Pokémon Go Legendary Raids: How to beat Articuno, Regice in July 2018

Regice is the first of the Legendary titans of Hoenn to enter Pokémon Go — and will be available to Raid until July 19!

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!

July 7, 2018: Articuno Raid rewards are here... and a chance for a Shiny!

Well, this is new and different!

Professor Willow needs your help! Participate in Professor Willow's Global Challenge on June 30 and July 1 to unlock special bonuses! pic.twitter.com/oQmghFuGs4

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) June 29, 2018

The in-game news item mentions the potential for 5 free Raid Passes, and a 3-hour window (same as Community Day) to Raid... and maybe get a Shiny form.

So, break out your Tyranitar — especially with Smack Down + Stone Edge — and your Entei and Moltres with Fire Spin + Overheat and get ready to get your ice bird Raids on!

June 21, 2018: Regice is the new Legendary Boss until July 19

Regice is the first of the Legendary titans of Hoenn to enter Pokémon Go — and will be available to Raid until July 19!

Pokémon's legendary year continues with three Legendary Pokémon originally discovered in the Hoenn region harnessing their power to take over Raid Battles in Pokémon GO, starting with Regice on June 21!

Regice, the Iceberg Pokémon, has awakened from its slumber and will be the first to appear in Raid Battles across the world until July 19. This Ice-type Legendary Pokémon has a strong defense, but is weak to Fire-, Fighting-, Rock-, and Steel-type attacks.

The presence of this defensive powerhouse kicks off a summer of earth-shattering events, as Regirock and Registeel will also roar into Gyms worldwide!

Don't miss this chance to catch this Legendary Pokémon before it returns to another long slumber! Stay safe, and happy exploring!

June 7, 2018: Kyogre is back, and Shiny Kyogre is with it — until June 21!

If you missed catching Kyogre, the best Water-type Pokémon for generations, you can try again until June 21. What's more, Kyogre's Shiny form is available now as well!

Raid Battles will also feature powerful Water-type Pokémon for the duration of the celebration, including the exciting return of the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre. And, if you challenge Kyogre during the event and come out victorious, there is a chance you'll encounter its Shiny form!

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. Luigia, Ho-Oh, and Kyogre have also come back again with Shiny variants as well.

While there haven't been any Legendary Pokémon released in the wild, Field Research has been capping off seven days of success with a Legendary encounter. April was Moltres. May was Zapdos. June, Articuno. That may continue with re-runs of all the Legendary Pokémon.

Either way, you're still best off grabbing a Legendary Pokémon whenever you can because who knows when — or how — 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.

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!