Raid Battle (GO)

This article is about the feature in Pokémon GO. For the feature in Pokémon Sword and Shield, see Max Raid Battle.

Promotional artwork featuring Raid Battles

A Raid Battle (Japanese: レイドバトル Raid Battle) is a type of battle in Pokémon GO that takes place at a Gym. In a Raid Battle, players challenge a wild Pokémon called a Raid Boss, which is typically much stronger than those that can be found in the wild. Each Raid Boss is stationed at a particular Gym for a limited period of time, and players must use a Raid Pass to challenge it. As with other battles at Gyms, up to twenty trainers can join together to fight the Raid Boss. After defeating the Raid Boss, players receive a variety of rewards and are given the opportunity to catch the Raid Boss.

Description

A raid is a battle where you and up to 20 other Trainers work together to defeat the Raid Boss—an extremely powerful Pokémon. Win to receive fantastic rewards and a chance to catch a stronger-than-normal Pokémon of your own!

Raid Battle mechanics

Nearby Raid Battles

The goal of a Raid Battle is for players to defeat the Raid Boss within the time limit: 180 seconds for level 1 to 4 raids and 300 seconds for level 5 raids. There are five levels of raids with Pokémon that increase in difficulty, starting at level 1 for basic Pokémon that can often be defeated by a single player, up to level 5 for Legendary Pokémon, which may require several players to work together to defeat. A raid's level is often also referred to as its tier or by a number of stars.

During the daytime (exact hours vary by location), a Raid Egg may randomly spawn at any Gym which does not already have a Raid Egg or Raid Boss. When a Raid Egg appears, its associated timer appears and begins counting down until the Raid Egg hatches and reveal the Raid Boss; Raid Eggs normally have a timer of 1 hour. The Raid Boss that can hatch from the Raid Egg depend on its level.

When the Raid Egg hatches, the Raid Boss appears, and a new timer appears and begins counting down until the Raid Boss will disappear; currently, Raid Bosses normally have a timer of 45 minutes. While a Raid Boss is present at a Gym, the Gym defenders cannot be challenged or fed Berry treats, their motivation cannot be changed, and players who have defenders in the Gym cannot view the Gym remotely via the defenders; however, players can still spin the Photo Disc as normal. While a Raid Boss is present, players within range of the Gym can spend a Raid Pass to join a Raid Battle; if a player spends a Raid Pass at a Gym, they can continue to challenge that Raid Boss any number of times, until either they win the Raid Battle or the Raid Boss leaves the Gym, but their Raid Pass cannot be refunded.

When a player initiates a Raid Battle challenge, they enter a lobby with a two-minute countdown (from when the first player in that challenge entered the lobby), after which the Raid Battle immediately begins. While in the lobby, players choose their team of six Pokémon to battle the Raid Boss and use items from their Bag to heal their Pokémon; the game automatically populates the player's party with six Pokémon it recommends to use, depending on the Raid Boss's move set and the player's Pokémon stats and current HP. In the lobby, the player can see the other players currently waiting in that same lobby and the teams they belong on, with each lobby being able to hold up to 20 players; once a lobby has 20 players, newly joining players will instead be placed in a separate lobby for a separate challenge of that Raid Boss. If a player specifically chooses to quit a Raid Battle, either from the lobby or after the start of the Raid Battle, they cannot rejoin that same challenge. Players can also opt to join a private group using a specific group code.

During the Raid Battle, all normal battle techniques are available to the player. The group of players in that Raid Battle challenge must defeat that Raid Boss within the time limit, otherwise the Raid Battle is lost. If all six of a player's Pokémon faint, the player is returned to the lobby, where they can heal their Pokémon using items from their Bag and choose six Pokémon to use to reenter the battle with, while the players who still have conscious Pokémon in their party continue to battle the Raid Boss.

Currently, raids are the only way for players to encounter Alolan Raichu, Alolan Marowak, Galarian Weezing, and most Legendary Pokémon. Mawile, Absol, Shinx, and Klink can only be obtained through raids or hatching Eggs.

Raid Bosses

Raid Bosses are giant Pokémon with much higher CPs than normal. During the Raid Battle, the Raid Boss attacks similarly to a Gym defender. If a Raid Boss knows Hidden Power, it will always be set to Fighting type.

A Raid Boss's CP varies depending on the raid level and is determined using the standard CP formula:

where

• HP is a fixed Boss HP value based on the raid level
• Attack = base Attack + 15
• Defense = base Defense + 15

Although not accounted for in the CP calculation, a multiplier dependent on the raid's level is applied to the Raid Boss's Attack and Defense stats. The following table details the fixed HP values and stat multipliers for all Raid Bosses at each raid level.

