Update: Niantic employees and Pokemon GO Travel YouTubers are posting images from this location on their Twitter and Instagram accounts. Check @Anni79 on Twitter and Rachel Quirico on Instagram.
A Ho-Oh test EX raid was spotted in Japan today by multiple local trackers. Although we were very suspicious at first, we managed to get multiple confirmations from Japanese players and influencers.
The raid was spotted around 13:40 local time in the Uradome Coast gym located at 35.592504, 134.304881. The gym has a special Pokémon GO logo inside the photo disc and apparently can be accessed even though a raid is in progress.
Various screenshots we collected:
As far as we are aware, no invites were distributed for this raid. We’re unsure if the Pokémon GO Travel YouTube squad is testing the raid or not, but we are fairly certain that they are included in one way or another.
If Ho-Oh is to be released, we are expecting it to happen tomorrow, during the Global Catch Challenge celebration in Tottori and then to be released worldwide, similar to how Mewtwo was handled.
Additionally, a new wave of EX Raid invites was sent out, this time without the “field test” note. The raids are scheduled to take place on December 3rd, giving Niantic ample time to prepare and tweak Ho-Oh for a potential worldwide release.
We will be paying close attention and reporting as soon as more information is available. A huge shout-out goes to our Twitter community and Reversal for helping us verify this in a matter of minutes.
Related Ho-Oh news and guides:
