Beginner’s Guide to Raids in Pokémon GO

Raids are one of Pokémon GO’s core end-game activities, but they’re also one of the most intimidating for new players to jump into — unfamiliar terminology, a ticking clock, and the pressure of not wanting to waste a group’s time. This guide covers everything you need to walk into your first raid with confidence.

What is a raid?

A raid is a timed boss battle that appears at a Gym, visible as a colored egg on top of the Gym before it hatches, then as a powerful wild Pokémon once it does. Unlike normal wild encounters, raid bosses have dramatically boosted CP and HP, and are designed to be fought cooperatively by multiple trainers at once.

Raid tiers, from easiest to hardest

• One-star raids — the easiest tier, often soloable even by newer trainers with a modest team.
• Three-star raids — moderate difficulty; solo-able with a strong, well-countered team, but generally more comfortable with two or three trainers.
• Five-star raids — Legendary and Mythical Pokémon appear here. These typically require a coordinated group of several trainers unless your roster is heavily optimized.
• Mega raids — feature Mega Evolutions and generally sit at a difficulty comparable to five-star raids.
• Shadow raids — a newer tier featuring Shadow versions of powerful Pokémon, which hit harder and require more careful counter-picking than their non-Shadow equivalents.

How to join a raid

Tap the Gym showing a raid egg or an active raid, then tap the raid banner to see details and the countdown timer. You’ll need a Raid Pass to participate:

• Free Raid Pass — one per day, obtained by spinning the Photo Disc at any Gym. You must be physically present at a Gym to use it.
• Remote Raid Pass — a paid item (with occasional free ones from special research or events) that lets you join a raid happening at a Gym you’re not physically at. This is how most online-organized raid groups coordinate.
• Premium Raid Pass — a paid item functionally similar to the free daily pass, letting you join an additional in-person raid.

Building a raid team

Before joining, check the raid boss’s type(s) against our Type Effectiveness Chart and look up specific recommended attackers on our Raid Counters page. As a general rule:

• Prioritize Pokémon with a same-type Charged Attack that’s super effective against the boss.
• Attack IVs and level matter more than Defense/Stamina IVs for raid attackers, since raw damage output usually matters more than survivability in a group setting.
• Six Pokémon slots are available per raid attempt — use a mix rather than six copies of the same species, in case one type resists the boss’s counterattacks better than another.

What happens after you win

Winning a raid gives every participating trainer a chance to catch the raid boss (using Premier Balls earned from the fight, plus a few from various bonuses), along with Stardust, items, and occasionally Rare Candy or Mega Energy depending on the raid type. Losing costs you nothing but the Raid Pass you already spent — there’s no additional penalty, so it’s always worth attempting a raid you’ve committed a pass to.

Common beginner mistakes

• Joining without checking the timer. Raids have a battle countdown separate from the “time until it starts” countdown — make sure you understand which phase you’re in.
• Bringing underleveled Pokémon. A raid boss with tens of thousands of HP won’t be meaningfully dented by a level 15 Pokémon; check your own roster’s power level honestly before committing to a group raid.
• Forgetting Premier Ball throws are timed. Once the battle ends, you get a limited window to throw your Premier Balls at the boss. Curveball throws and Golden Razz Berries both meaningfully improve your catch odds — use them, especially on a boss you might not get another shot at.

How many Premier Balls do you get?

Your Premier Ball count depends on several factors: a base amount for participating, bonus balls for dealing significant damage, additional bonus balls for every trainer in the lobby (encouraging bigger groups), and further bonuses for using a Raid Pass versus a Remote Raid Pass, plus a small bonus for your friendship level with other participants. Practically, this means joining a fuller lobby and contributing meaningful damage — rather than joining last-second with an underleveled team — directly improves your odds of catching the boss afterward.

Weather boost and raids

In-game weather affects raids the same way it affects wild encounters: certain weather conditions boost specific types’ Attack and Defense stats for both your Pokémon and the raid boss. Checking the current in-game weather before committing to a raid can meaningfully change which counters perform best that day, and can also mean the boss itself hits harder if the weather favors its type. This is a detail experienced raiders track closely and newer players often overlook entirely.

Remote raiding etiquette and limits

Niantic limits the number of Remote Raid Passes you can hold and use within a given window, and pricing for Remote Raid Pass bundles has changed more than once since the feature launched. If you raid primarily online with a group rather than in person, keep an eye on current pricing and daily/weekly usage limits in the in-game shop, since these details are exactly the kind of thing that changes without a lot of advance notice.

Your first month of raiding: a simple plan

Start with one-star raids solo to get comfortable with the interface and dodge timing, since dodging a boss’s attack reduces the damage you take and is a skill that transfers directly to harder raids. Once you’re comfortable, look for local or online raid groups (Discord servers and Facebook groups organized around specific towns or regions are common) for three-star and five-star content. Use our Raid Counters page before each new boss rotation so you’re not guessing at typing on the spot, and don’t be afraid to join a raid even if your roster isn’t perfect — a partial contribution from an imperfect team still helps the group, and every attempt builds toward a stronger roster for next time.

Raids reward consistency more than perfection — you don’t need a maxed-out roster to start participating, and every raid you complete (win or lose) teaches you something about timing, counters, and what to bring next time.