Raid Level	Boss HP	Multiplier
	600	0.5974
	1,800	0.67
	3,600*	0.73
	9,000*	0.79
	15,000*	0.79

During a few special events, the featured level 5 Raid Boss has had a different fixed HP value than normal. Although still classified as level 5 raids in game and yielding the same rewards, these raids have been given unofficial designations as a result of their significantly affected difficulty:

• "Level 6" raids: 22,500* HP
  • Mewtwo (Ultra Bonus 2018/2019)
  • Darkrai (Halloween 2019)
• "Level 4.5" raids: 9,000 HP
  • Regirock, Regice, and Registeel (A Regi Return)

Current Raid Bosses

The following lists all the Raid Bosses since January 24, 2020. For a list of all past Raid Boss rotations, see list of Raid Boss changes.

#	Pokémon		Boss CP	Capture CP Weather Boost
Magikarp	1077	132 - 157 165 - 196
Shinx	2873	458 - 500 572 - 625
Timburr	3686	699 - 751 874 - 939
Venipede	2563	366 - 403 458 - 504
Dwebble	3895	650 - 699 813 - 874
Klink	3227	502 - 546 628 - 683

#	Pokémon		Boss CP	Capture CP Weather Boost
Rapidash	12530	1335 - 1406 1669 - 1757
Kingler	15146	1540 - 1616 1925 - 2020
Electrode	10936	1134 - 1199 1418 - 1499
Gligar	9456	1000 - 1061 1250 - 1326
Mawile	9008	877 - 934 1096 - 1167

#	Pokémon		Boss CP	Capture CP Weather Boost
Raichu Alola Form	16848	1238 - 1306 1548 - 1633
Machamp	19707	1667 - 1746 2084 - 2183
Flareon	21811	1652 - 1730 2065 - 2163
Shuckle	3892	189 - 231 236 - 289
Medicham	10545	764 - 817 955 - 1022

#	Pokémon		Boss CP	Capture CP Weather Boost
Marowak Alola Form	21385	988 - 1048 1235 - 1311
Weezing Galarian Form	26106	1242 - 1310 1553 - 1637
Gyarados	33893	1855 - 1937 2319 - 2422
Tyranitar	37599	2103 - 2191 2629 - 2739
Excadrill	30737	1770 - 1853 2212 - 2317

#	Pokémon		Boss CP	Capture CP Weather Boost
Latias Special Raid Weekend	48080	1921 - 2006 2402 - 2507
Latios Special Raid Weekend	52220	2090 - 2178 2613 - 2723
Heatran	49192	2058 - 2145 2573 - 2681

#	Pokémon		Boss CP	Capture CP Weather Boost
Regigigas	55480	2389 - 2483 2987 - 3104

Bonus challenge

After being defeated, a Raid Boss will shrink down to normal size and can be captured during the bonus challenge. Its stats will be reduced to normal at a Power Up level of 20 (or 25 if its type has a Weather Boosted), and like Pokémon hatched from Eggs, it will have random IVs of at least 10 per stat. The moves are also randomly re-rolled, so a captured Raid Boss may not necessarily know the same moves it used during the raid. Gender is the only fixed property, so different players winning the same raid will always encounter the Pokémon with the same gender.

For the bonus challenge, players are given Premier Balls to capture the defeated Raid Boss. These Premier Balls are the only Poké Balls that can be used, but players may still use Berries from their Bag. If the player runs out of Premier Balls, the Raid Boss will flee, but will not flee otherwise. Even if the player fails to catch the Raid Boss, once they have successfully completed a Raid Battle they cannot participate in it again.

The number of Premier Balls awarded depends on the player's individual contribution to damage dealt, the player's team's contribution to damage dealt, highest Friendship level with another participant, and whether the Gym is currently under the player's team's control. Each player may receive 6 to 18 Premier Balls for their bonus challenge. Any leftover Premier Balls will be discarded and cannot be used for future raid challenges.

Raid Bosses have a chance of becoming Shiny during the bonus challenge if its Shiny form is obtainable without evolution. For Legendary raids only, Shiny Pokémon are guaranteed to be captured by the first Premier Ball that successfully hits it.

