Pokémon Go Raid Hour date and time, plus how Raids work, including Raid Rewards and Raid level requirement

Publish date: 2022-03-08

Pokémon Go Raid Battles were a new feature added to the game as part of a larger Gym Rework, way back in 2017.

Now available for the vast majority of players, Raids see players work together to take down powerful Pokémon named Raid Bosses - with exclusive rewards up for grabs - as well as the chance to finally catch those elusive Legendary Pokémon as you go.

You can also now also battle the Mega Evolutions of certain Pokémon in Mega Raids.

What's on this page:

Pokémon Go Raid Hour explained: What date and time is Raid Hour?

Each week, there is a weekly Pokémon Go Raid Hour with an increased number of Legendary Raids to complete, allowing you to schedule some dedicated battling time in the diary.

Unless stated, each Pokémon Go Raid Hour date is every Wednesday with a Raid Hour start time of 6pm to 7pm local time.

Note: Raid Hour was paused in early 2020 due to social distancing concerns with COVID-19, but with the arrival of Remote Raids, has returned as a regular fixture from May 2020.

All Gyms with no active raids or scheduled EX Raids will have an Egg appear just before it begins, which will all hatch into the currently available Legendary Pokémon, and be available for an hour.

Raid Hour is open to those with regular Raid Passes and Remote Raid Passes.

The exceptions to this appear to be when there Raid bosses change over on that day - as what we saw with Groudon and Armoured Mewtwo in July 2019 - likely to ensure each region has the same battle when it does occur.

What is the Raid level requirement in Pokémon Go?

Raid Battles are currently available in select Gyms for Trainers over level 5.

At the start of the Gym update the restriction was level 35, so the requirement has dropped significantly since their launch in 2017.

What are Raid Battles, Raid Tiers, and how do Raids work?

Raids see trainers team up with other nearby players to take down "extremely powerful Pokémon" known as Raid Bosses under a time limit. These can have a massive amount of CP, up to 10 times as powerful as regular creatures, requiring a group to stand a chance of winning.

Some Raid encounters will be easier than others. Each one is graded from one to five - one could be a Magikarp, four has you face off against many of the best Pokémon such as Tyranitar and Snorlax, and five takes you up against a Legendary.

Each Raid Boss fits into one of four tiers, one being the easiest and five the most challenging, with each tier being distinguished by egg colour. This also includes Mega Raids, which allow you to battle the Mega Evolutions of certain Pokémon and will reward you with Mega Energy.

Originally there were five raid tiers in Pokémon Go, but, with the introduction of Mega Evolution and Mega Raids, both the two-star and four-star raids were removed. Without effecting the difficulty, the rewards for two-star raids were merged with one-star raids and the same with four-star to three-star.

Once you have completed the Raid, you can then catch the creature using Premier Balls. You only have a certain amount, so make every throw count!

Plus, there are invite-only Raids, named EX Raids, which see another type of very exclusive creature spawn. There are a number of hidden mechanics behind joining one, so visit the link to read more about it.

How to win Raids in Pokémon Go

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of how Raid encounters work:

1) When a Raid is about to happen, an Egg will appear at the Gym with a countdown (this has now returned to the game after a period away during the initial wave of Legendaries).

2) After it hatches, the Gym will turn into a Raid, you will have one hour until the Boss disappears. Up to 20 players can form a group, though you can venture in with just a few of you if you like.

3) After spending a Raid Pass (see below) you will wait in a lobby, in which time you can change your team and other players can match make with you. You have to defeat the boss within five minutes. Like regular Gym fights, you can take six creatures in with you. If you aren't successful, you can retreat and use Potions and Revives on your team and try again as many times as you like until the hour is up without spending another pass.

4) If you are successful, you'll receive rewards and a chance to catch the creature using Premier Balls.

5) When the hour is up, all creatures originally assigned will return and the Gym will resume it's prior state.

If you want beat the above, remember that:

How to get more Premier Balls in Pokémon Go

During the capture phase, you'll be given a number of Premier Balls, which are the only means to catch the creature. The number of Premier Balls you receive depend on a number of factors, but expect between about five and a dozen to play with:

It's important to note that if you're battling in a Mega Raid, the Speed Bonus will reward you with more Mega Energy rather than Premier Balls.

In short, having the Gym on your team and inflicting more damage will see you have a better chance. It's also worth remembering you can also use Berries during the encounter too, so stockpile those Golden Razz Berries - they may come in handy here for the tier 5 beasts.

If you run out of Premier Balls, the boss will flee.

Originally there was also a 'Team Contribution' element to the distribution of Premier Balls, with the Team, Mystic for example, that caused the most damage to the raid boss being rewarded with more Premier Balls. With the introduction of Mega Evolutions, however, this was replaced with the Speed Bonus.

How Raid Passes and Raid rewards work in Pokémon Go

Players can receive one free Raid Pass per day from spinning the Gym's photo disc (assuming you are high enough level to participate). You can 'bank' one of these free Passes if you don't use it until the next day to hold a maximum of two at one time.

If you want to Raid more than that in a single day, then Premium Raid Passes (for local participation) or Remote Raid Passes (for distant participation) must be purchased from the in-game shop for 100 PokeCoins each, or at a discount as part of a bundle.

As of January 2020, Premium Raid Passes also allow you to gain entry to the Go Battle League, which also provides premium rewards.

As well as these, there are also EX Raid Passes, which are rewarded to players who complete a standard Raid at the same gym an EX Raid will appear at soon after. These allow access to an EX Raid, which have even more elusive creatures to face off against, such as Mewtwo and Gen 3's Deoxys.

Pokémon Go Raid Rewards explained

Meanwhile, completing the battle can reward players with exclusive new items. You can get any item regardless of difficulty tier, but the higher you go the more you'll receive:

As well as the above, you'll receive 3000 Trainer XP for a standard Raid and a whopping 20,000 XP for Legendary Raids; Stardust whether you win or lose, plus 1000 Gym Badge XP, a chance at some standard Revives (which can still come in handy!) and Potions.

The Season of Go has arrived! The Pokémon TCG Crossover event is here, which includes the release of Wimpod and Golisopod. While Go Fest 2022 may be behind us, there are still three special research quests you might be working on - Pokémon Go Fest 2022, Rhi's Arrival and A Radiant World. Meanwhile, the Great League and Great League and Great League Remix are currently running in the Go Battle League Season 11. This season has also seen the lowering of the level requirement for Candy XL and introduced the first Ultra Beast, Nihilego.

Everything else you need to know about Raid Battles

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