'Pokemon GO' Zapdos Day: Start Time, Locations, Rewards, and More

Professor Willow’s Global Challenge in Pokémon GO will start up again Saturday, July 14. The worldwide event will require Pokémon trainers from around the globe to come together to complete a huge number of tasks to get bonuses for everyone as well as unlock Zapdos Day.

Developer Niantic began the Professor Willow’s Global Challenge last month in Dortmund, Germany as part of the Pokémon GO Summer Tour 2018. The second stop, the Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago, will have its own set of tasks that have to be completed by players in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. Completing these challenges will also get players a chance to partake in the Raid on Zapdos Day.

Zapdos Day: Start Time

Zapdos Day is on July 21. Niantic has yet to provide the time, but the event will only be for three hours. In order to unlock the raid day, Pokémon GO players will need to finish all the tasks in the Professor Willow’s Global Challenge this Saturday.

Zapdos Day: Tasks

Unlocking the Raid Battle for the Legendary Pokémon means completing a lot of tasks. Niantic published the number of Field Research Tasks players in each region will have to complete last month when they announced the Pokémon GO Summer Tour. All three regions will have to complete 5,000,000 tasks each in order to unlock the bonuses of the event and Zapdos Day. Those attending the Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago will also have their own goal of 100,000 Research Tasks.

Zapdos Day: Rewards

There are multiple rewards for Pokémon GO trainers when all the goals are met. If players complete all tasks, they will receive bonus candy for catching Pokémon, hatching eggs, and participating in a Raid. Also, those eggs will require less walking to hatch. These rewards go into effect on July 16.

“Zapdos Day” follows on July 21. Players will receive five free Raid passes to catch the legendary electric Pokémon from the Photo Disc at a Gym. That’s five chances to catch it and even a possibility of getting a Shiny Zapdos. All versions of the Legendary electric bird will have the Fast Attack Thundershock move available.

Pokémon GO players from around the globe that can’t be at the Pokémon GO Fest can still be part of a global event that kicks off on Saturday, which then unlocks “Zapdos Day” on July 21.

Niantic has yet to announce what Pokémon will have increase spawn rates during the Professor Willow’s Global Challenge. Last month at the Safari Zone event, players saw an increase of Roselia all around them, which also meant a better shot of catching a Shiny Pokémon.