Quantifier	Premier Balls
Defeat Boss	+6
Damage (Individual contribution)	0%	5%	15%	20%
	+0	+1	+2	+3
Contribution by Team	0%	20%	33%	50%
	+0	+1	+2	+3
Gym Control	+2
Friendship level	Good Friend	Great Friend	Ultra Friend	Best Friend
	+0	+1	+2	+4

EX Raids

An EX Raid invitation

Exclusive Raids (abbreviated as EX Raids) are level 5 raids that require an EX Raid Pass to join. EX Raid Passes are given out to players that have completed a raid at a chosen EX Raid Gym in the previous week. These EX Raid Gyms are generally situated at sponsored venues or in parks, and they can be identified by an "EX Raid Gym" label on the top right-hand corner of the Gym screen and by a darker green shade on the map. The EX Raid Pass is a one-time offer, and should a player not be present, the pass will expire and disappear from their inventory. During an EX Raid, players without passes cannot see the Egg or Raid Boss, and if they attempt to interact with the Gym, they will be informed that the Gym is closed and will reopen when the EX Raid has ended.

With few exceptions, EX Raids typically occur once every calendar week, on no particular day of the week, with the respective EX Raid Passes automatically distributed at least one week in advance. Each player can only receive one EX Raid Pass per distribution, even if they have raided at multiple Gyms selected for an EX Raid that week.

If a player receives an EX Raid Pass from a scheduled distribution, they may invite only one Ultra Friend to the EX Raid; however, even if the friend declines, they will not be able to issue another invitation. Although a player may hold multiple EX Raid Passes at once, they may only have one EX Raid Pass via invitation at a time. If a player wishes to invite a friend who already has an EX Raid invitation, the game will not allow it until that invitation is first used, expired, or declined. Players also cannot send invitations to EX Raids that have already started.

Very rarely, EX Raids may be cancelled for various reasons (such as a Gym being removed or major real-world incidents). Players with the respective EX Raid Passes usually have been compensated with 50,000 and five Premium Raid Passes.

The following lists all the EX Raid Bosses by availability dates.

Pokémon		Availability
	Mewtwo	Aug 14, 2017 - Aug 28, 2018
	Deoxys (Normal Forme)	Oct 1 - Dec 17, 2018
	Deoxys (Attack Forme)	Dec 28, 2018 - Mar 19, 2019
	Deoxys (Defense Forme)	Mar 27 - Jun 24, 2019
	Deoxys (Speed Forme)	Jul 1 - Sep 28, 2019
	Mewtwo Event move: Shadow Ball	Oct 5 - Nov 12, 2019
	Regigigas	Nov 18, 2019 - present

Rewards

Upon completing a first attempt of a raid, participants are awarded 1,000 regardless of victory. Winning a raid awards all participants:

• Trainer level XP (amount depends on raid level)
• 1,000 Gym Badge XP
• Various item rewards

The following table was last updated November 2019. It shows the quantity per bundle and an estimated probability based on empirical data.

Since December 5, 2019, level 4 raids guarantee a Charged TM as one of the reward bundles.

Quantity (Probability) per reward bundle

Reward
Guaranteed
XP	Experience	3,000 XP	3,500 XP	4,000 XP	5,000 XP	10,000 XP
	Golden Razz Berry	×1	×1	×2	×2	×3
Random
	Super Potion	×1 (39.70%)	×1 (39.41%)	×1 (37.74%)
	Hyper Potion				×2 (36.70%)	×3 (35.71%)
	Revive	×2 (19.85%)	×2 (19.70%)	×2 (18.87%)	×3 (18.35%)	×3 (17.86%)
	Golden Razz Berry	×1 (19.85%)	×1 (19.70%)	×1 (18.87%)	×1 (18.35%)	×2 (17.86%)
	Rare Candy	×1 (19.85%)	×1 (19.70%)	×2 (18.87%)	×2 (18.35%)	×3 (17.86%)
	Fast TM (Lv. 15+)	×1 (0.50%)	×1 (0.99%)	×1 (3.77%)	×1 (4.59%)	×1 (5.36%)
	Charged TM (Lv. 25+)	×1 (0.25%)	×1 (0.49%)	×1 (1.89%)	×1 (3.67%)	×1 (5.36%)

The number of random bundles awarded depends on the raid level and number of Premier Balls earned. Premier Balls earned from raiding with a Friend do not count towards reward bundles. The amounts are as follows:

Number of random bundles

Premier Balls
6	×1	×2	×3	×4
7	×2	×3	×4	×5
8	×2	×3	×4	×5
9	×2	×3	×5	×6
10	×2	×3	×5	×6
11	×2	×4	×5	×7
12	×2	×4	×6	×7
13	×2	×4	×6	×8
14	×2	×4	×6	×8

Special events

Pokémon GO at Pikachu Outbreak

During the Pikachu Outbreak event on August 9-15, 2017, special Raid Bosses were available at Pokémon GO Park events in Japan. These Raid Bosses have not been made available since the event. These were all classified as level 4 Bosses.

Mewtwo was also available as a level 5 Raid Boss during the event on August 14, 2017 at Yokohama Stadium, marking the first time that it had become available to players. Players who win the raid will also receive a minimum of 50 Premier Balls (instead of 6) for their bonus challenge.

