Pokemon Go Raids: Everything You Need to Know

Pokemon Go Raid Battles were introduced in Update 1.37.1/0.67.1 on June 23.

Watch the video above to see a Raid Battle from start to finish in five minutes!

Pokemon Go Raid Battles are a new mechanic introduced on June 23. During a Raid Battle, Trainers from all teams can band together to take down a particularly difficult Boss Pokemon of 20,000 CP or more at a Gym. 

Multiple groups consisting of up to 20 people cooperate to battle the Raid Boss. If successful within the (usually hour-long) time-limit, players will get a chance to capture the powerful Raid Boss and receive Items rewarded only by completing Raid Battles. 

To participate in a Raid Battle, you must use a Raid Pass. These can be received once a day by spinning a photo disc at any Gym.

You cannot save Raid Passes. You can only collect a new free Raid Pass when you have none in your inventory. You can, however, purchase unlimited Premium Raid Passes, it seems.

A Premium Raid Pass, which works exactly like a regular Raid Pass, can be purchased in unlimited amounts at the Shop for 100 PokeCoins apiece. 

As of 6/26/2017, anyone Level 20 and above can obtain or purchase a Raid Pass and participate.

It seems the level requirement is still lowering on occasion. 

Raid Battles only occur at Gyms, and if one is about to start nearby, you will receive an in-game notification.

You can also manually check for a Raid by using the Nearby feature. The number below the Raid egg image is the military time it will begin. 

The symbols below mark the difficulty rating of the Raid Battle, up to five.

If a Gym is topped with an egg instead of a Pokemon, a Raid is about to begin. The timer above the egg denotes how long until the Raid Battle will begin.

Currently, it seems that Raids in Pokemon Go do not occur between approximately 9 pm and 9 am local time. Niantic has not officially commented on this observation. 

If a Raid is already in process, you can see the silhouette of the Raid Boss, and you can tap the Gym to see how much time is left.

Raids will usually be active for an hour, giving Pokemon Go players plenty of time to seek out and try to defeat the Boss. You can see how much time is left above an ongoing Raid. 

The color of the egg reveals how difficult the Raid Boss will be. Pink eggs are easier to defeat than Yellow eggs.   Blue eggs will be the most difficult Raid Battles, but we have yet to see these in the wild.

The color only specifies how high a Raid Boss's CP will be - so any color egg could be any species of Pokemon. You will be able to see what Raid Boss "hatches" before committing to use a Raid Pass.

Once you've found a Raid near you, you must physically go to the Gym, like you would do for a Gym Battle. 

Tap on the Gym once the egg has hatched and use a Raid Pass to begin the process. You can choose your team of six Pokemon and then will be automatically joined with a group of 20 Pokemon Go players.

It's possible to complete a Raid with significantly less players than 20, it will just take a little longer! 

If you'd like, you can create a private group by creating and sharing a specific group code. You can also use this group code to determine who is on your team. 

After the 100 second countdown, the Raid Battle will begin with how many people have joined the group. The set-up is almost exactly the same as a Gym Battle, except instead of battling multiple Pokemon, you only battle the Raid Boss. You will see the Boss's health reduce as you and your teammates attack it.

If all of your Pokemon are knocked-out, you can heal them and try again until the time limit is reached - this will not consume more Raid Passes.

If your team reduces the Boss's HP entirely before the limit is up, you will have defeated the Raid Boss! 

Once you have completed a Raid Battle, you can no longer interact with it. In other words, you can't repeatedly defeat a Raid Battle.

When you complete a Raid Battle, you will always receive Premier Balls, and may receive a few other items as well such as Revives, and a few items exclusive to Raid Battles below. You will also receive XP. We received 3,000 XP for defeating a 3-star Boss. 

Raid Battle Item Rewards
Rare Candy	Golden Razz Berry
Rare Candy, when used on a Pokemon, will transform into that Pokemon's Candy. For example, if used on a Charmander, it will turn into a sing Charmander Candy.	A Golden Razz Berry is an enhanced version of a Razz Berry. It makes it significantly easier to capture a Pokemon, and will max out a Pokemon's Motivation at a Gym.
Fast TM	Charged TM
Fast TMs, when used on a Pokemon, will replace a Pokemon's normal attack with a different move.	Charged TMs, when used on a Pokemon, will replace a Pokemon's Charged Attack with a different move.

Though the items above are not guaranteed rewards, you may receive more Premier Balls depending on various bonuses. Including Damage contributed, if your Team was holding the Gym at the time the Raid Battle started, and if your Pokemon Go team contributed the most.  For example, if you are a member of Team Mystic, and the majority of your 20-person Raid team were Team Mystic members, you will receive extra Premier Balls. 

This is especially beneficial when capturing the Raid Boss for the Bonus Challenge: Once you run out of Premier Balls, the Raid Boss will flee, and you will not be able to capture it.

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