Galarian Debut

Pokemon Go Ultra Unlock 2021 part 3: Sword & Shield spawns, research, & more

New Pokemon, spawns, field missions, eggs, and more for the new Ultra Unlock event that covers the addition of Sword & Shield Pokemon.

Guide by Alex Donaldson Assistant Editor

Updated on Aug. 20, 2021

Pokemon Go continues to swiftly move from one event to another, and it's the time of year once more where we get an Ultra Unlock event - and we're now at Part 3 of the 2021 Ultra Unlock, which is themed around Pokemon Sword & Shield.

The 2021 Ultra Unlock brings with it a bunch of special timed Ultra Unlock research quests that'll live alongside the current month's missions, and the opportunity to catch a range of rare Pokemon or shiny variants - either through the missions or through other aspects of the game such as egg hatches, raid battles, or simply regular spawning out in the world.

Each part of the event is slightly different - focusing on Time (Part 1), Space (Part 2), and then Pokemon from Sword & Shield's Galar Region - which are all-new to Pokemon Go.

If you're new or returning to Pokemon Go after a while away, these events are pretty simple - they mix up the spawning and missions available in-game to give you access to rare Pokemon, or even Pokemon you wouldn't usually be able to access at all, as well as net other rewards that'll be helpful in your journey to becoming a Pokemon Master.

Like any Pokemon Go event, the Sword & Shield Ultra Unlock 2021 event has a confirmed end-time: the event will cease on Tuesday August 31st at 8pm local time. This will mark the end of the Ultra Unlock event trilogy.

On this page we run down the key components of the Sword & Shield themed Ultra Unlock 2021 event: the Limited Sword & Shield Timed Research, the special Ultra Unlock Field Research, and the changes to Wild Pokemon Spawns, Eggs, and Raids. We've also kept the list of Space Timed Research for poserity, too, though it's expired. Have at it!

Ultra Unlock 2021 Part 3: Sword & Shield Event Timed Research

To find this special limited-edition Ultra Unlock 2021 string of timed research, you simply need to navigate to the correct menu and start the quests. To get there, press the button in the bottom-right of Pokemon Go (it's often orange - there you'll find three tabs, Today, Field, and Special. Today is current events, while Field refers to the current month's Field Research quests.

Special refers to special quest lines - which is what these new Ultra Unlock quests are. These quests can only be completed once - they're a special one-time deal.

The following Timed Research quests are available during the Ultra Unlock: Sword & Shield event, and forms the first major part of the ongoing Ultra Unlock event, which runs through until Tuesday August 31st at 8pm local time. You can casually complete these quests during this time, providing resources, Pokemon encounters and other rewards:

Sword & Shield Ultra Unlock 1/5

Send 5 Gifts to Friends (5x Pokeball)
Catch 8 Pokemon (5x Nanab Berry)
Defeat 2 Team GO Rocket Grunts (Pikachu Encounter)
Completion Rewards: (10x Pokeball, 888 XP, 5x Ultra Ball

Sword & Shield Ultra Unlock 2/5

Power up Pokemon 5 Times (10x Hi-Potion)
Catch 10 Pokemon (5x Revive)
Battle in the GO Battle League (Meowth encounter)
Completion Rewards: (5x Ultra Ball, 888 XP, 5x Ultra Ball

Sword & Shield Ultra Unlock 3/5

Evolve 2 Pokemon (2x Pinap Berry)
Catch 5 Normal-type Pokemon (Galarian Meowth encounter)
Defeat 4 Team GO Rocket Grunts (Butterfree encounter)
Completion Rewards: (15x Pokeball, 888 XP, 5x Ultra Ball

Sword & Shield Ultra Unlock 4/5

Use 10 Berries to help catch Pokemon (Skwovet encounter)
Catch 8 different species of Pokemon (Galarian Farfetch'd encounter)
Win a Raid (Gengar encounter)
Completion Rewards: (10x Ultra Ball, 888 XP, 5x Ultra Ball

