The Spring Marathon event brings with it the debut of Flittle, the Frill Pokémon from Paldea. With 50 Flittle candies, you can evolve it into Espathra, the Ostrich Pokémon, that looks absolutely ready to strut into battle. The big question is, is Espathra actually worth all that walking, candy, and stardust, or is it just going to chill in your storage behind the usual Psychic all-stars like Mewtwo, Metagross, and Cresselia?

Let’s take a look at whether Espathra has enough spice to carve out a niche in certain metas and steal a few wins.

Espathra: Stats, Profile and Typing

Espathra

Psychic

Espathra, first introduced in Generation IX with Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, is a pure Psychic type Pokémon with a distinct ostrich-themed design. Its pure typing gives it 3 weaknesses to watch out for, but also provides 2 handy resistances, making it a bit more comfortable against Fighting and Psychic type attacks.

---

Espathra in Pokémon GO PvE

Raids

With an Attack stat of 204 and a max CP of 2800, Espathra is not exactly soaring into any kind of relevance in Pokémon GO raids. As a pure Psychic type, it does at least get the classic Confusion + Psychic combo, which is its best raid moveset, but “standard” isn’t good enough in a field stacked with monsters like Mewtwo and other Mega Evolutions. Using our DPS Comparer Tool to compare Espathra’s performance with Top Psychic Attackers:

When your stats are this middle‑of‑the‑road, you either need ridiculous moves or a unique niche to stand out, and Espathra sadly brings neither. Even mid‑tier Psychic types like Espeon and Tapu Lele outpace Espathra in both DPS and overall raid value. Realistically, Espathra ends up as more of a Pokédex filler or “use it because you like it” pick rather than a serious Psychic type raid attacker. Trainers can use it in raids if they like the design or want to flex something different, but from an efficiency standpoint, the resources can be far better spent on the established elites.

---

Espathra in Pokémon GO PvP

Ideal Moveset: Confusion + Psyshock & Dazzling Gleam

Espathra’s Pokémon GO PvP prospects are fairly modest, which should not come as much of a surprise after its underwhelming PvE performance. Although it offers some matchup-dependent utility and can pressure certain opponents under the right conditions, its overall ceiling remains fairly low compared to stronger Psychic type and generalist competitors. As a result, Espathra is best viewed as a niche PvP option rather than a reliable pick for the wider GO Battle League meta.

Great League

In Great League, Espathra delivers a fairly underwhelming performance and struggles to justify itself as a serious meta option. Its overall matchup spread is poor, with roughly twice as many losses as wins. While it does manage some notable wins like Clodsire, Medicham, Wigglytuff, and Galarian Weezing, those positives are offset by a much more punishing list of losses. Espathra struggles against several relevant Great League threats such as Malamar, Empoleon, Jellicent, Corviknight, Azumarill, and Shelgon, leaving it with too many unfavorable matchups to consistently succeed. As a result, Espathra feels more like a fringe choice than a reliable pick for competitive Great League play.

Espathra’s ideal IV spread for Great League is: 2/15/15, 1498 CP, Level 22.5.

Ultra League

For Ultra League, Espathra falls off sharply. Its 1v1 shield performance is especially poor, with only a handful of meaningful wins, and while its results improve a bit in other shield scenarios, the overall profile still looks too weak to matter in the broader meta. Its notable wins include Tentacruel, Virizion, and Togekiss, but the losses are far more telling, with Lickilicky, Tinkaton, Bellibolt, Cresselia, and Galarian Moltres all landing on the wrong side of the matchup spread. Considering it also demands a heavy XL Candy investment; the payoff is extremely poor. Espathra falls well short of true Ultra League viability. 

Espathra’s ideal IV spread for Ultra League is: 0/15/12, 2500 CP, Level 47.

Master League

With a max CP of just 2800, Espathra simply doesn’t have the raw stats required to make any meaningful impact in the Master League. It struggles to keep pace with the heavy hitters that define the Master League meta.

Is Espathra Worth Building?

Espathra is not really worth building for most Trainers right now, but there is at least a small reason to keep an eye on it. In PvE, it is a clear pass. Its low Attack and max CP leave it far behind top Psychic types, and even several mid-tier options offer better raid value. In PvP, the story is not much better. Great League gives Espathra a few respectable wins, but its overall matchup spread is too shaky to trust. Ultra League looks even worse, especially when you factor in the steep XL Candy cost for such a limited payoff.

That said, Espathra could have some future play if it gets access to its signature move, Lumina Crash. A strong exclusive or signature move can completely change how a Pokémon performs in the meta, and right now that is probably Espathra’s best hope of gaining real relevance.

---

Parting Words

Espathra arrives in Pokémon GO with style, but not much substance. It is a cool Paldean debut and a nice dex entry to grab during the Spring Marathon event, yet it lacks the stats, movepool, and consistency needed to stand out in either raids or GO Battle League. Build one if you are a fan of the ostrich Pokémon or just want something different in your collection, but if you are chasing performance, Espathra is easy to skip.

As always, stay safe! 

The post Is Espathra Worth Building in Pokémon GO? Full Meta Breakdown! appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

The Pokémon North America International Championships (NAIC) is the final International Championships event for the 2026 season. It features exciting competitions for the Pokémon Video Game Championships, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon UNITE. 

Viewers can watch exciting Pokémon battles from June 12 to June 14, 2026. Pokémon GO Trainers who tune into the NAIC livestream on Twitch can also receive Timed Research via Twitch Drops featuring:

• 20 Goldeen XL Candies
• 10 Fast TMs
• 10 Charged TMs
• Encounter with Seaking that knows the Charged Attack Icy Wind, inspired by P4T0M4N’s EUIC winning team.

But that’s not all. Trainers can also receive an NAIC Battle Bundle code which will reward them with the following items:  

• Elite Charged TM
• Rare Candy XL
• 25 Charged TMs
• 25 Fast TMs

---

How to get this Timed Research and Battle Bundle Code

• Connect your Pokémon Trainer Club account to Twitch
• Enable Twitch Drops on your Twitch account, tune into Twitch.tv/PokemonGO during NAIC.
• Watch twitch.tv/pokemongo for 30 minutes.
• Claim the Twitch Drop in your Twitch Inventory (Click on Notifications) for the Timed Research. 
• Watch twitch.tv/pokemongo for 45 minutes.
• Claim the Twitch Drop in your Twitch Inventory (Click on Notifications) for the Battle Bundle Code.
• Go to rewards.pokemon.com to obtain a one-time redemption code.
• Redeem the code on store.pokemongo.com.

The code redemptions will expire on June 26, 2026.

The post Pokémon NAIC 2026 Twitch Reward Drops appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

A new Drop event featuring the debut of a new Mega Evolution EX is now underway in Pokémon TCG Pocket, giving players another option to consider for their decks. The headliner is none other than Mega Heracross, joined by a bunch of other Promos for the Pulsing Aura set.

Here are all the details.

Dates

• Starts May 12, 2026
• Ends May 29, 2026

Cards obtainable in this event

Drop events let you obtain promo cards by doing solo battles in Pokémon TCG Pocket. You can solo battle against four different decks of increasing difficulty.

• Each time you win, you have between a 51% and 100% chance of getting a ‘Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8.’
• It will come with one of the five promo cards shown below, and the pack can be claimed from the ‘Gifts’ menu on the home screen.

The Mega Heracross EX Promo is an altogether new card. Similarly, Dwebble and Tepig are altogether new cards. Zarude and Castform Sunny Form are alternate art reprints from their Pulsing Aura counterparts. All of them have stamps to mark them as Promo cards.

Here are the drop rates of each promo:

• Mega Heracross EX: 12.66%
• Zarude: 15.82%
• Castform Sunny Form: 23.84%
• Dwebble: 23.84%
• Tepig: 23.84%

Mega Heracross EX Drop Missions

Item Rewards

There are a variety of rewards available for each difficulty level, including XP, Hourglasses, Shinedust, and more.

• Hourglasses can be used to decrease the timers on your pack openings.
• Shinedust can be used to add Flair to your Pokémon, which is a cosmetic change only.
• When you have enough copies of a specific card, you can trade copies of it along with Shinedust in order to obtain a Sparkles: Gold Flair, which can then be used on the remaining copies of the same card.
• Once you have unlocked Sparkles: Gold Flair, you can then continue to unlock more expensive Flair.
• Typically, you obtain Shinedust by getting duplicate copies of cards.

Decks you will face in battles

Beginner: Heracross Deck (Pulsing Aura)

First-Time Rewards

• 2x Pack Hourglass
• 1x Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8
• 1x Shop ticket
• 25 XP

Chance Rewards

• 1x Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8 (51% chance)
• 25x Shinedust (100%)
• 1x Shop ticket (38.7%)

Battle Tasks

• 4x Event Hourglass: Knock Out your opponent’s Active Pokémon 1 time with an attack from a Fire-type Pokémon
• 4x Event Hourglass: Put 3 Basic Pokémon into play

Intermediate: Heracross Deck (Pulsing Aura)

First-Time Rewards

• 4x Pack Hourglass
• 1x Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8
• 1x Shop ticket
• 50 XP

Chance Rewards

• 1x Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8 (64%)
• 25x Shinedust (100%)
• 1x Shop ticket (48.3%)

Battle Tasks

• 3x Event Hourglass: Knock Out your opponent’s Active Pokémon 1 time with an attack from a Fire-type Pokémon
• 4x Event Hourglass: Put a Stage 1 Pokémon into play
• 2x Event Hourglass: Win this battle with 2 or more Pulsing Aura cards included in your deck

Advanced: Mega Heracross EX Deck (Pulsing Aura)

First-Time Rewards

• 6x Pack Hourglass
• 1x Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8
• 1x Shop ticket
• 75x XP

Chance Rewards

• 1x Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8 (80%)
• 25x Shinedust (100%)
• 1x Shop ticket (60.4%)

Battle Tasks

• 4x Wonder Hourglass: Knock Out your opponent’s Active Pokémon 1 time with an attack from a Fire-type Pokémon
• 4x Wonder Hourglass: Win this battle with 1 or more Mega Evolution Pokémon EX included in your deck
• 4x Wonder Hourglass: Win this battle with 6 or more Pulsing Aura cards included in your deck
• 4x Wonder Hourglass: Win this battle without your opponent getting any points

Expert: Mega Heracross EX Deck (Pulsing Aura)

First-Time Rewards

• 8x Pack Hourglass
• 1x Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8
• 1x Shop ticket
• 100 XP

Chance Rewards

• 1x Promo Pack B Series Vol. 8 (100%)
• 25x Shinedust (100%)
• 1x Shop ticket (75.5%)

Battle Tasks

• 5x Wonder Hourglass: Win this battle without any Pokémon EX included in your deck
• 5x Wonder Hourglass: Win this battle with 1 or more Mega Evolution Pokémon EX included in your deck
• 5x Wonder Hourglass: Win this battle with 12 or more Pulsing Aura cards included in your deck
• 5x Wonder Hourglass: Win 5 or more battles
• 5x Wonder Hourglass: Win 10 or more battles

The post Mega Heracross EX Drop Event (Pokémon TCG Pocket) appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

Flittle makes its Pokémon GO debut during the Spring Marathon 2026 event, alongside the first appearance of Pikachu wearing a Marathon Visor! Discover event bonuses, wild spawns, rotating bonuses, raids, Field Research, and GO Pass rewards. The Spring Marathon 2026 runs from Tuesday, May 12, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, May 18, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time.

