The Summer (or Winter) Solstice is nearly here and to celebrate the shift in daylight hours, the yearly solstice-themed event is back in Pokémon GO. This year there will be different Wild Encounters during the day and night, plus some shiny debuts. Of course, Team GO Rocket has decided to crash this particular event, so there will be a swarm of Team GO Rocket members out and about halfway through. (For more details about what’s happening in Pokémon GO during the Season of Hidden Gems, you can check out our overall Season of Hidden Gems guide hub.)
Now, check out what’s happening during the Solstice Horizons event with our guide below:
Pokémon GO’s Season of Hidden Gems – Solstice Horizons
Begins: Friday, June 16th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
Ends: Sunday, June 25th, 2023 at 8 p.m. your local time.
Pokémon debuts – Shiny Fomantis and Shiny Nihilego
For the Solstice Horizons event, there are two new debuts in Pokémon GO – the shiny versions of Fomantis and Nihilego.
- Shiny Fomantis: For this event, Fomantis can be found via Wild Encounters (Day and Night), in One-Star Raids, and as catch reward encounters for Field Research tasks and Collection Challenge.
- Trainers can also evolve their Shiny Fomantis into a Shiny Lurantis provided that it is during the daytime and with 50 Fomantis Candies.
- Shiny Nihilego: You can find Nihilego only in Five-Star Raids. They will debut prior to the start of the Solstice Horizons event on Thursday, June 15th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time. They will also be available after the event in Five-Star Raids until Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
Event Bonuses
- 2× Stardust for catching Pokémon
- Lunatone and Solrock will both appear in the wild during the event, regardless of your location.
At the start of the Team GO Rocket Takeover event (Wednesday, June 21st, 2023 at 12 a.m. your local time), the following bonuses will also be active:
- Team GO Rocket will appear more frequently at PokéStops and in balloons.
- You can use a Charged TM to help a Shadow Pokémon forget the Charged Attack Frustration.
- Shadow Raids will appear more often.
Event Boxes
If any special event boxes or bundles are released during the event, they’ll be listed here once the event is live. Niantic is also promoting their Pokémon GO Web Store during this event and offering a special Solstice Box. For more details, you can read the blog post on the official Pokémon GO blog.
- Trainee Box (350 PokéCoins, no purchase limit): 5 Premium Battle Passes and 1 Lucky Egg.
- Explorer Box (999 PokéCoins, no purchase limit): 5 Super Incubators, 4 Egg Incubators, and 2 Poffins.
- Solstice Box (1,500 PokéCoins, no purchase limit): 9 Golden Razz Berries, 9 Super Incubators, and 3 Remote Raid Passes.
Wild Encounters
There will be two sets of Wild Encounters during the event and they’re dependent on what time of the day you’re playing.
Day
- The following Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild: Ledyba*, Murkrow*, Solrock*, Drifloon*, Purrloin*, Sewaddle, Cottonee*, Petilil, and Fomantis*.
- If you’re lucky, you might encounter the following Pokémon: Hisuian Sneasel.
Night
- The following Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild: Oddish*, Spinarak*, Misdreavus*, Lunatone*, Stunky, Venipede*, Foongus*, Phantump, and Fomantis*.
- If you’re lucky, you might encounter the following Pokémon: Sneasel*.
Note: Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
Raids
Standard and Shadow Raids will be active during the event.
Standard Raids
The following Pokémon will be appearing in Raids:
- One-Star Raids: Sneasel*, Hisuian Sneasel, Rockruff*, and Fomantis*.
- Three-Star Raids: Noctowl, Espeon, Umbreon, and Staraptor.
- Five-Star Raids: Nihilego* (See Additional Notes).
- Mega Raids: Mega Sceptile* (See Additional Notes).
Shadow Raids
The following Pokémon will be appearing in Raids:
- One-Star Shadow Raids: Growlithe*, Abra, Mareep, and Starly.
- Three-Star Shadow Raids: Gligar*, Sneasel*, Throh (See Additional Notes), and Swak (See Additional Notes).
- Five-Star Shadow Raids: Shadow Articuno* (See Additional Notes).
Additional Notes:
- Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
- Standard Raids:
- Nihilego* will be available after the event (in Five-Star Raids), until Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Nihilego* will also debut prior to the start of this event on Thursday, June 15th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Mega Sceptile* will be available after the event (in Mega Raids), until Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Mega Sceptile* will also debut prior to the start of this event on Thursday, June 15th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Nihilego* will be available after the event (in Five-Star Raids), until Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Shadow Raids:
- Throh will be available in the Americas and Africa.
- Swak will be available in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
- Shadow Articuno* will only be available in Five-Star Shadow Raids on June 17th (Saturday), June 18th (Sunday), June 24th (Saturday), and June 25th (Sunday).
- One- and Three-Star Shadow Raids will be available daily.
- Five-Star Shadow Raids will be available on weekends (Saturday and Sunday), unless otherwise stated by Niantic.
Field Research Tasks
There will be event-exclusive Field Research Tasks available and the rewards include the following Pokémon encounters: Fomantis. These Field Research Tasks can be found when spinning PokéStops (and acquired if you have an open slot in your Field Research menu) when the event is active.
A complete list of tasks and rewards will be shared here once the event is live.
- Task: Catch 5 Grass- or Bug-type Pokémon
- Reward: 500 Stardust
- Task: Catch 5 Ghost- or Dark-type Pokémon
- Reward: 500 Stardust
- Task: Catch 10 Pokémon
- Reward: Fomantis* Encounter
Note: Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
Special Research – Starry Skies
An event-exclusive Special Research Story with branching paths will be available. It will be issued to Trainers who are level 5 and up. Trainers will need to log in between Friday, June 16th, 2023 at 10 a.m. and Sunday, June 25th, 2023 at 8 p.m. your local time to get it. This will be the second time that Cosmog can be encounterable in Pokémon GO.
