How to beat Latias, Latios, and other Legendary Raids in Pokémon Go

The Eon Duo are here, and that means the Latios and Latios are taking turns as Raid Bosses around the world!

Pokémon Go Legendary Raids are in full effect. We've already had the Gen 1 Legendary Birds, the Gen 2 Legendary Beasts, their masters, Lugia and Ho-Oh, and the Gen 3 Weather Trio, Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. Now it's all about the Eon Duo, Latios and Latios, and the psychic dragons have split the world between them!

May 8, 2018: Latias and Latios Legendary Raids until June 5! (And they've just switched places!)

It's May 8, and that means Latias is now live in North America, South America, and Africa, and Latios has moved on to Europe and Asia.

The Eon Duo is here! Generation 3's Psychic- Dragon-types, Latias and Latios have arrived in Raids.

From Pokémon Go:

The Legendary Pokémon Latias will appear in Raid Battles across Europe and Asia, while Latios will appear in North America, South America, and Africa. On May 8, the Eon Pokémon will switch locations and will be available until June 5, so all Trainers will have the opportunity to catch both powerful Pokémon.

Happy Raiding!

What are Pokémon Go Legendary Raids?

From Pokémon Go:

On September 30, all three of these Legendary Pokémon will move to a different location and will be available for Trainers to battle with friends until October 31. They will make their final stop in the last remaining location on October 31. Raikou, Entei, and Suicune will be available for this limited time period, so make sure to battle against them when they arrive at Gyms near you!

While these Legendary Pokémon are traveling the world, we'll also begin an EX Raid Battle (formerly Exclusive Raid Battle) field-testing phase at select Gyms before the feature is made available globally. We have collected some valuable early feedback on the new EX Raid Battle feature and will look to further test and hone the experience through the feedback of the dedicated global Trainer community. During the field test, we'll be making periodic adjustments to EX Raid eligibility requirements, frequency, times, locations, and durations with the goal of making the EX Raid Battle feature engaging, rewarding, and most importantly, fun for Trainers who regularly participate in Raid Battles.

The first EX Raid Passes will be sent out soon, and those invited will have an opportunity to try out the new system as early as September 6. Stay tuned for more updates as we launch the EX Raid Battle field test to more Gyms in the weeks ahead. We look forward to reading all your constructive feedback on our social media channels and encourage you to continue share your thoughts throughout the EX Raid Battle field test!

When did Legendary Raids start?

Lugia debuted immediately following Pokémon Go Fest Chicago on July 22, 2017 and was available through Thursday, August 31, 2017. Initially, the other Legendary Birds debuted as follows:

• Articuno (Team Mystic) released on Saturday, July 22 and available through Monday, July 31.
• Moltres (Team Valor) to be released on Monday, July 31 and available through Monday, August 7.
• Zapdos (Team Instinct) to be released on Monday, August 7 and available through Monday, August 14.

Then, Pokémon Go re-released all three Legendary Birds on August 14, 2017 and let them run until August 31, 2017.

If you missed a Legendary Pokémon, can you still get it?

Sometimes. The initial run of the Legendary Birds ended but they were brought back for an encore. Lugia was the first Legendary Raid in July of 2017 and has been brought back for 2 weeks in March of 2018, and with its Shiny form as well.

Similarly, just at the Legendary Weather Trio was coming to an end, all of them made a return appearance for a week.

While there haven't been any Legendary Pokémon released in the wild, the monthly Community Day Event could one day, potentially handle something like that. So could something like a 100 KM egg.

Grab Legendary Pokémon whenever you can but, at least sometimes, the game will give you another chance.

What about Mewtwo? When will that Legendary be released?

Mewtwo has already been released. It's being done through invitation-only Ex-Raids, though. And so far, they've been a bit of a frustration.

Pokémon Go, Ex-Raids, and Mewtwo: What you need to know!

And the Mythicals, Mew and Celebi? Will they be released soon too?

Mew became available when Field Research launched. Celebi could follow.

Pokémon Go and Mew: How to finish Mythical Discovery Field Research fast!

What are the best counters for Legendary Raid Battles in Pokémon Go?

There are a lot of lists out there and a lot of opinions on what it takes to make it on a list. I've tested various counters in over 1000 Battle Raids, including over 700 Legendary Raids, and this is the list I've come to depend on.

