Pokémon GO: Mega Camerupt & Shadow Raids

Pokémon GO’s raid board is doing two different things at once right now — and that’s the part that can get confusing fast. Mega Camerupt is the featured Mega boss for the current rotation, while the Shadow side of the game is running its own separate ladder of daily lower-tier raids plus a weekend legendary. If you’re planning passes, counters, or just your walking route for Saturday, May 9, 2026, that split matters. ### When is Mega Camerupt actually available? Mega Camerupt is in Mega Raids from Wednesday, May 6, at 6:00 a.m. local time through Wednesday, May 13, at 6:00 a.m. local time. That means this weekend is part of its active window, not a one-day event and not a special raid day. It’s just the current Mega slot, running alongside the regular 5-star boss rotation. (leekduck.com) ### What’s in the regular non-Shadow raids? The current standard raid lineup has Nihilego in 5-star raids, with Mega Camerupt occupying the Mega tier. The 1-star pool includes Hisuian Voltorb, Bagon, Shieldon, and Espurr. The 3-star pool includes Nidoqueen, Starmie, and Druddigon. So if you open the Nearby tab and see a raid egg, the first question is whether you’re looking at the normal pool or the Shadow pool — because they are completely different lineups. (leekduck.com) ### What’s in Shadow Raids every day? The daily Shadow lineup is the steadier part of this schedule. In 1-star Shadow Raids, the current bosses are Shadow Larvitar, Shadow Sableye, Shadow Spheal, and Shadow Inkay. In 3-star Shadow Raids, the bosses are Shadow Ninetales, Shadow Primeape, and Shadow Onix. Those are the raids you can reasonably expect to hunt throughout the week without waiting for the weekend legendary window. (leekduck.com) ### So what changes on weekends? The big change is 5-star Shadow Raids. Right now that slot belongs to Shadow Cresselia, and it appears every weekend from May 6 to June 2, inside a broader availability window that runs until June 3 at 6:00 a.m. local time. Basically, if you care about the highest-profile Shadow target, weekends are the key dates. Weekdays are for the smaller Shadow bosses and the normal raid rotation. (leekduck.com) ### Why does Mega Camerupt matter? Mega Camerupt is useful partly because Mega raids are how you build the energy needed to Mega Evolve that species yourself. This rotation also gives players a shot at Shiny Camerupt from those raids. So even if Camerupt is not the most universally chased Mega in the game, the week still matters for players filling Pokédex gaps, stockpiling Mega Energy, or hunting the shiny. (leekduck.com) ### What’s the practical play this weekend? If you only have a few raid passes, the cleanest plan is to separate your goals. Use Mega or premium passes on Mega Camerupt if you want Mega Energy and shiny chances. Use your Shadow raid time on Shadow Cresselia if you’re out during the weekend and can coordinate locally. Then fill gaps with daily 1-star or 3-star Shadows if you’re hunting specific species like Larvitar or Inkay. (leekduck.com) ### What should players not mix up? Don’t treat “current raids” as one single pool. Pokémon GO is running a normal raid ladder and a Shadow raid ladder at the same time, and the weekend-only 5-star Shadow boss sits on top of that second system. That’s why Mega Camerupt being live this week does not replace Shadow Cresselia, and Shadow Cresselia being the weekend headliner does not knock Nihilego or Mega Camerupt out of their normal slots. (leekduck.com) ### Bottom line? This weekend’s raid story is simple once you split the board in two: Mega Camerupt is the current Mega target through May 13, and Shadow Cresselia is the weekend Shadow chase through early June. If you know which lane you’re playing, the schedule suddenly makes a lot more sense. (leekduck.com) (leekduck.com)