Pokémon GO Festival of Colors returns in 2023, with the arrival of two new Pokémon (Bruxish and Mega Medicham), colourful PokéStops, 2x Friendship bonuses, Shiny Smeargle surprise photo bombs, and more.
With boosted Lures, increased Friendship gains, and colorful surprises across the game, we hope Trainers will enjoy this year’s Festival of Colors!
Event Overview
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Date and Time 📅
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From Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 10:00am, to Tuesday March 14, 2023 at 10:00pm local time.
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Bonuses ⭐
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Lure Modules activated during the event will last for three hours (this does not include Golden Lure Modules, which will last 30 minutes)
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Take a few snapshots during the event for a surprise to potentially encounter a shiny Smeargle!
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Friendship levels will increase twice as fast
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Trainers may find a colorful surprise around PokéStops when they walk near them
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Field Research 🔍
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Alolan Grimer, Castform, Sunny Castform, Rainy Castform, Snowy Castform, all Burmy forms and Oricorio for your local region
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Wild Encounters 🍃
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Regular - Paras, Krabby, Koffing, Natu, Wobbuffet, Shuckle, Wingull, all Burmy forms, Stunky and Bruxish. Rare - Lickitung and Galarian Zigzagoon
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Raids ⚔️
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T1 - Espurr, Rockruff, Mareanie and Bruxish
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T3 - Exeggutor, Alolan Exeggutor, Cryogonal and Druddigon
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T5 - Ho-Oh
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Mega - Mega Medicham
Bruxish and Mega Medicham debut in Pokémon GO!
Bruxish, the Gnash Teeth Pokémon, and Mega Medicham, will make their debut during the Festival of Colors! Bruxish is a Water and Psychic type, and Mega Medicham is a Fighting and Psychic type.
Bruxish can’t be Shiny at the moment, but Mega Medicham can, as shiny Medicham has been available for a while now. You can see their in-game appearances below:
| Bruxish Sprite | |
|---|---|
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| Mega Medicham Sprite | Shiny Mega Medicham Sprite |
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Shiny Smeargle Returns
During this event, Smeargle may be shiny from your snapshots! It will not be available as a shiny after this event ends, so be sure to get your snapshots in daily to have a chance of encountering shiny Smeargle.
*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.
PSA – Make sure you do not take snapshots until after 10am local time to avoid accidentally triggering a non-shiny interaction with Smeargle. You only get a limited amount of Smeargle encounters per day.
Wild Encounters
The following Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild:
If you are lucky, you may also encounter the following:
Collection Challenges
Catch or evolve the following Pokémon during Festival of Colours 2023 event to get 2000 XP and a Lure Module.
Raids
Colourful Pokémon will appear during the Festival of Colors event.
One-Star Raids
The following Pokémon will appear in one-star raids:
Related raid guides: Espurr, Rockruff, Mareanie and Bruxish.
Three-Star Raids
The following Pokémon will appear in three-star raids:
Related raid guides: Exeggutor, Alolan Exeggutor, Cryogonal and Druggidon.
Five-Star Raids
The following Pokémon will appear in five-star raids:
Related raid guides: Ho-Oh.
Mega Raids
The following Pokémon will appear in mega raids:
Related raid guides: Mega Medicham.
Field Research Task Encounters
The following Pokémon will appear as rewards for field research tasks during the event:
NOTE – The Oricorio you are rewarded will reflect the Oricorio available in your local region.
| Task Text | Reward |
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| Catch 15 Pokemon | |
| Catch 5 different species of Pokemon | |
| Catch 8 different species of Pokemon | |
| Catch 10 different species of Pokemon |
Avatar Items
The following new avatar items will be available to purchase in the in-game shop, and will continue to be available once the event ends:
- Color Throw Pose
