When is the Team Rocket invasion and how does it work in Pokémon Go for July 2020?

The new Pokémon Go the challenges of battle have arrived. By completing these challenges, Trainers can unlock additional Pokémon to appear during the Pokémon Go Event Fest 2020 on the weekend of July 25-26. During the Battle Challenge, developer Niantic predicted a battle-themed event that would take place on July 12 from 11 a.m. to 14 p.m. in your local time zone. Many coaches speculated what this might be, but they figured out pretty quickly that it would be a Team Rocket invasion due to the new Team Rocket balls. These will be the primary focus of the game, and the Team Rocket invasion for July 2020 will revolve around coaches encountering these balls.

Team Rocket balls work similarly to PokéStops, except trainers don't have to interact with them. Team Rocket balloons appear near the trainer in the sky near them, and all trainers must interact with them to start the battle against them, a member of Team Rocket. It could be a growl, one of the three leaders who have new Pokémon to fight, Sierra, Arlo, or Cliff, and if the trainers have a Super Rocket Radar up their sleeve, they can potentially fight Giovanni. Balloons normally spawn every few hours, but during invasions there will be several other opportunities to fight them.

There's also the added surprise of seeing a Meowth balloon appear, and the dynamic duo, Jessie and James, are available to fight you. You have to fight them back to back and you receive ghost Pokémon from Ekans and Koffing.

The Team Rocket invasion will only last for three hours, but it should be a great way for coaches to wrap up their combat challenges before the event ends on July 15. One of the Elite Challenge objectives for the event involves players taking out Team Go Rocket Boss, Giovanni, who hints that another Giovanni-related event could happen in the future. However, Niantic said these won't appear until the end of September. The final stage of the three battle challenges rewards players with Super Rocket Radar, which is what you need to find Giovanni's hideout.