As ancient legends awaken, Pokémon Go’s “Ancients Recovered” event brings back all six Legendary Regi Pokémon and unleashes raid battles like never before-plus, for the first time, trainers can earn the elusive Gold Bottle Cap and capture Regis with special event backgrounds. Are you ready to take on the giants and claim rewards ahead of Go Fest?
This event is quite different than the usual, as it doesn’t have any boosted spawns, but rather focuses on raiding Regirock, Registeel, Regice, Regieleki, Regidrago, and Regigigas. The three Gigantamax Galar starters (Rillaboom, Cinderace, and Inteleon) are coming back to play as well.
The Regis caught during this event have a chance to have special event backgrounds and they’ll all come with their special moves:
- Regirock: Earthquake
- Regice: Thunder
- Registeel: Zap Cannon
- Regieleki: Thunder Cage
- Regidrago: Dragon Breath and Dragon Energy
- Regigigas: Crush Grip
As a further incentive to raid, the remote raid pass limit has increased to 30 until June 26 and there will be no remote raid limits during the weekend (leading into Go Fest Global). Level 31 or higher players can also get XL Candy guaranteed from trades until June 29 at 11:59 p.m. in your local time.
This event is also running alongside the “Go Pass: Ancients Recovered” battle pass that rewards you with a Gold Bottle Cap, if you shell out $20 and reach rank 100 by June 29.
Below we explain the other perks in Pokémon Go’s “Ancients Recovered” event, including the Timed Research and raid schedule.
Pokémon Go ’Ancients Recovered’ event Timed Research and reward
The Pokémon Go ’Ancients Recovered’ event features two main Timed Research quests with distinct rewards. The free “Legendary Giants” Timed Research tasks players with winning up to six raids, rewarding encounters with Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Regigigas, Regieleki, and Regidrago, along with five Candy XL for the chosen Regi. Upon completion, players select one Regi for an additional encounter with a special background and XL Candy, and the research can be repeated multiple times. Additionally, a paid Timed Research called “Fleeting Legends,” available for $7.99, grants a guaranteed encounter with one of the Galarian birds-Galarian Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres-after completing various research tasks, including raids and powering up specific Pokémon types.
There are two researches as part of this event. One, which is free, rewards you with various Regis as rewards for doing raids. The other, which is paid, gives you one of three Galarian birds. We detail them both below.
’Ancients Recovered Timed Research: Legendary Giants’ step 1 of 1
- Win a raid (Regirock encounter)
- Win 2 raids (Regice encounter)
- Win 3 raids (Registeel encounter)
- Win 4 raids (Regigigas encounter)
- Win 5 raids (Regieleki encounter)
- Win 6 raids (Regidrago encounter)
Rewards: 5 Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Regigigas, Regieleki, and Regidrago Candy
After completing this research, you’ll be asked to pick one of the six Regis. Whichever Regi you pick will be the one you get an XL Candy and an extra encounter for, so choose wisely. After that, the Legendary Giants research will refresh, allowing you to complete it again. It’s currently unknown how many times you can repeat it, but hey – more Regis!
Also note that the Regis you can encounter can be of varying levels, from level one to 20.
’Ancients Recovered Timed Research: Fleeting Legends’ step 1 of 1
For $8, you can get this set of Special Research that will give you a guaranteed encounter with a Galarian bird.
Which Galarian bird should you pick? Galarian Articuno is a pretty good non-shadow, non-Mega flying-type PvE attacker, but Galarian Moltres is a pretty good PvP pick in the Ultra League specifically (according to PvPoke, at least.) Counterpoint to the above, though: Galarian Zapdos is a giant funny ostrich. So, that’s the one I’d personally pick, even though it’s not meta-relevant.
Either way, you’ll need to complete the steps below before June 29 at 6 p.m. in your local time to actually get your bird:
- Win 2 raids (Galarian Ponyta/Galarian Farfetch’d/Galarian Zigzagoon encounter)
- Explore 2 km (2 Pinap Berries)
- Complete 8 Field Research Tasks (3 Razz Berries)
- Hatch 2 eggs (Rookidee encounter)
- Power up flying-type Pokémon 8 times (2 Silver Pinap Berries)
- Power up psychic-/fighting-/dark-type Pokémon 8 times (3 Golden Razz Berries)
Rewards: Galarian Articuno/Galarian Zapdos/Galarian Moltres encounter, 2 Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres Candy XL, 3 Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres Candy
The tasks vary slightly based on which bird you pick, with Articuno focusing on flying-type Pokémon, Zapdos getting fighting-type Pokémon, and Moltres having dark-type Pokémon.