There is an option to play through the Special Research a second time, but at a cost. For US$4.99 OR US$5.00 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency), you’ll get access to Starry Skies again.
Sales for this Special Research will go live on Friday, June 16th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time (and sales will end on Sunday, June 25th, 2023 at 8 p.m. your local time). According to Niantic, “[t]ickets are nonrefundable (subject to applicable law and the exceptions set forth in the Terms of Service).” Tickets can also be gifted to Trainers you’re friends with provided that you have a Friendship level of Great Friends or higher with them. This can be done via the in-game shop and by selecting the “Gift” button instead of the “Buy” button. Tickets purchased for friends are nonrefundable as well.
A complete list of tasks and rewards of this Special Research will be shared here once the event is live.
| Starry Skies | |
|---|---|
| Step 1/4 | Reward |
| Explore 2 km | Solosis Encounter |
| Catch 2 Psychic-type Pokémon | Abra* Encounter |
| Catch 10 different species of Pokémon | Gothita Encounter |
| Completion Rewards | Wobbuffet Encounter, 5 Razz Berries, and 7 Stardust |
| Step 1.5 Choose A Path | Reward |
| Help Research Daytime Pokémon | Focuses on catching daytime spawns, walking, and will reward a Mossy Lure Module (instead of a Glacial Lure Module). Other than that, rewards are the same. |
| Help Research Nighttime Pokémon | Focuses on catching nighttime spawns, raiding, Field Research tasks, and will reward a Glacial Lure Module (instead of a Mossy Lure Module). Other than that, rewards are the same. |
| Step 2 Daytime | Reward |
| Catch 20 Grass- or Bug-type Pokémon | 10 Poké Balls |
| Explore 10 km | Inkay Encounter |
| Spin 25 PokéStops or Gyms | 10 Pinap Berries |
| Completion Rewards | Galarian Slowpoke* Encounter, 15 Poké Balls, and 78 Stardust |
| Step 3/4 Daytime | Reward |
| Make 10 Curveball Throws in a row | 3,000 Stardust |
| Catch 50 Pokémon with Weather Boost | Metang Encounter |
| Earn 10 Candies walking with your Buddy | 15 Great Balls |
| Completion Rewards | Starmie Encounter, 1 Grassy Lure Module, and 789 Stardust |
| Step 4/4 Daytime | Reward |
| Hatch 5 Eggs | 3 Silver Pinap Berries |
| Catch 50 Psychic-type Pokémon | Alakazam Encounter |
| Earn 7,890 Stardust | 1 Star Piece |
| Completion Rewards | Cosmog Encounter, 20 Ultra Balls, and 7,890 Stardust |
| Step 2/4 Nighttime | Reward |
| Catch 20 Ghost- or Dark-type Pokémon | 10 Poké Balls |
| Take snapshots of 20 different wild Pokémon | Inkay Encounter |
| Use 30 Berries to help catch Pokémon | 10 Pinap Berries |
| Completion Rewards | Galarian Slowpoke* Encounter, 15 Poké Balls, and 78 Stardust |
| Step 3/4 Nighttime | Reward |
| Make 5 Excellent Throws | 3,000 Stardust |
| Catch 30 different species of Pokémon | Metang Encounter |
| Complete 15 Field Research tasks | 15 Great Balls |
| Completion Rewards | Starmie Encounter, 1 Glacial Lure Module, and 789 Stardust |
| Step 4/4 Nighttime | Reward |
| Win 5 Raids | 3 Silver Pinap Berries |
| Catch 50 Psychic-type Pokémon | Alakazam Encounter |
| Earn 7,890 Stardust | 1 Star Piece |
| Completion Rewards | Cosmog Encounter, 20 Ultra Balls, and 7,890 Stardust |
Notes:
- Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
- Reward differences between the two paths is a Mossy Lure Module (Daytime) and a Glacial Lure Module (Nighttime).
Collection Challenge – Solstice Horizons Challenge
A special, event-exclusive Collection Challenge will be available. According to Niantic, this Collection Challenge will reward Trainers with Stardust and reward catch encounters with Fomantis*. It has yet to be confirmed that an addition to the Elite Collector medal will be rewarded too. A complete list of what Pokémon must be caught/traded/evolved and the associated rewards will be added here once the event is live.
Solstice Horizons Collection Challenge: Daytime
Catch the following Pokémon: Solrock, Ledyba, Petilil, Purrloin, Drifloon, Sewaddle, Cottonee, and Murkrow.
Completion Rewards: 2,000 Stardust and Fomantis* Encounter.
Solstice Horizons Collection Challenge: Nighttime
Catch the following Pokémon: Lunatone, Spinarak, Oddish, Stunky, Misdreavus, Venipede, Foongus, and Phantump.
Completion Rewards: 2,000 Stardust and Fomantis* Encounter.
Pokémon GO’s Season of Hidden Gems – Team GO Rocket Takeover
Begins: Wednesday, June 21st, 2023 at 12 a.m. your local time.
Ends: Sunday, June 25th, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. your local time.
Partway through the Solstice Horizons event, Team GO Rocket will crash the shindig with their very own Team GO Rocket Takeover event. For more information, you can check out our Team GO Rocket Takeover event guide. Notable debuts include Shiny Pancham and Shadow Regirock.
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Written by Jennifer Burch
Illustrator, designer, writer and big Nintendo geek, you can find Jennifer with an N3DS within reach 24/7. As the oldest of three, she has survived many Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart sessions intact in addition to getting her brothers hooked on some really weird games. (Cubivore anyone?)
