Lechonk Community Day headlines a week that also resets the entire raid lineup. Nihilego, Mega Camerupt, and Shadow Cresselia all arrive Wednesday, giving you three raid bosses to plan around before Saturday's shiny hunt. If you still have Shadow Pokémon stuck with Frustration, get that move TM’d away by Monday evening.

Lechonk takes over on Saturday, May 9 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM local time, with a chance to be shiny at the Community Day rate of roughly 1/25. Evolve Lechonk into Oinkologne during the event (or up to four hours after) to learn the exclusive Fast Move Mud Slap.

You earn 2x Catch Candy, improved XL Candy drops, and ¼ Egg Hatch Distance. Incense activated during the event lasts the full three hours. Lure Modules stay active until 9:00 PM and can attract Lechonk with a Special Background. Trades cost half the normal Stardust, and you get one extra Special Trade.

Oinkologne lands in the middle of the Great League pack. The female form (PvPoke rank 257) outperforms the male (rank 521), and its Tackle / Body Slam / Trailblaze moveset gives it some niche play. It outranks Snorlax (rank 309) but trails Lickilicky (rank 15) as a Normal-type pick. If you don't already have a strong Lickilicky, save your high-stat Lechonks before evolving. Mud Slap gives Oinkologne a new toy to test, but Tackle is still its best fast move in current sims.

Check the links below for the full event info.

Sources: Official Blog | Pokémon GO Hub | PvPoke (Female Oinkologne)

Use quick-catching to maximize encounters during the 3-hour window. Pop Star Pieces and Lucky Eggs before catching for some extra Stardust and XP. With 2x Catch Candy active, use Pinap Berries on every Lechonk catch to bank 12 Candy per catch instead of 6. Mega Evolve a Normal-type Pokémon to add to every Lechonk catch's Candy reward.

The Fantasy Cup: Great League Edition wraps up on Tuesday, May 5 at 1:00 PM PT. The Jungle Cup: Great League Edition takes its place alongside Ultra League, running from May 5 at 1:00 PM PT through May 12 at 1:00 PM PT.

Jungle Cup allows Normal, Grass, Electric, Poison, Ground, Flying, Bug, and Dark types at 1500 CP or below. Piloswine is the cup's runaway pick at #1 (Powder Snow / Icicle Spear / Stone Edge), with Diggersby (#3) and Forretress (#4) close behind. The cup runs alongside Ultra League's open format for Trainers who prefer the 2500 CP cap.

Sources: PvPoke Jungle Cup | LeekDuck GBL Schedule | Pokémon GO Hub

If you evolve an Oinkologne with Mud Slap during the event, it picks up Ground-type fast move coverage. Oinkologne is Normal-type, which is eligible in the Jungle Cup. While it is not top-tier, the Mud Slap and Dig combo hits Steels and Poisons for super-effective damage. A female Oinkologne with a 0/14/15 IV spread and Mud Slap could surprise opponents.

Rotating in Wednesday, May 6: Nihilego arrives Wednesday, May 6 at 6:00 AM and runs through Tuesday, May 12 at 9:00 PM. The Ultra Beast is Rock/Poison with a double weakness to Ground (and standard weakness to Psychic, Steel, and Water-type attacks). Load your team with Ground-type attackers and this raid goes down fast. Small groups of 3-5 can handle it, and experienced duos with Primal Groudon can clear it.

Nihilego has a chance to be shiny at the 1/20 Five-Star rate. A perfect Nihilego shows 2256 CP (or 2821 CP if weather boosted in Partly Cloudy or Cloudy conditions). Raid Hour is Wednesday, May 6 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Top counters:

Budget picks: Excadrill (Mud Slap / Scorching Sands), Garchomp (Mud Shot / Earth Power), Rhyperior (Mud Slap / Earthquake)

Rotating in Wednesday, May 6: Mega Camerupt arrives Wednesday, May 6 at 6:00 AM and runs through Tuesday, May 12 at 9:00 PM. Camerupt is Fire/Ground with a double weakness to Water (and standard weakness to Ground-type attacks). Bring your strongest Water-types and you clear this one fast. Strong players can solo it with a full Water team. An optimal group size is 3-5 Trainers.

You catch regular Camerupt after a Mega Raid. You earn Mega Energy to Mega Evolve your own Camerupt later. A perfect Camerupt shows 1253 CP (or 1566 CP if weather boosted in Sunny or Clear). Camerupt has a chance to be shiny.

Top counters:

Budget picks: Gyarados (Waterfall / Hydro Pump), Kingler (Bubble / Crabhammer), Quaquaval (Water Gun / Hydro Cannon)

Shadow Cresselia joins Shadow Raids this month. It will be available from May 6 through June 2.

