Lured Up - A Pokémon GO Podcast

Lured Up Podcast 405:

Live Streamed on - 8/18/2026

Publish Date - 8/20/2026

We got back to basics last week, so we get back to gameplay this week. We start with a recap of the last week including having a week off of events, Nickit Community Day, and the kickoff of the Water Festival. Adam worked a card show but was able to squeeze in the final hour, and Ken was able to play in Red Bank with a solid group of Trainers. The Water Festival is a pretty awesome event, with new Pokémon, boosted Shinies, and some solid Tier 1 and 3 Raids. This week is also a great one to put in some grinding as we earn more and more XP and Stardust bonuses as we progress through the event.

That week off was a nice break but Lunala and Mega Starmie mean that it is time to get back to Raids.Lunala’s Shiny debut will be a popular one for sure, and a Super Mega Raid Day for Starmie will be 6 hours of Mega Raid goodness. We take a look at both Pokebattler and GO Hub to put a little Raid Guide and Battle Party together for them both. We will likely see plenty of Mega Mewtwo Y in the lobbies as it is a top counter for both bosses.

We have some time before the end of month push with XP, Worlds, Mega Ascension, and the Mega Finale take over our lives for a bit. This week is the perfect opportunity to perform your Pokémon storage and item maintenance. It has been a struggle for many to recover from GO Fest, so you should have awareness now if you want to make sure your GO Plus can run non stop during the events. Is buying box storage the answer? It is really only a short term solution because if you don’t have an inventory plan, you will end up out of space very quickly.

We wrap up with our Professor’s Principle of the week, which takes a look at how important it is to position yourself in a way to achieve small victories. From setting fun and unique personal challenges in the game, to letting Party play guide you, there are ways to keep momentum pushing forward to make a gameplay session more fun and engaging, without needing a big reward at the end. It parallels well with life too. Pride is an awesome feeling that is helped along when you feel accomplished. Finding a process that includes small and achievable goals is an awesome way to keep yourself feeling driven and motivated to press on.

Nickit Community Day

Water Festival

Starmie Super Mega Raid Day

Pokebattler Lunala Counters

GO Hub Lunala Counters

Pokébattler Mega Starmie Counters

GO Hub Mega Starmie Counters

Pokémon XP & Worlds Events

GO Fest Mega Ascension & Finale

Listen to this episode ad free on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PokemonProfessor

LuredUp@PokemonProfessor.com | Voicemail and SMS: 732-835-8639

Grab some merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/professornetwork

Connect with us on multiple platforms! https://linktr.ee/LuredUp

Hosts

Ken Pescatore

Adam Tuttle

Writer and Producer

Ken Pescatore

Executive Producer

Xander

Show music provided by GameChops and licensed through Creative Commons

▾ FOLLOW GAMECHOPS ▾

http://instagram.com/GameChops

http://twitter.com/GameChops

http://soundcloud.com/GameChops

http://facebook.com/GameChops

http://youtube.com/GameChops

http://www.gamechops.com

Intro Music

Lake Verity (Drum & Bass Remix)

Tetracase

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

https://soundcloud.com/tetracase

https://soundcloud.com/MegaFlare0

Break Music

National Park

Mikel & GameChops

GameChops - Poké & Chill

http://smarturl.it/pokechill

https://twitter.com/mikel_beats

Outro Music

Vast Poni Canyon

CG5 & GlitchxCity (Future Bass Remix)

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

http://soundcloud.com/cg5-beats

https://soundcloud.com/glitchxcity

Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2026Pokémon GO is Trademark and © of Scopely ExploreLured Up and the Pokémon Professor Network are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company, Game Freak or Nintendo.

#pokemon #pokemongo #podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lured Up Podcast 404: The Plan All Along

Live Streamed on - 8/13/2026

Publish Date - 8/14/2026

What a week, am I right? Seriously though, this week has been a wild ride as Scopely Explore dropped multiple massive news bombs this week. While we start things off recapping the Summer Marathon, it isn’t long before we spill into the larger news stories. The first being the details of the Mega Finale, which have come to little to no fanfare. Trainers are not too happy with the Raid lineup of the event, as we won’t be able to grind the Kalos Mega Starters and we will once again have Mewtwo in the mix. That is of course, after everyone in the game just got a free Hundo Mewtwo with a background.

