Dynamax Registeel makes its Pokémon GO debut this Monday, the first Steel-type Tier 5 Max Battle, and one worth building your team around. Saturday brings the other big debut: Mega Falinks arrives in Super Mega Raids for a three-hour window. Stack those two bookends around Wednesday's Tapu Bulu arrival and a 4x Stardust GBL rotation that starts Tuesday, and this is one of the better non-event-based-weeks the game has handed you in a while.

Mega Falinks makes its Pokémon GO debut, exclusively in Super Mega Raids during this three-hour window. Falinks the Formation Pokémon is essentially six small troopers stacked in one that now has a mega evolution form, with boosted Shiny Falinks encounter rates on top. The shiny odds are anticipated to be 1/10.

This is one of only a handful of Super Mega Pokémon since the format launched at Kalos Tour, and the difficulty is real. Super Mega Raids require at least seven trainers. Trainers need to use Mega-evolved Pokemon to break the shields of the Super Mega Raid boss.

Mega Falinks is pure Fighting. Psychic, Flying, and Fairy all hit for super-effective damage.

Some lead picks:

Super Mega Raids have stricter entry rules than standard Mega Raids.

In person: your free daily Raid Pass is used first if available; otherwise you can use Link Charges OR a Premium Battle Pass.

Remote: Super Mega Raids require both Link Charges AND a Remote Raid Pass per raid.

Free bonuses (no ticket required):

Optional Event Ticket ($4.99):

Timed Research is available during the event, rewarding a Premium Battle Pass and a Mawile encounter.

Pokémon GO timed a system-level Mega Evolution change to this event: starting May 23, you can spend Mega Energy directly to push a Pokémon's Mega Level at any level (not just Max → Super Max), with cost scaling down based on how many times you've Mega Evolved that species.

Sources: Pokemon GO | Pokemon GO Hub | LeekDuck | Pokemon GO Hub Database

Super Mega Raids need at least seven trainers. If you don't have a regular local raid group, Friday afternoon is the time to use Niantic's Find Your Community tool or check the Pokemon GO map for nearby meetups. The 2–5 PM window is short; coordinating in advance can help make a difference.

Starting Tuesday, May 19 at 1:00 PM PT:

This rotation brings 4x Stardust from GBL win rewards. If you've been saving your battle energy for a good week, this is it.

Thursday, May 21 is GO Battle Thursday. The 4x Stardust from win rewards is active all day alongside Thursday's battle set bonuses. Thursday is your highest-value GBL day of the week.

Sources: Pokémon GO Hub | LeekDuck

4× Stardust from GBL win rewards stacks multiplicatively with a Star Piece (+50%) for an effective 6× per win. Thursday's set cap jumps from 5 to 10 (50 battles total), so plan your Star Piece stack: each one lasts 30 minutes, and a 10-set run takes most players an hour-plus. Pop two or three back-to-back before knocking out your sets.

The Alolan land guardian is a Grass/Fairy type, and that combination gives it one of the most exploitable weaknesses in the current raid pool: a 2.56× double weakness to Poison.

Fire, Ice, Steel, and Flying all deal 1.6× damage. But Poison crushes it at 2.56×. If you have Poison-type attackers on standby, this is their week.

Catch your first Tapu Bulu during Raid Hour on Wednesday, May 20 from 6:00–7:00 PM local. More gyms activate during that window and you can chain raids more efficiently.

Shiny odds: 1/20

Premium picks:

Budget picks:

Use Poison-type Mega evolutions such as Mega Beedrill or Victreebel as Poison-type attacks hit Tapu Bulu at 2.56× double-effective damage.

Tapu Bulu has no notable competitive footprint in Great or Ultra League — not ranked in GL on PvPoke, sits at #457 in UL. It's a more interesting Master League pick at #88, but for most readers this is a collector target. The hundo is worth the hunt as it is an A+ Tier Grass Attacker and an S Tier Fairy Attacker.

Mega Altaria is a quality Mega for trainers working on Dragon and Fairy medals. After defeating it, you catch a regular Altaria. Best counters: Fairy-types like Togekiss and Gardevoir, and Ice-types like Galarian Darmanitan and Mamoswine. Avoid Dragon-type attackers — they take super effective Fairy hits back.

Premium picks:

Budget picks:

You catch a base-form Altaria after the raid, with a chance to be shiny.

Ongoing through June 2, 2026

Shadow Cresselia is still in Shadow Raids through June 2. If you haven't grabbed yours yet, you have two more weeks.

Shadow Cresselia is a pure Psychic type. Bug, Ghost, and Dark all deal 2x damage against it.

Shiny odds: 1/20

Premium picks:

Budget picks:

Sources: LeekDuck | Pokebattler | Pokémon GO Hub

Dynamax Registeel enters Pokémon GO for the first time Monday. It's a Tier 5 Max Battle (800 Max Particles to enter). Power Spots refresh more frequently during the Max Monday window, and the featured battle hour runs 6:00–7:00 PM local. Dynamax Registeel stays in Max Battles through Sunday.

Fire, Ground and Fighting types deal super effective damage against Registeel's Steel typing.

Shiny Registeel is available with a chance to be shiny from Max Battles.

Sources: Pokémon GO Hub | LeekDuck

Registeel isn't just a Pokédex fill, it's the top Max Battle defender in the game. Hub's May 2026 tier list ranks Dynamax Registeel S Tier alongside Crowned Shield Zamazenta. The reason is the fast move Lock-On: at 0.5 seconds, it builds team Max Meter faster than nearly any other fast move. Catch every Registeel you can Monday and start banking Registeel Candy.

For the 10-year anniversary, Pokémon GO is doing something it's never done: GO Fest Global, July 11–12, 2026 (10:00 AM–7:00 PM local each day), is free for every trainer worldwide. No ticket, no $5 add-on.

The headliners: Mega Mewtwo X debuts in Super Mega Raids on Saturday, Mega Mewtwo Y on Sunday.

As if that wasn’t enough, Pokémon GO just dropped the full raid list on May 16, and it's massive. Both days rotate three 3-hour habitats, each with their own Mega and 5-Star pools. Over 50 distinct bosses across the weekend.

Check out the list below and start to plan which raids you will be doing during Global GO Fest weekend.

Saturday habitats:

Sunday habitats:

The community sentiment around a massive weekend seems to be a mix of thrilled, and a little worried. Reactions to the lineup reveal split sharply along two lines. The first is excitement at the sheer scale and the Mega Mewtwo X/Y debuts. Gamerant called the leak "absolutely stacked," and trainers are genuinely hyped that the 10-year-anniversary event is free for everyone.

The second is concern about dilution. GO Hub's own raid-reveal post flagged it directly: with 50+ bosses spread across two days and rotating habitat pools, finding a specific raid (or even a consistent Mega Mewtwo lobby) could be harder than at a more curated event.

Comicbook.com's headline read "Fans Are Immediately Overwhelmed," and Pocket Tactics went further with "there can be too much of a good thing." Ultimately the lineup is the most generous Niantic has ever offered, AND it's likely to feel chaotic on the day for trainers chasing specific targets.

Sources: Pokémon GO Hub — Global GO Fest Raids Revealed | Pokémon GO Hub — GO Fest 2026 Global Event Guide | ComicBook — Fans Immediately Overwhelmed | Pocket Tactics — Too Much of a Good Thing