Here’s everything you need to know about spawns, bonuses, research, and shiny Pokémon during the event.

Event Bonuses

The following bonuses are active during the Pokémon GO Spring Marathon 2026 event:

Debut of Flittle Family

During the event, Flittle, the Frill Pokémon, makes its debut in Pokémon GO.

You can use 50 Flittle Candy to evolve into Espathra.

Costume Pokémon Debut

Pikachu wearing a marathon visor will make their Pokémon GO debut, and it can be shiny!

5km Eggs

The following Pokémon will hatch from 5km eggs obtained during the event:

Free Timed Research

Spring Marathon Timed Research (1/1)

Rewards

Note on Timed Research

Please note that Timed Research expires. The tasks associated with this Timed Research must be completed and their rewards must be claimed before Monday, May 18, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time.

Field Research

GO Pass: Spring Marathon

From Tuesday, May 12, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, May 18, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time, the GO Pass and GO Pass Deluxe for Spring Marathon will be available in Pokémon GO.

GO Pass Major Milestones

Plus, reach Major Milestones on your event GO Pass to unlock the following bonuses:

Tier 1

Tier 2

GO Pass: Spring Marathon Rewards

Tasks 31 through 59 reward alternating 50 and 100 Stardust rewards.

---

---

About the GO Pass

A GO Pass is a free, limited-time progression track available during a specified period. By collecting GO Points, you can increase your rank to earn rewards. Trainers will automatically receive GO Pass: Spring Marathon on Tuesday, May 12 at 10:00 a.m. local time. You can collect GO Points and rank up to get additional rewards through Monday, May 18, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time.

• For US$4.99 or your country’s equivalent, Trainers can upgrade to the GO Pass Deluxe, a paid version of the GO Pass that offers upgraded rewards and faster progression.
• For US $6.99 or your country’s equivalent, Trainers can upgrade to the GO Pass Deluxe + 6 Ranks to also automatically earn enough GO Points to reach Rank 7.

While progressing through the GO Pass Deluxe, you’ll be able to claim all of the rewards from both the free GO Pass and GO Pass Deluxe. You can upgrade to a GO Pass Deluxe at any time and still collect rewards from previously unlocked ranks.

---

GO Pass Deluxe bonus

Trainers who upgrade to the GO Pass Deluxe can also earn the following rewards:

• An event-themed avatar item
• Additional encounters with event-themed Pokémon
• Incense
• Silver Pinap Berries
• Rare Candy XL
• Candy XL
• And more

Pokémon GO Web Store

GO Pass Deluxe

Your GO Pass Deluxe purchased via the Pokémon GO Web Store will activate as soon as the GO Pass begins.

Trainers who upgrade to GO Pass Deluxe: Spring Marathon or GO Pass Deluxe: Spring Marathon + 6 Ranks on the Pokémon GO Web Store will receive 10 Ultra Balls, five Max Revives, one Premium Battle Pass, and five Max Potions as a gift with purchase.

GO Pass Deluxe: Spring Marathon + 6 Ranks Ultra Box

The GO Pass Deluxe: Spring Marathon + 6 Ranks Ultra Box is also available and includes 20 Ultra Balls, 10 Max Revives, 10 Max Potions, two Premium Battles Passes, one Incubator, and one Super Incubator as a gift with purchase.

The post Pokémon GO Spring Marathon Event (2026) appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

Pokémon GO’s May 11-17 week sees us enter the final month of the season of Memories in Motion! Welcome Spring with the Spring Marathon, and enjoy Deino Community Day Classic.

Plus the weekly rotating Raid Hours, Dynamax Battles and Mega Raids.

Highlights

• Raid Boss Change (May 13): Pheromosa, Buzzwole, Xurkitree, and Mega Glalie return to the raid pool.
• Max Monday (May 11): Dynamax Growlithe is featured in Max Battles from 6 PM to 7 PM.
• Raid Hour (May 13): Pheromosa, Buzzwole and Xurkitree are featured in Five-Star Raids from 6 PM to 7 PM in their respective regions.
• Spring Marathon (May 12-18): Flittle debut, Pikachu wearing a visor debut, different Pokémon in 5km eggs
• Deino Community Day Classic (May 16): Deino features with a shiny boost from 2-5pm, evolve into Hydreigon to get exclusive move Brutal Swing

---

Weekly Pokémon GO Schedule

Events in Pokémon GO This Week

Spring Marathon

Flittle makes its Pokémon GO debut during the Spring Marathon 2026 event, alongside the first appearance of Pikachu wearing a marathon visor! Discover event bonuses, wild spawns, rotating bonuses, raids, Field Research, and GO Pass rewards. The Spring Marathon 2026 runs from Tuesday, May 12, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, May 18, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time.

Deino Community Day Classic

Pokémon GO’s second Community Day Classic of 2026 features Deino, the Irate Pokémon, returning with its exclusive move Brutal Swing! Join the event on Saturday, May 16, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time to enjoy 3× XP for catching Pokémon, increased Deino spawns, and a chance to encounter Shiny Deino.

Evolve Zweilous during the event, or up to 9:00 p.m. local time on May 16, 2026, to obtain an Hydreigon that knows the exclusive move Brutal Swing.

---

Raids

Five-Star Raids

From May 6 to May 12, Nihilego will appear in Five-Star Raids.

Related guides: Nihilego Raid Guide

From May 13 to May 19, Xurkitree, Buzzwole and Pheromosa will appear in Five-Star Raids in their respective regions.

Related guides:

• Pheromosa
• Buzzwole
• Xurkitree

---

Mega Raids

From May 6 to May 12, Mega Camerupt will appear in Mega Raids.

Related guides: Mega Camerupt

From May 13 to May 19, Mega Glalie will appear in Mega Raids.

Related guides: Mega Glalie

---

Shadow Raids

One-star and three-star Shadow Raids will be available daily, while five-star Shadow Raids will take place on Saturdays and Sundays unless otherwise noted. Also, Shadow Cresselia will swoop into five-star Shadow Raids during Memories in Motion! You may even encounter a Shiny Shadow Cresselia—if you’re lucky!

---

GO Pass and GO Pass Deluxe

Pokémon GO’s May 2026 GO Pass and GO Pass Deluxe feature exclusive rewards, including an encounter with Suicune, XP and Stardust bonuses, and PokéCoin rewards!

Trainers can earn GO Points by completing Pass Tasks, unlock milestone rewards through ranking up, and access premium items by upgrading to the Deluxe version via the Pokémon GO Web Store.

Trainers will automatically receive GO Pass: May on Saturday, May 2, at 10:00 a.m. local time.

GO Battle League Season 26

GO Battle League: Memories in Motion begins Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. PST GMT −8.

At the start of the Season:

• End of Season rewards become available on the Battle screen.
• Your GO Battle League rank will reset.
• The number of wins required to advance from Rank 19 to Rank 20 returns to 20.
• All other rank up requirements remain unchanged.

Active Cups and Leagues this week

Season of Memories in Motion

Get ready for Pokémon GO’s Memories in Motion Season! Running from March 3, 2026, to June 2, 2026, this incredible season focuses on new Daily Discovery experiences, shiny evolved Pokémon in the wild, new shiny Shadow Pokémon, boosted shiny odds for hatching eggs and in raid encounters and more!

Season-long bonuses

The following bonuses are specific to Memories in Motion:

Memories in Motion Egg Hatches

The following Pokémon will hatch from Eggs this Season. These are just some highlighted Egg hatches, more Pokémon can hatch from each egg group.

2km Eggs

5km Eggs

10km Eggs

7km Eggs

---

Adventure Sync Rewards

The following Pokémon hatch from Adventure Sync Eggs this Season. These are just some highlighted Egg hatches, more Pokémon can hatch from each egg group.

5 km Adventure Sync Eggs

10 km Adventure Sync Eggs

---

Routes Rewards

7 km Eggs from Mateo Gift Exchange

---

Research Breakthrough

Encounter Pokémon by completing the Research Breakthrough! Complete Field Research to unlock Research Breakthrough encounters with one of the following Pokémon:

The post Pokémon GO Events This Week: 11 – 17 May 2026 appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

The Ultra Beasts (UBs) are some of the most fascinating additions to the Pokémon franchise. As extra-terrestrial Pocket Monsters, they invoke awe, and the fact that they are similar to Legendary Pokémon makes them more intriguing.

In Pokémon GO, they are highly sought-after grabs due to their generally high numbers in a certain stat, which makes some of them exceptional performers in PvE. 

But which UBs are the best? The crème de la crème of these ‘aliens’.

Let’s do our analysis for PvE, and find out who’s the winner in this extremely competitive category.

Ultra Beasts in Pokémon GO PvE

Nihilego

Nihilego

As a Poison type

Let’s take the help of our GO Hub DPS Comparer:

The Poison-type entourage is led by Mega Beedrill and the mighty Eternatus. The former is very easy to power up and is extremely good in any situation, given the fact that Mega Beedrill also resists both Grass and Fairy, the two types Poison counters, is the icing on the cake. On the other hand, Eternatus is brilliant, but a real pain to power up due to its wild costs.

Speaking of Eternatus, let’s talk about fellow Poison/Dragon type and an Ultra Beast: Naganadel, who ends up dealing higher damage output than Nihilego, but funnily enough, each does better than the other against certain Raid Bosses.

For instance, against Grass Bosses, Naganadel is clearly better due to the Dragon subtyping offering extra resistance, while Nihilego takes neutral damage from Grass due to its rock subtyping. On the other hand, Nihilego aces against Fairy types since Naganadel’s Dragon subtyping makes it take neutral hits from Fairy Bosses.

Overall, Nihilego is more useful because Poison is more useful against Fairy, competing only with Steel types for a slot in your Raid squad. And against Grass Bosses, you are also using Fire, Flying, and Ice types, and yes… this subset includes Mega Rayquaza.

In a nutshell, Nihilego is a solid Poison Pokémon, with its Rock subtyping making it superb against the likes of Togekiss and Enamorus.

As a Rock type

Won’t be wasting your time here. Nihilego learns none of the Rock-type Fast Moves in Pokémon GO, and as such, it doesn’t make an impact in the meta. 

Nihilego is strictly a strong Poison-type attacker.

---

Buzzwole & Pheromosa

Buzzwole









Pheromosa

I’m taking both Buzzwole and Pheromosa as a union since they are not only masculine and feminine counterparts, but they also share the same Bug and Fighting type combination.

As Bug types

Firstly, if you think I missed Buzzwole, I didn’t!

The beefy muscle flexer Bug doesn’t learn a Bug Fast Move in Pokémon GO. However, it does learn Bug Bite in the mainline games, so that could be a possibility in the future. Ironically, even if Buzzwole gets Bug Bite, it doesn’t get close to the DPS dominance of Pheromosa, the best non-Mega and non-Shadow Bug type in the game. This comes with a catch, as Pheromosa is severely fragile. In fact, it is the frailiest Ultra Beast, with a DEF stat even lower than Pioipole! This makes dodging mandatory for Pheromosa. Fortunately, Bug Bite is a 0.5s move, so dodging is easy with it.

