The final month of Pokémon Go’s World of Wonders season is shaping up to be full of Ultra Beasts and prep for Go Fest this summer. This includes the official debut of Blacephalon and Stakataka, though you won’t be able to catch both due to an encounter restriction that players are sick of.
Starting with the Ultra Space Wonders event on May 23, both Blacephalon and Stakataka will be appearing for the first time in Pokémon Go. These are the final Ultra Beasts to be released, unless you count Poipole’s evolution Naganadel, and will appear as five-star Raid Bosses from May 23 to June 1—but only in one hemisphere apiece.
You can only challenge and encounter Blacephalon in the Western Hemisphere, while Stakataka is locked to the Eastern Hemisphere. This is not a new mechanic as Niantic loves locking Pokémon to specific locations and regions, even though the community is tired of being restricted from catching Pokémon featured in big events or research. But at least it should be easier to get raid invites to both of these compared to the extreme lack of Celesteela raid availability.
“I’m fine with [locked encounters] for the Lake Trio, seeing that currently all three are pretty mediocre. However, when they do it with Pokemon that are viable, things get frustrating. It’s especially annoying when they want to promote in-person raiding but then do these regional raids,” Reddit user krispyboiz said. “Yes, it’s much easier to do them remotely with how the hemispheres are split, but now those in the East Hemisphere are forced to remote for Blacephalon (for now at least), which just seems counterintuitive.”
Outside of Blacephalon and Stakataka’s limited debut, there are only three major events set for May since it’s the end of a season and Go Fest is right around the corner. Those events are the previously announced Rivals Week, a special Catching Wonders event, and the Ultra Space Wonders event to close things out heading into June and Go Fest Sendai on May 30.
