Pokémon Go ‘Ultra Unlock Steel and Scales’ event guide

Prepare for an exceptional gaming experience as Pokémon Go launches its second Ultra Unlock event following Go Fest. The Steel and Scales celebration spans from July 22 through July 27, introducing trainers to Honedge, the unique sword Pokémon possessing both steel and ghost typing.

Beyond the new Pokémon debut, this event delivers substantial progression advantages through quadrupled experience points and Stardust gains from every successful capture. This bonus creates prime conditions for leveling up your trainer profile and powering up your battle roster efficiently.

Shiny hunters will find exceptional opportunities with increased shiny encounter rates for Bagon, Beldum, and Unown U. Additionally, Rookidee makes its shiny debut ahead of its Community Day in August. Strategic planning is essential—if shiny Rookidee eludes you during this event, its Community Day on August 30 offers a reliable backup opportunity.

While technically separate from the main event, trainers should absolutely redeem the available promo code for free Gigantamax Timed Research. This supplementary content provides additional challenges and rewards that complement your Steel and Scales experience.

Throughout the event duration, trainers can undertake multiple Collection Challenges that focus on evolutionary progression. These tasks provide structured objectives with valuable rewards for completion.

The Rookidee evolution line presents a sequential challenge requiring strategic candy management:

Completion Rewards: 2,000 XP, 1,500 Stardust, and a Rookidee encounter

Dragon-type enthusiasts will appreciate the additional evolution challenge:

Pro Tip: Prioritize using Pinap Berries when catching Rookidee and Dratini to accelerate candy accumulation for these evolution requirements. The quadrupled Stardust bonus makes this an ideal time to farm these Pokémon extensively.

Common Mistake Avoidance: Don’t evolve your highest CP Pokémon immediately—wait until you’ve completed the specific evolution task to ensure it counts toward challenge completion. Many trainers waste evolution items by not tracking their challenge progress systematically.

The Steel and Scales event features a diverse roster of raid bosses across different difficulty tiers, providing opportunities to capture rare Pokémon and accumulate valuable resources.

Raid Strategy Insights: Focus your raid passes on Unown U for shiny hunting opportunities and Honedge for its debut availability. Gible and Deino remain consistently valuable for their powerful evolutionary lines. Three-star raids like Bisharp and Dragalge offer challenging battles that reward skilled matchups.

Counter Recommendations: For steel-type raids, bring fire and fighting-type attackers. Against dragon-types, utilize ice and fairy-type Pokémon. The Weapons Unlock guide provides additional combat strategy insights that translate well to Pokémon Go battle mechanics.

Time Investment: Most one-star raids require 2-3 minutes of battle time plus catching, while three-star raids typically need 4-5 minutes with proper counters. Plan your raid sessions accordingly to maximize efficiency during the event window.

Field Research tasks during the Steel and Scales event provide additional avenues for obtaining rare Pokémon, evolution items, and bonus resources. These tasks are obtained by spinning PokéStops and offer renewable opportunities throughout the event.

Common Task Types: Expect research tasks focused on catching specific Pokémon types (steel and dragon), making excellent throws, and evolving Pokémon. Each completed task contributes to your research breakthrough progress while providing immediate rewards.

Reward Analysis: Field Research during this event typically rewards encounters with featured Pokémon like Rookidee, Gible, and occasionally shiny-eligible species. Some tasks may also provide rare candies, TMs, or evolution items specific to steel and dragon-type Pokémon.

Completion Strategy:
– Prioritize tasks that align with your current Collection Challenge requirements
– Stack encounter rewards for later catching with Star Pieces active
– Focus on PokéStops in dense areas to maximize task variety
– Abandon low-value tasks to refresh for better opportunities

Understanding Class Guide principles about role specialization can help you approach research tasks with strategic focus, whether you’re prioritizing catching, battling, or collecting.

The Steel and Scales event significantly increases spawn rates for steel and dragon-type Pokémon, creating ideal conditions for shiny hunting and candy farming. Understanding spawn mechanics will maximize your efficiency during this limited-time opportunity.

Spawn Mechanics: Steel-type Pokémon typically spawn more frequently near industrial areas, while dragon-types prefer landmarks and water features. During this event, these biome restrictions are relaxed, but visiting appropriate locations can still enhance your encounter rates.

Shiny Rates: Standard shiny rates for most Pokémon are approximately 1 in 500, but event-boosted species like Bagon and Beldum may see improved rates around 1 in 100. Unown U maintains its rare shiny rate of approximately 1 in 20 during events.

Location Strategies:
– Parks with multiple PokéStops and gyms provide dense spawn points
– Areas with historical landmarks often attract dragon-type spawns
– Industrial zones and shopping centers boost steel-type appearances
– Using Incense near water features can trigger unique spawn combinations

Advanced Technique: Activate a Star Piece before catching event Pokémon to amplify the quadrupled Stardust bonus, potentially yielding over 4,500 Stardust per catch with weather boost and first throw bonuses. This approach, combined with strategies from our Complete Guide to resource optimization, can dramatically accelerate your progression.

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