Which Pokemon Are Raid Bosses in Pokemon Go?

Raid Bosses are taking over Pokemon Go gyms all around the world, forcing trainers to band [...]

By Christian Hoffer


Raid Bosses are taking over Pokemon Go gyms all around the world, forcing trainers to band together to take down these ultra-powerful Pokemon.

Although Raids just started a couple of days ago, we're already starting to figure out the details of how they work. For example, it looks like there's only a limited number of species that can hatch from Raid Eggs, and each species always has the same CP.

Raids are divided into 5 levels, which can be seen when a Raid Egg first takes over a gym. Although you won't know which Raid Boss is taking over a gym until the Raid Egg hatches, seeing the Raid Level will help you determine how tough the upcoming battle will be.

Since Raids are still in their "beta" phase, it's possible that more Raid Bosses could appear soon, but we've assembled every Raid Boss seen so far along with some hints on how to beat them.

Level 1

magikarp raid

Level 1 Raid Bosses: Magikarp (CP: 1165), Bayleef (CP: 4375), Quilava (CP: 5085), Croconaw (CP: 5207)

Level 1 Raid Bosses hatch from pink eggs and are the easiest Raid Bosses to beat. While a CP in the 5000s seems impressive, remember that you can bring six Pokemon into battle to wear the raid bosses down.

Any player with decent Pokemon can beat a Raid Boss on their own without much of a problem. If you don't have many friends to play Pokemon Go with or live in an area that doesn't have a lot of Pokemon Go players, we recommend trying out a Level 1 Raid to see what the Raid experience is all about.

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Level 2

muk raid

Level 2 Raid Bosses: Weezing (CP: 11245), Exeggutor (CP: 12633), Muk (CP: 11200), Electabuzz (CP: 11311), Magmar (CP: 11610)

Level 2 Raid Bosses are marginally harder Raids than Level 1 bosses, but a single player should still be able to beat them on their own. Obviously, dodging becomes a factor in Level 2 raids, as a single charged attack will wipe out your Pokemon.

Most of Weezing and Muk's attacks can be reasonably shrugged off by a Steel-Type Pokemon like Steelix, while Exeggutor is doubly weak against Bug-Type attacks. Obviously, Electabuzz can be countered by Ground-Type Pokemon, while Magmar is weak against Water-Type attacks.

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Level 3

alakazam raid

Level 3 Raid Bosses: Arcanine (CP: 17832), Alakazam (CP: 22646), Machamp (CP: 18144), Gengar (CP: 19768), Vaporeon (CP: 16996), Jolteon (CP: 22646), Flareon (CP: 21155)

Here's where raids start getting tricky. Players are reporting that Level 3 and Level 4 Raids are impossible to beat on their own, even if they're high level players. The early consensus is that a Level 3 raid can be beaten by two or more players.

The hardest of the Level 3 bosses is probably Gengar, as Ghost-Type Pokemon don't have very many weaknesses. We recommend using a Dark-Type Pokemon like Houndoom or Umbreon to fight Gengar, although Ground, Psychic, and Ghost-Type attacks are also effective against it.

Alakazam can also be defeated by a Dark-Type Pokemon, while Machamp should go down against a barrage of a Psychic-Type attacks.

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Level 4

tyranitar raid

Level 4 Raid Bosses: Venusaur (CP: 26921), Charizard (CP: 28485), Blastoise (CP: 24162), Lapras (CP: 21768), Rhydon (CP: 30512), Snorlax (CP: 25419), Dragonite (CP: 25840), Blissey (CP: 27420), Tyranitar (CP: 34707)

These are the current top tier of Raid Bosses, and shouldn't be attempted unless you have a group of strong trainers that have your back. We've seen reports that a Level 4 Raid shouldn't be attempted unless you have at least four players in your raid group.

The four hardest Raid Bosses in this group are Snorlax, Blissey, Dragonite, and Tyranitar. Snorlax and Blissey can both absorb a ton of damage, but they both have a weakness to Fighting-Type attacks. Dragonite is best countered by Pokemon like Lapras or Cloyster that has Ice-Type attacks, while Tyranitar has a double weakness to Fighting-Type attacks.

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Level 5

pokemon go mewtwo
(Photo: Nintendo)

Level 5 Raid Bosses: ????

Level 5 Raids are currently unavailable in Pokemon Go. There's a good reason for that: Level 5 Raid Bosses are all Legendary Pokemon.

At least at first, only certain players will have access to Level 5 Raids. Niantic will give out a special code to certain players to participate in these high level raids. While we don't know how Niantic will pick players, they have hinted that players who actively participate in raids and gym battles will get the first pass at catching a Legendary Pokemon.

Obviously, when Level 5 Raids to become available, we'll have more information to share.

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