#	Pokémon		Boss CP	Capture CP Weather Boost
Pikachu	11845	410 - 450 512 - 562
Meowth	9079	329 - 364 411 - 455
Dragonite	35383	1961 - 2046 2451 - 2558
Wobbuffet	7144	531 - 585 664 - 731
Ursaring	27409	1501 - 1577 1877 - 1971
Piloswine	21604	1237 - 1305 1547 - 1631
Houndoom	27302	1373 - 1445 1716 - 1806

#	Pokémon		Boss CP	Capture CP Weather Boost
Mewtwo	49430	2184 - 2275 2730 - 2844

Special Raid Challenge

Special Raid Challenges (also known as Raid Days) are time-limited events which allow players to defeat a Raid Boss within a three hour window. Most Gyms during this period of time will have the Boss active for the three hours, and if the Boss is defeated, the Pokémon encounter afterwards will have a 10% chance of becoming Shiny. Players may receive up to five free Raid Passes from Gyms during the three hour window. Raid Days often include event-exclusive moves, which may be known by the featured Pokémon if obtained during the raid hours (including via evolution or capture outside of raids).

The times for these raid challenges have so far been held at the same time:

• Asia-Pacific: 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. JST (GMT +9)
• Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. UTC (GMT +0)
• The Americas and Greenland: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8)
• Raid Challenges unlocked as part of Professor Willow's Global Challenge 2019 take place from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time.

The first three Raid Challenges, the Legendary birds, were unlocked as part of Professor Willow's Global Challenge 2018, which ran over six days over the period from June 30 to September 2, 2018. As all three parts were successfully completed, all three legendary birds were available to players again from September 13 - 20, 2018 as part of the Ultra Bonus Event. For the 2019 Global challenge, which ran in conjunction with GO Fest, the Legendary beasts were featured, but without any event-exclusive moves.

Gengar was the first non-legendary Pokémon to be featured in a Special Raid Challenge. Lapras was featured as part of Extraordinary Raid Week 2019.

Pokémon		Boss CP	Moves	Date
	Gengar	31256	Lick Psychic	November 3, 2018
	Lapras	23476	Ice Shard Ice Beam	May 25, 2019

Pokémon		Boss CP	Moves	Date
	Articuno	37603	Hurricane*	July 7, 2018 (except Japan) August 4, 2018 (Japan)
	Zapdos	42691	Thunder Shock	July 21, 2018
	Moltres	41953	Sky Attack	September 8, 2018
	Raikou	45435		June 29, 2019
	Entei	41758		July 14, 2019
	Suicune	37761		August 17, 2019

Legendary Raid Hour

Legendary Raid Hours were introduced to increase opportunities for more players to participate in Legendary Raids. Initially as an experiment, the event was known as Legendary Lunch Hour, in which level 5 Raid Bosses spawned in many Gyms all at once from 12 p.m. and remained for an entire hour until 1 p.m. After receiving player feedback, the hour was changed to start at 6 p.m. and remain until 7 p.m. Raid Eggs will also spawn with a 20 minute timer before the start of the raids. Only Gyms that do not currently have Raid Bosses or Eggs may spawn a raid for Legendary Raid Hour.

• Dialga - Mar. 13, 2019, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Giratina (Origin Forme) - Apr. 10, 2019, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Latios - Apr. 19, 2019, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (unannounced)
• Groudon - May 1, 2019, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (unannounced)

Since June 5, 2019, there has been a Legendary Raid Hour every Wednesday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. Exception were on July 10 and July 31, 2019 when the Raid Hour was skipped due to the Legendary Raid Boss rotating the same day, which would have resulted in different Raid Bosses depending on the time zone. The Raid Hour for Mewtwo, on September 18, 2019, was also cancelled for most nations following reports of raids not appearing in New Zealand and appearing 30 minutes ahead of scheduled in South Australia and Northern Territory; a makeup date was rescheduled for October 8, 2019, with players being able to obtain two additional free Raid Passes during the hour.

In the anime

A Raid Battle in the anime

A Raid Battle was seen in SS002, where a group of Trainers teamed up to battle a Lugia that appeared in Vermilion City. However, Lugia was able to easily withstand all the attacks thrown at it and defeat its opponents with little effort.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 團體戰 Tyùhntái Jin Mandarin 團體戰 Tuántǐ Zhàn French Combat de Raid German Raid-Kämpfe Italian Battaglie Raid Korean 레이드배틀 Raid Battle Brazilian Portuguese Batalha de Reide Russian Рейд Reyd Spanish Combates de incursión

References

This article is part of Project Sidegames, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Sidegames.