Pokémon Go Ultra Unlock 2020 makeup quest steps, dates and rewards explained

How to earn the Ultra Unlock bonuses during Go Fest 2020.

Guide by Lottie Lynn Guides Editor

Updated on Oct. 13, 2020

Ultra Unlock are a set of special bonuses in Pokémon Go, which, if earned, will occur over the cross of three weeks. These bonuses range from new shiny Pokémon to legendary raids to new Gen 5 releases.

Earning the Ultra Unlocks, however, is down to the Go Fest 2020 attendees, who need to complete a specific number of Global Challenges to unlock each one.

Once an Ultra Unlock has been earned it will be available for every Pokémon Go player to enjoy!

On this page:

Ultra Unlock 2020 makeup quest times and dates in Pokémon Go explained
Ultra Unlock 2020 makeup quest steps in Pokémon Go explained
Original Ultra Unlock dates, times and rewards in Pokémon Go at a glance
How to earn each Ultra Unlock in Pokémon Go

Ultra Unlock 2020 makeup quest times and dates in Pokémon Go explained

Thanks to technical difficulties during the first Dragon Week in Pokémon Go, Niantic decided to run a makeup event for that week's exclusive Timed Research.

Referred to as Ultra Unlock 2020, this Timed Research is running from Friday, 21st August to Wednesday, 26th August, starting at 8am (local time) and ending at 10pm (local time).

It's important to note that the Timed Research is the only Dragon Week related event occurring during this time period, which means there won't be any special Research Tasks, raids or Pokémon spawns for you to find.

Ultra Unlock 2020 makeup quest steps in Pokémon Go explained

Below you'll find all the steps and confirmed rewards for the makeup Timed Research for Dragon Week, referred to as Ultra Unlock 2020. Be warned, however, this section does contain spoilers for both the tasks and rewards, so, if you want a surprise, don't read on.

Thank you to Vador_MK from reddit for the help with this information.

Ultra Unlock 2020 quest: Step 1 of 5

Power up Pokémon 3 times - x3 Hyper Potions
Make 2 Nice Throws - 500 XP
Catch 2 Pokémon - x5 Poké Balls

Rewards: 500 Stardust, x1 Silver Pinap Berry and a Dratini encounter

Ultra Unlock 2020 quest: Step 2 of 5

Evolve a Pokémon - x3 Revives
Make 4 Nice Throws - 300 XP
Catch 4 Pokémon - x7 Poké Balls

Rewards: 500 Stardust, x1 Silver Pinap Berry and a Bagon encounter

Ultra Unlock 2020 quest: Step 3 of 5

Win a raid - x1 Charged Move TM
Make 2 Great Throws - 1000 XP
Catch 6 Pokémon - x5 Great Balls

Rewards: 1000 Stardust, x1 Silver Pinap Berry and a Deino encounter

Ultra Unlock 2020 quest: Step 4 of 5

Defeat 2 Team Go Rocket Grunts - x1 Dragon Scale
Make 2 Great Throws - 1500 XP
Catch 8 different species of Pokémon - x7 Great Balls

Rewards: 1000 Stardust, x1 Silver Pinap Berry and a Alolan Exeggutor encounter

Ultra Unlock 2020 quest: Step 5 of 5

Claim reward - 2500 XP
Claim reward - 2500 XP
Claim reward - 2500 XP

Rewards: 1000 Stardust, x1 Silver Pinap Berry and a Deino encounter

Original Ultra Unlock dates, times and rewards in Pokémon Go at a glance

Below you can find the dates, times and rewards for each Ultra Unlock week that will occur in Pokémon Go if enough Global Challenges are completed.

All of the Ultra Unlocks share the same start and end time that, depending on your time zone, are:

9pm (BST)
10pm (CEST)
4pm (EDT)
1pm (PDT)

Each Ultra Unlock has it's own set of themed bonuses, which include specific raid Pokémon, changes to the 7km eggs pool and the release of new Gen 5 Pokémon into Pokémon Go.

Cottonee, Elgyem and Emolga are among the Gen 5 Pokémon that could make their first appearance in Pokémon Go.

Thankfully each Ultra Unlock was, well, unlocked during Go Fest 2020, with the attendees managing to complete enough Global Challenges for each special week. Now all we have to do is wait for the weeks themselves to occur!

Ultra Unlock	Dates	Rewards
Dragon Week	Friday, 31st July to Friday, 7th August	Timed Research questline, which rewards you with two Deino encounters Horsea, Dratini, Alolan Exeggutor, Trapinch, Swablu, Bagon and Gible will appear more frequently in the wild 7km eggs will hatch Horsea, Dratini, Trapinch, Swablu, Bagon, Gible and Deino Rayquaza will be in 5-star raids Release of shiny Deino, Zweilous and Hydreigon
Enigma Week	Friday, 7th August to Friday, 14th August	Release of Elgyem and Beheeyem into Pokémon Go Jigglypuff, Clefairy, Staryu, Lunatone, Solrock, Baltoy, Broznor and Elgyem will appear more frequently in the wild 7km eggs will hatch Cleffa, Igglybuff, Lunatone, Solrock and Elgyem Unown - U, L, T, R and A - will be available in raids Bronzong, Claydol, Bronzong and Elgyem will be available in raids Normal Forme Deoxys will be in 5-star raids Release of shiny Staryu and Starmie
Unova Week	Friday, 14th August to Friday, 21st August	Release of Sewaddle, Cottonee and Emolga into Pokémon Go worldwide Release of Bouffalant in the New York City, USA and surrounding in area in both the wild and 5km eggs Sewaddle, Cottonee and Emologa, along with other Gen 5 Pokémon, will appear more frequently in the wild 7km eggs will hatch Sewaddle, Cottonee, Emologa and other Gen 5 Pokémon Roggenrola and other Gen 5 Pokémon will be available in raids Genesect will be in 5-star raids Release of shiny Roggenrola, Boldore, Gigalith and Genesect

The Max Out Season is here and includes a new global event, Wild Area, and the current 2024 Halloween event brings us Morpeko and the Halloween cup. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

How to earn each Ultra Unlock in Pokémon Go

Each Ultra Unlock can be earned by the Go Fest 2020 attendees completing a certain number of Global Challenges on Day One, Saturday 25th July, of Go Fest.

There will be 32 Global Challenges available across the world in total, with the challenges players receive depending on their location, and for each eight Global Challenges completed by the community, a new Ultra Unlock will be unlocked.

Below you can find out exactly which Ultra Unlocks are on offer and exactly how many Global Challenges are required for each one.