How to Complete a Legendary Raid – A Pokémon Go Guide

As far as augmented reality games go, there is no game quite as dominant within the market as Pokémon Go. Simply put, it has taken over the mobile gaming world. For those of you dedicated to catching each and every pokémon you can find, you will eventually need to face off against one of the game’s famous legendary raids. But, don’t fret. We’ve got you covered.

What is a Legendary Raid?

There are five different tiers of raids in Pokémon Go. The first tier of raids provides the easiest challenge, but also offers less impressive rewards. The higher up in tiers you travel, the more tough the competition will become.

Raids take place at your local gym and often utilize various timed events. Up to 20 trainers can participate in a raid, as raid bosses can be incredibly tough to take down. Luckily, there are both private and public raid rooms available for these events. This way, you can pick your party and choose how you want to go about each raid.

Tier five raids, often featuring legendary raids, will be the focus of this guide.

What Are Legendary Raid Hours?

Legendary Raid Hours were once just an experiment by Niantic studios and have since become a staple part of Pokémon Go this month. In a statement provided by the people over at Pokémon Go, for a single hour on every Wednesday for the entire month of June, raid battles featuring legendary pokémon and general five-star raids will appear in greater numbers. However, there is a catch.

The legendary raid battles will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays in your local time zone and will specifically feature the current theme’s chosen legendary pokémon. The lunar pokémon Cresselia will be available June 5 through June 12. The sea basin pokémon Kyogre, however, will be available June 19 through June 26. Lastly, the Ground-type pokémon Groudon will be available June 27 through July 10.

What Are Some Tips for Successfully Completing a Legendary Raid?

If you want to defeat some of these legendary pokémon, then you are going to have to keep your wits about you. To that end, here are some quick tips to victory for legendary raids.

• Don’t rely too much on your dodge move. Dodging can be a great way to avoid a devastating attack. That being said, it is actually often too costly to be worth it. If you are facing a raid boss, only dodge their charged moved. Dodging their fast moves will prove too costly and ultimately be a detriment.
• Don’t leave the raid all at once. If your party ends up having to leave the raid for a quick boost before joining back in, make sure you each take turns leaving the raid. If everyone leaves the raid, then the raid boss will actually gain back a small amount of health. Try to leave at least one trainer in the raid at all times.
• Try to use a small raid group. Yes, using a larger raid group may seem to give you an edge. But, it will ultimately hurt you in the long run. The smaller your raid group, the better share of the rewards you will each receive. Consequently, you can build up a small team of trainers much faster than a larger one.
• Cut down on time. Your team will likely have to leave and re-enter the battle multiple times during the raid. Every moment you are spending out of the raid is a moment you are not dealing damage to the boss. Consequently, you are going to want to cut down on this time. The best way, unfortunately, is to make sure you are using a smartphone with plenty of processing power. This will cut down on loading times and the like. Other than that, leave the raid before all of your pokémon have been wiped out. Otherwise, you will have to sit through a time consuming “all your Pokemon have fainted” screen.
• Know your counters. If you are facing Cresselia, consider using a shadow ball/shadow clay combination with Gengar for some devastating results. When facing Kyogre, whip out a Raikou and start using a Thunder Shock/Wild Charge combination. Lastly, use a Razor Leaf/Solar Beam combination with Roserade whenever you are facing Groudon.