community.
• Buddy Pokémon Hearts: Activities with Buddy Pokémon yielded more hearts during event hours, accelerating the bonding process with chosen companions.

Raiding for the Crowned Blade: Zacian in Focus

Day 2’s raid lineup was dominated by Crowned Sword Zacian in five-star raids. Following its counterpart, Crowned Shield Zamazenta, from Day 1, Zacian’s appearance was a key feature for Trainers aiming to acquire and potentially power up this powerful Fairy/Steel-type Legendary Pokémon. The raids provided Crowned Sword Energy, essential for changing Zacian into its Crowned Sword form for the first time in Pokémon GO.

Other raids included:

• One-star raids: Dapper Pikachu (Red, Blue, Yellow accents) and Frigibax.
• Three-star raids: Train Conductor Falinks.

These raids offered opportunities for Trainers of all levels to participate and earn valuable rewards.

Shiny Debuts: Carbink and Frigibax Join the Ranks

A significant draw for many Trainers was the global shiny debut of two Pokémon: Carbink and Frigibax.

• Shiny Carbink: This Jewel Pokémon, typically a Rock/Fairy type, finally appeared in its shiny form. It was predominantly found in the Moonless Volcano habitat. Its standard form is already a strong contender in the Great League, and the shiny variant offers a new collecting goal.
• Shiny Frigibax: The Ice Fin Pokémon, an Ice/Dragon type, also made its much-anticipated shiny debut. Trainers had the best chance of encountering it in the Hypnotic Tundra habitat. As the base form of the powerful Baxcalibur, securing a shiny Frigibax was a top priority for many.

The excitement surrounding these shiny releases underscored the community’s passion for collecting rare Pokémon variants and added an extra layer of thrill to every encounter.

Community Insights and Player Experience

Public discussions across platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) reflected a mix of excitement and challenge among Trainers. Many praised the generous bonuses for ticket holders and the thematic consistency of the “Sword” and “Shield” days. The opportunity to acquire new shiny Pokémon like Carbink and Frigibax was a major positive, with players sharing their shiny catches online.

However, some players noted the inherent difficulty in securing multiple shiny legendary Pokémon from raids, even with increased shiny odds for ticket holders. The sheer volume of Pokémon to catch and tasks to complete across both days meant that efficient play and strategic planning were crucial. Despite the occasional challenge, the overall sentiment leaned towards a successful and engaging global event, reinforcing Pokémon GO Fest’s position as a highlight of the Pokémon GO calendar.

The completion of hourly global challenges throughout GO Fest 2025: Global, including those on Day 2, directly contributed to unlocking future Ultra Unlock events. Niantic confirmed that achieving specific milestones of completed challenges would activate subsequent in-game events. This system creates a ripple effect, extending the excitement and rewards beyond the initial GO Fest weekend, providing an ongoing incentive for community participation. For example, Trainers successfully earned Ultra Unlock, Part 3: Origin Raid Day, an event scheduled for August 10, 2025. This interconnectedness between events fosters a sense of collective achievement within the global Pokémon GO community.

Pokémon GO Fest 2025 Day 2 provided a strong conclusion to the global event, solidifying its reputation as a premier experience for Trainers. The blend of thematic spawns, recurring habitat rotations, generous bonuses, and the debut of highly sought-after shiny Pokémon ensured a memorable and rewarding adventure for millions of players worldwide.

FAQ

Q1: What were the main differences between Day 1 and Day 2 of Pokémon GO Fest 25 Global?

A1: Day 1 of Pokémon GO Fest 2025 Global featured “shield-themed” wild Pokémon spawns and five-star raids with Crowned Shield Zamazenta. Day 2, in contrast, had “sword-themed” wild Pokémon spawns and focused on Crowned Sword Zacian in five-star raids. Both days shared the same rotating habitat schedule and global bonuses.

Q2: Were the shiny rates boosted for all Pokémon during Pokémon GO Fest 2025 Day 2?

A2: For ticket holders, the shiny encounter rates were significantly increased for many Pokémon appearing in the wild, including those specific to the rotating habitats and the sword-themed spawns. Free-to-play Trainers generally did not experience boosted shiny rates outside of specific shiny debuts.

Q3: Which new shiny Pokémon debuted globally during Pokémon GO Fest 2025?

A3: Shiny Carbink and Shiny Frigibax made their global debuts during Pokémon GO Fest 2025. Shiny Carbink was found in the Moonless Volcano habitat, while Shiny Frigibax appeared in the Hypnotic Tundra habitat.

Q4: How could ticket holders encounter Volcanion during GO Fest 2025?

A4: Ticket-holding Trainers received exclusive Special Research. Completing this Special Research story led to a guaranteed encounter with the Mythical Pokémon Volcanion. This was a one-time encounter per ticket.

Q5: What were the key Incense-exclusive Pokémon for ticket holders on Day 2?

A5: On Day 2, ticket holders using Incense (excluding Daily Adventure Incense) could encounter specific regional or rare Pokémon based on the active habitat: Torkoal (Moonless Volcano), Skiddo (Galvanic Dojo), Pachirisu (Hypnotic Tundra), and Klefki (Fae Swamp).

Q6: What benefits did Party Play offer during Pokémon GO Fest 2025 Day 2?

A6: For all Trainers, the duration of Party Play was extended to eight hours. This allowed groups of Trainers to collaborate on challenges, earn rewards, and benefit from shared in-game effects for a longer period, fostering a more communal experience.

Q7: How did the global challenges work, and what did they unlock?

A7: Throughout both days of GO Fest 2025, ticket holders contributed to hourly global challenges. Successfully completing a certain number of these challenges unlocked Ultra Unlock events for the entire global community, occurring after GO Fest. For instance, 15 successful challenges unlocked Ultra Unlock, Part 1: Hisui Celebration.