There’s no secret trick to beating Raids in Pokemon Go. Raids in Pokemon Go (and a lot of other games) often come down to the numbers game: if you have enough trainers attacking at once, you’ll inevitably win.
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However, if you find yourself struggling in Raids or you live in an area where there aren’t a lot of Pokemon Go trainers, we do have a couple of easy tips that could make your Raid experience much more pleasant and successful.
Plus, a lot of our tips will come in handy during Gym Battles as well, which could help you gain an edge in taking down opposing teams.
Pick Your Pokemon Wisely
Unlike normal gym battles, it doesn’t pay to have a diverse team of Pokemonย when entering a raid. Each raid boss has a specific set of weaknesses that can be exploited by a certain Type of Pokemon.
There’s also a lot of Raid Bosses that have similar weaknesses.ย For instance, six of the known Raid Bosses are weak against Water-Type Pokemonย while five Raid Bosses are weak against Electric-Type Pokemon. Therefore, you might want to stockpileย Pokemonย like Jolteon and Vaporeonย so you have a team of fast attackers that can do a lot of damage to raid bosses.ย
More importantly, make sure you know which Pokemonย you’re bringing into battle before a raid starts. If you have multiple Vaporeon, but only one knows Hydro Pump, be sure to differentiate that one from other Vaporeonย so you know which one to bring.ย
Charged Moves Are King
The most effectiveย way to beat a lot of these Raid Bosses is simply to batter them with Charge Moves as quickly as you can. Use your Charge moves as often as you can.ย
It also helps to know whichย of your Pokemonย have the strongest Charge Moves, even if it doesn’t get a Same Type Attack Bonus.ย
There are a few Pokemonย that have bizarre movesets that can come handy during Raid Battles. An Alakazamย with Close Combat (a Fighting-Type move) might be problematic under a lot of circumstances, but it would be more useful in a Raid against a Snorlax than a Fighting-Type Pokemonย that doesn’t have a Fighting-Type charge move.ย
Dodge, Dodge, Dodge
Pokemon Goย battles aren’t very complex, but there is a benefit to learning how to dodge. That benefit increases 1000x during Raid Battles, as the most powerful Raid Bosses can wipe out your Pokemonย with a single Charge move.ย
Dodging is really easy inย Pokemonย Go. All you do is swipe to the side whenever the screen flashes, which signals when an opponent is about to attack. You’ll occasionally have a short window (less than a second) to dodge, so get used to dodging whenever you see that flash on your screen.ย
You Get Multiple Tries
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t beat a raid on the first try. While most low level Raids should be pretty easy for a small team of trainers, severalย of the Level 4 Raids are challenging for even high level players.
Luckily, a Raid Pass lasts for the full hour that a Raid takes place, so you can try a raid multiple times.ย
Also, players can “flee”ย a raid mid-battle to heal their Pokemon. Players can thenย return to the battle with a fresh team as long as the 180 second raid battle timer hasn’t run out.
While the game recommends fleeing and healing your Pokemon, players can also do a wholesale switch ofย their Pokemon…which technically gives them up to 12 Pokemonย to use during a raid.ย
Remember that healing and switching Pokemonย counts against your battle timer, so be quick when making support moves to help your Pokemon.ย
Bring a Friend
Pokemon Goย is a cooperative gameplay experience and raids are specifically designed to be easier with multiple players. Any Level 3 or Level 4 Raid is all but impossible for players to beat on their own, even if they bring in a team of Dragonite into battle.ย
Finding a teammateย for raids is an absolute must. If you don’t know someone who playsย Pokemonย Goย nearby, try finding a Facebookย group or look on Redditย to see if you can track down a player who lives in your area.ย
If you can’t find anyone to attend a raid with, just show up and see who’s there. Mostย Pokemonย Goย players will welcome the help on a raid and you might even make a new friend!ย
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