Trainers, Rayquaza returns for one final raid hour, taking place this Sunday, September 1st from 6 PM to 7 PM local time! As usual, there will be an increased number of T5 Raids, all of which will be Rayquaza.
| Event | Final Rayquaza Raid Hour |
| Date | Sunday, September 1, 2019 |
| Time | 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time |
| Features | There will be an increased number of ★★★★★ raids during the event hour. Here’s your last chance to encounter the elusive Shiny Rayquaza. Give it all you’ve got, Trainer! Let’s GO! |
| Guide | Rayquaza Raid Counters Guide |
| Pokemon |
Rayquaza
|
There’s no word if there will be an increased chance to encounter a shiny Rayquaza compared to previous raid hours – we don’t expect it, it never happened before (did it? Can’t remember), don’t expect a guaranteed shiny Rayquaza.
As per usual, we’re attaching a table of odds to get a shiny Rayquaza. The chart compares the number of raids and the odds to get 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 shiny Rayquaza (calculated with the help of dskjal.com Chance Calculator and 5% chance to get a shiny):
| Number of raids | 1 | 10 | 25 | 50 | 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At least 1 shiny | 5% | 40.13% | 72.76% | 92.31% | 99.41% |
| 0 shiny | 95% | 59.87% | 27.74% | 7.69% | 0.59% |
| 1 shiny | 5% | 31.51% | 36.5% | 20.25% | 3.12% |
| 2 shiny | 0% | 7.46% | 23.05% | 26.11% | 8.12% |
| 3 shiny | 0% | 1.05% | 9.3% | 21.99% | 13.96% |
| 4 shiny | 0% | 0.10% | 2.69% | 13.60% | 17.81% |
| 5 shiny | 0% | 0.01% | 0.6% | 6.58% | 18.00% |
Tips and Tricks
You only have one hour for this event and, potentially, a great portion of that time is going to be spent catching Rayquaza (assuming you are not just raiding for the XP and items), as well as sitting through the 2-minute lobby timer each raid. As a result, there is a sense of urgency to the event. The event will go as fast as your regular work lunch break seems to, so taking the aforementioned into consideration, it is this author’s recommendation to keep the following tips in mind:
- Plan your spot prior to the event, focusing on a large number of gyms with a short distance between them.
- Planning a route and mapping it out will be beneficial for your raid group, as it ensures there is no confusion on which gym to go to, and leads to the greatest number of raids that can be done.
- There is strength in numbers. Large groups of Trainers with high levels and good counters can make short work of any boss, as well as carve out the extra time needed to fit in additional raids.
- Catching will be the most time-consuming part, assuming you intend to catch Rayquaza. In this case, it is best to use berries like the Silver Pinaps and Golden Razz Berries so that each throw has the best chance to catch. Additionally, throw curve balls. Set the throwing circle to the great or excellent range and wait for Rayquaza to attack before throwing so it does not bat away any balls.
- That being said, catching is not entirely recommended, as it can be a time-consuming task, and time is against you. Some raiders, in fact, do not catch while on a dedicated train. They simply finish the raid and go to the next one, skipping the catch sequence altogether.
- Realistically, the best case scenario for Rayquaza raids is completing, roughly, 10 – 12 for the hour. This educated guess is taking into account the 2-minute lobby timer, the raid itself taking around 1 minute, with a large number of players, and an average traveling/ready-up time of 3 minutes. This is not factoring in catching time and can vary depending on gym density, the number of people in the raid, and potential glitches and bugs that occur at the start of these events.
- Pack a lunch for yourself, there won’t be any time to grab take out when you are grinding raids 😛
