Pokemon Go Elite Raids are a brand new feature to give trainers powerful Legendary Pokemon. While trainers have already seen Legendaries and Mega Pokemon appear in Five-Star and Mega Raids, these Elite Raids will appear to give Pokemon Go players a new challenge and reward.
his new feature during the Season of Light and may be divisive in the Pokemon Go community because of a limitation as to who can participate in these battles. We’ll get more into that in the next section.
But, what else makes Elite Raids different from regular Raids? This guide will break down everything trainers need to know about this new Pokemon Go feature.
What are Elite Raids in Pokemon Go?
Pokemon Go Elite Raids are a new, challenging variety of Raid Battles. They only appear for a limited time and will force trainers to gather their friends to try and take down these powerful Pokemon.
Elite Raid eggs will take 24 hours to hatch and once they are hatched, the Raid Boss will appear for just 30 minutes so be sure to gather your friends and make it to the location of the Raid in time. Also, prepare your team ahead of time. Pokemon Go will inform trainers which Pokemon will appear in these Elite Raids so you’ll have plenty of time to get your squad together. We’ll go over the Pokemon that appear in Elite Raids in the section below.
The most critical detail of Elite Raids in Pokemon Go is that those who participate in these battles must be in person. This means trainers cannot use Remote Raid Passes to join in these Raids.
This is Niantic’s latest attempt at getting its players to go out and interact with others and go outside.
How to get Raid Passes in Pokemon Go
Raid Passes in Pokemon Go are easy to obtain, but are limited in how many free ones trainers can receive.
Once a day, trainers can pick up a Raid Pass by visiting a Gym that currently holds a Raid. Trainers can stock up just two Raid Passes at a time, and they will need to use one to gain another free one each day.
Raid Passes can also be purchased in the in-game shop. Premium Battle Passes cost 100 PokeCoins each, and trainers can hold as many as they like. These passes can also allow trainers to participate in the Go Battle League.
Pokemon appearing in Pokemon Go Elite Raid
Currently, there has been just one Pokemon that has appeared in Elite Raids in Pokemon Go.
Hoopa Unbound, the upgraded version of Hoopa, appeared in Elite Raids on October 16. While it’s likely this powerful Legendary will return to Pokemon Go at a later date, those who missed out will have to wait.
Niantic did confirm that other Pokemon will appear in these Elite Raids during the Season of Light.
We’ll update this section once more information is available.
How to find Elite Raid Partners in Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go is over five years old and while it’s still very popular it’s not as popular as when it was first released. While many users are still playing, it may not be as easy to find friends or other trainers to battle Elite Raids.
There are plenty of social media groups, especially on Facebook and Reddit, that are specifically there to help trainers gather together in certain areas.
The Silph Road, a fan-run Pokemon Go site, has its own community finder that can help trainers locate other players in their area. Give it a try and let us know if you found a successful Raid party.
