Raid Hours, Dynamax Battles & Mega Raids

Pokémon GO’s weekly raid loop looks simple on the surface — show up, tap a gym, beat a boss. But this week’s setup is doing three different things at once. From May 4 to May 10, the game rotated in Dynamax Cottonee for Max Battles, Nihilego for the Wednesday Raid Hour and five-star pool, and Mega Camerupt for Mega Raids. That matters because the weekly schedule is no longer just “one legendary, go raid it” — it’s a layered calendar where different formats reward different kinds of coordination. ### What actually changed this week? The big reset hit on Tuesday, May 6, at 10:00 a.m. local time. That swap moved Nihilego into five-star raids through May 12 and Mega Camerupt into Mega Raids for the same window. So if you were still planning around Tapu Lele or Mega Banette, that plan was already out of date by midweek. (pokemongohub.net) ### Where does Raid Hour fit in? Raid Hour is still the cleanest part of the schedule. On Wednesday, May 6, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. local time, Nihilego was the featured boss at gyms that could host raids. That one-hour concentration is why local groups care about it — you can chain multiple legendary raids fast instead of hunting scattered spawns across town. (pokemongohub.net) ### What about Dynamax Battles? This is the newer layer. Dynamax Cottonee was the Max Monday feature from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. local time on Monday, May 4, and it kept appearing in Max Battles through May 10. Max Mondays basically mirror Raid Hour’s structure, but they happen at Power Spots and focus on Dynamax encounters instead of standard raid bosses. (pokemongohub.net) ### Why is Mega Camerupt part of the story? Mega Raids are running on their own track, and this week Mega Camerupt is the active Mega boss. That means players chasing Mega Energy are not necessarily chasing the same target as players spending passes on Nihilego. In practice, the game is splitting raid demand across at least two priorities at once — legendary farming and Mega resource grinding. (pokemongohub.net) ### Is there a “best” thing to prioritize? Basically, it depends on what resource you need. Nihilego is the headline target if you want the week’s five-star legendary and the easiest excuse to rally a group during Raid Hour. Mega Camerupt is the better use of effort if you need Mega Energy specifically. Dynamax Cottonee is more about keeping up with the Max Battle track before the next weekly swap. That’s the catch — one week now contains three separate progression lanes. (pokemongohub.net) ### What’s different from older weekly schedules? The biggest shift is structure. Pokémon GO used to lean harder on Spotlight Hour, Raid Hour, and whatever event happened to be live. In May 2026, Spotlight Hours are canceled, while Max Mondays are now a regular weekly pillar alongside Raid Hour. So the game has replaced one simple recurring slot with a more specialized one built around Dynamax content. (pokemongohub.net) ### What happens next? This week is really a bridge into a busier May. After Nihilego, the five-star schedule moves into regional Ultra Beasts on May 13 — Pheromosa in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Buzzwole in the Americas, and Xurkitree in Asia-Pacific. Mega Camerupt also rotates out after May 12. So if this week’s bosses matter to you, the window is short. (pokemongohub.net) ### Bottom line The story here isn’t just that Nihilego had a Raid Hour. It’s that Pokémon GO’s weekly raid calendar now asks players to think in parallel — one boss for legendary raids, one for Mega Energy, one for Max Battles, each on its own timer. If you play casually, that can feel messy. If you plan around windows, it’s actually pretty efficient. (pokemongohub.net) (pokemongohub.net)