Now, Bug types are not the top counters to the types they beat (Dark, Grass, and Psychic). Even in its own type, the Mega Evolutions that overtake it in damage figures also boost the power of other Bug types, making them more of an asset in Raids. So, Pheromosa is a top-notch Pokémon, but due to its fragility and the limited viability of Bug types, it ends up being a lower-priority Ultra Beast.

As Fighting types

As Pokémon with Legendary status and high stats, it is honestly embarrassing if even regular Machamp deals more DPS. After all, Machamp is one of the most accessible Fighting types in the game, and is still pretty decent. Both Pheromosa and Buzzwole do lower damage than the Gen 1 classic.

It should be mentioned that the comparison isn’t just about Machamp’s accessibility, it’s also that Pheromosa and Buzzwole are very difficult to power up. Overall, whether it’s Bug or Fighting, Pheromosa and Buzzwole turn out to be inferior options.

---

Xurkitree

Xurkitree

As an Electric type

At the time of writing this article, Xurkitree is a fierce Electric-type attacker, trailing only behind Regieleki and a couple of Shadows. But down the line, the Mega Evolutions of Zeraora and Raichu Y are going to dominate the charts, absolutely blowing all Electric Pokémon out of the water.

Note that Zeraora is a Mythical, so there are high chances you might not get good IVs of it. That said, its performance makes it deserve a Bottle Cap. But Bottle Cap or not, the biggest shocker (no pun intended) from the list is Mega Raichu Y. Almost every Pokémon GO player has tons of Pikachu Candy, and maxing out this electrifying mouse is no real effort.

Be it table topper Mega Zeraora, the Legendary Regieleki, the Shadows, or Ultra Beast Xurkitree, powering up any of these is a rigorous process, especially when you consider that you can have a powerful attacker in Mega Raichu Y ready to go without much effort. Also… Mega Raichu Y, being a Mega Evolution, offers its perks in Raid battles, and is technically the most practical Electric Pokémon to invest in. Xurkitree is not only difficult to max out, it is outclassed despite being a strong attacker.

But hey, if you like this freaky wire mess mesh, and want to max it out, it’s not a bad decision at all!

---

Kartana

Kartana

As a Grass type

We all know that Mega Sceptile is the undisputed king/queen of Grass types, not only dishing out the highest damage, but also boasting supreme resistances, including Ground and also the attractive triple resistance to Water, making it excellent against the two main types it counters, both offensively and defensively. On the other hand, Mega Meganium is the surprising new entrant in this grassy list, also resisting both Ground and Water.

The spotlight is on Kartana, the tiny Grass/Steel sword wielder. It sports very high damage output, beating all other Grass types in the meta. However, the issue here is that the two best Grass types are not any Mega Evolutions, they are the Megas of two starters. Be it usual accessibility, power-up costs, or the Community Day perks, both Mega Sceptile and Mega Meganium are way cheaper and easier to max out, especially when compared to Kartana. That’s not all, as Kartana’s Steel subtyping makes it less effective against Ground Raid Bosses. 

So, while Kartana is literally a top 3 Grass-type attacker, the top two slots have so much more going for them, making them easy decisions. Just stick with the Gen 2 and Gen 3 Grass starters.

As a Fighting type

Whoa, whoa, wait… I know Kartana is Grass/Steel type, but hear me out!

Kartana learns no Steel moves in Pokémon GO, but… thanks to its access to the powerful Sacred Sword, Kartana is actually a strong attacker against Raid Bosses weak to Fighting, joining the likes of other non-fighters like Shadow Raikou, Mega Latios, and Shadow Latios.

Kartana is a solid Fighting-type attacker, dishing out almost as much damage as regular Lucario. If that wasn’t cool enough, Kartana outpaces both Pheromosa and Buzzwole in damage figures despite lacking Fighting STAB, making it the superior ‘Fighting’ Ultra Beast. So, with Fury Cutter and Sacred Sword, Kartana is particularly very good against Dark Raid Bosses.

Kartana ends up becoming a very strong Ultra Beast, and while outclassed, Kartana is a dependable Grass and Fighting attacker. 

---

Celesteela

Celesteela

Celesteela is a Steel/Flying type, and without a Steel Fast Move or Flying Charged Move, it is unviable in both typings. To make matters worse, its ATK stat is only 207, so it isn’t going to do much anyway.

With its highest DPS moveset, Air Slash and Heavy Slam, Celesteela’s damage output is similar to regular Empoleon’s Steel DPS, and as such, Celesteela is not a PvE investment by any means.

---

Guzzlord

Guzzlord

As a Dark type

At only 188 ATK, Guzzlord has the lowest Attack stat of all Ultra Beasts. But, unlike something like Celesteela, or even Kartana (for Steel), Guzzlord has a complete Dark (and Dragon) moveset, making it at least functional in the meta. In other words, it can be used against Tier 1 Raid Bosses.

As a Dragon type

We just saw that as a Dark type, Guzzlord uses Snarl and Brutal Swing, two fine moves for PvE. As such, Guzzlord is a fun option for Tier 1 Raids. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Dragon typing, Guzzlord’s DPS is worse than Flygon’s, making it bad even for Tier 1 Raids. But hey, it’s at least usable, unlike those awkward UBs with no moves in their typing.

---

Blacephalon

Blacephalon

As a Fire type

This is the shortest snap yet, and rightfully so, because Mind Blown Blacephalon is a mind-blowing Fire-type attacker, not only due to its outstanding damage output, but also the advantages from its resistances.  It’s known that Fire is super-effective against Bug, Grass, Ice, and Steel. Mega Delphox takes neutral damage from Bug types, and Mega Charizard Y takes neutral damage from Ice types. But, like Mega Blaziken, Blacephalon resists all the types it counters.

Mind Blown Blacephalon delivers a devastating blow to its opponents and is comparable to how Kartana performs in the Grass meta, making it a top-tier Pokémon.

As a Ghost type

Unlike any Ultra Beasts till now, Blacephalon excels in its secondary typing, as a Ghost-type attacker, having damage figures as much as Mega Froslass. This means that you can opt for Blacephalon even in the toughest of Raids, but bear in mind that you are also competing with Dark types for super-effective damage against Ghost and Psychic Raid Bosses. Needless to say, Dark Pokémon are overall better since they resist both Ghost and Psychic, although the average DPS of Ghost types is higher.

Be it Fire or Ghost, Blacephalon is stellar in both metas, but the Fire role is better.

---

Stakataka

Stakataka

As a Rock type

If you have played Pokémon GO in the early days, you’d remember taking on the Kanto Legendary Bird Raids with Golem. Since then, Rock has evolved tremendously, and now we have several high-octane performers who rock the world. Well, the problem is that Stakataka’s Rock damage is similar to Golem’s.

Hence, it goes without saying that Stakataka is bad. Yes, you can have some fun with it in Tier 1 Raids, but that’s about it.

As a Steel type

Without a Steel Fast Move and with a low ATK stat of only 213, Stakataka is not making any noise in the Steel meta.

---

Naganadel

Naganadel

As a Poison type

We’ve already talked about Naganadel when I covered the very first Ultra Beast in this list, Nihilego, so we know that Naganadel is a phenomenal Poison attacker, excelling against Grass types, and relatively easier to power up than Eternatus, which also flexes Dragon and Poison.

So, while overall utility makes Nihilego more preferable, at the end of the day, Naganadel is one of the top-performing UBs.

As a Dragon type

Naganadel’s ATK stat of 263 is the same as Dragonite’s, but there is a major problem with this UB. It doesn’t have a Dragon Fast Move, and its Dragon Charged Moves, Dragon Claw and Dragon Pulse, are underwhelming for PvE anyway. The good thing is that Naganadel learns Dragon Tail, Draco Meteor, and Outrage in the mainline games, so if ever it gets those moves in Pokémon GO, it will immediately become viable, although heavily outclassed.

We will obviously not analyze Poipole, Naganadel’s pre-evolution. Its ATK may be higher than Guzzlord’s, but there’s no reason to think about it when all you need to do is evolve it into Naganadel.

---

The Best Ultra Beasts for Pokémon GO PvE

The best Ultra Beast for PvE battles in Pokémon GO is Blacephalon.

Here are the reasons.

Excellent performance in both types

Many Ultra Beasts fail to perform in both their typing, either due to a lack of moveset (Nihilego, Kartana, Naganadel) or even a poor moveset (Pheromosa). Then there are UBs that excel in their type(s).

Blacephalon is phenomenal in both Fire and Ghost, Xurkitree is excellent in its only type, Electric, and, to be fair, Kartana is superb as a Grass and even Fighting.

Now, since this article is about Ultra Beasts, we will ignore the fact that the top options in their meta are starter Megas that are easier and cheaper to max out. With that in mind, we can give the edge to all three: Blacephalon, Xurkitree, and Kartana.

High DPS figures

Let’s check out the highest DPS output given by the Ultra Beasts:

Blacephalon	Xurkitree	Kartana
DPS: 21.06 Fire	DPS: 18.12 Electric	DPS: 18.34 Fighting

 

Blacephalon deals the highest damage among all Ultra Beasts in the Fire meta, and it’s not too outclassed.

Kartana flexes high damage numbers with non-STAB moves, but is quite outclassed in this role. On the other hand, Xurkitree isn’t far behind the top slots, but its damage output is lower than Kartana’s Grass DPS of 18.31.

Blaceohalon takes an affirnative lead here.

Highest neutral damage among all Ultra Beasts

This settles it. Let’s check out the best damage figures from the very best in Pokémon GO.

When listing the best that the game has to offer in terms of damage output, Blacephalon is the top Ultra Beast in the list, with its DPS crossing the likes of Dawn Wing Necrozma, Shadow Salamence, and, of course, Kartana and Xurkitree.

---

Blacephalon wins! It is the best Ultra Beast in Pokémon GO!

The post The Best Ultra Beast for Pokémon GO Raids: Complete Guide (2026) appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

Sorry ol’ JRE has been quieter of late, Pokéfriends. Just been a very busy (and occasionally very stressful) couple of months as we approach the midway point of 2026 (already?!), and the time to write with now three high schoolers and all else going on has just taken a hit. I haven’t covered all the weekly metas this season, despite best intentions. But at the very least, I want to make sure big PvP-relevant events don’t pass us by, so here’s the latest: May Community Day!

OINKOLOGNE (Female) Stats and Moves

Female Oinkologne

Normal

Great League Stats

• (Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-14-15, 1500 CP, Level 23)

Ultra League Stats

• (Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-15-15, 2497 CP, Level 47)

Master League

Don’t be a greedy pig.

Okay, right off the bat with some discussion. Why did I only highlight the female version, you might ask? It simply comes down to stats, where the Female has (to use the overused phrase) strictly better PvP stats than the Male, outpacing it by about 10 Defense and HP in both Great League and Ultra League; the Male has 8-10 more Attack instead. And that is literally the only difference between them, with both having the same typing and moves right on down the line.

Are there things that the higher Attack of the Male can beat that the Female cannot? Sure, but very few of note, whereas the notably higher bulk of the Female means that is consistently outpaces the Male in the win/loss column with multiple additional wins. I WILL show a couple sims of the Male later just to highlight this, but until that bit, we’ll be focusing in on just the superior Female version for this analysis… including those stats all listed above.