Trainers were shocked to learn about a free Timed Research that rewarded a Hundo Mewtwo, and of course the internet was ablaze with reactions. From Trainers thinking it is the best thing since sliced bread, to some that somehow found a way to still be upset about things. At the end of the day, this was an unprecedented move that opened up a lot of questions. Was this a reaction to the online community’s complaints or was this the plan all along? While we will likely never know, there is plenty of speculation flying around.

The final big news drop was that the Explorer Gadget has now rolled out globally to Trainers level 20 and above. While not a direct replacement for the GO Plus+, the tool is a bit clunky and cumbersome to figure out, with limited explanation of how it truly works for it to be effective. We are sure that Trainers that do not have autocatcher hardware will love it, for those of us that have a GO Plus+, it just doesn’t stack up and isn’t the tool we hoped it will be. Adam feels like it will evolve over time, so we will have to see!

Our Professor’s Principle this week is about Expectation vs. Reality. With so many Trainers online being upset about the Mega Finale, it really comes down to them being upset about something they never even had. It opens a discussion about how to balance standards against expectations to find a place in the middle where you leave room to be flexible. The journey is part of the process and when you allow some uncertainty to the outcome, it allows you to adapt to manage emotions and ultimately disappointment. Let us know what you think!

Listen to this episode ad free on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PokemonProfessor

Summer Marathon: Arctic Embers

GO Fest: Mega Finale

Hundo Mewtwo

Explorer Gadget

LuredUp@PokemonProfessor.com | Voicemail and SMS: 732-835-8639

Grab some merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/professornetwork

Connect with us on multiple platforms! https://linktr.ee/LuredUp

Hosts

Ken Pescatore

Adam Tuttle

Writer and Producer

Ken Pescatore

Executive Producer

Xander

Show music provided by GameChops and licensed through Creative Commons

▾ FOLLOW GAMECHOPS ▾

http://instagram.com/GameChops

http://twitter.com/GameChops

http://soundcloud.com/GameChops

http://facebook.com/GameChops

http://youtube.com/GameChops

http://www.gamechops.com

Intro Music

Lake Verity (Drum & Bass Remix)

Tetracase

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

https://soundcloud.com/tetracase

https://soundcloud.com/MegaFlare0

Break Music

National Park

Mikel & GameChops

GameChops - Poké & Chill

http://smarturl.it/pokechill

https://twitter.com/mikel_beats

Outro Music

Vast Poni Canyon

CG5 & GlitchxCity (Future Bass Remix)

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

http://soundcloud.com/cg5-beats

https://soundcloud.com/glitchxcity

Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2026Pokémon GO is Trademark and © of Scopely ExploreLured Up and the Pokémon Professor Network are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company, Game Freak or Nintendo.

#pokemon #pokemongo #podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lured Up Podcast 403: Back to Basics

Live Streamed on - 8/5/2026

Publish Date - 8/7/2026

Listen to this episode ad free on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PokemonProfessor

The last few weeks have been non-stop ups and downs over events, tickets, and the need for a break. This week we take a step back from that conversation to discuss some important topics about what made us originally fall in love with this game. It was likely NOT buying every event ticket, having every weekend consumed with events, and min-maxing every single mechanic in the game. It likely had to do with exploration, having fun exploring to catch Pokémon and spending time with fiends. We look into how important those basics are to keep your personal motivation and excitement over the game alive.

We get back to basics with conversations about the not so exciting but exceptionally essential to your success. Things like managing Pokémon storage, item inventory, and goal setting are important crucial to maximizing the time you do get to play. Our talk helps navigate some things to keep your eye on to make dedicated gameplay sessions as efficient as possible.

There are two in-game events to unpack this week, first the Spring Marathon and then the XP/Worlds event. Taking a look at the Marathon event, we are sure that Scopely has learned a lot about how the online community feels about Research with walking tasks. Spoiler alert, they don’t like it. Not surprisingly, we love it, and hope more Trainers can see how Walking is not only a core part of the game, but a mechanic that improves our experience by suggesting healthy choices. The XP and Worlds event is still three weeks away, there are some dates to put on your calendar. There will be 4 different Twitch drops during the Worlds weekend including a Timed Research exclusively available from co-streamers like us! Stay tuned for a date and time that we will be co-streaming during Worlds!

We wrap up with our Professor’s Principle of the week in a discussion about how when you lose your way, it’s best to get back to basics. The onslaught of events has burned a ton of Trainers out, and with it comes less motivation and drive to even open the game. Putting effort into finding what brings you joy and rediscovering it can help you get your groove back in our current post, GO Fest burnout phase. In life, things are a bit less tangible. We lose motivation to do the small things, which can be getting good sleep, eating right, drinking water. Returning to those basics will undoubtedly have a positive impact on other parts of your life.

