Last, but not least, Team Valor’s dedicated event is finally here during the Season of Rising Heroes. Similar to Team Mystic (A Mystic Hero) and Team Instinct’s (An Instictive Hero) events, the A Valorous Hero event will give Trainers a free Special Research that contains a special Costumed Pokémon reward. While Team Mystic’s event was about evolving, Team Instinct’s event focused on hatching Eggs, it appears that Team Valor’s event will be all about battling (and will also overlap with a GO Battle Day event in the process).
Get all the details about the A Valorous Hero event with our guide below:
Pokémon GO’s Season of Rising Heroes – A Valorous Hero
Begins: Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
Ends: Wednesday, May 17th, 2023 at 8 p.m. your local time.
Pokémon debuts – Costumed Ponyta, Mega Pinsir, and Shiny Tapu Fini
There are three notable debuts during the A Valorous Hero event – Ponyta wearing a Candela-themed accessory, Mega Pinsir, and Shiny Tapu Fini.
- Ponyta wearing a Candela-themed accessory (Costumed Ponyta)*: Available as a catch encounter reward via A Valorous Hero Special Research. This complete’s the trio of Team Mystic, Instinct, and Valor dressed-up Pokémon that were distributed this season via event-themed Special Research Stories.
- Mega Pinsir*: Mega Pinsir* is finally here and only in Mega Raids! Earn enough Pinsir Mega Energy from defeating Mega Pinsir in Mega Raids and you’ll be able to Mega Evolve your own Pinsir.
- More than likely, 200 Pinsir Mega Energy will be needed to Mega Evolve one (1) Pinsir.
- Shiny Tapu Fini*: Debuting earlier in the week (prior to the start of the A Valorous Hero event), Tapu Fini* will be Shiny for the first time in Pokémon GO. You’ll find Tapu Fini only in Five-Star Raids and won’t know if you’ve been granted a Shiny encounter until after defeating Tapu Fini in battle.
Notes:
- Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!
- Going forward, these Pokémon will be referred to as “Costumed” rather than the exact outfit they are wearing.
Event Bonuses
- 2× Candy for catching Pokémon.
- Trainers level 31 and above will have twice the chance to obtain Candy XL from catching Pokémon.
- 2× Mysterious Components from Team GO Rocket Grunts
- Up to 2 free Raid Passes per day by spinning Gym Photo Discs
Also, on Sunday, May 14th, 2023 from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. your local time, the GO Battle Day: Stardust event will be happening. The following bonuses from that event will be active only during that time period:
- 4× Stardust from win rewards. (This does not include the end-of-set rewards and will not stack with the 3× Stardust bonus from Master League rotation weeks.)
- The maximum number of sets you can play per day will be increased from five to 20—for a total of 100 battles—from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. your local time.
Event Boxes
If any special event boxes or bundles are released during the event, they’ll be listed here once the event is live.
- Explorer Box (1,480 PokéCoins): 30 Ultra Balls, 5 Incense, 2 Egg Incubators, and 13 Super Incubators.
- Ace Box (450 PokéCoins): 6 Golden Razz Berries, 30 Pinap Berries, and 40 Ultra Balls.
- GO Rocket Box (425 PokéCoins): 5 Star Pieces and 3 Mysterious Components.
Prior to the event, the following Raid Boxes were added, but then removed:
- Raid Box (Green) (275 PokéCoins, no purchase limit): 3 Premium Battle Passes and 2 Lucky Eggs.
- Raid Box (Blue) (320 Poké Coins, no purchase limit): 2 Remote Raid Passes and 1 Star Piece.
And the following box will be available during Elite Raid Day on Saturday, May 13th, 2023:
- Great Raid Box (850 PokéCoins, purchase limit 1): 15 Premium Battle Passes, 1 Star Piece, and 1 Lucky Egg.
Raids
The following Pokémon will be appearing in Raids:
- One-Star Raids: Hisuian Growlithe, Galarian Ponyta*, and Hoothoot*.
- Three-Star Raids: Galarian Stunfisk*, Druddigon*, Hisuian Braviary*, and Hisuian Avalugg*.
- Five-Star Raids: Tapu Fini* (See Additional Notes).
- Mega Raids: Mega Pinsir* (See Additional Notes).
Additional Notes:
- Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
- Tapu Fini* will debut prior to this event on Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- They will also be available after the event (in Five-Star Raids), until Wednesday, May 24th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Mega Pinsir* will be available after the event (in Mega Raids), until Wednesday, May 24th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
Timed Research – A Valorous Hero
A Timed Research quest called A Valorous Hero will be active during the event. Trainers who complete this Timed Research will be rewarded with a Fast TM and a Charged TM.
A complete list of tasks and the rewards will be shared here once the event is live.
Step 1/2
- Task: Power up Pokémon 10 times
- Reward: 1,000 Stardust
- Task: Catch 5 Pokémon
- Reward: 10 Poké Balls
- Task: Make 5 Great Throws
- Reward: 10 Razz Berries
- Task: Battle 3 Team GO Rocket Grunts
- Reward: 5 Hyper Potions
- Completion Rewards: 1,000 Stardust, 1,000 XP, and 1 Fast TM
Step 2/2
- Task: Power up Pokémon 10 times
- Reward: 1,000 Stardust
- Task: Catch 5 Pokémon
- Reward: 10 Poké Balls
- Task: Make 5 Great Throws
- Reward: 10 Razz Berries
- Task: Battle in a Gym 3 times
- Reward: 5 Hyper Potions
- Completion Rewards: 1,000 Stardust, 1,000 XP, and 1 Charged TM
Field Research Tasks
There will be event-exclusive Field Research Tasks available and the rewards include the following Pokémon encounters: Ponyta*. Plus, additional tasks will reward Trainers with Stardust, Revives, and Hyper Potions. These Field Research Tasks can be found when spinning PokéStops (and acquired if you have an open slot in your Field Research menu) when the event is active.