And speaking of those stats, the Female is not just bulkier than the Male, it’s also truly bulky in general. Among Normal types, while not in the uppermost bulk tier, it’s still up there with more bulk than stuff like Oranguru and Dubwool, and in Ultra League in particular, only Blissey, Lickilicky, Miltank, Greedent, and Snorlax rank higher.

As compared to the wider field, Female Oinkologne’s overall bulk is nearly identical to Great League bulkmeisters Marowak, Forretress, Tentacruel and Toesdcruel, and ahead of Serperior, and in Ultra League, Oinker sits with basically the same bulk as Jellicent, is just behind Ferrothorn and Tenta/Toesdcruel, Cradily, and Tinkaton, and ahead of things known primarily for their bulk like Meganium and Blastoise. Particularly noticable is the high HP/stamina, which puts Female Oinkologne in the Top 40 Pokémon in the entire game.

Yeah… baby got back.

As for the Normal typing, shouldn’t be a big mystery by now, but you have a weakness to Fighting, a double resistances to Ghost, and neutral damage from everything else. The Ghost bit in particular will come up again, as we live in a Ghost-heavy meta right now….

But first, we have the moves!

ᴱ – Exclusive (Community Day) Move

Fast Moves

• Tackle – Normal type, 3.0 DPT, 3.0 EPT, 0.5 CoolDown
• Take Down – Normal type, 1.67 DPT, 2.67 EPT, 1.5 CD
• Mud Slapᴱ – Ground type, 3.67 DPT, 3.33 EPT, 1.5 CD

This is where Oinker has always been held back the most. Good charge moves (we’ll get there in a sec, hang tight) but about as dull as you can get in the fast move department. Tackle can work, but it’s a poor man’s… well, everything. Normal moves are never super effective and awkwardly resisted by the Ghosts that Normal types are otherwise well equipped to counter. Tackle gets the job done, but only just barely with completely average damage and energy generation, but it has all the bland stigma of many other Normal-type moves, and has left Oinkologne rooting around for success and mostly not finding it to this point.

Enter the new exclusive Community Day move Mud Slap. Obviously this move has a storied history over the last few seasons, rising from obscurity in Season 20 and never really looking back since, even after its slight nerf (from 4.0 DPT to now 3.67 DPT) just this season.

Yes, Mud Slappers have come back down to earth a bit, but the good ones like Gastrodon, Marowak, and others haven’t dropped out of any metas where they were prominent over the last years and a half. Mud Slap is still one of the best fast moves in the game with above average damage and energy generation, and still brings tremendous meta pressure all on its own. And now Oinkologne gets a crack at it.

Now Mud Slap has an admittedly spotty history on non-Ground types (where it lacks the Same Type Attack Bonus that makes it really scary), but as we saw in one of very few analyses I have gotten out over the last couple weeks, spotlighting Orthworm, Mud Slap CAN do good things even for non-Ground types that have good bulk. Orthworm even finds success without any charge moves costing less than 50 energy, which is hardly ideal. Thankfully, Oinkologne does NOT have that particular problem….

Charge Moves

• Body Slam – Normal type, 55 damage, 35 energy
• Trailblaze – Grass type, 65 damage, 45 energy, Raises User Attack +1 Stage
• Dig – Ground type, 70 damage, 50 energy

While Orthie is perhaps only held back by needing to reach 50 energy to fire off any charge moves at all, as you can see, it’s a whole different story for Oinkologne: 50 energy represents not its cheapest move, but its most expensive, and — spoiler alert — its one 50-energy move is one you probably don’t want to be running anyway! Not when you have 45-energy Trailblaze sitting there.

Yes, it deals a bit less damage than Dig (65 instead of 70), but still has a respectable 1.44 Damage Per Energy which is actually higher than Dig (1.40 DPE) AND nice coverage (being a Grass move, as opposed to Dig doubling up Ground damage on top of Mud Slap) AND a guaranteed Attack boost to make all subsequent Mud Slaps that much more powerful.

But what really makes Oinkologne go is a spammy Normal-type charge move (which DOES get S.T.A.B.!)… good old Body Spam Slam, in this case. Most of the best Normal types in PvP rely on Slam or Swift these days — a list that includes heavyweights of the present like Lickilicky, Furret, Miltank, Dubwool, Greedent and those of the past like Vigoroth and Snorlax — along with other modern (but non-Normal) stars like Kingdra, Sealeo, Dragonair, and of course, fellow Mud Slapping, Body Slammin’ superstar Gastrodon.

Oinkologne has always had the same (if not better) potential, it’s just been locked behind mediocre Tackle. Let’s set it free now with Mud Slap and see how high it can go!

GREAT LEAGUE

So comparing Tackle to the new Mud Slap is SUCH an improvement I almost feel I could rest my case right here. Yes, Tackle can uniquely take down Flying (and Mud Slap resistant) Fearow and, interestingly, Shelgon, but otherwise it’s ALL Mud Slap with extra wins over a boatload of Steels (Aegislash, Galarian Stunfisk, Shadow Steelix, Shadow and non-Shadow Empoleon, Tinkaton), Poisons (Galarian Weezing, Clodsire), Tackle-resistant Ghosts (Galarian Corsola, Shadow and non-Shadow Sableye), and other big names that include Lickilicky, Charjabug, and Shadow Swampert.

This is a clear and nearly unequivocal upgrade that I really don’t need to embellish… it speaks for itself with a now-winning record against a number of obvious (Steels, Poisons) and not-so-obvious big names. And the lack of STAB on Mud Slap doesn’t matter all that much; consider Donphan, a Ground type that DOES get STAB Mud Slap and carries the same Body Slam/Trailblaze moveset, and is left entirely in Oinkologne’s dust due to having far worse bulk. STAB and Attack prowess aren’t everything… stats generally matter more.

I’ll just take a further moment to highlight that Female Oinkologne’s remarkable improvement isn’t limited to 1v1 shielding matchups. While things are a little closer in 0v0 shielding (Tackle scrapes out unique wins against Talonflame, Wigglytuff, Lickilicky, and Furret, though Mud Slap is still superior with wins instead against Morpeko, Galarian Weezing, and the Shadow versions of Steelix, Empoleon, Drapion, and even Talonflame), in 2v2 shielding, Mud Slap is a straight upgrade, beating literally everything that Tackle can while adding on (I’ll just stick with alphabetical) Azumarill, Clefable, Cradily, Cresselia, Diggersby, Alolan Ninetales, Quagsire, G-Weezing, and Wigglytuff. I mean, there’s really no further commentary or analysis necessary here, is there?

The only other thing I WILL highlight is the superiority of Trailblaze as compared to Dig. While Dig CAN bury a few things that Trailblaze cannot (Shadow Scizor there in 1shield, and Tinkaton, Empoleon, Shadow G-Weezing, and SScizor again with shields down), it consistently…

…well, trails Trailblaze, which not only brings in that important Grass coverage and wins that come with it like Mud Boys, Azumarill, Feraligatr, Diggersby and others, but is FAR better even when Grass is not super effective in long, pitched battles, shown most clearly by the 2v2 shielding comparison between Trailblaze and Dig, with Trailblaze beating everything Dig can, adding on those Grassy wins I just mentioned, and then a bunch of bonuses like Alolan Ninetales, Wigglytuff, Clefable, Galarian Weezing, and Cresselia thanks to the stacking Attack buffs from Trailblaze.

Just run that and Body Slam and don’t look back.

ULTRA LEAGUE

While Oinker doesn’t quite get to a winning record in Ultra League, the improvement is even more impressive and consistent at this level. In 1shield, Mud Slap clowns on Tackle completely by matching ALL of its same wins while tacking on Ampharos (including Shadow), Bellibolt, Skeledirge, Shadow Dusknoir, Shadow and non-Shadow Empoleon, Steelix, Tinkaton, G-Weezing, and Tentacruel.

With shields down, Tackle scores its first unique win (over Talonflame), but Mud Slap strikes back with unique wins versus Tentacthulhu, G-Weeze, Shadow Nidoqueen, Steelix, Empoleon, Bellibolt, Shadow Ampharos, and Lickilicky.

And finally, in 2v2 shielding, Tackle scores two standout wins (Golisopod and Togekiss, both of which resist Ground), but the advantage for Mud Slap remains clear cut with all of the following sliding into the win column: Ampharos (regular and Shadow), Empoleon (regular and Shadow), Nidoqueen (regular and Shadow), Steelix, Tinkaton, G-Weezing, ShadowNoir, Tentacthulhu, Cobalion, and Zygarde Complete.

NO BOYS ALLOWED?

I mentioned I would circle back on the male model of Oinkologne, so let’s wrap up with a quick discussion on it and why stats matter so much in PvP. As I said in the opening portion of this analysis, the ONLY difference between the Female and Male variants is the stats… the moves and typing are identical. Now the Male benefits from Mud Slap (as compared to Tackle) just as much as the Female does, so I certainly WOULD try and get a couple Males with the exclusive move while you can.

But it just can’t keep up with the Female. While its higher Attack means it can overpower things the Female cannot such as Scizor in 1shield, Politoed in 2v2 shielding, and Empoleon, Shadow G-Weezing, Wigglytuff, and Lickilicky with shields down, it consistently trails 3-6 wins behind the Female overall, and only ever sneaks away with one or two meta wins that the Female cannot match (aside from that 0shield comparison in Great League).

The ONLY even shield scenario where it gets any closer to replicating the Female’s success is in 1v1 shield matchups in Ultra League, where the Male gets a unique win over Cresselia and the Female instead outlasts Tentacruel and Ludicolo. (In other even shield matchups in Ultra, the Male again trails 4-5 wins behind.)

Again, get them, because you never know what a future move tweak could do, and the two forms DO have their own, separate coded movesets, so the Male could end up with moves the Female doesn’t have one day. But your priority absolutely should be the Female during this particular event.

IN SUMMATION

If I didn’t already make it plain, yes, you absolutely want Oinkologne with its exclusive Community Day move (Mud Slap) for PvP… it’s nearly irrelevant without Mud Slap, and very impactful with Mud Slap. I can see it popping up even in Open play moving forward, at least the Female version, which has far better stats for PvP, translating to consistently superior results that makes it almost strictly better than the Male (and even other Pokémon with the exact same moveset that get the Same Type Attack Bonus on Mud Slap… see Donphan).

So that’s it for now. Hope this is a help! Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.

Good luck on your grind! Have some fun out there with your local communities, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

The post A PvP Analysis on Community Day Oinkologne appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

Trainers, prepare for a porky Community Day adventure! May 2026 Community Day is just around the corner, and this time the spotlight falls on a rather unusual pick, the Hog Pokémon, Lechonk. Evolve Lechonk during the event or up to four hours afterward to get an Oinkologne that knows the Fast Attack Mud-Slap. With Lechonk taking center stage, this Community Day is set to be a fun one for collectors, shiny hunters, and anyone looking to add this Paldean favorite to their roster. Let’s take a closer look at what Lechonk Community Day has to offer and whether Oinkologne can carve out any niche in Pokémon GO PvE.

Oinkologne: Stats, Profile and Typing

Oinkologne

Normal

Female Oinkologne

Normal

Oinkologne, a pure Normal type Pokémon, was introduced in Generation IX as part of the Paldea region. It stands out for having distinct male and female forms, each with its own visual design and separate stat distribution, making the species more unique than most standard additions. As a pure Normal type, both male and female Oinkologne share just one weakness in Fighting while double resisting Ghost type damage, giving them a simple but straightforward defensive profile.

