It’s almost the end of summer, and Niantic is pulling out all the stops with a pair of bashes for its two biggest games: “Pokemon Go” and “Monster Hunter Now.”
The first event is Pokemon Go Fest 2025: Max Finale, which features a return of previous Gigantamax Pokemon for Max Battles. These are essentially a new type of raid that is harder than the traditional ones, but also involves up to 100 people and requires more tactical groups. Players should bring in a team of three, which have different Max moves that can act as a shield, healer or offense.

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Gigantamax differ from Dynamax Pokemon with a drastically different appearance and more powerful move set when embiggened. The Saturday lineup includes Gigantamax forms of Lapras, Snorlax, Gengar, Inteleon, Venusaur, Machamp and Toxtricity (Amped Form). Sunday’s Gigantmax forms lineup features Rillaboom, Charizard, Butterfree, Kingler, Blastoise, Cinderace and Toxtricity (Low Key Form).

Players can also challenge Eternamax Eternatus and receive candy, but not an encounter. Players will be able to acquire their own Eternatus through the Go Pass: Max Finale quest line, which ends with the weekend.

For those in the Bay Area, the Max Finale will be extra special. Niantic will be at Pier 39 in San Francisco, and local Discord and Telegram communities will be gathering to make the event memorable. The celebration will include “interactive fun,” photo opportunities which likely means installations, spin-to-win giveaways that include plush, pins, posters and more.

The Pier 39 event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

A NEW “MONSTER HUNTER WILDS” CREATURE
On the “Monster Hunter Now” side, Niantic is debuting Fulgur Anjanath, a subspecies of the creature first found in “Monster Hunter Wilds.” With the addition, players will have the opportunity to craft new weapons and armor. Experts said the weapons will be one of the most powerful Thunder-types in the game. With the armor, players will get a new skill called Vital Thunder that increases an weapon’s thunder element value depending on the players health.

During the event, more Fulgur Anjanath, Anjanath and Riftborne Anjanath will be on the field. Players will also have chance to gather more Fulgur Anjanath with special tickets that include unlimited paintballs, larger monsters reappearing after 30 minutes, an increase access range and a limited-time quest.