Pokemon Go July update includes several events throughout the month

Pokemon Go July Update 2021
(Image credit: Niantic)

The Pokemon Go July update has been outlined by developer Niantic.

As announced in an update post, starting on Thursday, July 1 at 1pm, players will be able to take part in a new Research Breakthrough encounter featuring the flying type Pokemon Rufflet. Upon achieving a Research Breakthrough, players will receive a free Remote Raid Pass as a little extra during the month of July. 

Moving our attention to raids, Niantic has promised that Bidoof - who is about to celebrate his very own annual Bidoof Day on July 1 - will begin appearing in five-star raids from 10am - 8pm on July 1, 2021. They’ve also hinted at the fact Shiny Bidoofs may also pop up during the day for some lucky players. 

Not only this but we can also expect the Mythical Pokemon Deoxys to also appear in five-star raids in its Defense Forme right after the Bidoof focused raids end at 8pm until 10am. Mewtwo will also show up in the very same raids a little later in the month from July 16 at 10am until July 23 at 10am, where players will also have the chance to catch a Shiny Mewtwo. The two Pokemon will also appear in a weekly Raid Hour event which will occur every Wednesday during July from 6pm - 7pm.

Elsewhere in the post, the Pokemon Go developers also revealed what Mega-Evolved Pokemon will be appearing in Mega Raids, which includes: Mega Houndoom (July 1, 8pm - July 16, 10am), Mega Gengar (July 16, 10am - July 23, 10am), and Mega Charizard X (July 23, 10am.)

Finally, also kicking off in July is the Pokemon Spotlight Hours which will take place every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm and highlight a different pokemon each week as well as a special bonus. What Pokemon you can expect to see along with what bonuses they’ll bring during this hour range from Bulbasaur (twice the XP), Charmander (twice the Candy), Squirtle (twice the Candy for transferring Pokemon), and Natu (twice the XP for evolving Pokemon).

The post also mentions Pokemon Go July Community Day (July 17 - July 18) where adorable piggy Pokemon Tepig is the star and gives a little info on the following upcoming events: Pokémon GO’s anniversary celebration (July 6 - 15), GO Battle Night (July 11), and Pokémon GO Fest 2021 (July 17), with more information coming soon. 

Want to find out the best way to catch ‘em all? Take a look at our Pokemon Go tips.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.