---

Shiny Lechonk Family

---

Oinkologne Pokémon GO PvE

Raids

Trainers already know that sadly, Normal type Pokémon rarely have a meaningful place in raids, mainly because Normal type attacks are never super effective against any other type. That limitation makes it difficult for them to compete with top raid attackers, which are usually valued for exploiting type weaknesses and maximizing damage output.

Oinkologne falls into the same category. As a pure Normal type Pokémon, it faces the same fundamental problem in PvE content, and that naturally caps its overall raid value. Even so, it is still worth taking a closer look at what Oinkologne brings to the table, especially when measured against other Normal Raid Attackers and whether its Community Day move does anything meaningful to improve its raid relevance. Using our DPS Comparer Tool:

When it comes to raids, there really is not much to get excited about with Oinkologne. Its raid performance is just too weak to matter, and its Community Day exclusive move does not do anything meaningful to improve that. With or without the added move, Oinkologne still falls well behind the Normal attackers that have some raid value, so there is no real reason to build one for PvE. Male Oinkologne does have slightly better raid performance than the female form, but the difference is not big enough to change the overall verdict. Neither form has the stats or move quality needed to stand out in raids, and both remain far from relevant in the current PvE meta.

The Community Day move is a bit more useful on the PvP side, where it gives Oinkologne a lot of extra play. That said, this article is focused on PvE, and in that context, the move simply does not add much. It does not suddenly make Oinkologne a hidden gem, and it does not give it a realistic role on raid teams. So, for Trainers who mostly care about raid attackers and PvE value, this Community Day is an easy pass. Unless you are playing for the shiny, collecting the family, or hoping to build one for PvP, there is very little here that makes Oinkologne worth your time or resources from a raid perspective.

---

Parting Words

If you are heading into May 2026 Community Day with PvE in mind, Oinkologne is unfortunately not the kind of Pokémon that is going to shake up your raid teams. Its typing, stats, and overall move quality leave it with almost no meaningful role in raids, and even Mud-Slap does not come close to changing that.

That said, not every Community Day needs to be about meta relevance. Lechonk is a popular Paldean Pokémon for many Trainers, its shiny is a big draw, and both Oinkologne forms add a little extra collection appeal to the event. If you enjoy filling out the Pokédex, hunting shinies, snapping AR photos or preparing one for PvP experimentation, there is still plenty of reason to take part. Just do not expect Oinkologne to earn a serious spot on your raid roster once the event is over.

Lechonk steals the show, Oinkologne raids too slow, but shiny luck may glow!

Let us know Trainers! Do you remember the Lechonk memes? Which one made you laugh the most? Lechonk or Bidoof, which side are you on?

And as always, stay safe and have a great Community Day! 

The post Lechonk Community Day PvE Analysis: Is Oinkologne Any Good in Pokémon GO? appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

I thought I knew what Pokémon GO was. Then I showed up to a meetup with hundreds of players… and realized I was playing a completely different game.

During my time in Seattle, I had the chance to experience one of the most active and well-organized groups in the game: Mega PokéGO Seattle.

With thousands of players and large-scale meetups, it completely changed how I see the game. Here’s a closer look at what makes it work and the people behind it.

Introduction to the Community Ambassador Program

In 2016, I remember opening Pokémon GO for the first time with friends. I fondly remember spending my time wandering around my local community with them, battling the local gyms, and hunting down new entries for our Pokédexes’. In the early days of Pokémon GO, I remember hearing stories and reading news articles about people swarming their local hotspots in order to catch a rare Dragonite or Snorlax spawn. 

These experiences were part of what got me hooked in the game. Over time, however, this sense of community began to fade.  One of the ways that the Pokémon GO developers began to try and recapture this energy was through their Community Ambassador program.

For those that don’t know, Community Ambassadors are fellow players that have volunteered their time to help develop their Pokémon GO communities. They also serve as a bridge between their communities and the Pokémon GO developers. 

The specifics of what Community Ambassadors (CA’s for short) do varies based on the community, but their primary role generally is to organize and facilitate community meetups.

These meetups are usually scheduled around weekly events, such as Raid Hours or Spotlight Hours, as well as larger events such as Community Days or GO Fest. Depending on the size of the community, this process can be as simple as sending out a meeting time and place, but can get significantly more complex as a community grows.

There are a plethora of other smaller components that also go into the planning of these meetups, which we will dive into a bit later.

Today I wanted to take an opportunity to give a spotlight to a community and its team of CA’s that I have had the privilege of interacting with for the past few years. While this article will feature one community specifically, know that there are CA’s around the world that are putting in just as much time, effort, and care into their communities as the ones I will be highlighting today.

If anything in this article resonates with you, I encourage you to engage with your local community if you are able to, or otherwise connect with the more global community as a whole if you get the chance!

Introducing Mega PokéGO Seattle!

This summer marked the end of my time in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of the United States, at least for now. I’ve spent the past 5 years living in Seattle, Washington. I moved up to Seattle just after the peak of the global pandemic, which needless to say was a bit of a rough transition.

Pokémon GO was one of the few things that helped get me through that period of time, but I found myself missing the community aspects of the game as I explored the city alone.

A few years later, I had found a small group of friends to play Pokémon GO with. This was already a huge improvement over the solo grind, but they then introduced me to our local community of players called Mega PokéGO Seattle. This group was started by Community Ambassador Al4believin.

This is an extremely large community, with just over 12,000 registered members in the Campfire app alone. The group covers the greater Seattle area, and smaller offshoots of the group have formed extensions of the community in the surrounding area. The main group meets up at a large park in Northern Seattle.

This was my first real experience with an established Pokémon GO CA community, and it far exceeded any of my initial expectations. Meetups were scheduled regularly and were well organized.

The CA’s were always present and managed to balance their role as the facilitators, ensuring that the event didn’t disrupt the surrounding community, with engaging with the players around them to ensure they had a positive experience.

I distinctly remember one of the first Gigantamax Battle events where the CA was simultaneously shepherding hundreds (yes HUNDREDS) of players, acting as a traffic crossing guard, and running a merchandise competition and giveaway!

This summer I had the privilege of sitting down for a chat with some of the people behind Mega PokéGO Seattle. I got to learn a bit about their history with the game, what goes into organizing each event, and a bit about the CA role as a whole.

Below you’ll find the interview questions, as well as some highlights from the more casual conversations we had before and after the interview about Pokémon GO and the community as a whole.

I’ll have a summary of some of the key discussion points and takeaways at the end of the article, but for now I hope you enjoy hearing the CA’s insights as much as I did!

About the Interview

I was able to connect with CA’s 0IneedC8H10N4O2 in person and SpudMuffin via messages. Since I sat down with 0IneedC8H10N4O2 in person, I was able to ask more follow-up questions, which is why his responses are a bit lengthier and have some back and forth between him and myself. For simplicity’s sake, I will label the responses with an INC and SM, respectively, as well as KT for myself.

An important note for the background of the group: This community and its foundation were built upon the hard work of Al4believin, the original CA. Both of the current co-CA’s placed a heavy emphasis in their responses that they are simply continuing Al4believin’s good work (she’s still around, but no longer the CA for the group). While not all of these conversations were able to be fit into the article, it will be referenced throughout, and I along with the current CA’s thought it important to highlight the hard work of the person who founded the group and made it what it is today!

Some important additional context: this interview was conducted in June of 2025. At the time, the most recent big update had been Max Battles and G-Max Battles, and the most recent large events were the first GO Wild event and the Go Tour Unova. As such, much of the discussions we had about CA duties and event preparation center around these events. This also means that some information may be outdated. For example, this was prior to the reworking of the level system, so you will see myself and the CA’s reference being level 50, which was the maximum level at the time.

More importantly, this was around the time of the announcement that Scopely would be acquiring the game, but prior to the official takeover. 

All this to say that a lot has changed since this interview. Many of the behind the scenes aspects of the Community Ambassador Program have shifted or changed altogether since then. However, the purpose of this article is to highlight the hard work of a very dedicated community and some of its leaders, as well as to give you some insight as to what Community Ambassadors do.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the interview!

Interview Questions

Can you introduce yourself to us?

SM: My name’s Derek. I’ve been involved in a lot of various gaming communities from Magic: the Gathering to Halo, and I got involved with the Pokémon GO community in 2022.

INC: My name is Andy. I’m one of the Community Ambassadors for the Mega PokéGO Seattle group. I was told that we were one of the original Community Ambassador groups to be established from the Silph Road communities. Our group started way back in the day, before Campfire was even a thing, and now it has ballooned into a much bigger beast.

---

What is your history with Pokémon GO or Pokémon in general?

SM: Pokémon GO is actually the first Pokémon game I’ve ever played. I played the POGO spinoff Wizards Unite a bit, which made this game easy to fall into.

INC: I remember way back in the day, when Nintendo was first introducing Pokémon to the US. I remember they had a very big push to try and introduce it because it seemed so foreign to us. Nintendo brought out these Pika-bugs, which were these Pikachu Volkswagen Beatles. It was kind of like a promotional tour thing, and I remember them parking one outside of the Toys R US, back when it still existed. People brought their kids to take pictures with it, and that’s what kind of piqued a lot of people’s interest. And this started this whole cascade of everyone at my school suddenly getting obsessed with it, and everyone just kind of started jumping on to the Pokémon bandwagon. So that’s where it kind of all started for me, with OG Red and Blue.

---

Tell us a bit about what you do for the Mega PokéGO Seattle community.

SM: The big responsibilities we have as CA’s include hosting events, managing online communities, helping newer players, and building the community.

INC: Yeah, we pretty much facilitate in-person meetups, centered around the game events. I basically try to help monitor the group’s movements, to the best of my ability, to keep everyone as safe as possible. Also, I help try to set the pace when it comes to larger events like Raid Day, Max Battles, and whatnot.

---

How did you get started with the Community Ambassador role? What made you want to do it?

SM: I started attending regular events, and helping players who had questions about things I was already familiar with. When the previous CA had to step away, I would frequently step in, and that continued more and more as time went on.

INC: So I was mostly doing my own thing within our local community. I happened to chance across Al4believin, our main ambassador that started the group. When I hit level 50, I hit a similar end-game crisis many other players do and wondered, “Now what?” I wound up learning about Wayfarer and the potential for new POI creation, and I decided, “You know what? I’m gonna light up the park. I’m gonna add as many Pokéstops as I can.” So I learned about the S2 cell system in its varying levels and ultimately wound up adding 40 or so Pokéstops to the park, 3 of which have become gyms.

When I connected with Al4believin, she had heard about all of that and told me I’d be a perfect ambassador. She said that anyone who is trying to make the community better would be a perfect fit. I was very hesitant at first, but over time I warmed up to the idea, and eventually SpudMuffin and I officially stepped up. I’m always working to continue the great work that she started.

---

What exactly does an average event look like when you’re managing it?

SM: It looks like a quick announcement at the beginning introducing myself, and making sure people have a general idea where we’re going and what we’re doing. I make sure they know they can come to me with questions, and let them know there are prizes and rewards that I have to give out.

