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A new and fun way to battle has been added to Pokémon go recently. Raids are like a normal gym battle except the opponent Pokémon has extremely high CP which results in the need of multiple Pokémon trainers to defeat it. Let's see what these new raid battles look like and what are the bits you should know about before battling the new bosses. One important tip to raid battles is that up to 20 trainers can battle a raid boss at a time, so beating a really high CP boss will be no problem if you are out playing with a large group of friends. These high CP bosses now appear in five different levels; level one being rather easy to beat, and level 5 raid bosses are extremely hard to beat and catch. This brings us to another important secret. Level 1 and 2 bosses are possible to beat alone, and range to just a couple thousand CP, but a level 3 raid may require from 2 to 5 trainers to successfully beat it. Level 4 raids usually require over 5 trainers to beat and are around 30000 CP. |
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Thus, before attacking a raid boss, take into account how many Pokémon trainers are needed for the raid, and call out your friends for help if you can't beat it alone. Also be aware that level 5 raid battles are only legendary Pokémon and require a lot of effort to beat. Another necessary thing to enter a raid battle is a raid pass. You can get a free raid pass every day at any gym, and carry one from the previous day. This results in being able to do two raid battles per day if you haven't done one the previous day.
You can find which Pokémon are which level bosses and their CP in the following table:
| Tier | Raid Boss | CP | Best counters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magikarp | 1165 | Anything! |
| 1 | Bayleef | 4375 | Flareon, Charizard, Gengar |
| 1 | Quilava | 5085 | Golem, Starmie, Vaporeon |
| 1 | Croconaw | 5207 | Exeggutor, Venusaur, Jolteon |
| 2 | Muk | 12269 | Alakazam, Espeon, Exeggutor |
| 2 | Electabuzz | 12390 | Gengar, Dragonite, Alakazam, Flareon |
| 2 | Weezing | 12318 | Alakazam, Espeon, Exeggutor |
| 2 | Magmar | 12718 | Golem, Starmie, Vaporeon |
| 2 | Exeggutor | 13839 | Pinsir, Gengar, Heracross |
| 3 | Vaporeon | 16696 | Exeggutor, Venusaur, Jolteon |
| 3 | Arcanine | 17832 | Golem, Starmie, Vaporeon |
| 3 | Machamp | 18144 | Alakazam, Espeon, Exeggutor |
| 3 | Gengar | 19768 | Gengar, Alakazam, Espeon |
| 3 | Jolteon | 19883 | Gengar, Dragonite, Alakazam, Flareon |
| 3 | Flareon | 21155 | Golem, Starmie, Vaporeon |
| 4 | Lapras | 21768 | Machamp, Heracross, Exeggutor |
| 3 | Alakazam | 22646 | Gengar, Houndoom, Tyranitar |
| 4 | Blastoise | 24162 | Exeggutor, Venusaur, Jolteon |
| 4 | Snorlax | 25419 | Machamp, Heracross, Alakazam |
| 4 | Venusaur | 26921 | Alakazam, Flareon, Espeon |
| 4 | Charizard | 28485 | Golem, Omastar, Sudowoodo |
| 4 | Rhydon | 30512 | Exeggutor, Venusaur, Victreebel |
| 4 | Tyranitar | 34707 | Machamp, Heracross, Primeape |
| 5 | Articuno | 37603 | Omastar, Golem, Arcanine |
| 5 | Moltres | 41953 | Omastar, Golem, Tyranitar |
| 5 | Zapdos | 42691 | Golem, Piloswine, Tyranitar |
| 5 | Lugia | 42753 | Articuno, Magneton, Jolteon |
Raid Boss Item Rewards
But what do you get by defeating this high CP Pokémon? When you beat a raid boss Pokémon, you may receive a variety of items:
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Golden Razz Berries - these are like normal Razz berries except that they greatly increase the chance to catch a Pokémon, more than Razz berries. Rare Candies - these are candies that can be transformed into either Pokémon's candy, a very useful item if you need a rarer Pokémon's candy. Fast TMs - these technical machines can change a Pokémon's fast attack, useful for strong Pokémon who don't have the best move set. Charged TMs - these technical machines can change a Pokémon's charged attack, useful for strong Pokémon who don't have the best move set. |
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- Charged and Fast TMs are the rarest items you can get from beating a raid boss. You will be rewarded with Golden Razz berries and rare candies almost every time, but TMs will appear much less frequently.
Gen 1 and 2 Legendary Pokémon Raid Bosses
After having released raids, Niantic has soon decided to add in legendary Pokémon, during poke fest event at Chicago. Only Lugia and Articuno have been released for now, but stay on the lookout for other Gen 1 and Gen 2 Legendary Pokémon. These legendary Pokémon now appear as level 5 raids with over 30000 CP. These extremely powerful Pokémon require over 10 Pokémon trainers to defeat, and have a 2 percent catch rate.
If you are uncommon with Gen 1 and Gen 2 Legendary Pokémon, have a look at this list of legendary Pokémon:
Generation one legendaries are Mewtwo, Mew, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
The legendary Pokémon that appear in generation 2 are Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Although only Lugia has been released so far in Pokémon Go, the others are surely going to be added in the close future.
Lugia: This flying and psychic type legendary Pokémon is said to rule the ocean, whilst Ho-Oh rules the skies. One mighty flap of its wings can create a 40 day storm, destroying houses with ease. This Pokémon lives at the bottom of the sea in order not to cause destruction. Lugia is the master of the legendary bird trio: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
Ho-Oh: This fire and flying type Pokémon is known to rule the skies, and to being the polar opposite of Lugia. They are commonly called a duo. Ho-Oh is also the master of the legendary beasts: Entei, Raikou and Suicune.
Entei: The volcano Pokémon. This fire type legendary is born with the formation of a volcano. Every time that Entei roars, a volcano erupts somewhere in the world. Entei rapidly races across grasslands.
Raikou: The thunder Pokémon. This electric type legendary is able to fly when it creates thunderclouds. Its barks resemble the sound of thunder. Raikou protects electric Pokémon that are in danger and is disrespectful to humans, although it may form some friendships to those that may help it.
Suicune: The aurora Pokémon. Suicune has the power to purify water with a single touch. It can run across water, and it runs with the north wind, which is always stronger in its presence.