POKEMON GO

Wed 17th Oct, 2018 13:00 BST: Updated with the recent gen 4 raid bosses and the best counters. We've also streamlined the counters by only including the best three. That way there's a bit less clutter.

Raids in Pokémon GO require teamwork from all nearby players to bring down powerful Pokémon known as Raid Bosses.

Not only do these battles provide exclusive rewards, but they're also a reliable method of grabbing Pokémon that you don't see very often, like Legendary Pokémon.

In this guide, we'll go through exactly how Raids work and list all of the current Raid Bosses. The Pokémon that appear as Raid Bosses change regularly, and we'll keep this guide updated so you know what to expect.

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Raid Bosses In Pokémon GO

Tier One Raid Bosses

Appearance Raid Boss Boss CP Min Captured CP Max Captured CP Capture Rate Best Counters
2
 Buneary 3,890 669 719 50%
  1. Lucario (Counter / Close Combat)
  2. Toxicroak (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
  3. Gallade (Low Kick / Close Combat)
3
 Shinx 2,873 458 500 50%
  1. Garchomp (Mud Shot / Earthquake)
  2. Rhyperior (Mud-Slap / Earthquake)
  3. Mamoswine (Mud-Slap / Bulldoze)
4
 Kricketot 1,386 200 229 50%
  1. Rampardos (Smack Down / Rock Slide)
  2. Magmortar (Fire Spin / Fire Blast)
  3. Mewtwo (Confusion / Flamethrower)
5
 Bidoof 2,182 373 412 50%
  1. Lucario (Counter / Close Combat)
  2. Toxicroak (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
  3. Gallade (Low Kick / Close Combat)

Tier Two Raid Bosses

Appearance Raid Boss Boss CP Min Captured CP Max Captured CP Capture Rate Best Counters
6
 Alolan Exeggutor 13,671 1,570 1,646 20%
  1. Yanmega (Bug Bite / Bug Buzz)
  2. Weavile (Feint Attack / Avalanche)
  3. Roserade (Poison Jab / Sludge Bomb)
7
 Mawile 9,403 793 848 50%
  1. Magmortar (Fire Spin / Fire Blast)
  2. Infernape (Fire Spin / Flamethrower)
  3. Garchomp (Mud Shot / Earthquake)
8
 Kirlia 6,005 440 481 10%
  1. Roserade (Poison Jab / Sludge Bomb)
  2. Mismagius (Hex / Shadow Ball)
  3. Lucario (Bullet Punch / Shadow Ball)
9
 Sneasel 11,350 1,005 1,067 20%
  1. Lucario (Counter / Close Combat)
  2. Toxicroak (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
  3. Gallade (Low Kick / Close Combat)
10
 Lickitung 6,433 703 755 20%
  1. Lucario (Counter / Close Combat)
  2. Toxicroak (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
  3. Gallade (Low Kick / Close Combat)

Tier Three Raid Bosses

Appearance Raid Boss Boss CP Min Captured CP Max Captured CP Capture Rate Best Counters
11
 Alolan Raichu 16,178 1,158 1,224 10%
  1. Groudon (Mud Shot / Earthquake)
  2. Rayquaza (Dragon Tail / Outrage)
  3. Salamence (Dragon Tail / Draco Meteor)
12
 Piloswine 13,663 1,237 1,305 12.5%
  1. Roserade (Razor Leaf / Solar Beam)
  2. Magmortar (Fire Spin / Fire Blast)
  3. Lucario (Counter / Close Combat)
13
 Porygon 11,419 840 895 40%
  1. Lucario (Counter / Close Combat)
  2. Toxicroak (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
  3. Gallade (Low Kick / Close Combat)
14
 Tangela 16,085 1,195 1,262 40%
  1. Roserade (Poison Jab / Sludge Bomb)
  2. Magmortar (Fire Spin / Fire Blast)
  3. Mamoswine (Powder Snow / Avalanche)
15
 Machamp 18,144 1,574 1,650 10%
  1. Mewtwo (Confusion / Thunderbolt)
  2. Gallade (Confusion / Psychic)
  3. Togekiss (Air Slash / Dazzling Gleam)

Tier Four Raid Bosses

Appearance Raid Boss Boss CP Min Captured CP Max Captured CP Capture Rate Best Counters
16
 Alolan Marowak 20,190 908 966 15%
  1. Kyogre (Waterfall / Hydro Pump)
  2. Sharpedo (Waterfall / Hydro Pump)
  3. Gyarados (Waterfall / Hydro Pump)
17
 Absol 26,262 1,232 1,303 50%
  1. Breloom (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
  2. Blaziken (Counter / Focus Blast)
  3. Machamp (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
18
 Tyranitar 34,707 2,011 2,097 5%
  1. Breloom (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
  2. Blaziken (Counter / Focus Blast)
  3. Machamp (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
19
 Aggron 33,458 1,636 1,716 12.5%
  1. Lucario (Counter / Close Combat)
  2. Toxicroak (Counter / Dynamic Punch)
  3. Garchomp (Mud Shot / Earthquake)

Tier Five Raid Bosses

Appearance Raid Boss Boss CP Min Captured CP Max Captured CP Capture Rate Best Counters
20
 Mewtwo 49,430 2,184 2,275 6%
  1. Gengar (Shadow Claw / Shadow Ball)
  2. Haunter (Lick / Shadow Ball)
  3. Mewtwo (Psycho Cut / Shadow Ball)
21
 Deoxys (Normal Forme) 45,891 1,485 1,570 6%
  1. Mewtwo (Psycho Cut / Shadow Ball)
  2. Tyranitar (Bite / Crunch)
  3. Gengar (Shadow Claw / Shadow Ball)

How Raids Work In Pokémon GO

How To Start A Raid

You must be at least trainer level five and own a Raid Pass to join a Raid. You can grab one of these daily by visiting a gym, or by purchasing one from within the game for 100 PokéCoins.