INC: For the larger events like GO Wild, GO Tours, and G-Max Battle days, when hundreds of people show up, I’m basically just a glorified traffic cop. With that many people, simply crossing the street becomes an ordeal. We’ve definitely learned our lesson from that. We’ve tried to streamline things and contain the events to the park so that we don’t create a traffic nightmare for people outside.

KT: And for the record, what has been the largest number of people you have hosted for an event?

INC: I think that was G-Max Lapras, where we had around 500, maybe 550 people, and those were just the ones who checked in on Campfire. I believe we actually made it onto the Seattle Reddit thread for that one, because some people were posting photos wondering what was going on!

KT: I remember attending that event! I remember the number of people alone was staggering.

INC: It’s pretty incredible because even though new CA groups have started popping up, we still have folks from Marysville, Tacoma, Everett, and even the peninsula coming in for bigger events (KT’s note – some of these places are well over an hour’s drive from the meetup site, not including traffic!).  We have pretty much got the entirety of Western Washington covered. 

KT: And is there any special prep that needs to be done leading up to an event? For example, say there’s a G-Max event coming up for the weekend. Is there any scouting or anything that has to be done?

INC: Yes, so scouting out the spots we usually do the day before, because in game it shows us where spots are going to pop up for the next day. For us, we’ve tuned it down to two locations in the park. We know that we’ll only get 2 power spots per S2 cell, so based on the concentration of secondary POI’s (points of interest), we were able to narrow it down to two areas of the park where we usually host these events. So we can pretty much consistently get four to six there if we’re lucky.

KT: That’s great! I mean that’s all you need for a G-Max event, since by the time you finish those they will have reset?

INC: Well, yes and no. Part of the organization aspect of it is knowing that some people will buy the pass, which means that they’ll need fresh Power Spots to collect the Max Particles for it. So I’m always making sure we have more Power Spots available, because otherwise they’ll be relying on the 0.5 KM for more Max Particles. The last time we hosted [a G-Max weekend event], we made a path between 7 Power Spots [near the meetup location] at first, but because 3 of them were more out of the way, by the end we just stayed near the clustered ones since we had capped out [the Max Particles we could collect from Power Spots] for the day. (editor’s note: the paid pass has since been tweaked to provide some MP through Timed Research)

---

Has there been anything about being a Community Ambassador that has surprised you?

SM: I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the demographics of the people who come out to events. I regularly see everyone from single-digit-aged children there with their parents, to people in their 30’s and 40’s, to senior citizen couples who come out to get their steps in. It’s been a very welcoming community. 

INC: The explosive growth of the community for sure. Like I said earlier, when we first started this, it was a tiny neighborhood group. We would send a message out on Discord and say, “Hey, there’s a Raid right down the street. You want to go?”, then five or six people would show up, beat the Raid, then head home. Now we regularly host events with hundreds of people.

---

What exactly does your partnership with Niantic look like as a CA?

SM: It looks like a balancing task between behind the scenes work and what the community actually sees. There are a huge amount of logistics that occur that everyday participants (ideally) never see, or need to worry about.

INC: It’s important for me to remind people that while yes, Niantic is supporting us and the community, I am still merely a volunteer. I am not an employee, I just simply love the game as much as everyone else and want to share that joy as much as I can.  

Having a partnership with Niantic has changed the way we approach problems, though. In the past, I would probably have been more open to just openly criticizing things. Now it’s like, “Ok, this is an issue. I understand. Is there any way we can mitigate that? Is there any way we can help alleviate that?” In a way, we’ve kind of become secondary problem solvers, because we [the CA’s and Niantic] have a mutual goal of wanting our communities to grow.

KT: I see, so it’s not about pretending problems don’t exist, but rather about finding ways to collaboratively solve them rather than just complaining.

In terms of events and meetups, I know that sometimes you have official merchandise available which is provided through the CA program, correct?

INC: Yes, but unfortunately, our group has grown so large that the giveaway items that we get are not scaled proportionately. I know there are smaller groups where they have been able to scale down. For us, we have over 10,000 members, of which the active members are still in the several thousands. And it’s hard because I want to give everyone stuff if I could, but there’s just no way we can. With other groups that are similar sized to us, I know they have faced similar challenges, and we’ve come up with creative strategies to handle it.

KT: Can you explain a bit about how your group usually does this?

INC: Everyone has a different idea of doing things, but what has been fairly consistent across a lot of groups are contests. We have one we call the biggest loser (lowest IV). If we somehow have multiple people with the IV floor, then we award it to the lightest weight [Pokémon] out of them. We’re open to ideas too. I know some other CA groups do bingos or little word searches for kids. I can’t say enough that there’s multiple other ambassadors that have gone way out of their way to do things for the rest of us to try to make things more creative, more fun and just more engaging as well. 

---

What are some of the struggles behind being a CA that folks may not always see?

SM: Understand that people come to this game and events for very different reasons. For every competitive grinder you have that only cares about PVP IV’s, you’ll have a collector who only cares about shinies, and a casual player who is just excited to be out at an event with people, catching their favorite Pokémon. All those players can have a space at the events we run.

INC: Well, I alluded to it earlier, but just to remind everyone that all CAs are still volunteers. We are not Niantic employees. We do get goodies to hand out, but we’re doing this out of the passion for the game and our community. We do want to grow our communities, and we are motivated to do so, but again, we do have to strike a balance. We have lives outside of this. We do have family. We have jobs, and that’s also part of how it sustains us to be able to do this. So while we do want to provide everyone and as many opportunities to get together and have fun, it is physically impossible for us to host every single event. Please bear with us if we are absent for any of them or if we can’t create a meet up for everything. 

If you’re here specifically for the [meetup] rewards and we aren’t able to host, there are other neighboring communities you could meet up at. You might have to travel a little bit further for it, but if your goal is for the rewards, they’re available. 
But if you’re here for a meet up group that you know is consistently available regardless of the rewards, there will always be people here. Even if us as hosts are not here, people will naturally gather here. 

KT: Wow, I know event fatigue was a bit of a concern for the player base, but I imagine it’s much more real for CA’s.

INC: We don’t want to let the group down, which kinda shows some of the pressures of being a CA. I know other CA’s are getting burned out because of the sheer amount of events. Especially the weekly events (like Max Monday, Spotlight Hour, Raid Hour). So I will always make a point to host the Stardust events [2x Stardust Spotlight Hour], because I know people are always dust farming, but sometimes I’ll see “Where is everyone?” for another weekly event when people aren’t that motivated. I’m just trying to set realistic expectations.

---

Do you have any advice for folks looking to start up a POGO community?

INC: I have to give a shout out to all of our admin team and moderators. We have a very robust group of people also helping manage the group that are also working behind the scenes. They will also come help out during the events when it just gets too chaotic and large, so they will also help sub-lead the group, or if I’m running late from a work meeting or something like that and they have to help start the group they will also do that. And so that’s one of the things that I would definitely encourage people to make sure that they have if they are planning on having a group or wanting to build up a group this large. Don’t be the only person there! You need a support group. You need people around you that you can trust, that you can work with and work compatibly with, hopefully not having any internal arguments or issues with, but to be able to work out things. Yes, you can start something, but to sustain it and to build to grow, you must have a team. I don’t think you can just do it as a single person. I’ve heard multiple CA’s, immediately after becoming a CA, saying “Oh my God, I need a co-CA right away.” 
You can’t do it alone.

---

Some final words and shoutouts from 0IneedC8H10N4O2

Just a good shout out to everyone that has been here before. 
Al, who created the group, SpudMuffin, who’s been a pivotal co-ambassador and helping balance out the events, and then the rest of our admin team/moderation team that has basically been instrumental in making sure that our group has been sustainable. So, like I said, I can’t take credit for the things that we’ve all been able to work together for – we are operating as a team. And also the rest of the ambassadors out there, there’s an immense amount of work behind the scenes that is going on, that they’re also undertaking that they should also hopefully get credit for as well.

Additional Thoughts with 0IneedC8H10N4O2

Prior to starting the official interview I was chatting with Andy, and the conversation was so great that I asked if I could record it as well. This conversation is related more to the game itself, late-game content, and FOMO (fear of missing out). If you’re interested, then stick around, but if not, you can skip to the next section for a TLDR of the interview and some final thoughts!

Note: this is where I began recording our conversation. We probably spoke for 5-10 minutes prior to this, and this was also before the official interview questions.

INC: We don’t want to let the group down, which kinda shows some of the pressures which I can elaborate on. I know other CA’s are getting burned out because of the sheer amount of events. Events are linked to specific rewards, which then puts an extra pressure of, “Why are you not putting together something that has rewards?” Even if it’s something minor, people still ask, “Hey, are you gonna be putting something together for this?” Tera Thursdays would bury me haha.

KT: I mean, we joked about a Monday event, and here we are. It’s definitely getting to be a lot. From a player’s side, I’ve always pushed the idea of, “Hey, do what you can, do what you want.” If the game is becoming a chore, then something’s wrong, and that’s been a really good exercise even for myself personally. Because I’ve always been a pretty avid player. I’d imagine that for CA’s it’s probably a little bit more difficult to balance.

INC: It helps that I’m level 50, I’m a day 1 player and I don’t feel the FOMO pressures as much as others might. There’s not as much incentive or drive to push me to play hard with repeat content, but it’s a tough balance for the newer content where I have to balance admin responsibilities with wanting to play hardcore and trying to juggle that.

KT: FOMO is definitely a huge thing.

INC: We can tell you all about that for the release of G-Max [Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise]! Were you here for that?

KT: I was not, and that was the first time in a while that I felt the FOMO. 

INC: I polled the group before it happened to gauge interest. In the early time zones we heard people were failing even with full lobbies of 40, so we were a bit more cautious. People were still interested, 80% wanted to try, and on the day of, hundreds of people showed up. FOMO then was on full display. When people saw the size of the group, they wanted to keep going, because when else could get  300+ people to take the battles? Some people did 20-30 battles the first day.

KT: Yeah, and that was a big conversation [myself and some other GO Hub writers] were having just in terms of player expectation, but also how the game has been structured.
FOMO is almost a part of the game, with the Dynamax and the G-Max especially. I was reading some of the reports, and obviously, most people were frustrated. But when I was going through and breaking it down, I saw a lot of teams that went in with only Wooloo’s.
Obviously that wasn’t going to go well. And that was a big thing in the first time zone. So we have an Australian based writer who said, “Yeah we had to do a mid event reorganization.” And then they were able to get it running again. 

INC: I saw all those things too. We have our own community that discusses these things and we help each other out. It’s like, “Hey, this is what our group did, this is what helped us. Here’s some ideas,” and “Here’s some thoughts which you guys can use to try to learn from our mistakes,” or “Here, try this. This is what we’re doing.” I know there’s a CA that actually literally had 200 people show up. He lined them up one by one.
I don’t know how, but he had the photos to prove it. Lined them up one by one, and he pulled out every fourth person and said, “Okay, you’re the tank, the healer, you’re the attacker, you’re the tank, you’re the healer….” So he had like organized groups of four, and he would go down the line and be like, “Okay, you guys lobby.
Okay, you guys lobby, okay, you guys lobby.” So it’d be this whole structure thing where you knew that each team would have a dedicated healer and tank basically supporting the rest of the team. And I’m like, okay. I don’t think that would have been a lot. I don’t think I can do that here.

