Unlocking Eternatus in Pokémon GO: A Complete Guide

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Eternatus, one of the largest Legendary Pokémon, has just appeared in Pokémon GO. However, getting this unusual creature isn’t as simple as catching others. Unlike most Legendaries, Eternatus doesn’t appear naturally in the game. Instead, you need to complete a specific challenge to unlock it. Even after catching Eternatus, powering it up isn’t automatic—it requires plenty of the right resources.

You can find Eternatus and its Eternamax form during the Dark Skies event, which runs until August 23, 2025. Although people have seen Eternatus before, this event marks the first global opportunity for everyone to catch it. By participating in the GO Pass during this event, you can easily encounter Eternatus if you follow the correct steps.

How to catch Eternatus in Pokémon GO:

Complete Missions for Rewards: To unlock Eternatus, you must reach Level 60 within the Max Finale challenge of the GO Pass. The GO Pass is a free battle pass you get just by logging into Pokémon GO during special events. The Max Finale version has fewer reward tiers, allowing faster progression. Reaching Level 60 is the only way to get an encounter with Eternatus and add it to your team.

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Earn Points by Completing Missions: You gain points by completing various activities, such as defeating specific Pokémon in Max Battles or doing Research related to the Dark Skies event. Each level you reach provides its own rewards, but the final encounter with Eternatus only occurs at the very end.
Note on Progression Limits: There is a daily cap on how many GO Pass levels you can increase. However, on August 23 and 24, 2025, this cap is lifted, letting you push as far as you’d like before the event ends.
Unlocking Eternatus: After reaching Level 60, you’ll have one opportunity to encounter and catch Eternatus, which also awards you its Candy. Spending Stardust and Eternatus Candy can activate a special Adventure Effect that boosts your Pokémon’s power for other battles.
Eternatus’ Adventure Effect: When activated, this effect increases each of your Pokémon’s Max Moves by one level for ten minutes. This boosts your team’s strength temporarily, making it easier to win Max Battles during the Dark Skies event. You can extend this effect by investing more Candy and Stardust.

How to level up Eternatus:

Gather Resources: Powering up Eternatus takes a lot more resources than other Pokémon. To bring it to Level 50, you need at least 8,900 Eternatus Candy and 8,900 Eternatus XL Candy.
Progress Through the GO Pass: After unlocking Eternatus at Level 60, continue completing missions within the GO Pass to earn more Candy and XL Candy. Defeating Eternamax Eternatus, the strongest form of the Pokémon, is one of the best ways to earn XL Candy. This form appears only in the last days of the Dark Skies event, so time is limited.
Using Items to Accelerate Power-Ups: Items like Rare Candy can help bypass some Candy requirements, but you’ll need a lot of them to maximize Eternatus’ potential.
Full Power-Up Cost: Fully powering up Eternatus to its maximum at Level 50 requires spending a total of 520,000 Stardust. To gather Stardust efficiently, battle trainers like Team Rocket members, and participate in other activities that reward Stardust.

Though powering up Eternatus demands significant effort, its incredible strength makes it well worth the work. When fully leveled, it becomes one of the most powerful Pokémon you can add to your collection in Pokémon GO.