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 2, 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 July, including Five-Star Raids, Mega Raids, and Raid Hours. This month will bring multiple returning Pokemon to Five-Star and Mega Raids for a limited time, as well as new Mega Evolutions making their Pokemon Go debuts. Here's everything you need to prepare for July 2023.
Five-Star Raids
Throughout the month of July, there will be six different Legendary Pokemon in Five-Star Raids: Heatran, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Regieleki, and Regidrago.
Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres will be appearing in Five-Star Raids throughout the same one-week period.
Each of these Pokemon will be available in Raids for either one or two weeks, 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.
This will be the first time that Regieleki and Regidrago will be appearing in Five-Star Raids.
Previously, they were only available through Elite Raids.
July 2023 Five-Star Raids | |
|---|---|
Dates | Pokemon |
Thursday, June 29, 2023, to Thursday, July 6, 2023 | Heatran |
Thursday, July 6, 2023, to Thursday, July 13, 2023 | Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres |
Thursday, July 13, 2023, to Tuesday, July 25, 2023 | Regieleki |
Tuesday, July 25, 2023, to Friday, August 4, 2023 | Regidrago |
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 for either one or two weeks. For the month of July, you can expect to see Mega Sableye, Mega Blastoise, Mega Blaziken, and Mega Tyranitar.
This is the first time that both Mega Sableye and Mega Tyranitar will be appearing in Mega Raids.
Make sure to take advantage of the time that their Mega Raids are available, ensuring that you secure their Mega Energy.
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.
July 2023 Mega Raids | |
|---|---|
Dates | Pokemon |
Thursday, June 29, 2023, to Thursday, July 6, 2023 | Mega Sableye |
Thursday, July 6, 2023, to Thursday, July 13, 2023 | Mega Blastoise |
Thursday, July 13, 2023, to Tuesday, July 25, 2023 | Mega Blaziken |
Tuesday, July 25, 2023, to Friday, August 4, 2023 | Mega Tyranitar |
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 July, 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 July.
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 available for this month: Heatran, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Regieleki, or Regidrago.
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.
Unlike standard Raid Hours, there is one dedicated to Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
All three of these Pokemon will be available during the one-hour window of their specific Raid Hour.
July 2023 Raid Hours | |
|---|---|
Date | Pokemon |
Wednesday, July 5, 2023 | Heatran |
Wednesday, July 12, 2023 | Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres |
Wednesday, July 19, 2023 | Regieleki |
Wednesday, July 26, 2023 | Regidrago |
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 July, 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.