The little things are vital. Little Things make big things happen.

Summer Marathon: Arctic Embers

Pokémon XP & 2026 Worlds Event

LuredUp@PokemonProfessor.com | Voicemail and SMS: 732-835-8639

Grab some merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/professornetwork

Connect with us on multiple platforms! https://linktr.ee/LuredUp

Hosts

Ken Pescatore

Adam Tuttle

Writer and Producer

Ken Pescatore

Executive Producer

Xander

Show music provided by GameChops and licensed through Creative Commons

▾ FOLLOW GAMECHOPS ▾

http://instagram.com/GameChops

http://twitter.com/GameChops

http://soundcloud.com/GameChops

http://facebook.com/GameChops

http://youtube.com/GameChops

http://www.gamechops.com

Intro Music

Lake Verity (Drum & Bass Remix)

Tetracase

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

https://soundcloud.com/tetracase

https://soundcloud.com/MegaFlare0

Break Music

National Park

Mikel & GameChops

GameChops - Poké & Chill

http://smarturl.it/pokechill

https://twitter.com/mikel_beats

Outro Music

Vast Poni Canyon

CG5 & GlitchxCity (Future Bass Remix)

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

http://soundcloud.com/cg5-beats

https://soundcloud.com/glitchxcity

Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2026Pokémon GO is Trademark and © of Scopely ExploreLured Up and the Pokémon Professor Network are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company, Game Freak or Nintendo.

#pokemon #pokemongo #podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lured Up Podcast 402

Live Streamed on - 7/29/2026

Publish Date - 7/31/2026

We talked last week about the dust settling after the back to back flurry of the 10th Anniversary Event in NYC and GO Fest: Global. Trainers had a long week leading into the event and an even longer weekend of non-stop Raids. We have absolutely seen a shift lately from a focus on catching and grinding at events to Raiding. With the feeling of success from Raids being at the mercy of RNG, the return doesn’t always line up with the investment. This can really lead to fatigue, which is our main topic of the episode.

Every year after GO Fest, there is typically a window of events that seem like they drag. Each event seems to be trying to recapture the magic of GO Fest, but can’t actually pull it off. Blend this with the crazy pacing and relentless schedule of events, Trainers are feeling a bit drained physically, mentally, and financially. It is hard to be motivated to play when faced with this type of exhaustion, so when the Mega Finale was announced as a two day event, Trainers were gasping for air.

We take a look at what we would want from an event calendar, and how just a weekend off can make all the difference. This leads to a conversation about expectations, accountability, and finding joy in the things we do. That convo leads to our guiding principal of, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”.

Ken shares how over the last few years his decisions were dictated by circumstance. Saying no to things was done out of necessity, not out of desire. As things changed over time and life stabilized, his ability to say yes to things returned, however it became an issue. Saying yes to everything put undue stress on his health and finances, with a side order of guilt if he said no. Navigating one's ability to say no to things as a choice, is an example of empowerment. We examine that empowerment and discuss the parallels between decision making on and off screen.

Listen to this episode ad free on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PokemonProfessor

GO Fest: Mega Finale

Shadow Giratina (Altered) Counters: Pokébattler

Shadow Giratina (Altered) Counters: GO Hub

Summer Marathon: Arctic Embers

LuredUp@PokemonProfessor.com | Voicemail and SMS: 732-835-8639

Grab some merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/professornetwork

Connect with us on multiple platforms! https://linktr.ee/LuredUp

Hosts

Ken Pescatore

Adam Tuttle

Writer and Producer

Ken Pescatore

Executive Producer

Xander

Show music provided by GameChops and licensed through Creative Commons

▾ FOLLOW GAMECHOPS ▾

http://instagram.com/GameChops

http://twitter.com/GameChops

http://soundcloud.com/GameChops

http://facebook.com/GameChops

http://youtube.com/GameChops

http://www.gamechops.com

Intro Music

Lake Verity (Drum & Bass Remix)

Tetracase

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

https://soundcloud.com/tetracase

https://soundcloud.com/MegaFlare0

Break Music

National Park

Mikel & GameChops

GameChops - Poké & Chill

http://smarturl.it/pokechill

https://twitter.com/mikel_beats

Outro Music

Vast Poni Canyon

CG5 & GlitchxCity (Future Bass Remix)

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

http://soundcloud.com/cg5-beats

https://soundcloud.com/glitchxcity

Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2026Pokémon GO is Trademark and © of Scopely ExploreLured Up and the Pokémon Professor Network are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company, Game Freak or Nintendo.

