May 18–24, 2026 in Pokémon GO centers on two anchor events: the debut 
Mega Falinks Super Mega Raid Day on Saturday 5/23 (14:00–17:00 JST / 05:00–08:00 UTC) and the Monday 
Dynamax Registeel Max Monday spike (5/18, 18:00–19:00 JST / 09:00–10:00 UTC).
Mid-week brings a raid rotation (Tapu Bulu 5★ Legendary + Mega Altaria Mega Raid from Wednesday 5/20) and a Tuesday-21:00-JST last call for Xurkitree (Asia-Pacific) and Mega Glalie. Full schedule, Highest / Mid / Low priorities, and individual Pokémon write-ups follow below.
All times are shown in JST (Japan Standard Time, UTC+9), with the equivalent UTC time in parentheses on key deadlines. Niantic syncs global event windows to JST, so the JST values are authoritative — UTC is included for convenience. If you play outside Japan, you can also check your in-game Today View for your local event window.
Schedule Overview (May 18–24, 2026)
This week has five key windows to remember:
- Monday 5/18, 6:00–21:00 JST (Sun 21:00 – Mon 12:00 UTC), spike 18:00–19:00 JST (09:00–10:00 UTC) — Max Monday: Dynamax Registeel spawns
- Monday 5/18, 20:00 JST (11:00 UTC) — Spring Marathon 2026 ends (last call for Flittle / Espathra)
- Tuesday 5/19, 21:00 JST (12:00 UTC) — last call for Xurkitree (Asia-Pacific) and Mega Glalie
- Wednesday 5/20, 6:00 JST (Tue 21:00 UTC) — raid rotation (Tapu Bulu 5★ Legendary, Mega Altaria Mega Raid)
- Saturday 5/23, 14:00–17:00 JST (05:00–08:00 UTC) — Mega Falinks Super Mega Raid Day (debut)
| Date / Time (JST) | Event | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| —5/18 (Mon) 20:00 |  Spring Marathon 2026 ends (last call for Flittle / Espathra evolution) |
Low |
| 5/18 (Mon) 6:00–21:00 (18:00–19:00 spike) | Max Monday: Dynamax Registeel |
Highest |
| —5/19 (Tue) 21:00 |  Xurkitree 5★ Legendary Raid last call (Asia-Pacific) |
Highest |
| —5/19 (Tue) 21:00 |  Mega Glalie Mega Raid last call |
Mid |
| 5/20 (Wed) 6:00 – 5/26 (Tue) 21:00 |  Tapu Bulu 5★ Legendary Raid (Grass / Fairy — Poison counters shine) |
Low |
| 5/20 (Wed) 6:00 – 5/26 (Tue) 21:00 |  Mega Altaria Mega Raid (Dragon / Fairy Candy boost) |
Mid |
| ★ 5/23 (Sat) 14:00–17:00 | Mega Falinks Super Mega Raid Day (Debut — Super Max Level slot) |
Highest |
| —6/2 (Tue) 20:00 |  Shadow Cresselia Shadow Legendary Raid (continuing, 4-week run) |
Mid |
The pattern this week is straightforward: Monday for Dynamax Registeel and the Spring Marathon last call, Tuesday 21:00 JST to close out Xurkitree and Mega Glalie, Wednesday morning to flip into Tapu Bulu / Mega Altaria, and a focused 3-hour Saturday afternoon for Mega Falinks Super Mega Raid Day — the first-ever Super Mega Raid Day and a one-shot chance at a Super Max Level Fighting-type Mega.
Shadow Cresselia (Continuing through 6/2 Tue 20:00 JST / 11:00 UTC)
Bottom line: 4-week Shadow Legendary Raid window — no rush this week. Bulky Super League / Hyper League piece with a 4-in-4000 chance of catching a Super League–legal CP1500-or-below copy.
Shadow Cresselia continues through 6/2 (Tue) 20:00 JST — a full 4-week run that started in the previous window. Stats lean heavily on bulk rather than attack, so the use case is primarily Super League and Hyper League rather than raids.
The signature hook for Shadow Cresselia is the 4-in-4000 chance per encounter of catching one at CP1500 or below — a Super League–legal copy. If you intend to chase a Super League Shadow Cresselia, the IV check on every catch is what makes or breaks the grind. Treat the rest of the four weeks as steady chipping rather than a single push.
Spring Marathon 2026 Last Call (Until 5/18 Mon 20:00 JST / 11:00 UTC)
Bottom line: Last chance to grab Flittle Candy and evolve to Espathra. Espathra itself is a "future hope" Pokémon — currently a niche pick rather than a meta-relevant raid or Battle League attacker.
Spring Marathon 2026 wraps up at 20:00 JST on Monday 5/18. Flittle debuted from 5 km Eggs and GO Pass-bonus encounters; collecting 50 Candy unlocks the evolution into 
Espathra.
Espathra is mono-Psychic, and its movepool overlaps heavily with 
Togekiss. Togekiss additionally has access to Aura Sphere, which is the deciding edge in most Battle League cores, so Espathra is hard to recommend in raids or in PvP right now. Catch and evolve for the Pokédex, but expect future updates to make the case rather than this week's metagame.
Xurkitree 5★ Legendary Raid Last Call (Until 5/19 Tue 21:00 JST / 12:00 UTC, Asia-Pacific)
Bottom line: Top-tier Electric attacker with a 330 attack stat and a single Ground weakness. If you have not capped your Electric DPS roster yet, finish your Xurkitree grind by Tuesday 21:00 JST.
Xurkitree ends its Asia-Pacific 5★ Legendary Raid window at 21:00 JST on Tuesday 5/19. With a 330 attack stat — among the highest in the game — and only a single Ground weakness, Xurkitree is one of the cleanest non-Mega, non-Shadow Electric DPS pieces you can build right now. Its standard moveset does not require any Elite TMs, which keeps the build cost low even for newer trainers.
If you have a spare free raid pass on Tuesday and a Xurkitree raid forms nearby, take it — this is your last easy window to top up Candy or grab a better-IV copy before it rotates out.
Mega Glalie Mega Raid Last Call (Until 5/19 Tue 21:00 JST / 12:00 UTC)
Bottom line: The only Mega Ice DPS option currently available — bank Mega Energy now for the upcoming winter Ice Candy bonuses.
Mega Glalie Mega Raid also ends at 21:00 JST on Tuesday 5/19. Ice has historically been a thin attacker pool, and Mega Glalie still sits as the strongest Mega Ice DPS the game currently offers. Stock up the Mega Energy this week so you can power-level the species up to Mega Level Max once the next Ice-favored season rolls around.
Max Monday: Dynamax Registeel (5/18 Mon 6:00–21:00 JST / Sun 21:00 – Mon 12:00 UTC, Spike 18:00–19:00 JST / 09:00–10:00 UTC)
Bottom line: SS-tier Max Battle tank with a top-class durability profile. Best wall option against the upcoming Articuno / Lugia / Garbodor Max Battle bosses, and one of the strongest defensive Steel-types in Super League / Hyper League.
Monday 5/18 slots Dynamax Registeel as the Max Monday spawn from 06:00 to 21:00 JST, with a focused 18:00–19:00 spike window for hands-on raid lobbies. Registeel itself is famous for its high bulk; the attack stat is modest, so the role is purely defensive rather than DPS.
- Type: Steel (mono)
- Stat profile: Top-class bulk; attack is intentionally low
- Max Battle role: SS-tier wall — currently the top-rated Max Battle tank, ahead of the Zacian / Zamazenta options for several bosses
- Super League / Hyper League: Long-standing meta wall pick — great Steel typing and matchup spread
Recommended attackers when fighting Dynamax Registeel: the Gigantamax forms of 
Cinderace, 
Machamp, and 
Charizard are the optimal options. If you do not have Gigantamax versions yet, fall back to 
Darmanitan or 
Excadrill.
Recommended tanks for your party: 
Lugia, 
Blissey, and 
Zamazenta Crowned Shield.
The detailed Dynamax Registeel raid breakdown is in our prior video — link in the references at the bottom of this page.
Tapu Bulu 5★ Legendary Raid (5/20 Wed 6:00 – 5/26 Tue 21:00 JST / Tue 21:00 UTC – Tue 12:00 UTC)
Bottom line: Grass / Fairy dual-type with high attack and defense, but raid evaluation is held back by Tapu Bulu lacking a Fairy fast move. The real story here is the Poison-counter spotlight — Mega Beedrill and Eternatus get one of their rare A-tier matchups.
Tapu Bulu arrives as a 5★ Legendary Raid boss from 5/20 (Wed) 06:00 through 5/26 (Tue) 21:00 JST. The Grass / Fairy dual typing is unusual — but the practical Grass DPS ranking is only #8 (excluding Mega and Shadow), and Tapu Bulu shares the Tapu series quirk of not learning a Fairy-type fast move, which caps its Fairy attacker upside.
The headline value is on the defender side rather than the attacker side. Grass / Fairy is double-weak to Poison, which makes Tapu Bulu one of the few raid bosses where Poison-types finally get to take center stage. The Poison attacker chart against Tapu Bulu has 
Mega Beedrill at #1 and 
Eternatus at #2 — Poison-types do not get many star turns, so if you have either of these built, this is the week to use them.
Mega Altaria Mega Raid (5/20 Wed 6:00 – 5/26 Tue 21:00 JST / Tue 21:00 UTC – Tue 12:00 UTC)
Bottom line: Modest stat-line for a Mega, but the Dragon / Fairy dual-type Candy boost is unique. Worth the Mega Energy investment as a Candy farmer, especially since the species runs about two raid clears' worth of Mega Energy to fully unlock.
Mega Altaria runs as a Mega Raid boss from 5/20 (Wed) 06:00 through 5/26 (Tue) 21:00 JST. Stats are on the lower end of the Mega catalog, so the raid-DPS case is weak.
What makes Mega Altaria interesting is the Dragon / Fairy dual typing: Mega-evolving it gives you Candy-bonus coverage on both Dragon and Fairy species you catch during the active Mega window. The Mega Energy cost is on the higher side, which usually means roughly two raid clears before you can fully unlock the Mega Level — plan two trips to a Mega Altaria raid rather than a single drop-in.
★ Mega Falinks Super Mega Raid Day (Debut, 5/23 Sat 14:00–17:00 JST / 05:00–08:00 UTC)
Bottom line: The biggest window of the week — and the first-ever "Super Mega Raid Day." Mega Falinks arrives as a Fighting-type Mega with a Super Max Level slot, a category previously reserved for the Mega Mewtwo X tier. Reserve your Saturday afternoon, pick a single high-IV target, and invest the 5,000 Mega Energy into one keeper.
Saturday 5/23 from 14:00 to 17:00 JST hosts the debut Mega Falinks Super Mega Raid Day — Niantic's first run of a brand-new event format. Mega Falinks is the Mega Evolution of Falinks, the five-unit formation Pokémon — when Mega Evolved, the five units shift into a "group acrobatics" stance, with the middle unit pulling a clearly strained face. The species itself was first added in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and now arrives in Pokémon GO.
On paper, Mega Falinks is a mono-Fighting Mega with a respectable raw stat-line. The catch is that Fighting already has 
Mega Lucario and 
Mega Blaziken sitting at the top, so Mega Falinks lands slightly below the established Mega Fighting tier in raw DPS terms.
What you cannot ignore, though, is the Super Max Level slot. The Super Max Level cap is brand new to Super Mega Raid Day bosses and lets a single Mega push above the regular ceiling. Right now this category is essentially the Mega Mewtwo X seat — and Mega Falinks is the first species other than Mega Mewtwo X to step into it. Long-term, Mega Mewtwo X will likely overtake the role; near-term, Mega Falinks is the only practical way to fill that Super Max Level slot.
The catch is the cost: 5,000 Mega Energy is a steep one-shot bill. Treat the Saturday window as "pick one high-IV Mega Falinks to keep, invest the 5,000 into that one copy, and bank the rest." If you have a previous-event 
Dynamax Falinks with strong IVs, evolve that one through into Mega Falinks once you have the Energy — that lets you stack the Max Battle role and the Mega slot on the same individual.
How Super Mega Raid lobbies work: the boss enters with a Mega-specific shield, and your team needs at least one Mega Evolved Pokémon on the field. Each Charged Move from your Mega breaks one layer of the shield. Bringing a Fighting-type Mega in particular increases the Candy XL drop chance for the raid, so use this as an excuse to Mega-evolve one of your Fighting-type Megas (Lucario / Blaziken) during the Saturday window.
This Week's Priorities
Highest priority (do not miss):
5/23 (Sat) 14:00–17:00 JST — Mega Falinks Super Mega Raid Day (debut; Super Max Level slot)- 5/18 (Mon) 18:00–19:00 JST — Dynamax Registeel Max Monday spike (SS-tier Max Battle tank)
- 5/19 (Tue) by 21:00 JST — Xurkitree last call (Asia-Pacific, top-tier Electric DPS)
Mid priority:
- 5/19 (Tue) by 21:00 JST — Mega Glalie Mega Raid last call (only Mega Ice DPS available)
- 5/20 (Wed) – 5/26 (Tue) — Mega Altaria Mega Raid (Dragon / Fairy Candy boost)
- Through 6/2 (Tue) 20:00 JST — Shadow Cresselia (continuing, 4-week run; no rush this week)
Low priority:
- 5/20 (Wed) – 5/26 (Tue) — Tapu Bulu 5★ Legendary Raid (mostly a Poison-counter showcase)
- 5/18 (Mon) by 20:00 JST — Spring Marathon last call (Flittle Candy / Espathra evolution)
New Tool: Max Battle Simulator
Bottom line: A new free tool for practicing Legendary Max Battles with your own roster — includes an AI auto-pilot mode for quickly stress-testing party damage output. Built specifically with this week's Dynamax Registeel raid in mind.
We have just launched the Max Battle Simulator, a browser-based tool that lets you practice Legendary Max Battle boss runs using your own Pokémon roster.
- Manual mode: play out the raid yourself with your chosen party
- AI auto-pilot mode: let the simulator drive the party, then check the resulting damage output — great for quickly comparing two candidate teams
- Free to use: no sign-up required
The simulator is tuned to support this Monday's Dynamax Registeel Max Monday — dry-run your raid party before you go out, then decide which copies to actually level. We will keep adding more bosses as new Max Battle events roll out.
Closing
May 18–24 is a transition week — a Max Monday opener with the SS-tier Dynamax Registeel tank, a Tuesday-21:00 last call for both Xurkitree and Mega Glalie, a Wednesday flip into Tapu Bulu / Mega Altaria, and the first-ever Super Mega Raid Day on Saturday afternoon with the debut Mega Falinks. If your week only has time for one big push, make it Saturday's Mega Falinks Super Mega Raid Day.
Thanks for reading — see you in the next post.