5 Pokemon GO highlights from May 2023

Pokemon GO is beginning its transition into June, putting a cap on a turbulent May calendar that featured plenty of highs and lows. Official events, Spotlight Hours, Community Days, and new gameplay features were introduced. However, not everything was positive, and Niantic indeed drew some criticism for their perceived shortcomings.

Whatever the case, May 2023 was quite an eventful month that will likely have a lasting impact on Pokemon GO, and a few events and pivotal changes may reverberate for quite some time, depending on the fanbase's reception.

Nevertheless, if Pokemon GO fans missed out on what May 2023 brought to the table for the mobile title, it isn't a bad time to review the highlights as the game transitions into June.

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5 major highlights that took place in Pokemon GO in May 2023

1) The Debut of Shadow Raids

Arguably the headlining implementation in Pokemon GO for May 2023 was the debut of Shadow Raids. In this new raid format, trainers can battle gyms occupied by members of Team GO Rocket, complete with their own Shadow Raid bosses. Although these new bosses operate much like they did before, they possess a shadow damage buff and the ability to become enraged during the battle, significantly boosting their stats. To counter this, trainers can utilize a new item called Purified Gems, which can be crafted by combining Shadow Shards picked up by defeating Team GO Rocket members.

Whatever the case, Shadow Raids have added some variety to the existing raid system, although some Pokemon GO fans certainly still have their concerns with the state of raiding as a whole.

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2) The Arrival of the Master Ball

After years of speculation and months of datamining efforts, the Master Ball was finally confirmed and appeared in Pokemon GO. Trainers can currently obtain a free Master Ball by completing Special Research for Professor Willow during the Rising Heroes season, but Niantic has stated that the faultless Pokeball will be available at later dates as well. The superpowered ball has the capability of capturing any Pokemon without fail, which should be instrumental in helping trainers snag some of the rarest creatures in the game.

Despite its arrival, some Pokemon GO players are worried that Niantic may eventually attempt to find ways to monetize the Master Ball at a later date, removing the rarity that makes it special.

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3) A Valorous Hero

The Rising Heroes season contains three distinct events, one for each team present in Pokemon GO. Two of these events took place in May 2023, with the "A Valorous Hero" and "An Instinctive Hero" events taking place in the early to middle portion of the month's event calendar.

A Valorous Hero added Mega Pinsir to the game as well as a costumed Ponyta wearing an accessory inspired by Candela, the head of Team Valor. Trainers were also able to capture the likes of Tapu Fini, Hisuian Braviary, Hisuian Avalugg, and Hisuian Growlithe in the event's raids.

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4) An Instinctive Hero

What "A Valorous Hero" did for Team Valor, "An Instinctive Hero" did for Team Instinct in Pokemon GO. Although Pokemon like Goomy, Axew, and Mime Jr. were made available during this event alongside an Elekid with an accessory inspired by Spark, the biggest draw was undoubtedly the arrival of the creatures Larvesta and Volcarona. The popular Bug/Fire-type creatures were certainly hailed for their inclusion, but many trainers ran into difficulty acquiring Larvesta from eggs as intended.

Plenty of Pokemon GO players vented their frustrations at Larvesta's low hatch chance, remarking that Niantic intentionally made it difficult to hatch Larvesta so players would be more willing to spend money on incubators.

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5) The Silph Road ends its Niantic partnership

Over the past six years, few community resource groups could match the accomplishments of The Silph Road. The group provided statistics for nearly every aspect of the mobile title, including egg hatch rates, current raid lineups, PvP information, Team GO Rocket teams, and wild Pokemon spawning chances. However, The Silph Road announced this May that their partnership with Niantic had ended and the group would be shutting its doors.

In a statement on the game's official news blog, Niantic thanked The Silph Road for their partnership before stating that they would begin the next phase of their Ambassador Program. Applications were closed for the remainder of May, with Niantic promising to re-open the ability to apply as a brand ambassador in the future. Unfortunately, the loss of The Silph Road was the loss of one of the most valuable resources for the game.