Team GO Rocket crashes the Steeled Resolve event on Thursday, and this time Giovanni is carrying Shadow Landorus. Saturday's Shadow Entei Raid Day closes out the week with boosted shiny odds and up to six free raid passes. In between, Orthworm makes its debut, Tapu Lele returns to five-star raids, and you get one of the rarest windows to TM Frustration off your Shadow Pokemon.

Orthworm, the Earthworm Pokémon, makes its Pokémon GO debut during Steeled Resolve. You can encounter it in 3-star raids, with a chance to be shiny right from launch. Its shiny form swaps the metallic red body for a bright blue, so you will spot it immediately. Steel-type spawns ramp up across the map, including Magnemite, Aron, Ferroseed, and Pawniard.

Shiny Meltan also returns through the Mystery Box. Transfer any Pokémon to Pokémon HOME (or a Nintendo Switch title) to open the box, then catch Meltan for 60 minutes with a chance to find a shiny. The Mystery Box cooldown is reduced during the event, so you can open it more than once before May 4. This is one of the few windows each year to get Shiny Meltan, and Melmetal ranks at #70 in Master League.

Check the link below for the full event info.

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Orthworm is a pure Steel-type. Catch extras during the event and trade them with friends for better PvP IVs. Trades re-roll from a 0/0/0 IV floor, giving you a real shot at PvP-viable stats that raids (10/10/10 floor) cannot match.

It’s early, but Orthworm looks like it could find use in Great, and possibly, Ultra Leagues.

Team GO Rocket invades starting Thursday and stays through Monday. Grunts appear more often at PokéStops, and balloons show up every two hours. Grunts are running new Shadow Pokémon lineups, including Shadow Helioptile, Shadow Dewpider, Shadow Morelull, and Shadow Stufful. Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo also have updated lineups.

One of the biggest draws is the Frustration TM window. You can use a Charged TM to remove Frustration from any Shadow Pokémon during this event. If you have Shadow Mewtwo, Shadow Machamp, Shadow Metagross, or any other high-value Shadow Pokémon waiting for better moves, this is the time. The window closes Monday, May 4, at 8:00 PM.

Giovanni also returns with Shadow Incarnate Forme Landorus as his new Shadow Pokémon. You need a Super Rocket Radar (available through the GO Pass progression) to challenge him. Shiny Varoom debuts in 12 km Eggs during the event, so hatch those red eggs from Rocket Leaders.

Check the link below for the full event info.

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Before Thursday, tag your best Shadow Pokémon that still know Frustration. Sort by "shadow" in your storage and mark the ones you want to TM. Prioritize Shadow Pokémon that are top raid attackers (Shadow Mewtwo, Shadow Machamp, Shadow Metagross, etc.) or PvP picks where Frustration blocks their best charged move. You get extra Stardust from defeating Grunts during this event, so pop a Star Piece before your Rocket grinding sessions to stack the Stardust bonus.

Shadow Entei takes over five-star Shadow Raids for three hours on Saturday with boosted shiny odds. You get up to five additional free Raid Passes from spinning Gym Photo Discs (six total for the day). A paid ticket ($4.99) upgrades you to 14 total passes, adds increased Rare Candy XL drops, 50% more XP from raids, and 2x Stardust from raids.

Shadow Entei is a Fire-type, weak to Ground, Rock, and Water. Some top counter options are:

For budget teams, Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon or Rhyperior with Mud-Slap and Rock Wrecker will get the job done.

Shadow Entei is one of the top Fire-type attackers in PvE, so a high-IV catch from this event is worth the Stardust investment.

Remote Raid Passes work for this event. The daily Remote Raid limit increases to 20 starting Friday, May 1, at 5:00 PM through Saturday, May 2, at 8:00 PM PDT.

A perfect Shadow Entei catches at 1984 CP without weather boost, or 2480 CP in Sunny/Clear weather. Shadow Entei encountered after a raid has a chance to be shiny

Check the link below for the full event info.

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Sources: LeekDuck | Pokemon GO Hub | Pokemon GO Hub - Taken Over | Official Blog | LeekDuck - Shadow Entei

If you bought the paid ticket, pop a Star Piece before your first raid. The ticket gives 2x Stardust from raids, and the Star Piece multiplies that further.

Fantasy Cup limits your roster to Dragon, Steel, and Fairy types under 1,500 CP. Galarian Stunfisk (Mud Shot + Rock Slide + Earthquake) leads the meta with strong coverage and bulk. Galarian Weezing (Shadow), Aegislash (Shield), Forretress, and Turtonator round out the top five. Heatran shows up as a sleeper pick thanks to its Magma Storm + Stone Edge coverage.

Steeled Resolve spawns line up with this cup. Aron, Ferroseed, and Pawniard all evolve into Fantasy Cup-eligible Steel-types. Catch, trade for PvP IVs, and build your team during the event.

