When are Larvesta and Volcarona coming to Pokemon GO?

With a new month right around the corner, Pokemon GO players around the world are gearing up for the next wave of content that Niantic has in store for them. Along with the wave of content rotations that have been teased to arrive in May, two new creatures have been announced to be joining the game's catchable roster.

The two Pocket Monsters are Larvesta and Volcarona, Bug-type creatures from the Unova region. Both are known for their long evolutionary requirements, as well as being the ace on the team of the region's original champion, Alder. Fans of the main series have surely gotten to know them well enough by now.

Since May is still a few days away, a lot of players may not have heard the news of these two creatures coming to Pokemon GO. Thankfully, Niantic has released various details regarding the new arrivals on the game's Twitter page.

So, what do we know about Volcarona and Larvesta in relation to the mobile game?

---

Larvesta and Volcarona are making their way to Pokemon GO on May 2, 2023

Larvesta as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Volcarona and Larvesta will be added to Pokemon GO's live servers on May 2, 2023, as part of the "An Instinctive Hero" event.

Larvesta, being Volcarona's pre-evolved form, will be much more common as it will appear as both wild encounters and as a potential hatch from two, five, and ten-kilometer eggs.

Preserving the legacy of Larvesta's unreal evolution requirements, the creature will require a whopping 400 candies to evolve into Volcarona. With this in mind, a lot of players will be registering Larvesta as their Buddy Pokemon so they can quickly grind up the required candies, similar to what many do for Magikarp and Wailmer, two other 400-candy evolutions in Pokemon GO.

Larvesta and Volcarona will be the only Fire and Bug-type creatures in the mobile game when they are released. This means a lot of players may have a hard time accounting for their unique type combination in battle. However, since both types share a weakness to Rock-type attacks, it is safe to assume that Volcarona will not be too debilitating to deal with if trainers encounter one in the Battle League.

Volcarona will also be an offensively-oriented creature, with its highest base stat being its attack in Pokemon GO. However, its defense and stamina being relatively close to 200 means that it will still be bulky enough to stay in neutral matchups.

Being a Fire-type Pocket Monster, Volcarona excels at taking a more aggressive standpoint in battles, meaning it may be used more toward the end of a battle rather than being the lead.

New creatures in Pokemon GO are always going to garner a bit of excitement. The fact that the two newest additions are fan favorites from the Unova region only heightens the anticipation for their arrival.