Cresselia is a Psychic-type, weak to Bug, Dark, and Ghost. You need a group of 4 or more with strong counters and Purified Gems, or 6-10 if your teams are lower level. Shadow Cresselia has a chance to be shiny. A perfect one shows 1633 CP (or 2041 CP in Windy weather).

Top counters:

Budget picks: Hydreigon (Bite / Dark Pulse), Weavile (Snarl / Foul Play), Yveltal (Snarl / Dark Pulse)

Sources: LeekDuck | Pokebattler (Nihilego) | Pokebattler (Mega Camerupt) | Pokebattler (Shadow Cresselia)

Nihilego is a viable Master League Poison-type pick (PvPoke rank 154) with Poison Jab, Power Gem, and Sludge Bomb. Plan a two-day approach. First, stack catch attempts during Wednesday's Raid Hour at 1/216 hundo odds per raid. Then save a couple for Friendship Friday (May 8), when trade bonuses kick in. A Lucky Trade (guaranteed when you trade with a Lucky Friend) drops hundo odds to 1/64 and halves the power-up Stardust. L31+ Trainers also get 2 guaranteed XL Candy on every in-person trade, a real accelerator for the Master League grind.

Mega Evolve a Water-type before your first Mega Camerupt raid. Having Mega Swampert or Mega Blastoise active boosts all Water-type damage from your team, speeds up the clear, and gives you +1 bonus Candy on every Water-type catch for the next 8 hours.

Shadow Cresselia is a strong Ultra League pick (PvPoke rank 41) with Psycho Cut / Grass Knot / Moonblast — the same moveset the standard form uses to anchor #36 in UL and #65 in GL. The Shadow form trades bulk for the 20% attack boost, making it best as an aggressive UL lead.

Dynamax Cottonee makes its debut on Monday, May 4 from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM local time. Power Spots refresh more often and additional spots activate during this window. Cottonee stays in Power Spots through Sunday, May 10 at 9:00 PM local time, but Monday is your best chance to find battles. Every Power Spot features Dynamax Cottonee battles from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM local time.

Cottonee is Grass/Fairy with a double weakness to Poison. Fire, Flying, Ice, and Steel also hit for super effective damage. Cottonee has a chance to be shiny in Max Battles starting this week. A perfect IV Cottonee shows 400 CP at level 20.

Cottonee evolves into Whimsicott with a Sun Stone and 50 Candy.

As a Max Battle pick, Whimsicott is bottom-tier per Pokémon GO Hub: E Tier as an Attacker, F Tier as a Defender (no 0.5-second fast move available), and D Tier as a Healer. Bank the Candy for the eventual PvP build, not the Max Battle role.

Sources: LeekDuck Max Monday | Max Attackers Tier List | Max Defenders Tier List | Max Healers Tier List | PvPoke Whimsicott (GL)

Poison-type Max Attackers deal double super-effective damage to Cottonee (4x). Gigantamax Garbodor is the top pure Poison option (A Tier per Pokémon GO Hub Max Attackers). If you don't have GMAX Garbodor, Gigantamax Toxtricity (A Tier, Electric/Poison) and Eternatus (A Tier, Poison/Dragon) cover the same niche. Skip Gigantamax Gengar here — it's S Tier overall, but its G-Max Terror is Ghost-type, which only hits Cottonee neutrally. For secondary coverage, Gigantamax Cinderace (S Tier, Fire) handles Cottonee at 2x Super Effective, and Crowned Sword Zacian (S Tier, Fairy/Steel) plus Dynamax Excadrill (B Tier, Ground/Steel) also work as 2x Steel-type options.

The Pokémon Company announced on April 27 that players who complete all three Pokédexes in Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Lumiose, Mega Evolution, and Hyperspace) will receive a Shiny Volcanion through Pokémon HOME. The Fire/Water Mythical had been shiny-locked since its 2016 debut, making this the first official Shiny Volcanion in the Pokémon games.

Why does this matter for Pokémon GO trainers? Volcanion arrived in GO this season through the Pressure Rising Special Research, available free to all trainers since March 3 (Memories in Motion launch). Pokémon GO Fest 2025 ticket holders had earlier access through the event's exclusive research. Volcanion now joins the list of Mythicals whose shinies have unlocked in the main-series games. Meloetta and Keldeo were both distributed through Pokémon HOME before debuting as shinies in Pokémon GO months later, so a future GO release isn't unrealistic.

A Shiny Volcanion release in Pokémon GO is likely down the line. Mythicals typically follow main-series shiny precedent, though Scopely hasn't announced anything yet. Watch for a future Special Research arc featuring Shiny Volcanion.

Sources: Pokémon GO Hub | Nintendo Life | Pokémon GO Hub Pressure Rising Guide