Pokemon Go offers Raids when you're adventuring within its app. Raids require Trainers to group up with others to take on extremely powerful and challenging Pokemon, rewarding you with the opportunity to catch and add that Pokemon to your team upon its defeat.
Each month, some of the Pokemon that are seen in Raids change; traditionally, those that are stronger and appear in the higher-tiered Raid Battles. Pokemon Go will be making several Legendary and Mega-Evolved Pokemon available in Raids, each of these Pokemon appearing during specific times throughout the month. This guide will be updated monthly, so make sure to check back for the latest information regarding Pokemon Go Raiding.
Updated on July 31, 2023, by Christian Pellegrino: With a new month comes a change in the Pokemon found in Raids. We now know what to expect throughout the month of August, including Five-Star Raids, Mega Raids, Raid Hours, and even Primal Raids. This month will bring multiple returning Pokemon to Five-Star Raids, Primal Raids, and Mega Raids for a limited time, as well as a new Mega Evolution, Mega Rayquaza, making their Pokemon Go debuts. Here's everything you need to prepare for August 2023.
Five-Star Raids
Throughout the month of August, there will be four different Legendary Pokemon in Five-Star Raids: Regidrago, Cresselia, Xerneas, and Yveltal.
Xerneas and Yveltal will be appearing in Five-Star Raids at the same time during two separate periods.
Additionally, after completing their Raids, Xerneas will know the attack Geomancy, and Yveltal will know the attack Oblivion Wing.
Each of these Pokemon will be available in Raids for at least a week, allowing you to battle and add each of these Legendaries to your Pokemon Go collection.
Below, you can find the precise window of time that each of these Legendary Pokemon will appear in Five-Star Raids.
August 2023 Five-Star Raids | |
|---|---|
Dates | Pokemon |
Tuesday, July 25, 2023, to Friday, August 4, 2023 | Regidrago |
Friday, August 4, 2023, to Wednesday, August 16, 2023 | Cresselia |
Wednesday, August 16, 2023, to Wednesday, August 23, 2023 | Xerneas and Yveltal |
Sunday, August 27, 2023, to Friday, September 1, 2023 | Xerneas and Yveltal |
The start and end time for each window that these Pokemon appear in Raids will be at 10 am local time.
Mega Raids
This month, you can expect to see four different Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Go Mega Raids, each being available during set days and times. For the month of August, you can expect to see Mega Tyranitar, Mega Gyarados, Mega Salamence, and the debut of Mega Rayquaza.
This is the first time that Mega Rayquaza will be appearing in Mega Raids.
Make sure to take advantage of the one day that their Mega Raid is available, ensuring that you secure enough Rayquaza Mega Energy to perform this Mega Evolution.
In addition to earning an encounter with each of these Pokemon, you will be awarded Mega Energy for the Pokemon you defeat in these Raids — this is a resource used to obtain and use Mega Evolutions of your own.
These Pokemon will be available during different windows of time throughout this month, each provided below.
The start and end time for each window these Pokemon appear in Raids will be at 10 am local time.
August 2023 Mega Raids | |
|---|---|
Dates | Pokemon |
Tuesday, July 25, 2023, to Friday, August 4, 2023 | Mega Tyranitar |
Friday, August 4, 2023, to Wednesday, August 16, 2023 | Mega Gyarados |
Wednesday, August 16, 2023, to Wednesday, August 23, 2023 | Mega Salamence |
Sunday, August 27 from 11am local time to 6pm local time | Mega Rayquaza |
Sunday, August 27, 2023, to Friday, September 1, 2023 | Mega Salamence |
Primal Raids
Primal Raids will be making a return in the month of August as a part of Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global. You will have the opportunity to take on both Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre in these extremely difficult Raids.
Successfully completing Primal Raids is the only method of obtaining Primal Energy, a resource needed to Primal Revert either Groudon or Kyogre.
Groudon and Kyogre each have their own specific Primal Energy, so make sure you're participating in both of these Primal Raids.
These two Primal Raids will be available from Wednesday, August 23, at 10am local time to Saturday, August 26, at 10am local time.
Additionally, they will be available on August 26 from 10am local time to 6pm local time and on August 27 from 10am local time to 11am local time.
Elite Raids
Elite Raids will have you and other Trainers battle an extremely powerful Raid Pokemon, surpassing the difficulty of all other Raid tiers in the game.
In addition, these Raids differ from other Raids due to their in-person requirement, restricting the use of Remote Raid Passes when taking part in this new PvE feature.
This means that you will have to group up with other Trainers locally to successfully take out Pokemon in Elite Raids, as it will be impossible to complete solo.
For August, there are currently no dates announced when it comes to Elite Raids taking place. That being said, it is possible that an Elite Raid day is announced later on in the month, so make sure to keep your eye out for that.
If an Elite Raid day does end up happening this month, you can expect there to be Elite Raids on this date at 11 am, 2 pm, and 5 pm. Make sure to group up with other players and participate in them if possible, as Elite Raid days are rare occurrences.
Raid Hours
Pokemon Go will be hosting Raid Hours every Wednesday throughout the month of August. Additionally, there will be an extra Raid Hour taking place on Thursday, August 24, featuring Primal Groudon.
Taking place from 6 pm to 7 pm local time on whichever date they occur, each of these four Raid Hour events will feature specific Five-Star Raid Pokemon or Primal Raid Pokemon available for this month: Regidrago, Cresselia, Xerneas, Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, and Yveltal.
Functioning like past Raid Hours, the featured Pokemon will be the only Pokemon in Raids during this window of time, taking place more frequently than they normally do. These Pokemon and the date of their Raid Hours are provided below.
August 2023 Raid Hours | |
|---|---|
Date | Pokemon |
Wednesday, August 2, 2023 | Regidrago |
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 | Cresselia |
Wednesday, August 16, 2023 | Xerneas |
Wednesday, August 23, 2023 | Primal Kyogre |
Thursday, August 24, 2023 | Primal Groudon |
Wednesday, August 30, 2023 | Yveltal |
Shadow Raids
Shadow Raids are a new feature that was recently brought to Pokemon Go, Raids task you with defeating different Shadow Pokemon in exchange for a chance to catch and acquire them. Similar to Elite Raids, these Raids can only be done in person, not allowing participation through the use of Remote Raid Passes.
Additionally, as time passes in these Raids, the Shadow Pokemon will become enraged, increasing both their attacking and defensive stats. Enraged Shadow Pokemon can be subdued through the use of Purified Gems, returning their stats to their original levels.
For the month of August, there have been no announcements on new Shadow Pokemon being added to Shadow Raids. That being said, that could always change, so keep your eye out for Pokemon Go news.