Pokémon Go is always trying to introduce new special events in the hopes that it will invigorate some new life into the mobile game, and we have another one that we can start enjoying as well. Pokémon Go’s new Elite Raids is a new kind of raid activity that is designed to test players’ bottles in return for some super-rare Pokémon.
Pokémon Go’s new Elite Raids is a test for players with properly strong teams of creatures, but not only that because these raids are what Niantic hopes will get players back outside in large numbers. Producing the same numbers as we saw pre-pandemic will always be a tricky task; the game was an interesting concept at the beginning, and even though the game is a lot meatier now, the activity has certainly taken a hit in recent times.
The new raids first began popping up on Friday and they came with an extended 24-hour countdown clock on certain Pokémon gyms as well as a sparkly new raid egg on the map. You might have seen them if you still play the game, they come with a message that states these raids will require players to take part in person at the raid site itself, rather than using those trusty remote raid passes that seem to have become more difficult to come across.
A Niantic blog post revealed a few other features as well, such as a shorter battle window of only 30 minutes, which aims at trying to get people to bump into others at the raid sites, as well as some in-game surprises too. The first Elite Raid was for Hoopa Unbound, the infamous mythical Pokémon that you could only get one of, and the last event that included Hoopa was last year.
It’s not without its controversy though because players have been quick to jump on the bandwagon and claim that this Elite Raid would overlap with the Litwick Community Day. The rollout was delayed because of this, and the group of Elite Raids hit certain regions on Sunday instead. And not only that but the amount of Elite Raids is also very alarming. For example, people who operate in smaller communities might see their only local gym hosting an Elite Raid countdown for 24 hours instead of other raid bosses.
The blog post mentioned an Elite Raid post-battle “surprise” as well, and it seems that players have already cottoned on to what that might be. There seems to be a larger number of Pokémon spawning within a 50-meter radius of the raid gym, and a couple of Legendary birds have been encountered already been spotted, so get out there before they fly away.
Niantic has said that the Elite Raids will return later this season and will presumably feature some more super-rare mythical Pokémon too, so keep an eye out for them when they begin to appear – you’ll be your very own Pokémon Champion before you know it.
