Pokémon GO: May 11–17 Event Week

Pokémon GO’s week of May 11 to May 17 is less a single event than a stack of overlapping windows. That matters because the best rewards are tied to exact local-time cutoffs, not just “sometime this week.” The big one is Deino Community Day Classic on Saturday, May 16, but the week also brings a raid rotation on Wednesday, May 13, plus the start of Spring Marathon on Tuesday, May 12. If you only remember one thing, remember this: Hydreigon with Brutal Swing is the time-sensitive prize. (pokemongohub.net) ### What actually starts this week? Spring Marathon begins Tuesday, May 12 at 10:00 a.m. local time and runs until Monday, May 18 at 8:00 p.m. local time. This is the broader weeklong event layer — with Flittle’s debut, Pikachu wearing a marathon visor, event bonuses, and themed eggs and research. It’s the “always on” backdrop while the more valuable one-day and one-hour windows sit inside it. (pokemongohub.net) ### Why is Deino the main event? Because Deino Community Day Classic is the part with the clearest payoff. On Saturday, May 16, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time, Deino spawns heavily, shiny odds are boosted, and catch XP jumps to 3×. That is already good farming value, but the real reason to care is the evolution reward attached to Zweilous. ### What’s the Hydreigon deadline? You can evolve Zweilous into Hydreigon with the exclusive Charged Attack Brutal Swing from the start of the event until May 16 at 9:00 p.m. local time. (pokemongohub.net) That extra four-hour window after Community Day is the catch — you do not need to finish every evolution by 5:00 p.m., but you do need to finish by 9:00 p.m. local. Miss that, and you still get Hydreigon, just not the limited move. (pokemongo.com) ### Is there anything after 5 p.m.? Yes — and this is easy to overlook. Regular Lure Modules keep a special Deino bonus going from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time on May 16, with a very high chance of Deino appearing at lured PokéStops. Basically, Niantic turned the post-event hours into cleanup time — catch more Deino, sort IVs, then evolve your best ones before the cutoff. ### What changes on Wednesday? (pokemongo.com) Raid bosses rotate on May 13 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Nihilego leaves five-star raids, and the Ultra Beast slot splits by region: Buzzwole appears in the Americas, Pheromosa in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Xurkitree in Asia-Pacific. Mega Camerupt also rotates out, with Mega Glalie taking over Mega Raids from May 13 to May 19. ### What about Raid Hour? (pokemongo.com) Wednesday’s Raid Hour, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time on May 13, follows that same regional split. So U.S. players should expect Buzzwole, not the full Ultra Beast trio. That matters if you were hoping to target Xurkitree without remote coordination — your local map won’t give you that option this week. ### Is there anything else worth timing? Max Monday is the smaller bonus window. (pokemongohub.net) On Monday, May 11, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, Dynamax Growlithe is featured in Max Battles, and Growlithe stays in Max Battles through May 17. It’s not the headline, but if you play every day, it’s the cleanest “log in for an hour” target before the bigger Wednesday and Saturday beats. ### So how should you play the week? (pokemongohub.net) Front-load raids if you want Buzzwole or the new Mega Glalie rotation after May 13. Save Saturday for Deino. Then use the 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. stretch to do the boring but important part — appraise, choose, and evolve. In a crowded event week, that evolution window is the part most likely to matter later. (pokemongo.com)