What I've found during the course of many, many raids is that, due to how hard Charge Moves from Raid Bosses are to dodge, and how glitchy the Pokémon Go servers are in general, high DPS and perfect type matching aren't enough. For example, Pokémon like Gengar just don't last long enough to really take advantage of their high damage output. Same is, unfortunately, true for Golem. It can get shredded after a single Stone Edge.

Also, because Stardust, Technical Machines (TM) and other resources are scarce, Pokémon that can be used against several Raid Bosses, like Tyrantiar, are better than unitaskers who're only useful against one, like Piloswine.

If you don't have these Pokémon, try to get them from Raid Battles. If you have them but don't have the right movesets, try to change them with TMs. If you absolutely can't get them or get enough of them, use Pokémon of the same type and similar typing and movesets. It's not ideal but sometimes you have to dance with the Pokémon you have.

How do you beat the Legendary Raid Bosses in Pokémon Go?

Tyranitar is the hero in this list, especially against the Legendary Birds so getting one, making sure it has good moves, and then powering it up to around Level 30 will be paramount. Golem, thanks to good stats and great typing can be great as well, provided you can successfully dodge a few Charge moves. Rhydon works well against some of the the Legendary Dogs as well.

| Latias | Dragon / Flying | Any big Dragon-type (Dragon moves) | Tyranitar (Crunch) | | Latios | Dragon / Flying | Any big Dragon-type (Dragon moves) | Tyranitar (Crunch) | | ** Rayquaza** | Dragon / Flying | Articuno or Lapras (Blizzard / Ice Beam) | Dragonite or Rayquaza (Outrage) | | Groundon | Ground | Exeggutor (Solar Beam) | Gyarados (Hydro Pump) | | Kyogre | Water | Raikou (Thunder Shock + Wild Charge) | Exeggutor or Venusaur (Solar Beam) | | Articuno | Flying/Ice | Tyranitar (Stone Edge) | Moltres or any big Fire-type (Fire Spin + Overheat) | | Moltres | Flying/Fire | Golem (Rock Throw + Stone Edge) | Tyranitar (Bite + Stone Edge) or Vaporeon (Hydro Pump) |
| Zapdos | Flying/Electric | Golem (Rock Throw + Stone Edge) | Tyranitar (Stone Edge) or Dragonite (Dragon Tail + Outrage) | | Mewtwo | Psychic | Tyranitar (Bite + Crunch) | Dragonite | | Mew | Psychic | Tyranitar (Bite + Crunch) | Gengar (Hex + Shadow Ball) | | Raikou | Electric | Rhydon or Golem (Mud Slap + Earthquake) | Dragonite | | Entei | Fire | Golem (Mud Slap + Stone Edge) | Vaporeon (Hydro Pump) |
| Suicune | Water | Raikou (Thunder Shock + Wild Charge) | Exeggutor or Venusaur (Solar Beam) | | Lugia | Flying/Psychic | Tyranitar (Bite + Crunch)
Gyarados (Bite + Crunch) | Zapdos (Charge beam + Thunderbolt) | Raikou (Thunder Shock + Wild Charge)
Zapdos (Charge Beam + Thunderbolt) | Golem (Mud Slap + Stone Edge) | | Ho-Oh | Flying/Fire | Tyranitar (Stone Edge) | Golem (Rock Throw + Stone Edge)
Raikou (Thunder Shock + Wild Charge) |
| Celebi | Grass/Psychic | Tyranitar (Bite + Crunch) | Flareon (Fire Spin + Overheat) or Scizor or Pinsir (Fury Cutter + X-Scissor) |

What are the best movesets for the Legendary and Mythical Pokémon?

Some of the best movesets are really the best. Others are a matter of opinion or what you want to use them to counter.

These are all attack-centric movesets, since those will be the ones that matter. Because...

Will you be able to put Legendary and Mythical Pokémon on Gyms?

No. Pokémon Go said that right up front:

While Legendary Pokémon will help them take on the toughest Raid Bosses and Gym Battles, they're not willing to leave their Trainer's side, so they can't be left to defend Gyms.

So, yeah, focus on offense.

Which Pokémon Go Legendary Raid Boss beaters are you considering?

If you have other Pokémon higher up on your Legendary Raid Battle counters list, let me know which ones and why!