Sources: LeekDuck | PvPoke | Pokemon GO Hub

Steeled Resolve floods spawns with Aron, Ferroseed, and Pawniard. All three evolve into Fantasy Cup-eligible Pokémon (Aggron, Ferrothorn, Bisharp). Catch PvP-stat candidates during the event and trade extras with friends. Ferrothorn with Bullet Seed and Power Whip handles Galarian Stunfisk, one of the format's biggest threats.

Rotating in Wednesday, April 29: Tapu Lele arrives in five-star raids and stays through May 5. Tapu Lele is Psychic/Fairy, weak to Ghost, Poison, and Steel. A perfect catch sits at 1996 CP without weather boost (2496 CP in Windy or Cloudy weather), with a chance to be shiny at the standard Legendary rate of about 1 in 20.

Steel-type counters dominate this fight, and the Steeled Resolve event makes the timing convenient. Your top picks:

Budget options that still perform well: regular Metagross (Bullet Punch + Meteor Mash), Gengar (Lick + Shadow Ball), Chandelure (Hex + Shadow Ball), and Roserade (Poison Jab + Sludge Bomb).

You need 2 high-level trainers, or 3-5 with budget teams.

Tapu Lele is mostly a Pokédex and shiny collectible. It's a solid Master League pick (A+ Tier) but doesn't rank high in Great League or Ultra League.

Rotating in Wednesday, April 29: Mega Banette rotates in and stays through May 5. Mega Banette is a Ghost-type, weak to Dark and Ghost attacks. Mega Banette is one of the stronger Ghost-type Megas for raid DPS. After you defeat a Mega Banette raid, you catch the standard (non-Mega) Banette. A perfect Banette catches at 1313 CP (1642 CP in Foggy weather), with a chance to be shiny. Some Top counters:

Budget picks include regular Tyranitar and Honchkrow (Snarl + Dark Pulse).

Mega Banette is duoable with strong Dark attackers and comfortable for groups of 3-5.

Shadow Latios continues appearing in five-star Shadow Raids through May 5. Latios is a Dragon and Psychic-type Legendary, weak to Bug, Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost, and Ice-type moves. It ranks 9th among Psychic-type attackers (S Tier) and 28th in Master League GO Battle League (PvPoke), making a high-IV catch worth keeping. Shadow Latios can be caught with a chance to be shiny.

Hundo Shadow Latios can be caught at 2178 CP (2723 CP in Windy weather).

Raid Hour runs Wednesday, April 29, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time with Tapu Lele featured across gyms.

Sources: LeekDuck | Pokemon GO Hub | Dexerto | db.pokemongohub.net

Tapu Lele's best moveset is Confusion and Nature's Madness. It fills a niche as a Fairy-type attacker, but its Psychic typing limits its PvP viability. Raid it for the Pokedex entry, the shiny hunt, and Fairy-type medal progress. Save your Rare Candy for more impactful Legendaries.

Dynamax Shuckle is this week's featured Max Monday encounter. Shuckle is a Bug/Rock type, weak to Rock, Steel, and Water attacks. It appears as a 2-star Max Battle, which means you can solo it with a single strong Dynamax Pokémon. Power Spots refresh more often on Max Monday, with additional spots active throughout the day.

All Power Spots will feature Dynamax Shuckle from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Good defensive partners for the Max Battle include Crowned Shield Zamazenta, Excadrill, and Suicune.

Shuckle is not a competitive pick in raids or PvP. Its attack stat is one of the lowest in the game, while its defense is one of the highest. This encounter is for Dex completionists and shiny collectors.

Shuckle has a chance to be shiny. Hundo Shuckle is 231 CP.

Sources: LeekDuck | Pokemon GO Hub | Pokebattler

Shuckle has the highest Defense and Special Defense stats of any Pokémon, and Dynamax Shuckle is tankier than you'd expect for a tier 2 Dynamax battle. You can bring dedicated Steel-type attackers like Metagross or Excadrill, though Gigantamax Inteleon would be the best attacker to bring.

Firestar73, a top competitive Pokémon GO player who finished seventh at last year's World Championships, won the 2026 Orlando Regional Championships after fighting through the losers' bracket to a game-five finals victory. He stood up, threw off his headphones, fist-pumped, and shook his opponent's hand. Tournament staff stripped him of the title, calling the celebration "unsportsmanlike conduct."

Play! Pokémon released a statement defending the ruling. According to the organizers, Firestar73 had received a warning during Game 1 for hitting and shaking the table during gameplay. In Game 5, his behavior continued, including table-shaking that disrupted the live broadcast. The repeated infractions led to an escalated Game Loss penalty, which cost him the match and the title. NiteTimeClasher, his opponent, took the win by default.

The community pushed back hard. Multiple pro players and content creators called the penalty disproportionate. AXN, the 2023 World Champion, spoke out in support of Firestar73. Fans argued the behavior was emotional, not malicious, and pointed out that celebrations of similar intensity are standard in other esports. Firestar73 appealed, but Play! Pokémon upheld the decision.

Players are now asking whether competitive Pokémon GO's conduct rules need clearer definitions. For now, Firestar73 remains stripped of his title.

Sources: Pokemon GO Hub | Aftermath | Kotaku | Dexerto