Pokémon Go ’Ancients Recovered’ event raid targets
The Pokémon Go ’Ancients Recovered’ event features all six Regi Legendary Pokémon-Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Regieleki, Regidrago, and Regigigas-as the primary raid targets. Each day from June 23 to June 27, 2025, these Pokémon appear in five-star raids with exclusive moves: Regirock knows Earthquake, Regice Thunder, Registeel Zap Cannon, Regieleki Thunder Cage, Regidrago Dragon Breath and Dragon Energy, and Regigigas Crush Grip. The event also includes the return of the Galarian Gigantamax starters in raids. To encourage participation, remote raid pass limits are increased, and players level 31+ receive guaranteed XL Candies from trades.
The following changes to the raid schedule will take place as part of the event:
- June 23: Regirock (with Earthquake), Registeel (with Zap Cannon), and Regice (with Thunder)
- June 24: Regieleki (with Thunder Cage)
- June 25: Regidrago (with Dragon Breath and Dragon Energy)
- June 26: Regigigas (with Crush Grip)
- June 27: Regirock, Registeel, Regice, Regieleki, Regidrago, and Regigigas
These Regis have a chance to have a special background, too, in addition to their featured attacks listed above.
Notably, these raids don’t seem to have the usual egg timers on them. We’ve spotted a Regice instantly spawn with a roughly 23-minute timer, so beware of instant Regis coming to ruin your gym takeovers. (It did this to me. The gym at in my neighborhood is now unoccupied and I’ll need to set a timer to make sure to snipe a slot to take it back before a Regi decides to pop up there spontaneously.)
What hidden strategies can maximize my Regi Pokémon catches during Ancients Recovered
To maximize your Regi Pokémon catches during the Ancients Recovered event in Pokémon Go, focus on event-specific mechanics and repeatable opportunities that most players may overlook:
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Repeat the Ancients Recovered Timed Research: You can complete the Legendary Giants Timed Research multiple times, each time selecting and encountering a Regi of your choice. This enables you to farm encounters for specific Regis or those with special event backgrounds and boosted IV potential.
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Strategically Select Your Regi: After completing the research chain, you choose which Regi encounter (and Candy XL) you want. Focus your repeats on rare Regis or ones you need for collection, PvP, or with the event-exclusive moves.
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Catch with Enhanced Premier Balls: During this event, Premier Balls are more effective after successful raids, improving your catch rates compared to normal Legendary raids.
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Prioritize Raid Days and Bosses: Each Regi has a specific featured day in the raid rotation with a “raid hour” at 6 p.m. local time. Plan raids for Regis you need shiny or high IVs for, especially on these days.
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Farm Candy and Candy XL: Trainers at level 31+ are guaranteed Candy XL from trades until June 29, 2025, which is crucial for powering up Regis for Master League or raids.
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Maximize Remote Raids: Take advantage of the temporarily raised remote raid pass limit (30 passes from June 23-26, unlimited June 27-29) to participate in more raids for more chances.
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Use Your Raid Party Wisely: “Party Power” charges faster during raids in this event, allowing you to win raids more efficiently-use teams with optimal counters to ensure success.
Additional hidden tips:
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Focus on trading Regis with friends for additional IV reroll and more guaranteed Candy XL if you’re over level 31.
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Consider purchasing the paid Timed Research for guaranteed Galarian legendary bird encounters in addition to Regis if you want rare extra rewards.
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Be aware of special legacy moves. Regis caught during this event will feature signature charged moves (e.g., Regirock with Earthquake, Regidrago with Dragon Breath/Dragon Energy), increasing their value for PvP and PvE.
Carefully repeating the research, targeting your preferred Regis, and maximizing event bonuses (like enhanced Premier Balls and increased trade rewards) will give you the best odds to efficiently build a powerful and shiny Regi collection.
How does using Premier Balls improve my chances of catching Regis during raids
Using Premier Balls is essential during Regi raids because they are the only ball type you can use after defeating a Raid Boss-other types like Ultra Balls are unavailable for these encounters. During the Ancients Recovered event, Premier Balls have a special boost: they are more effective than usual at catching Pokémon after raids.
Key points on how Premier Balls improve your chances:
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Event bonus: For events like Ancients Recovered, Premier Balls receive a higher catch effectiveness, making each throw more likely to catch Regi than during standard raids.
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Progressive bonus: Premier Balls gain an incremental catch rate boost with each attempt in the same encounter, so later throws (after your 8th-10th ball) may be as effective as Great or even Ultra Balls in non-event situations.
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Extra balls, higher odds: The more Premier Balls you earn-by dealing more damage, beating the raid quickly, or playing with friends-the more opportunities you have to benefit from these increased and compounded catch rates.
For maximum benefit:
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Use berries (especially Golden Razz Berries) with each Premier Ball to stack the catch rate bonus.
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Aim for Great or Excellent Throws to further boost your odds.
During Ancients Recovered, these mechanics combine so that each Premier Ball you use not only counts but gives you better odds than in regular Legendary raids when trying to catch Regi Pokémon.