But it’s like you were saying, there’s so much all the time. They’ve been and they still are adding to it, and they keep sneaking in extra little quality of life things that you don’t really think that will help. 
And then suddenly you’re like, “Oh, yes, I didn’t think I would actually want that, but that’s great.”

KT: Oh, exactly. There are simultaneously so many issues, there’s so many growing pains still, but also, there’s so many quality of life updates.  It really shouldn’t work as a function system, but it does. So I have to give them credit where credit’s due. 

INC: So with our previous check in system with Campfire, for example. It would generate a code, and then you’d have to go into the code login website, and then you’d have to go through multiple layers before you could finally enter the code, and then finally, that would then process into the game. 
Supposedly, I’ve heard from other players who are also game developers that the system, even for that, is already sophisticated, because apparently it’s using a third party system to coordinate the codes that you won’t necessarily be able to get that to work on a lot of the platforms. And so it was apparently a miracle it worked at all.

KT: Interesting, that’s really cool insight. I never would have thought of that, especially compared to the updated system we have now..

INC: I didn’t either. I’m not a developer so I wouldn’t know, but they’re like, “Wow, this system actually works!”

KT: But, again, it all works out. Everyone, myself included, was a little confused why Generation 8 got passed over, but then it suddenly made so much sense, like, why wouldn’t you release that alongside your Dynamax feature that they were probably in development at the time.

INC: To be fair, when it came out, it was a completely new system. It was a completely new UI for those battles, and I’m actually surprised it made it in so quickly without as many issues. There were bugs, but it just seemed like it was one of those major patches that happened to a game that just happened to work and was generally functioning, which is amazing.

KT: Yeah, and I think  that was another thing I remember talking about, trying to calm people down and say, “Hey, this is meant to be a new thing to work towards. We’re not used to that.” I’ve got a Rhyperior that I’ve had since 2016 as a Rhydon that I still use in Raid Battles today. We’ve never had a system where we truly had to start from the ground up. We’ve always been able to use our existing Pokémon. It’s something to have to build towards. And I was once I framed it like that for myself, I was like, “Oh, honestly, I love that. I think it’s great.”

INC: I personally saw it as new endgame content. For a lot of us who hit max level, we were thinking, “Oh, we’re kind of bored of the game. What else can we do other than just kind of keep farming again?” Of course, there’s still all of these things like new Legendaries that still haven’t come out yet. 
Arceus is still not out yet. All these things. But what are we going to strive for? [Max Battles] are something that kind of rehashes the whole system. You can’t take Max Soup and give it to your old team. Now it kind of forces you to restart again, which is kind of like a New Game+. So I saw it as, “Yes, I actually have something to try for!” and I was super enthusiastic about it. A lot of my other community people were more skeptical and said things like, “Oh, this is a new mechanic. This is all messed up. You don’t keep any progress,” and I said, “Hey, guys, just give it time.” 

KT: It’s really impressive how they managed to make a whole new system that also didn’t step on the toes of the existing one. 
Like, you could just not engage with [Dynamax] at all if you wanted. It’s really cool. 

INC: Yeah. But it also brought out a lot of people.  G-Max battles have been single-handedly the biggest crowd turnouts of any of our events, possibly bigger than Go Fest itself. For Lapras, we had 550 check in’s, and that’s just people on Campfire. I’m sure there’s people that just showed up. For Go Wild, I think we had over 400 each day [of the weekend].  I think the most I had ever seen was maybe a little over 100 people during one of the major events, and then G-Max just kind of blew it out of the water. (editor’s note: to date, the largest meetup for this group is now the GO Tour: Kalos event, which saw upwards of 750 check-ins each day)

***this lead into the actual interview, but we picked up the conversation a bit later when talking about our experiences with FOMO***

KT: Yeah, I mean I’ve known players who get upset when they don’t catch the newest Shiny during its release event. I’ve always said, “Hey, I’m not gonna tell you how to live your life, but if you manage your own expectations and see it as a hope rather than a need, you’re going to have a much better time overall.” It’s hard though, because I was definitely a victim of FOMO when I began playing the game more hardcore. It took me a while to get out of that headspace, but I find that I enjoy the game a lot more because of it.

INC: Yes, everything will come back around as long as you’re willing to wait for it. I have people asking me, “Is G-Max Gengar coming back?”, and I’ve told them, “Probably, but it’ll probably be a while.” But it also will give people time to invest into the system. We’ll see natural progression over time. Like for G-Max Machamp, we didn’t have great counter options. We had Metagross, but it’s not ideal. No G-Max form and it takes neutral damage. We had some neutral tankers like Charizard and Gengar. People haven’t been forced to think about strategy in a long time, so I actually like the fact that you have to put some more thought into it.

KT: Exactly. I had a friend ask me why I was investing so heavily into Dynamax when it came out. For me, it was just something I wanted to do, not because I felt forced. I’m level 50, which means I have more candy than I know what to do with for most Pokémon, so investing it into the new system was something I wanted to do. It is a game, and you should lean into the parts of it that you enjoy. For me, I enjoyed the new system and the strategy aspect, and I had the resources, so I invested. If you don’t enjoy it, nothing about the game’s core mechanics and gameplay have changed.

INC: I do try to remind people that it is a game. At the end of the day, they’re digital assets stored on a server.

KT: Exactly. You’re much better off sticking to what you enjoy and not worrying about the rest.

**While this is the end of the conversation from the initial interview, Andy and I have spoken a lot since then about a lot of these topics and how they’ve evolved since the interview. He also wanted to highlight the hard work of other CA’s out there, as well as some more behind the scenes aspects of being a CA that you can only learn from speaking to one of them. If you’d be interested in some follow-ups on any of these topics or CA’s in general, let us know!

Final Thoughts

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for sticking with me!

A huge thank you to the Community Ambassadors for taking the time to chat with me. I knew that there was a lot to learn, but hearing about their experience, especially with them leading such a large group, provided a great glimpse into what it truly takes to support a community. Here is a summary of some of the things I learned from my chat with the CA’s:

• Community Ambassadors play a large role in supporting their community. They are a group of volunteers that spend their own time to plan meet-ups and organize players to enjoy the events to the fullest while also respecting the safety of both the players and the surrounding community.
• Especially with a larger group such as Mega PokeGO Seattle, a lot more goes into planning events than the general community ever sees. The CA’s do all of this work out of pure love for the game and the community rather than out of obligation or for compensation. If you regularly attend CA meetups or events, take some time to let them know that you appreciate their work!
• CA’s are players, just like the rest of us. They have no control over event schedules, content releases/re-runs, etc. While they work with Niantic, they are not employees or official affiliates of the company.
• Your CA’s care deeply about the community, but it is impossible for them to create and host meet-ups for every single event, especially with the sheer volume of events in the modern iteration of the game.
• FOMO is natural, especially with how Pokémon GO handles the release of content. Know that the vast majority of content will come back eventually. While it’s natural to want to get everything as it releases just in case, it isn’t the end of the world (even ignoring the fact that this is a game!).
• Play the game how you want to play it and enjoy the things you want to do! If you find yourself frustrated with things outside of your control, then it’s ok to take a step back and re-evaluate. If the game or an aspect of it starts to feel like a chore, then you don’t have to do it! One of the best parts of Pokémon GO is its ability to bring people together!
• If you have a Community Ambassador group near you, take some time to go to a meetup! Check out what your local CA’s have put together, and you might make some new friends along the way!

I had such a great experience chatting with some of the people that have made my local community so strong and have made so many great event experiences possible. Al, Andy, Derek, and the rest of their team are the embodiment of what it means to be a community member. If you are a part of the Seattle community like I was, you’ll know how lucky we are to have them! If you’re not, then there is likely a CA near you that is working just as hard to support your local community. If you haven’t had a chance to engage with your local community, then there’s no time like the present!

Another special thank you to Andy and Derek for taking time out of their busy schedules to chat with me. The community in Seattle is truly something special, and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of it for so many years. Here’s to many more!

A huge shoutout to all of the amazing Community Ambassadors out there. We appreciate you and the work you have done to support the game we love! We know that it isn’t always the easiest job, but know that your work is leaving a huge positive impact on the community.

I think that’ll do it for me for today. Thanks for tuning in!

The post Inside Mega PokéGO Seattle: A 12,000-Member Pokémon GO Community appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.

Pokémon has partnered with the National Trust to create Pokémon Mega Evolution Trails that encourage outdoor exploration, walking, and adventure in historical places.

The Pokémon Company International has teamed up with Europe’s biggest conservation charity, the National Trust in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Through this partnership, a variety of outdoor experiences will be offered at selected National Trust places.

Pokémon has also become the sponsor of the National Trust Summer of Play programme. This is the Trust’s flagship summer offer for families, where Trust places are filled with activities specifically aimed at families and children.

Pokémon Mega Evolution Trails

From 23rd May 2026 through till 6th September 2026 you’ll be able to seek out the 10 Mega Evolution Pokémon and complete fun challenges at a variety of National Trust sites in the UK.

Each challenge is inspired by the abilities of the Pokémon, whether that’s speed, strategy, focus or bravery. You’ll get a trail sheet to help you find your way, showing you all of the trail points, and you’ll also get to take a photo in front of the Mega Evolution Pokémon backdrop at the end!

Upon entry, families will receive a trail sheet to help guide their journey around their chosen location. The trail will consist of ten different trail points, with each point focusing on a different Energy type. The trails are included with standard admission (and free for National Trust members), with no need to prebook.

Pokémon Mega Evolution Trail Locations

The following National Trust places will have the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Trail:

Attingham Park	Atcham, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4TP
Belton Estate	Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG32 2LS
Blickling Estate	Aylsham, Norfolk, NR11 6NF
Dyrham Park	South Gloucestershire, SN14 8HY
Hughenden	High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4LA
Kingston Lacy	Wimborne Minster, Dorset, BH21 4EA
Lanhydrock	Bodmin, Cornwall, PL30 4AB
Quarry Bank	Styal, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 4HP
Saltram	Plymouth, Devon, PL7 1UH
Sizergh	Cumbria, LA8 8DZ
Speke Hall	The Walk, Speke, Liverpool, L24 1XD
Rowallane Garden	Crossgar Road, Saintfield, County Down, BT24 7LH
Tredegar House	Pencarn Way, Newport, NP10 8YW
Wimpole Estate	Arrington, Royston, Cambridgeshire, SG8 0BW
Winkworth Arboretum	Hascombe Road, Godalming, Surrey, GU8 4AD

In addition to the exciting activities that the National Trust already has to offer, selected National Trust places will also have Pokémon TCG themed activities available from July 18, 2026, to September 6, 2026 (start and end dates may vary by site) as part of the Summer of Play programme.

