Pokemon Go Adds New Raid Bosses For Players to Challenge

Lugia isn't the only new Pokemon invading gyms this weekend.

As part of Friday's big gym shake-up, Pokemon Go added seven new Raid Bosses in addition to Lugia. Most of these Raid Bosses have appeared in gyms before, but Manectric (a Gen 3 Electric-Type Pokemon) made its Raid Boss debut as a Level 2 Raid Boss.

Other Pokemon that are now appearing as Raid Bosses include Golem, Electabuzz, Gengar, Jolteon, andPiloswine.

The one thing these Raid Bosses have in common is that they all have types that are super effective against Lugia, who is making a return rotation through gyms through April 2nd. Lugia's second rotation as a Raid Boss is part of a larger promotion for Pokemon the Movie: Everyone's Story, which features Lugia. All Lugia who appear in Raid Battles will have the charge move Sky Attack, which gained a minor buff as part of the event.

While past temporary Raid Bosses have made for lackluster counters, Golem, Gengar, and Jolteon all have enough attack strength to make a dent against a Lugia Raid Boss. If you capture one of these Raid Bosses and want to use it in battle against Lugia, you'll need to power it up as Raid Bosses are automatically at Level 20 when captured.

The full list of Raid Bosses are as follows:

Level 1: Magikarp, Swablu, Snorunt, Wailmer

Level 2: Electabuzz, Exeggutor, Manectric, Mawile, Sableye

Level 3: Gengar, Jynx, Jolteon, Piloswine, Machamp

Level 4: Golem, Aggron, Tyranitar, Absol

Level 5: Lugia

Of course, the biggest news of the weekend is that players now have a chance to capture a Shiny Lugia when they beat Lugia in a Raid Battle. While it's still unclear how often Shiny Lugia appears, it seems that players have a much greater likelihood of capturing Lugia when its Shiny as opposed to when it's a non-Shiny Pokemon.

Players only have through April 2nd to capture Lugia, and it's likely that some of the Raid Bosses will also cycle out of gyms once Pokemon Go adds its next Legendary Pokemon. If you're looking to give your team some extra firepower before battling Lugia, be sure to find a Golem, Jolteon, or Gengar raid in your neighborhood soon!