Once the event is live, a complete list of tasks and rewards will be shared here.
- Task: Battle in a Gym
- Reward: 3 Hyper Potions
- Task: Battle 3 Team GO Rocket Grunts
- Reward: 5 Revives
- Task: Power up a Pokémon
- Reward: 300 Stardust
- Task: Power up Pokémon 5 times
- Reward: 1,000 Stardust
- Task: Power up Pokémon 10 times
- Reward: Ponyta* Encounter
Note: Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
Special Research – A Valorous Hero & Let’s GO! + An Everyday Hero
Following in the footsteps of the A Mystic Hero and An Instinctive Hero events, Team Valor Leader Candela will have her own Special Research Story where Trainers will be rewarded with a special Costumed Pokémon. Also, Niantic is once again reminding Trainers about the earlier released Let’s GO! + An Everyday Hero Special Research (where only the first few steps are available to complete).
A Valorous Hero
An event-exclusive Special Research Story will be available. Just like the Special Research distributed during A Mystic Hero and An Instinctive Hero events, the Valor-themed one will be led by Team Valor Leader Candela and she’ll reward Trainers with a special Costumed Ponyta. According to Niantic, this is the only way to encounter Ponyta wearing a Candela-themed accessory during this Season.
A complete list of tasks and rewards of this Special Research will be shared here once the event is live.
| A Valorous Hero | |
|---|---|
| Step 1/4 | Reward |
| Catch 15 Pokémon | 10 Poké Balls |
| Use 15 Berries to help catch Pokémon | 10 Razz Berries |
| Power up Pokémon 5 times | 1,000 Stardust |
| Completion Rewards | 1,500 XP and Charmander* Encounter |
| Step 2/4 | Reward |
| Use 5 Charged Attacks | 10 Pinap Berries |
| Power up Pokémon 10 times | 2,000 Stardust |
| Battle 3 Team GO Rocket members | 3 Revives |
| Completion Rewards | 2,000 XP and Stufful* Encounter |
| Step 3/4 | Reward |
| Catch 15 Pokémon | 15 Great Balls |
| Power up Pokémon 15 times | 2,500 Stardust |
| Battle in a Gym 3 times | 5 Revives |
| Completion Rewards | 2,500 XP and Costumed Ponyta* Encounter |
| Step 4/4 | Reward |
| Claim Reward! | 80 Charizard Mega Energy |
| Claim Reward! | 5 Hyper Potions |
| Claim Reward! | 7 Revives |
| Completion Rewards | 2,500 XP and 2,500 Stardust |
Notes:
- Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
- The “Use 5 Charged Attacks” task (on Page 2) might be the wrong text. In order to clear this particular task, 5 Super Effective Charged Attacks needed to be used.
Reminder – Let’s GO! + An Everyday Hero
Initially released during the Let’s GO! event in March, Niantic included a reminder for this free Special Research in A Mystic Hero and An Instinctive Hero’s official blog posts (but referred to it as “An Everyday Hero” instead of “Let’s GO!”). It’s unclear if additional steps to the Special Research will be released during this event (steps were not released during A Mystic Hero or An Instinctive Hero). If so, they’ll be added to the chart below:
| Let's GO Special Research | |
|---|---|
| Step 1/6 | Reward |
| Catch 10 Pokémon | 5 Poké Balls |
| Make 10 Curveball Throws | 5 Razz Berries |
| Power up Pokémon 5 times | 1,000 Stardust |
| Completion Rewards | 1,500 XP and Mankey Encounter |
| Step 2/6 | Reward |
| Catch 15 Pokémon | 10 Poké Balls |
| Make 10 Great Throws | 5 Pinap Berries |
| Transfer 20 Pokémon | 5 Great Balls |
| Completion Rewards | 2,000 XP and Meditite Encounter |
| Step 3/6 | Reward |
| Power up Pokémon 10 times | 10 Great Balls |
| Make 7 Great Throws | 1 Lure Module |
| Defeat a Team GO Rocket member (Grunts only) | 3 Revives |
| Completion Rewards | 2,500 XP and Machoke Encounter |
| Step 4/6 | Reward |
| Catch a Pokémon | 500 XP |
| Completion Rewards | 1,000 XP and 1,000 Stardust |
| Step 5/6 | Reward |
| Catch 25 Pokémon | 2,500 Stardust |
| Defeat 3 Team GO Rocket Grunts | 3 Hyper Potions |
| Make 3 Excellent Throws | Galarian Farfetch'd* Encounter |
| Evolve 5 Pokémon | 2,500 Stardust |
| Battle in a Gym 3 times | 5 Revives |
| Completion Rewards | 1 Master Ball, 1,000 XP, and 1,000 Stardust |
| Step 6/6 | Reward |
| Claim Reward! | 10 Ultra Balls |
| Claim Reward! | 2 Silver Pinap Berries |
| Claim Reward! | 1 Star Piece |
| Completion Rewards | 3,000 Stardust and 3,000 XP |
This Special Research is free and can be claimed in-game until Thursday, June 1st, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time. The complete list of tasks can also be found on the Pokémon GO Season of Rising Heroes guide hub page.
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Written by Jennifer Burch
Illustrator, designer, writer and big Nintendo geek, you can find Jennifer with an N3DS within reach 24/7. As the oldest of three, she has survived many Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart sessions intact in addition to getting her brothers hooked on some really weird games. (Cubivore anyone?)
