The Pokemon GO Growing Up is giving players several in-game benefits over six days, filled with themed content, special bonuses, and the opportunity to catch rare or Shiny Pokemon. But for USD $4.99 for the premium ticket, many Trainers are asking themselves if it’s worthwhile?
The event will run from Friday, May 2, 2025, at 10 am until Wednesday, May 7 at 8 pm local time. Let’s outline the main features and determine whether the premium option provides enough value for money.
Pokemon GO Growing Up: Event highlights and bonuses
The core event offers a wide variety of in-game resources that benefit both casual and dedicated players:
- 2 x XP for evolving Pokemon.
- 2 x Candy from hatching Eggs.
- Increased Shiny rates for Wimpod, Magikarp, and Swablu.
- More XXS and XXL Pokemon in the wild.
Japanese and Korean players will get more regional benefits on May 4–5, 2025, such as 2 x Stardust from catches, half hatch distance from Eggs, and special research tasks with Tandemaus and Wimpod.
Also read: Pokemon GO May 2025 infographic: Events, raid bosses, Spotlight Hours, and more
Pokemon GO Growing Up: Spawns and egg hatches
If you’re a Shiny hunter or Egg hatching enthusiast, the Pokemon GO Growing Up event offers several opportunities:
Wild spawns
Expect to see increased appearances of Pokemon like:
- Possible Shinies: Magikarp, Wailmer, Swablu, Foongus, Dedenne, Cutiefly, Wimpod, and Nymble
- Non-Shinies: Rookidee
Egg hatches
- 2 km Eggs: Wimpod, Happiny, and Riolu (all can be Shiny)
- 5 km Eggs: Mime Jr., Larvesta, Inkay, Komala, and starter Pokemon like Grookey and Scorbunny
- 10 km Eggs: Toxel, Larvesta, Carbink, Jangmo-o, Dreepy, and Charcadet, among others
Whether you’re hunting specific species or looking to expand your Shiny collection, the Egg pool has a good variety during this time around.
Also read: 5 things to look forward to in Pokemon GO in May 2025
Pokemon GO Growing Up: Free vs premium experience
Free Players can access the main spawns, bonuses, and themed Field Research that can potentially reward Pokemon such as Tandemaus and Wimpod. The Premium Timed Research, however, has special perks for those who buy the event ticket.
What you get with the Premium Ticket (USD $4.99):
- An Incubator
- 15 Pinap Berries
- 3,000 Stardust
- Exclusive encounters with Pokemon like Lucario, Wimpod, Magikarp, Swablu, Tandemaus, and more
- An event-themed avatar pose
You’ll need to complete all tasks and claim rewards before May 7 at 8 pm, so timely participation is key.
Additionally, purchasing the Growing Up Ultra Ticket Box via the Pokemon GO Web Store offers a bonus Incubator at no extra cost.
Also read: Pokemon GO Mega Houndoom raid guide: Weaknesses and best counters
Final verdict: Is the Pokemon GO Growing Up event ticket worth it?
If you regularly participate in events and take up the challenge of completing Timed Research tasks, the USD $4.99 ticket is good value, especially with the Incubator and Stardust rewarded.
Additionally, Lucario is also a good PvP choice. That said, if you’re a less serious player or won’t play a lot during the event window, you can still get most of the benefits without paying anything.
The Pokemon GO Growing Up event ticket is well worth it for players who want the avatar pose and full benefit of Egg hatching. For everyone else, the free content is still well worth it.
Also read: Pokemon GO Mega Evolution tier list
Check out our other Pokemon GO guides:
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Edited by Aashish Victor