The following National Trust places will have Pokémon TCG activities available:

Anglesey Abbey	Quy Road, Lode, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB25 9EJ
Attingham Park	Atcham, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4TP
Belton Estate	Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG32 2LS
Calke Abbey	Ticknall, Derby, Derbyshire, DE73 7JF
Chirk Castle and Garden	Chirk Castle, Chirk, Wrexham, LL14 5AF
Cliveden	Cliveden Road, Taplow, Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire, SL1 8NS
Clumber Park	Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 3BE
Hanbury Hall	School Road, Hanbury, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, WR9 7EA
Fountains Abbey	Fountains, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3DY
Gibside	Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, NE16 6BG
Hardwick	Doe Lea, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S44 5QJ
Killerton	Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, EX5 3LE
Kingston Lacy	Wimborne Minster, Dorset, BH21 4EA
Lacock	Lacock, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 2LG
Lyme	Disley, Stockport, Cheshire, SK12 2NR
Mottisfont	Hampshire, SO51 0LP
Mount Stewart	Portaferry Road, Newtownards, County Down, BT22 2AD
Dunham Massey	Woodhouse Lane, Altrincham, WA14 4SJ
Nymans	Handcross, near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6EB
Polesden Lacey	Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6BD
Scotney Castle	Lamberhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 8JN
Stourhead	Wiltshire, BA12 6QD
Stowe Gardens	Stowe Gardens, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 5EQ
Tredegar House	Tredegar House, Pencarn Way, Newport, NP10 8YW
Trelissick	Feock, near Truro, Cornwall, TR3 6QL
Tyntesfield	Wraxall, Bristol, North Somerset, BS48 1PA
Wimpole Estate	Arrington, Royston, Cambridgeshire, SG8 0BW

 

A further 145 National Trust places will offer a Pokémon TCG sticker booklet for fans. Each time you visit a National Trust place listed below, you can receive a Pokémon sticker to add to your booklet. A total of five Pokémon stickers will be available to collect: Mega Dragonite, Mega Clefable, Mega Gengar, Mega Charizard Y, and Pikachu.

A La Ronde	Summer Lane, Exmouth, Devon, EX8 5BD
Acorn Bank	Temple Sowerby, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 1SP
Allan Bank and Grasmere	Grasmere, Cumbria, LA22 9QB
Anglesey Abbey	Quy Road, Lode, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB25 9EJ
Antony	Antony, Torpoint, Cornwall, PL11 2QA
Arlington Court	Arlington, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4LP
Ascott	Ascott, Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire, LU7 9EY
Attingham Park	Attingham, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4TP
Avebury	Avebury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1RF
Baddesley Clinton	Rising Lane, Baddesley Clinton, Solihull, Warwickshire, B93 0DQ
Basildon Park	Lower Basildon, Reading, Berkshire, RG8 9NR
Bateman’s	Bateman’s Lane, Burwash, Etchingham, East Sussex, TN19 7DS
Belton Estate	Belton House, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG32 2LS
Beningbrough Hall	Beningbrough, York, North Yorkshire, YO30 1DD
Benthall Hall	Benthall, Broseley, Shropshire, TF12 5RY
Berrington Hall	Berrington, near Leominster, Herefordshire, HR6 0DW
Biddulph Grange Garden	Grange Road, Biddulph, Staffordshire, ST8 7SD
Blickling Estate	Blickling, near Aylsham, Norfolk, NR11 6NF
Bodiam Castle	Bodiam, near Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5UA
Bodnant Garden	Bodnant Road, Tal‑y‑Cafn, Conwy, LL28 5RE
Brownsea Island	Poole Harbour, Dorset, BH13 7EE
Buckland Abbey	Yelverton, Devon, PL20 6EY
Calke Abbey	Ticknall, Derby, Derbyshire, DE73 7LE
Canons Ashby	Canons Ashby, Daventry, Northamptonshire, NN11 3SD
Castle Drogo	Drewsteignton, Exeter, Devon, EX6 6PB
Castle Ward	Strangford, Downpatrick, County Down, BT30 7BA
Charlecote	Charlecote, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV35 9ER
Chedworth Roman Villa	Yanworth, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 3LJ
Chirk Castle and Garden	Chirk, Wrexham, LL14 5AF
Cliveden	Taplow, Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire, SL6 0JA
Clumber Park	Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 3AZ
Colby Woodland Garden	Near Amroth, Pembrokeshire, SA67 8PP
Coleton Fishacre	Kingswear, Devon, TQ6 0EQ
Comer Woods	Near Coventry, Warwickshire
Corfe Castle	Corfe Castle, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5EZ
Cotehele	Near Calstock, Cornwall, PL18 9QZ
Croft Castle	Croft, near Leominster, Herefordshire, HR6 9PW
Crook Hall	Frankland Lane, Durham, DH1 5SZ
Croome	Croome D’Abitot, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR8 9DW
Devils Punch Bowl	Hindhead, Surrey, GU26 6AB
Dinefwr	Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, SA19 6RT
Dudmaston Hall	Dudmaston, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV15 5QN
Dunham Massey	Altrincham, Greater Manchester, WA14 4SJ
Dunstable Downs	Whipsnade, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU6 2GY
Dunster Castle and Watermill	Dunster, Minehead, Somerset, TA24 6NY
Dunwich	Dunwich, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 3DJ
Dunwich Heath and Beach	Coastguard Cottages, Dunwich, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 3DJ
Dyffryn Gardens	St Nicholas, near Cardiff, CF5 6FZ
Dyrham Park	Near Bath, South Gloucestershire, SN14 8HY
East Riddlesden Hall	East Riddlesden, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD20 5EL
Emmetts Garden	Ide Hill, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 6BA
Erddig	Erddig, Wrexham, LL13 0PB
Felbrigg Hall, Gardens and Estate	Felbrigg, near Cromer, Norfolk, NR11 8PP
Florence Court	Florence Court, near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, BT92 1DB
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal	Studley Royal, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3DY
Gibside	Near Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE39 2ET
Glendurgan Garden	Durgan, near Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 5JZ
Godolphin	Near Helston, Cornwall, TR13 9RE
Greenway	Greenway Road, Galmpton, near Brixham, Devon, TQ5 0ES
Greys Court	Greys Court, near Henley‑on‑Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 4PG
Gunby Estate, Hall and Gardens	Gunby, near Spilsby, Lincolnshire, PE23 5SS
Hanbury Hall	School Road, Hanbury, near Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, WR9 7EA
Hardwick Hall	Doe Lea, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S44 5QJ
Hare Hill	Over Alderley, near Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 4PY
Hatchlands Park	East Clandon, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7RT
Hinton Ampner	Hinton Ampner, near Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9TY
Hughenden	Hughenden Manor, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4LA
Ickworth Estate	Horringer, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 5QE
Ightham Mote	Near Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 0NT
Ilam Park	Ilam, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 2AZ
Ironbridge—Blist Hill	Blist Hill, Ironbridge, Telford, Shropshire, TF7 5UD
Kedleston Hall	Kedleston, near Derby, Derbyshire, DE22 5JH
Killerton	Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, EX5 3LE
Kingston Lacy	Wimborne Minster, Dorset, BH21 4EA
Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses	Compton Road, Kinver, Staffordshire, DY7 6GA
Knightshayes Court	Knightshayes, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 7RQ
Lacock Abbey	Lacock, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 2LG
Lanhydrock	Bodmin, Cornwall, PL30 5AD
Little Moreton Hall	Little Moreton, near Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 4SD
Llanerchaeron	Ciliau Aeron, near Aberaeron, Ceredigion, SA48 8DG
Longshaw Estate	Near Grindleford, Derbyshire, S32 3ZJ
Lyme	Disley, Stockport, Cheshire, SK12 2NR
Lytes Cary Manor	Charlton Mackrell, near Somerton, Somerset, TA11 7HU
Lyveden	Near Thrapston, Northamptonshire, PE8 5AR
Melford Hall	Long Melford, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 9AA
Mompesson House	The Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 2EL
Montacute House	Montacute, near Yeovil, Somerset, TA15 6XP
Moseley Old Hall	Moseley, near Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, WV10 7HY
Mottisfont	Mottisfont, near Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 0LP
Mount Stewart	Newtownards, County Down, BT22 2AD
Newark Park	Wotton‑under‑Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 8AA
Nostell	Nostell, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF4 1QE
Nunnington Hall	Nunnington, near York, North Yorkshire, YO62 5UY
Nymans	Handcross, near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6EB
Ormesby Hall	Ormesby, Middlesbrough, TS7 9AS
Oxburgh Estate	Oxborough, near Swaffham, Norfolk, PE33 9PS
Packwood	Packwood, near Solihull, Warwickshire, B94 6AT
Peckover House and Gardens	North Brink, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 1JR
Penrhyn Castle and Garden	Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4HT
Pentire	Near Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 6QY
Plas Newydd House and Garden	Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, LL61 6DQ
Polesden Lacey	Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6BD
Powis Castle and Garden	Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8RF
Prior Park	Ralph Allen Drive, Bath, Somerset, BA2 5AH
Quarry Bank	Styal, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 4LA
Rowallane Garden	Crossgar Road, Saintfield, County Down, BT24 7LH
Rufford Old Hall	Rufford, near Ormskirk, Lancashire, L40 1SG
Saltram	Plympton, Plymouth, Devon, PL7 1UH
Scotney Castle	Lamberhurst, near Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 8JN
Seaton Delaval Hall	Seaton Delaval, near Whitley Bay, Northumberland, NE26 4QR
Sheffield Park and Garden	Sheffield Park, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3QX
Sheringham Park	Upper Sheringham, Norfolk, NR26 8TL
Shugborough Estate	Milford, near Stafford, Staffordshire, ST17 0XB
Sizergh	Near Kendal, Cumbria, LA8 8DZ
Snowshill Manor and Garden	Snowshill, near Broadway, Gloucestershire, WR12 7JU
Souter Lighthouse	Lizard Lane, Whitburn, Sunderland, SR6 7NH
Speke Hall, Garden and Estate	The Walk, Speke, Liverpool, L24 1XD
Standen House and Garden	Standen Drive, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4NE
Stourhead	Near Mere, Wiltshire, BA12 6SH
Stowe Gardens	Near Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 5EQ
Sutton Hoo	Near Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 3DJ
Tattershall Castle	Tattershall, Lincolnshire, LN4 4LR
The Argory	Dungannon, County Armagh, BT71 5DZ
The Children’s Country House at Sudbury	Sudbury Hall, Sudbury, Derbyshire, DE6 5HT
The Vyne	Vine Lane, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 9HL
The Weir Garden	Swainshill, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR4 7QF
The Workhouse and Infirmary	The Workhouse, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, NG25 0PT
Tinkley Gate	Near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Tredegar House	Tredegar House Drive, Newport, NP10 8YW
Trelissick	Feock, near Truro, Cornwall, TR3 6QL
Trengwainton Garden	Madron, near Penzance, Cornwall, TR20 8RZ
Trerice	Kestle Mill, near Newquay, Cornwall, TR8 4PG
Tyntesfield	Wraxall, near Bristol, North Somerset, BS48 1PA
Upton House and Gardens	Near Banbury, Warwickshire, OX15 6HT
Waddesdon Manor	Waddesdon, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0JH
Wallington	Cambo, near Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 4AR
Washington Old Hall	The Avenue, Washington, Tyne and Wear, NE38 7LE
Wentworth Castle Gardens	Stainborough, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S75 3EN
Whitehaven Coast	Whitehaven, Cumbria
Wightwick Manor and Gardens	Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV6 8EE
Wimpole Estate	Wimpole, near Royston, Cambridgeshire, SG8 0BW
Winkworth Arboretum	Godalming, Surrey, GU8 4AD
Wordsworth House and Garden	Main Street, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9RX
Wray Castle	Near Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0JA

The post Pokémon Team Up With National Trust to Create Pokémon Mega Evolution Trails appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.