Towards the ends of Rayquaza's Raid cycle, we published an article detailing our thoughts on the timeframes of upcoming Legendary Pokémon. Now that we've had Lugia's encore and the addition of the Eon Duo, we'd like to update that theoretical schedule.
LATIOS & LATIAS: As you know, Latios and Latias are currently the Legendary Raid Bosses in Pokémon GO. Latios can be found in the Americas and Africa, while Latias can be found in Asia, Australia, and Africa. According to Niantic's announcement, they'll swap places on May 8 before leaving on June 5.
AN ENCORE PERFORMANCE: After the Eon Duo runs their course, we expect another Legendary Pokémon to return to Raid Battles, likely with a Shiny possibility. We expect it to be connected to the other encore we've seen this year, Lugia, in some way.
This means that, should this hypothetical encore happen, the most likely candidate is Lugia's counterpart: Ho-Oh. The three Legendary Birds (Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres) also seem possible, but the fact that all three of them would have to return complicates things too much.
ANNIVERSARY EVENT: As you know, this summer is Pokémon GO's second anniversary. To celebrate the first anniversary, Niantic introduced Legendary Raid Bosses. As a nod to those, plus as a tie-in to the Pokémon Company's Year of Legendary Pokémon, we expect Niantic to do something huge, something Legendary, to celebrate.
Realistically, we see Niantic re-releasing the Legendary Birds as a callback to last year. If they want to kick it up a notch, they could make Mewtwo temporarily available in regular, Tier 5 Raids. But, if Niantic wants to kick it to the extreme, they could re-release every Legendary Pokémon for a limited time. Regardless of what Niantic does for the Anniversary Event, we're expecting something exciting (hopefully with Legendaries and Shinies included).
THE LEGENDARY GOLEMS: Lastly, we have the three Legendary Golems (Registeel, Regice, and Regirock). These three elemental titans are the last unreleased Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon GO, and we expect them to be the last "hoo-ra" of Generation 3.
Why? Because, in Generation 4, Regigigas will be introduced. Regigigas is the "trio-master" of the Legendary Golems, and would provide a smooth transition among the generations in terms of Legendary Raid Bosses if released consecutively.
So how will Niantic handle these three Legendary Pokémon? Well, they need to do it carefully. These three Pokémon were designed by GAME FREAK to be defensive. That may have worked for the main series games, but it doesn't work in Pokémon GO. Being defensive and classified as "Legendary" or "Mythical" makes for an unfortunate combination, as their true potential (Gym defending) cannot be realized.
Because of this "illness," the same that inflicts Suicune, people will loose interest quickly. Because of this inevitable outcome, Niantic will need to cut down each Golem's time down to about two and a half weeks or release them for a month each with a Shiny variant to buy time until Generation 4 is released.
What do you think of our timeline, Trainers? Let us know on Twitter. Thanks for reading, Trainers!
LATIOS & LATIAS: As you know, Latios and Latias are currently the Legendary Raid Bosses in Pokémon GO. Latios can be found in the Americas and Africa, while Latias can be found in Asia, Australia, and Africa. According to Niantic's announcement, they'll swap places on May 8 before leaving on June 5.
AN ENCORE PERFORMANCE: After the Eon Duo runs their course, we expect another Legendary Pokémon to return to Raid Battles, likely with a Shiny possibility. We expect it to be connected to the other encore we've seen this year, Lugia, in some way.
This means that, should this hypothetical encore happen, the most likely candidate is Lugia's counterpart: Ho-Oh. The three Legendary Birds (Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres) also seem possible, but the fact that all three of them would have to return complicates things too much.
ANNIVERSARY EVENT: As you know, this summer is Pokémon GO's second anniversary. To celebrate the first anniversary, Niantic introduced Legendary Raid Bosses. As a nod to those, plus as a tie-in to the Pokémon Company's Year of Legendary Pokémon, we expect Niantic to do something huge, something Legendary, to celebrate.
Realistically, we see Niantic re-releasing the Legendary Birds as a callback to last year. If they want to kick it up a notch, they could make Mewtwo temporarily available in regular, Tier 5 Raids. But, if Niantic wants to kick it to the extreme, they could re-release every Legendary Pokémon for a limited time. Regardless of what Niantic does for the Anniversary Event, we're expecting something exciting (hopefully with Legendaries and Shinies included).
THE LEGENDARY GOLEMS: Lastly, we have the three Legendary Golems (Registeel, Regice, and Regirock). These three elemental titans are the last unreleased Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon GO, and we expect them to be the last "hoo-ra" of Generation 3.
Why? Because, in Generation 4, Regigigas will be introduced. Regigigas is the "trio-master" of the Legendary Golems, and would provide a smooth transition among the generations in terms of Legendary Raid Bosses if released consecutively.
So how will Niantic handle these three Legendary Pokémon? Well, they need to do it carefully. These three Pokémon were designed by GAME FREAK to be defensive. That may have worked for the main series games, but it doesn't work in Pokémon GO. Being defensive and classified as "Legendary" or "Mythical" makes for an unfortunate combination, as their true potential (Gym defending) cannot be realized.
Because of this "illness," the same that inflicts Suicune, people will loose interest quickly. Because of this inevitable outcome, Niantic will need to cut down each Golem's time down to about two and a half weeks or release them for a month each with a Shiny variant to buy time until Generation 4 is released.
What do you think of our timeline, Trainers? Let us know on Twitter. Thanks for reading, Trainers!