From the beginning of the raiding system back last summer, raiders have gotten to enjoy a slew of different raid bosses, from a lowly Magikarp to a fearsome Tyranitar. The first Legendaries were introduced a short time after in July/August 2017. The first overhaul of the current raid bosses happened in November of 2017, with the likes of Venusaur and Gengar getting replaced with Pokémon like Golem and Scyther.
Popular ones like Machamp and Tyranitar have stood the test of time, having remained all this time. New ones were released sporadically with the release of Generation 3, but that was more likely a teaser, rather than a full release.
Why does this matter? Well, all of this culminated with the introduction of Rayquaza, whose mere presence changed Tier 1 through Tier 4 raid bosses into Pokémon that countered him.
Snorunt
|
Azumarill
|
Piloswine
|
Dewgong
|
Jynx
|
Feraligatr
|
This is an interesting way to revolve raid bosses, and one that might see future usage. Could the release of the Eon Duo, Latios and Latias, see a release (or re-release) of the following model Pokémon?
Houndoom
|
Shiftry
|
Sealeo
|
Sneasel
|
Piloswine
|
Vibrava
|
Changing Tier 1 through Tier 4 raids could simultaneously fight the stagnancy of raiding the same Legendary creature for a month, while also providing viable alternatives for lower level raiders.
Not everyone could catch a whole team of Raikou when it was available, and even then, not everyone had the Rare Candies (or even Stardust) needed to power them up. Luckily, Niantic seems to be aware of this problem and raid boss rotations seem to be the part of that solution.
Using common / uncommon Pokémon as Tier 1 – Tier 4 Raid Bosses acts as a partial solution to that problem. Of course, making some of these creatures shiny (notably Tier 1 bosses) certainly does not hurt and likely skyrockets the player engagement on launch. We dread even to imagine how many free Raid Passes were wasted on shiny checking Swablu raids.
What are some Pokémon you would like to see in the future as counters to Raid Bosses? Could we see Makuhita/Hariyama raids in the future, as they are counters to Regice, Regirock and Registeel? Could a changing of the guard regarding future Legendaries be the new normal for Pokémon Go? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Related reading:
