'Pokemon Go' Sends Out First Batch of EX Raid Passes

Pokemon Go has sent out its first invites to an EX Raid, which is located in a very familiar place. Last night, Niantic sent out EX Raid Passes to players in Bellevue, Washington, inviting them to participate in a raid at the "Water, Precious Water" statue on September 7th. While the invitation didn't specify which Pokemon the players would battle, it's almost certainly the Legendary Pokemon Mewtwo, who Pokemon Go previously announced would be the first ever EX Raid Boss.

If Bellevue, Washington sounds familiar, that's because it's the home of The Pokemon Company's United States' office. It's also where Moltres made its first appearance last month, a few hours before the Legendary Pokemon appeared anywhere else.

The Bellevue, Washington EX Raid has a two hour time window, similar to other Pokemon Go raids. This raid will take place between 6 PM and 8 PM, so players who got the invite and work "regular hours" should have a chance to participate. It's unknown if all EX Raids will take place in the early evening, or if Pokemon Go plans to mix things up with different timeslots at different raids.

In order to get an EX Raid Pass, players will need to beat a Raid at the location where the EX Raid is set to take place. There doesn't appear to be a specific timeframe as to when players will need to beat the raid, although early announcements by Pokemon Go hinted that they'd only look back a "couple of weeks" when sending out invites. Since Pokemon Go doesn't announce where the EX Raids will take place, players will want to participate in Raids in as many locations as possible to maximize their chances of getting an invitation.

Pokemon Go is currently beta testing EX Raids, so most players might not get an invite for a few more weeks. We'll have more info on the EX Raids later this week, so be sure to like our Facebook page to get the latest Pokemon news.