What is Mega Raid in Pokemon Go?

Pokémon Go is an augmented reality (AR) smartphone game released in 2016 with Niantic in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android devices. It uses GPS-enabled mobile devices to identify, capture, train, and battle virtual monsters known as Pokémon, which appear to reside in the player’s real-life locations. Lately, the game comes out with many new updates. Through these updates, the players have taken notice of a new component in the game known as Mega Raids. So, what is Mega Raid in Pokemon Go?

The game is free to play. In addition, it uses a freemium business model coupled with local advertising and offers in-app payments for additional in-game stuff. The game started with about 150 Pokémon species, which had grown to more than 700 by 2021.

What exactly is Mega Raid in Pokemon Go?

Mega raids are a form of the boss battle against Mega-Pokemon in Pokemon Go. They are among the most challenging battles in the game, while the rewards are debatable. Mega Raids is a new type of Raid Battle that is identical to conventional Raids, but pits you against a Mega Evolved Pokémon. Instead of the Mega Pokémon, players gain Mega Energy upon completing the Mega Raid. The sooner you complete the Raid, the more Mega Energy Trainers you get.

So Mega Raid is a new level of Raid Battles that will take place in Gyms regularly. In terms of difficulty, they are similar to Legendary Raids, except that the Raid boss is a Mega-Evolved Pokemon. Whenever you defeat the Mega-Evolved Pokemon, you’ll get its Mega-Energy, which you need to Mega-Evolve your own Pokemon. The faster you defeat the Raid boss, the more Mega Energy and other benefits you get after the battle.

You also have the option to capture the Raid boss (in his standard, non-mega-evolved form). Mega raids in Pokemon Go can be identified before they start with the presence of an egg in the Gym. They also have a special decal above the egg that is only used for Mega raid eggs, making it really easy to determine if an impending raid spawn is a mega raid or not in Pokemon Go.

When these eggs hatch, they will produce Mega-Evolved Pokemon like Mega-Venasaur, Mega-Charizard, and others. This Pokemon will then be the boss of the Mega Raid. The result of the egg is a Mega Raid for the chosen Pokemon. Mega Raids are just as powerful, if not more so than Legendary raids. It should be handled with the care of any Trainer familiar with it.