New texts within Pokémon GO have been discovered that suggest a new type of raid, Unity Raids, are coming to Pokémon GO. We suspect this will be potentially how the introduction of Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y will occur during the GO Fest events this summer!
Disclaimer – Everything in this article is data mined, and therefore subject to change, or not even being released at all. Information referenced in this article is made publicly available by data miners. Our article includes some of our own commentary from experience. Data mining is, and never will be, something Niantic or the Pokémon Company endorses.
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_attack_countdown
+TEXT: Attacking in {0}...
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_attack_raise_prompt
+TEXT: Hold your device in the air to charge your attack!
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_attack_lower_prompt
+TEXT: Charging complete! Lower your device.
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_attack_result_1
+TEXT: The shield is wearing down! Unite and attack it again!
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_attack_result_2
+TEXT: Almost there! Give it all you’ve got!
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_attack_warning
+TEXT: {0} is protecting itself! Unite and attack together!
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_encounter_catch_countdown
+TEXT: Throwing in {0}...
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_encounter_catch_prompt
+TEXT: Use this {0} to catch {1}!
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_encounter_raise_prompt
+TEXT: Raise your device in the air to get your Pokémon!
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_raid_tutorial_body_1
+TEXT: Unity Raids are unique battles where you must work together with a massive number of Trainers to defeat the Raid Boss. You cannot flee this battle once it begins.
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_raid_tutorial_body_2
+TEXT: You can select up to six Pokémon to use for the Unity Raid. If all of your Pokémon faint, they will automatically revive after a period of time.
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_raid_tutorial_body_3
+TEXT: When the Raid Boss has only a little health left, you can finish it off with a Unity Attack. To charge a Unity Attack, raise and hold your device in the air with the other Trainers in the battle!
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_raid_tutorial_title_1
+TEXT: What is a Unity Raid?
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_raid_tutorial_title_2
+TEXT: Pokémon Battle Party
+RESOURCE ID: coordinated_raid_tutorial_title_3
+TEXT: Unity Attacks
It looks like Unity Raids will include an interesting new addition to in-person raiding… lifting your phone in the air?! Thanks Pokémon GO, we wanted more people to look at us while we are raiding haha. It is certainly an…. interesting choice to try to get the community to unite together, but one that will potentially draw more unwanted attention when out in public. In the parks during the in-person GO Fest events this could be fun and silly, but we aren’t sure how this will work out in the ‘real world’.
With the implication that you need a ‘massive’ amount of fellow trainers working together, Unity Raids sound like they will make the most sense at events like in-person GO Fest or the Safari City events, rather than regular raid days or global GO Fest. We love anything that encourages more community building, but if a large number of trainers are needed rural trainers and those in less populated areas may struggle, and we don’t want to see only city trainers being able to partake in Unity Raids.
Comments on the Silph Road Reddit were rather unenthusiastic about the performance aspect of this, with many trainers feeling awkward about attracting attention or trying to come up with ways around it already. We can understand the apprehension and share it, hopefully it won’t be too embarrassing! Some were also concerned about security and theft doing things like waving their phones about. We’ll have to wait and see how this will work when Unity Raids are in the game, and how this physical moving of the phone will work.
We like that the raid seems to explain how it works, and that your team will revive after fainting so that you can continue to battle. We often wish there was more information in the game on new mechanics and this seems to actually explain itself which is great! Super Mega Raids were tricky when first introduced as it wasn’t explicitly clear that you needed a Mega Pokémon in the final slot of your team in order to defeat the shields, so hopefully Unity Raids will be much clearer. Anything that adds assistance in game to explain a new mechanic is good!
How do you feel about the prospect of waving around your phone in public to battle a raid? Let us know on social media!
