Pokémon Go Celebrates Summer With Extraordinary Raid Week Event

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has been going all-in on inundating players with bumper content updates recently. The streak began just a few weeks back with the arrival of three new mythical Pokémon – Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie. The one-of-a-kind trio was stealthily released into the wild with little advanced notice and marked the first time in the mobile game’s history that such rare ‘Mons haven’t been made exclusive to Raid battles or Field Research quests.

They are, of course, extremely rare encounters to compensate, though less fortunate Trainers weren’t left to go without. In celebrating Detective Pikachu‘s worldwide release last week, a special deerstalker-wearing Pikachu made an appearance in-game, though sadly, this version can’t speak the human tongue as the live-action version can. With that occasion now done and dusted, however, events have settled back into their usual rhythm, but not for long, it seems.

Starting next week, May 21st, a new week-long event is due to commence, bringing with it several boosts and bonuses that those still trying to Catch ‘Em All won’t want to miss. The so-called ‘Extraordinary Raid Week’ is Niantic’s way of ushering in the summer months and massively increases the frequency of raid encounters across the board. These particular endgame battles, however, will replace the standard critters usually found awaiting a challenge with special pre-picked line-ups. Find the full list, categorized by difficulty, below.

Raids

• ★: Machop, Slakoth, Shinx, Bronzor
• ★★: Misdreavus, Kirlia, Mawile, Feebas, Clamperl, Bibarel
• ★★★: Alolan Raichu, Chansey, Scyther, Aerodactyl, Floatzel
• ★★★★: Alolan Marowak, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Absol, Metagross

But wait, that’s still not everything. For just 24 hours on May 25th, transport Pokémon Lapras will appear in gyms with an increased chance of being shiny. What are the odds of that happening, you ask? Somewhere between never and once in a lifetime, I imagine.

Anyways, even ignoring that rare occurrence, all raids will payout double Stardust and XP for the entire event period, so be sure to start prepping your best Pokémon Go squad ahead of time. Good luck!