We haven’t talked about Elite Raids at length much on The PoGO Journal, but that’s mostly a function of 1) this blog only existing for a matter of a few months and 2) Elite Raids only being scheduled a handful of times since their inception in fall of 2022. Now that Mega Rayquaza is scheduled to come to Elite Raids on June 29th, though, let’s discuss a feature that Niantic has tried to sell even in the face of shoddy performance and amid flagging player support.
Elite Raids first launched in October of 2022 with the introduction of the Unbound form of Hoopa. Niantic explained the feature’s arrival with a primer on the Pokémon GO official website published a few days before its inaugural run. “Mysterious Raid Eggs with 24-hour timers have begun appearing around the world! What could this mean?!” As the post spelled out, Elite Raids were a “new, challenging variety” of Raid Battles appearing from special Raid Eggs which take 24 hours to hatch. The featured Raid Boss would be active for 30 minutes, and the first of these 30-minute Raids would begin at 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, or 5:00 PM.
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Perhaps most significantly and as this primer is careful to stress, Elite Raids can only be battled in person. What does that mean, Trainers? It means you can’t use Remote Raid Passes.
Elite Raids weren’t the first and aren’t the only kinds of Raids Niantic currently supports which make this stipulation. EX Raids, an invite-only spiritual predecessor to Elite Raids which featured Legendary and Mythical Pokémon exclusively as its Raid Bosses at scheduled times, could only be done at those Gyms. Then again, this type of Raid existed before COVID-19 and the advent of the Remote Raid Pass (evidently, by the way, all mentions of it were removed from the game code early in 2024), so, you know, all Raids which came before Elite Raids were in-person only. Shadow Raids, which dropped in 2023, also forbid the use of Remote Raid Passes.
Even if they aren’t wholly unique in forcing Trainers to be in close physical proximity to the Gym hosting the Raid, and though it wasn’t a foregone conclusion at the time that Niantic would nerf Remote Raid Passes, that Elite Raids cut Remote Raiders out of the experience foreshadowed Niantic’s intended shift away from the play-at-home format which had helped sustain PoGO through the most restrictive periods of the pandemic. The writing was on the Bastiodon’s-face-like wall.
At peak game performance then, Elite Raids are inherently less convenient than their standard counterparts. Consequently, when something goes awry technically, they can be especially frustrating for players. Upon launch, I can attest to Elite Raids being extremely buggy, failing to get into the Lobbies of several Raids. The “special” wild spawns advertised to appear around Gyms after completing a Raid also seemed spotty at best. In fact, Niantic had to specifically hold a makeup day for Regidrago Raid Day because of connection issues impacting users in certain regions. Smooth overall, the rollout of this feature hasn't been.
In addition, the timing of these Elite Raids, sporadically as they have been scheduled, hasn't always been very accommodating to Pokémon GO players. Regieleki, for instance, debuted on Easter Sunday, a day of religious significance to many Christians and otherwise an occasion for family get-togethers. Incarnate Forme Enamorus saw its release earlier this year coincide with Valentine's Day. On a Wednesday. There's a good chance you missed it even if you didn't have plans of a romantic nature. It was a school day and a workday. Thematic appropriateness aside, this Elite Raid's accessibility was clearly suboptimal.
Exclusionary. Janky. Ill-timed. These are the kinds of attributes characterizing Elite Raids’ legacy heretofore. Now, Niantic is subjecting Mega Rayquaza, one of the most attractive Mega Pokémon on the PoGO roster, to the same treatment. It's no wonder the fan base's response has been, charitably speaking, tepid. If these Raids even function correctly—which is a big if—they'll face both Remote Raid Pass restrictions and significant time constraints. Are you excited yet, Trainers?
Niantic seems determined to try to make Elite Raids work as a function of its broader mission to get players outside, get them moving, and get them together with other members of the Pokémon GO community. In trying to foster real-world connections between players, however, the company is disregarding a substantially large volume of negative feedback from the existing community at large. To put it another way re Elite Raids, John Hanke and Co. see fit to drag PoGO fans kicking and screaming to a good time.
Mega Rayquaza’s inclusion in Elite Raids as the Raid Boss marks the series’ best feature yet in terms of that Pokémon’s ultimate utility, particularly for PvE (player vs. environment) combat. Mega Rayquaza is the best Dragon-type Attacker in Pokémon GO, and is therefore useful in Raids, notably against other Dragon-type Pokémon. Its Elite Raid predecessors pale in comparison.
While Hoopa isn’t abjectly terrible, it’s outclassed by Mewtwo as a Psychic-type Attacker, let alone Mega Mewtwo and the other Psychic-type Mega Evolutions, and trails multiple Pokémon as a Ghost-type Attacker. Regidrago, having access only to the Dark-type move Bite as a Fast Attack, is a joke from both a PvP and PvE standpoint. Regieleki at least gets an Electric-type Fast Attack, but like Regidrago, it’s far from top-tier regardless of context. The Fairy-type Incarnate Forme Enamorus is likely the best of the rest, but that’s a fairly low bar.
Owing to its utilitarian value and sentimental value alike, however, Mega Rayquaza is arguably a poor fit for Elite Raids. Trainers are going to want to complete enough Raids to earn the requisite Mega Energy to evolve Rayquaza into Mega Rayquaza at a minimum, and if they’re hunting for a Shiny Rayquaza or 100% Rayquaza in terms of Individual Values, they’d likely do many more. Being confined to one or two hours at a time of Raids and having to challenge each Raid in person are certainly limiting factors. For sure, it’s the healthier course of action for Pokémon GO end users. Then again, for those who understand the exploitative nature of mass raiding and are willing to shell out anyway, their frustration is more than understandable. It’s bad enough that we free-to-play folks don’t get any extra free Raid Passes as a participation bonus—yes, Niantic wants you to spend five U.S. dollars for an item box just to take part. Don’t alienate the paying customers too.
I’ve seen anecdotally some online talk of boycotting this event/simply not showing up. If you do play PoGO, that’s up to you. To be honest, I don’t know what kind of impact it would make because I have no idea what kind of feedback Niantic truly values outside of your disaggregated location data. All I know is that, while Elite Raids have gotten better since restructuring to offer four blocks of Raids at 12 PM, 1 PM, 5 PM, and 6 PM, thereby affording players added flexibility in coordinating efforts to challenge that day’s Raid Boss, theirs is not a winning formula, and putting Mega Rayquaza in Elite Raids doesn’t make up for the format’s shortcomings. Another Niantic L, I’m afraid.
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