Sword & Shield Ultra Unlock 5/5

Earn 12 hearts with your buddy Pokemon (Wooloo encounter)
Catch 8 different species of Pokemon (Galarian Stunfisk encounter)
Win a Raid in under 60 seconds (Snorlax encounter)
Completion Rewards: (25x Pokeball, 1x Rare Candy, 5x Ultra Ball

Sword & Shield Event Field Research - Ultra Unlock 2021 Part 3

In addition to the above locked-in special timed quests, the 2021 Ultra Unlock brings with it a bunch of special field research - and unlike the timed special quest, these aren't immediately available to you. Instead, these are event-exclusive missions that appear the same as any other field research - spawning when you spin PokeStops at stand-alone stops or at the top of gyms.

These missions have a random chance to appear alongside all of the other ongoing Field Research, but during the event times, they clearly are slightly more likely to appear than the regular quests. These quests form another element of part 3 of the Ultra Unlock 2021 event - and the quests are as follows:

Use 7 Berries to help catch Pokemon: Skwovet encounter
Earn 5 Hearts with your buddy Pokemon: Wooloo encounter
Defeat 3 Team GO Rocket Grunts: Galarian Farfetch'd encounter (shiny chance)
Win 2 Raids: Falinks encounter
Spin 10 PokeStops or Gyms: 5x Pokeball
Take a snapshot of a wild Pokemon: 2x Pinap Berry

Like the rest of the event, these field missions will spawn from PokeStops and Gyms at random until Tuesday, August 31st at 8pm local time for you. If you already have a quest, you'll still be able to complete it after that time.

Other Ultra Unlock 2021 Sword & Shield Changes: Eggs, Spawns, & Raids

If all those missions weren't enough for you, in addition the Ultra Unlock 2021 event has one major difference: it changes a lot of spawn and Pokemon activity right across Pokemon Go for the duration of the event - which again, to be clear, is through August 31st at 8pm your local time.

The broad idea behind part 3 of the Ultra Unlock is that Pokemon from the Galarian region are appearing for the first time - meaning you have a first chance to catch some of the famed Pokemon from Sword & Shield, the most recent entries in the main Pokemon series.

As a result, there's changes to a variety of ways in which Pokemon appear in wild spawns, but also in 7km Egg Hatches and the Pokemon that appear in raids. Here's who you can expect to pop up for the duration of the event:

The following Pokemon have increased rates of wild spawning during the Ultra Unlock 2021 event's Sword & Shield themed part 3:

Kingler
Snorlax
Galarian Darumaka
Trubbish
Skwovet
Wooloo
Falinks

7km Egg Hatch Additions during Ultra Unlock 2021 part 3:

Galarian Meowth
Galarian Ponyta
Galarian Slowpoke
Galarian Farfetch'd
Galarian Zigzagoon
Galarian Darumaka
Galarian Stunfisk

Sword & Shield Ultra Event Raide Pokemon - Week 1:

1 Star: Galarian Slowpoke, Galarian Farfetch'd, Galarian Zigzagoon, Unown U
3 Star: Machamp, Galarian Weezing, Lapras
5 Star: Zavcian (legendary)
Mega: Mega Beedrill

Week 2 Raids (Augusut 26 - Sept 1)

Galarian Meowth, Galarian Ponyta, Galarian Darumaka, Unown U
Gengar, Snorlax, Galarian Stunfisk
5-star: Zamazenta (legendary))
Mega: Mega Pidgeot

Ultra Unlock 2021 Part 2: Space Timed Research

Special refers to special quest lines - which is what these first Ultra Unlock quests are. These quests can only be completed once - they're a special one-time deal.

The following Timed Research quests are available during the Ultra Unlock: Space event, and forms the first major part of the ongoing Ultra Unlock event, which runs through until Tuesday August 17th at 8pm local time. You can casually complete these quests during this time, providing resources, Pokemon encounters and other rewards:

Space Ultra Unlock 1/5