It’s going to be an action-packed month for Pokémon GO, with the primary legendary Pokémon of Pokémon X and Y arriving in the game. Xerneas and Yveltal will headline two separate events, with the deer-like Xerneas arriving first. Check out the full month’s breakdown from the official site:
May 2021 events in Pokémon GO
Save Shadow Moltres from Giovanni
This month, Giovanni will have Shadow Moltres in his grasp! If you haven’t already, complete the latest Team GO Rocket Special Research, The Higher They Fly…, to earn a Super Rocket Radar. This will help you track down the Team GO Rocket Boss and save Shadow Moltres! You can also receive a Super Rocket Radar from Timed Research that’ll be available during the Luminous Legends X event.
For more information, please see this help center article.
May Research Breakthrough encounters
From Saturday, May 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. to Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), you’ll encounter Galarian Ponyta in Research Breakthrough encounters.
Featured Pokémon in raids
The following Legendary Pokémon will be appearing in five-star raids throughout May.
- Incarnate Forme Tornadus, Incarnate Forme Thundurus, and Incarnate Forme Landorus will continue to appear in five-star raids until Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- From Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time, Xerneas, the Life Pokémon, will be making its Pokémon GO debut!
- From Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time, Yveltal, the Destruction Pokémon, will be making its Pokémon GO debut!
In addition, the following Mega-Evolved Pokémon will be appearing in Mega Raids.
- Mega Venusaur, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Abomasnow will continue to appear in Mega Raids until Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- From Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Saturday, May 15, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. local time, Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Lopunny will appear in Mega Raids.
- From Saturday, May 15, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. to Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time, Mega Ampharos, Mega Houndoom, and a surprise Mega-Evolved Pokémon will appear in Mega Raids.
Every Wednesday in May, a Raid Hour event featuring the Pokémon appearing in five-star raids that week will occur from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. As a reminder, you’ll gain extra XP for completing five-star raids throughout the Season of Legends!
Stay tuned for the June events blog for more details on the Pokémon that’ll be featured in raids after May concludes!
Pokémon Spotlight Hours
In the month of May, Pokémon Spotlight Hour will take place every Tuesday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, and each of these hours will spotlight a different Pokémon and special bonus!
- Tuesday, May 4, 2021: Cottonee will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for catching Pokémon.
- Tuesday, May 11, 2021: Dratini will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for transferring Pokémon.
- Tuesday, May 18, 2021: Alolan Rattata will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for evolving Pokémon.
- Tuesday, May 25, 2021: Marill will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Stardust for catching Pokémon.
May Community Day
Join us on Saturday, May 15, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time for a Community Day event! More details—including which Pokémon will be featured—will be revealed in an upcoming blog post.
Upcoming new events
Stay tuned for details about these upcoming events.
- New Pokémon Snap Celebration: From Thursday, April 29, 2021, to Sunday, May 2, 2021, celebrate the release of the much-anticipated New Pokémon Snap with us. For more information on this event, check out the blog here.
- Luminous Legends X: From Tuesday, May 4, 2021, to Monday, May 17, 2021, the Legendary Pokémon Xerneas will be making its Pokémon GO debut! With it, various Dragon- and Fairy-type Pokémon will be appearing more often in the wild, including some that will be appearing in Pokémon GO for the first time. Our research also shows that you can complete challenges to unlock rewards during the second week of this legendary event.
- Luminous Legends Y: From Tuesday, May 18, 2021, to Monday, May 31, 2021, the Legendary Pokémon Yveltal will be making its Pokémon GO debut! We’ve also received word that Team GO Rocket could be planning on causing some trouble around then, and also that Dark-type Pokémon will be appearing more often in the wild. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to put your newly caught Dragon- and Fairy-type Pokémon to use! Like the Luminous Legends X event, you’ll be able to unlock rewards during the second week of the Luminous Legends Y event by completing select challenges.
Luminous Legends X event details and trailer
A legend will soon illuminate our world: Xerneas, the Life Pokémon, will make its Pokémon GO debut during the Luminous Legends X event! Some Dragon- and Fairy-type Pokémon originally discovered in the Kalos region will be coming along for the journey as well, such as Spritzee, Swirlix, and Goomy! A new item will also be coming to Pokémon GO—the Rainy Lure Module, which can be used to evolve Sliggoo (the Evolution of Goomy) into Goodra. You can also evolve Sliggoo when the in-game weather is rainy.
Date + Time
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, May 17, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. local time
Features
- Xerneas will make its Pokémon GO debut in five-star raids! This Fairy-type Legendary Pokémon originally discovered in the Kalos region has horns on its head that shine in seven different colors, and legends say it’s known to share everlasting life.
- Spritzee, Swirlix, and Goomy will be making their Pokémon GO debuts! Spritzee and Swirlix will be appearing more frequently in the wild alongside other Dragon- and Fairy-type Pokémon, like Dratini, Ralts, Bagon, Cottonee, and more. If you’re extremely lucky, you might find a Goomy in the wild!
- Rainy Lure Modules are coming to Pokémon GO! This Lure Module will attract certain Pokémon that like rain, such as Water-, Bug-, and Electric-type Pokémon. When you’re near a PokéStop with an active Rainy Lure Module, you can evolve Sliggoo (the Evolution of Goomy) into Goodra. You can also evolve Sliggoo when the in-game weather is rainy.
- Complete event-exclusive Timed Research to encounter Fairy-type Pokémon, including Spritzee and Swirlix, as well as receive a Rainy Lure Module and other rewards.
- The following Pokémon will be hatching from 7 km Eggs: Cleffa, Igglybuff, Azurill, Gible, Swirlix, and Spritzee.
- Psychic-, Dragon- and Fairy-type Pokémon like Galarian Ponyta, Alolan Exeggutor, Xerneas, and more will be appearing in raids!
- Event-exclusive Field Research tasks will lead to encounters with Psychic-, Dragon- and Fairy-type Pokémon, including Galarian Ponyta, Gible, Spritzee, and Swirlix.
- Event-exclusive AR Mapping tasks will lead to encounters with Galarian Ponyta!
- Dragonite and Salamence will be able to learn certain attacks during this event! Evolve a Dragonair or use a Charged TM on a Dragonite to teach it Draco Meteor, and evolve a Shelgon or use a Charged TM on a Salamence to teach it Outrage.
In addition, you can work with other Trainers to catch Fairy-type Pokémon—by doing so, you can unlock rewards during the second half of the event! From Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 12:00 a.m. UTC to Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 11:59pm UTC, you and other Trainers worldwide can work together to catch 500 million Fairy-type Pokémon in total. If the goal is met, special bonuses will be available from Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, May 17, 2021, at 8:00 p.m. local time.
- A 3× Catch XP bonus will be active for the rest of the event.
- Pancham will make its Pokémon GO debut, appearing in raids for the rest of the event.
- If you’re lucky, you might find a Shiny Galarian Ponyta! Shiny Galarian Ponyta will continue to be available after the event.
You can also look forward to the Luminous Legends Y event, coming soon! In this event, the Legendary Pokémon Yveltal, the Destruction Pokémon, will be making its Pokémon GO debut, and Pancham will be hatching from Strange Eggs. More details to come soon!
WOW! Did you get all that? Let us know what you’re most excited about, whether that’s Xerneas and Yveltal or Galarian Ponyta in weekly research breakthroughs! The discussion continues on our Discord server, so be sure to hop in there if you want to connect with other fans!
PSST- Our April giveaway is ending soon! Don’t miss your chance to win Metagross, Jirachi and two more plushies!