Pokemon Go will have global challenges during live summer tours

The 2018 Summer Tour of Pokemon Go kicks off this weekend with the live Safari Zone event in Dortmund, Germany, but even if you're not able to compete in person, you'll still have a chance to participate. Pokemon has announced that special global challenges will be launched during each of this summer's live events, with players from around the world contributing to their success.

Each weekend of an event, players will be divided into four regions: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; Asia Pacific; and the "main search site", which is the location of the live event. Each region will strive to complete its own challenges, which will contribute to the global progression and unlock bonus rewards in the game. If players manage to earn bonus rewards during all three events, then Niantic teases an Ultra Bonus that will be unlocked – although this remains a mystery.

The first live event of the 2018 Summer Tour is the Safari Zone in Dortmund, which will take place on June 30th and July 1st. During the event, Grass and Poison Pokemon Roselia will appear much more frequently around the world. Players will also have the chance to find a brilliant Roselia in the wild.

After Safari Zone Dortmund, Niantic will host the second annual Pokemon Go Fest in Chicago on July 14th and 15th. During this weekend, players around the world will find more and more spawn from Trapinch, Feebas and other Pokémon. The Alolan shapes of Geodude and Diglett will also begin to appear for the first time in Pokemon Go.

The last stop of the Pokemon Go 2018 Summer Tour is a special safari area in Yokosuka, Japan. Specific details about this event will be announced at a later date, but it should be done later this summer. You can read more about the 2018 Summer Tour on the official Pokemon website.

In addition to the events mentioned above, Niantic will also host the next Pokemon Go Community Day on July 8th. During this event, the red and blue Pokemon Squirtle will appear much more frequently in the wild, and if the previous community days are an indication, players will also have the chance to find his Shiny variant. Participants will also lay eggs at a quarter of the distance they usually need.