The Dondozo Pokémon Go debut is here—find out everything you need to know about the new raids and research tasks.
Trainers are heading to the beach for Pokémon Go's latest event, "Sunkissed Shores," which is now live. The event, running from Monday, August 25, at 10:00 a.m. to Sunday, August 31, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. local time, features the highly anticipated debut of Dondozo, the Big Catfish Pokémon.
In a boon for shiny hunters and folks obsessed with Pokémon games, Dondozo is being released alongside its shiny variant. The primary way for trainers to encounter this new Pokémon is through three-star raids. To aid in this effort, a global event bonus of $2 \times$ XP for winning Raid Battles is active for the duration of Sunkissed Shores.
Alongside Dondozo, its companion Pokémon, Tatsugiri, is appearing in one-star raids. Tatsugiri's various forms will be available regionally:
- Curly Form: Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
- Droopy Form: The Americas.
- Stretchy Form: Asia-Pacific.
Event Raids and Spawns
Themed Pokémon will be taking over raids and appearing more frequently in the wild.
- One-Star Raids: Slakoth (wearing a visor), Tatsugiri (regional forms).
- Three-Star Raids: Dondozo, Alolan Raichu, Alolan Marowak.
- Boosted Wild Spawns: Psyduck, Shellder, Alolan Exeggutor, Marill, Sandygast, Lechonk, and the regional forms of Oricorio, among others.
Timed and Field Research
The event introduces one free and two paid Timed Research questlines, giving players multiple ways to engage.
- Free Timed Research: A free, multi-step research path is available to all trainers, offering rewards that include encounters with Pokémon like Clauncher and a costumed Slakoth, as well as 10,000 XP and 7,000 Stardust.
- Paid "Sunkissed Shores" Research ($1.99): This ticket provides a questline focused on capturing Slakoth wearing a visor and rewards a guaranteed Dondozo encounter, 2 Premium Battle Passes, and 3,000 Stardust.
- Paid "Berry Chic" Research ($1.99): This second ticket rewards trainers with a brand-new Pinap Berry Bag avatar item, along with various items and Pokémon encounters.
Additionally, event-exclusive Field Research tasks can be obtained from spinning PokéStops, with one specific task, "Win three one-star raids," rewarding a Dondozo encounter.
