Pokemon GO’s players have lots to keep themselves busy in August thanks to the exciting Ultra Reward events that were earned during GO Fest 2020. Shortly after Dragon Week wraps up, trainers will barely get a chance to catch their breath before heading out to another six-hour long Community Day event that puts a spotlight on everyone's favorite wimpy Gen 1 fish: Magikarp.
The basic idea of Pokemon GO Community Day is pretty simple: Go out (or possibly stay-in and use incense...) and catch a ton of pokemon for three hours, but this time around things are different. For players who need a little more direction than that, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide full of all the intel you need for the big day.
Although nearly every active trainer should have earned their Water-type badges long ago, if not, this would be a perfect time to catch 200 Water-types and check that goal off the list. In addition, keep in mind that Gyarados is still a very meta-relevant Water-type Pokemon that is a useful counter for many Legendary Raid Battles. Although Kyogre stole its thunder, it is still a very strong choice for many rosters. Players should try as hard as possible to find a 100% IV Magikarp to evolve and add to their regular Raid rotation.
Featured Pokemon
Magikarp - Gen 1 Water-type with powerful, meta-relevant evolution form
"August’s Community Day Pokémon is known for the following.
Leaping over mountains after living for many years
Surviving in any body of water, no matter how polluted it is
Being an easy target for predators
That’s right—it’s Magikarp, the Fish Pokémon! Read on for more details about the upcoming Community Day event featuring what some call an underpowered, pathetic Pokémon."
Date
Saturday, August 8, 2020
Start and End Times
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time
Starting in February 2019, Community Day events now always take place on local time, no matter where you are playing. That changes a bit over the winter months as the time is split between hemispheres rather than time zones. It looks like we're back to one time at this point though.
Special Move
The exclusive Community Day move for August 2020 Community Day is Aqua Tail. This is a pretty powerful Water move for Gyarados and could have an impact on the PvP and PvE Battle Raid metagame.
Make sure to evolve during the active time window (within an hour of the event ending) if you want to secure it.
Bonuses
3× Catch Stardust
Incense activated during the event will last for three hours.
Features
Magikarp will be appearing more frequently in the wild. If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny Magikarp.
Evolve Magikarp during the event or up to two hours afterward to get a Gyarados that knows Aqua Tail.
Take a few snapshots during Community Day for a surprise!
It takes quite a bit of Candy to evolve Magikarp into Gyarados! Complete event-exclusive Field Research tasks to earn additional Magikarp Candies.
There’ll be a special one-time-purchase August Community Day Box, featuring 30 Ultra Balls, an Elite Charged TM, six Star Pieces, and an Incense!
For US$1 (or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency), you’ll be able to access the Community Day–exclusive Special Research story Making a Splash! Follow Professor Willow as he learns about Magikarp and its epic Evolution journey!
Limited Time Field Research
Recent updates to the game’s code suggest that this Community Day, like last month’s, will temporarily offer special Field Research tasks that put an emphasis on the featured Pokemon. Be sure to claim your rewards and clear out a space for these quests if you want to see them.
Shiny Variant
Niantic usually doesn’t confirm the shiny chance until after the event has started, but keep an eye out for shiny Magikarp while hunting. They’ve been a part of every other Community Day event, so we fully expect to see them this month, as well.
That’s everything we know at this point! Magikarp is a very popular Pokemon (and an even more popular shiny) and is likely to give trainers a good reason to take a break from catching the best Unova Pokemon in the game so far. Check back for more Pokemon GO updates closer to the event. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GOÂ is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.