5 Pokemon GO highlights from July 2023

July was a big month for Pokemon GO. Being smack-dab in the middle of the summer season, this month marked some of the most anticipated events to come to the game during this time of year. With August finally here, it may be a bit nostalgic to look back on some of the last month's happenings, to get excited for things to come.

So what were some of the best moments of Pokemon GO in July 2023? With so many things that took place, it may be hard to pick out just five of the best parts of the month. However, there were some moments that truly changed the state of the game for the rest of its life in terms of factors like the competitive and raiding scene.

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Five best moments from Pokemon GO July 2023

5) Routes

Official artwork for Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Routes were some of the best new features to come from Niantic last month. Giving players a way to patrol a route with more rewards is a welcomed new addition for the likes of egg-hatchers and shiny hunters. Letting players mark their walking paths around Pokestops and gyms seems like a feature made just for these groups of players.

In addition, the new Routes feature also allows players to encounter the new Zygarde cells. These new types of collectibles return from the main series and give players a way to reconstruct the Legendary Pokemon from the Kalos region, Zygarde. Players can walk these new Routes in Pokemon GO for a chance to find these cells.

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4) Adventure Week

Official artwork for Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Adventure Week is a yearly event that aims to give players a chance to get their hands on some of the most rare types of creatures: Fossil Pokemon. Along with getting their hands on two new Shiny Fossil Pokemon during this year's rendition, the event also brought the introduction of the beloved Tyranitar's Mega Evolution.

Not only are these new creatures greatly appreciated by the casual community, but there was also reason to participate for the hardcore playerbase as well. This is thanks to Bastiodon and Rampardos being the start choices for the game's Battle League and Raid Battles respectively.

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3) Riolu Hatch Day

Riolu as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Riolu Hatch Day was way more successful than many players anticipated. Niantic really followed through on their promise of giving players a massive boost to the likelihood of not only finding and hatching Riolu from eggs but finding its shiny variant as well. Riolu had around an 80% chance to spawn from 2-kilometer eggs, while every Riolu hatched had a 10% chance of being shiny.

While Lucario is not a popular creature in Pokemon GO's competitive scene, the creature is a great pick for players looking to conquer the raiding scene. Being able to grind up and evolve a Shiny Lucario always makes for a great trophy for any raider to show off to their friends.

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2) Squirtle Community Day Classic

Official artwork for Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Who doesn't love Squirtle? July 2023 brought the anticipated Community Day Classic featuring the lovable Water-type from the Kanto region to live servers once again with a heightened chance to find its shiny form. The opportunity to evolve a Blastoise with access to the best Water-type attack in the game, Hydro Cannon was also highlighted.

This event even featured the standard special research ticket that players have come to expect from these monthly events. However, what made July's Community Day Classic special is the inclusion of the rare Sunglasses Squirtle that players could once catch during another limited-time event that had long since passed.

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1) Poliwag Community Day

Official artwork for Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Though fans of the main series may not understand the hype around this Community Day, hardcore battlers know exactly why this was the best part of Pokemon GO in July. This event single-handedly fixed the one main issue that kept Politoed from becoming the best Water-type in the game's competitive scene.

Thanks to Niantic granting Politoed access to the spammable Ice-type move that it was missing, the Water-type Pokemon is now free to dominate the competitive scene like it was always meant to. For this, players who have one in their party following the event should be sure to give it a try while they can.