When a raid is about to begin, a large egg will appear over a nearby Gym, along with a counter. Once that counter reaches zero, the Raid Boss will be revealed and it's time to make your way to the Gym.

Once there, redeem your Raid Pass and you'll enter a lobby where you can join a team made up of nearby players. This is also the time to pick your party of Pokémon, and ideally you pick those that will counter that particular Raid Boss.

Once you're all happy, the Raid will begin and you'll have five minutes to defeat the Raid Boss and reap the rewards. Raids play very similarly to Gym Battles, with you tapping to pull off your Pokémon's variety of moves.

Don't worry if you fail on your first attempt though. Once a Raid Pass is redeemed, you have an hour to try and defeat the Raid Boss. Fail and you can tweak your Pokémon and start all over again as many times as you want until that hour is up.

Raid Rewards

Beat a Raid Boss and you get a chance to catch it. This chance varies depending on the Boss, and can be as high as 70% or as low as 2%.

You can't use your regular Poké Balls though. Instead, you'll receive a bunch of Premier Balls based on different variables:

Action Number of Poké Balls Received
Defeat Raid Boss 5
Deal Damage 1 - 3
Team Damage 1 - 3
Gym Control 0 - 2
Friendship Level 0 - 4

You also get a bunch of other goodies, like Rare Candies, Golden Razz Berries, and TMs.

Raid Boss Tiers

There are five different tiers of Raid Boss in Pokémon GO, and each tier denotes the difficulty. Here's a handy chart to help break it all down.

Tier Egg Number of Players
1 Pink Can complete solo.
2 Pink Can complete solo.
3 Yellow Can complete with a small group of around five players.
4 Yellow Can complete with a small group of around five players.
5 Legendary Requires a large group of around 10-15 players.
EX Ex Raid Boss Requires a large group of around 10-15 players.

EX Raids

EX Raids are the most difficult type of Raid Battle in Pokémon GO – so tough, in fact, that they're invite only. You have to grab an EX Raid Pass that details when and where the EX raid will take place.

To earn an EX Raid Pass, you have to Raid often and level up your Gym Badges to max level. Right now, there's only one EX Raid Boss in Pokémon GO — Mewtwo.

This article is part of our Pokémon GO walkthrough and guide series. We have articles that take you through the basics, covering How To Catch Pokémon: Throwing Tips, Poké Balls, & Capture Rates, How To Redeem Pokémon GO Promo Codes, How To Check A Pokémon's IVs Using An IV Calculator, How Trading Works, How To Track Pokémon Using Maps And Trackers, What Star Pieces And Stardust Do And How To Get Them, How Player Vs. Player Trainer Battles Work, and How To Complete Field Research And Research Breakthroughs And All Rewards.

We cover regular weekly and monthly Pokémon GO events, such as Spotlight Hour Times And Bonus Hour Times, and Community Days. We also have charts, including a Type Chart With Effectiveness And Weakness For All Types, an Egg Chart Explaining 2km, 5km, 7km, & 10km Eggs, and a Buddy Chart Explaining How To Earn Candy.

Elsewhere we cover Friend Code And Sharing Them For Easy XP and Which Pokémon GO 'Auto Catch' Companion Device Is The Best, plus more advanced tactics and info such as All Fast Moves And Charge Moves, How To Get TMs, And How It All Works, Shiny Pokémon And How To Catch Them, Glacial Lures, Magnetic Lures, Mossy Lures in Pokémon GO (And Their Exclusive Evolutions), How To Get Lots Of Candy Fast, How Lucky Pokémon Work & How To Catch Them, How To Catch All 27 Regional Pokémon, the Best Attackers And Best Defenders, All Raid Bosses And Best Counters Listed By Tier, What EX Raids Are And How To Get EX Raid Passes, What A Super Incubators Does And How To Get One, and How Get Mega Energy.

Pocket Monster-wise, we have specific guides for How To Get Pangoro, Sylveon, Glaceon, Aromatisse, Slurpuff, Sirfetch’d, Galarian Cofagrigus And More, How To Get Sylveon, Leafeon, Glaceon, Umbreon, Espeon, Vaporeon, Jolteon And Flareon, How To Evolve Wurmple Into Silcoon Or Cascoon, How To Get Tyrogue, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan And Hitmontop, How To Use The Weather To Get Each Castform Form, How To Catch And Evolve Into Galarian Slowbro, How To Catch Smeargle, How To Find And Evolve Burmy, How To Catch Spinda, Where To Find Unown, How To Catch Ditto, and The Rarest Pokémon Including Wild, Shiny, Mythical And Regional Catches.

We also cover timed research and special events, including Mew's 'A Mythical Discovery', Jirachi's 'A Thousand-Year Slumber', Celebi's 'A Ripple In Time', and Regigigas' 'A Colossal Discovery'. Other (past) event guides include Twitch Codes List - Pokémon World Championship 2022, How To Battle A Challenger (World Championships 2022), How To Battle Fashion Challengers, 'A Spooky Message' Spiritomb Quest, Kanto Event FAQ, and the Summer Tour 2018 Chicago GO Fest And Dortmund And Yokosuka Safari Zones.

Finally, there's our WIP Pokémon GO Pokédex, which currently goes up to 400 Pokémon: #1-50 | #51-100 | #101-150 | #151-200 | #201-250 | #251-300 | #301-350 | #351-400.