What are nests in Pokémon GO?

Ever noticed an unusually high amount of a specific Pokémon spawning in an area like a park? You've probably stumbled across a Pokémon GO nest.

Nests are actually a feature that have been in the game ever since it released in 2016. Despite that, a lot of players don't really know it exists. That's because nests aren't ever really advertised in the game. There is no official way to see where nests are, what Pokémon spawn in them and when Pokémon migrate between nests.

However, nests can be a really useful thing to take advantage of in Pokémon GO. Here's everything you need to know.

In the game, nests aren't marked specifically on the map. However, parks and nature reserves are usual candidates for nests. If you have a local park nearby, it is well worth checking out to see if it has a lot of a certain type of Pokémon spawning.

Outside of the game itself, there are two ways to find nest locations. The first is through a different Niantic game, Ingress. All Niantic games use the same map and information. Nests in Pokémon GO share their locations with Exotic Matter in Ingress. That means if you're really desperate to know exactly where nests are in your local area, jumping on Ingress is a great way to find their exact locations.

However, why do that work if someone has already done it for you? The second way to find nests in game is through community made resources. There are websites like pogonest and Discord bots like PogoNestAtlas that track local nests and what Pokémon spawn in them at any given time. Join your local community on Campfire or other social media to see if your local community are already tracking nests near you.

Currently, the Pokémon that spawn in any given nest changes every two Thursdays, between 0:00 UTC and 0:30 UTC. These rotations change also when a new season starts. What Pokémon can spawn in nests also changes season to season, as the seasonal spawns rotate.

Nests can be a great way to farm resources or a specific Pokémon. Outside of events like Community Day, nests are the best way to be able to target a specific 'mon you want to catch a bunch of. If you're desperate for a shiny Torchic, and there is a Torchic nest nearby, you'll have a much better chance at finding one if you can encounter dozens of the same Pokémon throughout the day.

Additionally, sometimes Pokémon that yield higher catch stardust can appear in nests. A recent example of this is Audino. This season, Shared Skies, Audino has appeared in nests all over the world. When you catch an Audino, you get a huge 2100 stardust as a catch reward.

Even that alone means if you can sit in a local nest and catch Audino's over and over again, you're going to get a lot of Stardust. Add in a Star Piece, or combine that with an event that has 2x or 3x Stardust for catching Pokémon, and this can be hugely profitable.

If you want to see which Pokémon spawn in nests, and if they can be shiny, you can also find that out on websites like pogonest.

That's all you need to know! Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest esports news and more Pokémon GO guides.