#pokemon #pokemongo #podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lured Up Podcast 401: The Highest Bidder

Live Streamed on -7/21/2026

Publish Date - 7/23/2026

Listen to this episode ad free on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PokemonProfessor

The dust has finally settled from the 10th Anniversary Event in NYC and GO Fest Global Weekend. We have a ton to unpack and discuss as the community has had some time to respond to the madness that was the last week. It was pretty wild to see the community turn on itself in anger. The creators were up first to feel the flames as it seemed the Community Ambassadors would come out untouched. Then… The Times Square Mewtwo hit eBay and things went nuts. People forgot about being mad at creators and turned on the CAs and their communities. RaspberryWeiner broke some news about finding out the in-game name of one of the sellers who even came forward to apologize and say that he didn’t know selling a Pokémon on eBay was against any rules. It was wild to watch as the internet delivered another reason for the X-mob to dislike the event.

We stuck around NYC to play GO Fest Global, where we put ourselves under a massive challenge to walk all the way from Bryant Park in Manhattan to Industry City, Brooklyn and back. Let’s just say our dogs were barking and we were just about out of gas when we got back to Bryant Park. Huge shout to LeBro for making the journey with us to Brooklyn. We were very surprised by the gameboard at the Community Celebration, as it seemed to be 90% Gyms. You could feel the lack of Lures as the spawns seemed pretty thin. It was a pretty cool setting, but definitely was a departure from the park style play that we have seen before.

Scopely Explore did have a first this week, and that was the announcement of their first make up event under their new name! In all seriousness, the community is buzzing in a positive way about the make up GO Fest Raids being a global make up. They are even throwing in a bunch of Raid passes to boot.The Scopely Effect is becoming more and more noticeable, and we are loving that even when parts of the community can feel a little rough around the edges, the masses online still seem to be rowing in the same direction as the developer.

The pacing and event calendar for the rest of the month into August is already looking packed. With Ultra Unlocks, new Shinies, and plenty of things to do, there is definitely no rest for the weary. The focus on IRL play with a consistent spattering of very remote friendly events have created a nice balance for different types of Trainers to come together.

Before we wrap up we have a few listener emails and a voicemail to play, with SerAmanda bringing a banger of a protip in the settings. We close with our guiding principal of the episode being: Everyone is playing a different game. Trainers with different goals and process can meet on the same gameboard and navigate an event together, even if they are concerned with very different things. In life, we interact with people every day and never really know what they can be going through.

Ultra Unlock: 10th Anniversary Edition

GO Pass: August

Gigantamax Rillaboom Max Battle Day

Summer Marathon: Arctic Embers

Fire and Ice Hatch Day

Ultra Unlock: Water Festival

Ultra Unlock: Starmie Super Mega Raid Day

GO Wild Area 2026

LuredUp@PokemonProfessor.com | Voicemail and SMS: 732-835-8639

Grab some merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/professornetwork

Connect with us on multiple platforms! https://linktr.ee/LuredUp

Hosts

Ken Pescatore

Adam Tuttle

Writer and Producer

Ken Pescatore

Executive Producer

Xander

Show music provided by GameChops and licensed through Creative Commons

▾ FOLLOW GAMECHOPS ▾

http://instagram.com/GameChops

http://twitter.com/GameChops

http://soundcloud.com/GameChops

http://facebook.com/GameChops

http://youtube.com/GameChops

http://www.gamechops.com

Intro Music

Lake Verity (Drum & Bass Remix)

Tetracase

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

https://soundcloud.com/tetracase

https://soundcloud.com/MegaFlare0

Break Music

National Park

Mikel & GameChops

GameChops - Poké & Chill

http://smarturl.it/pokechill

https://twitter.com/mikel_beats

Outro Music

Vast Poni Canyon

CG5 & GlitchxCity (Future Bass Remix)

GameChops - Ultraball

http://gamechops.com/ultraball/

http://soundcloud.com/cg5-beats

https://soundcloud.com/glitchxcity

Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2026Pokémon GO is Trademark and © of Scopely ExploreLured Up and the Pokémon Professor Network are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company, Game Freak or Nintendo.

#pokemon #pokemongo #podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices