Are you ready for a brand new adventure in Pokémon GO? During Kalos Tour a brand new type of Raid will debut in game, Super Mega Raids! New Mega Evolutions are being introduced into Pokémon GO, including Mega Victreebel and Mega Malamar, and they will appear in this brand new type of battle, Super Mega Raids.
Super Mega Raids will first debut at Kalos Tour in Los Angeles and Tainan this weekend, before releasing worldwide at the Global GO Tour a week later on February 28th and March 1st.
TL;DR
- Super Mega Raids are a new type of Raid Battle in Pokémon GO, and you’ll need a minimum of seven Trainers to defeat them
- Use the new Link Holder, collect and use Link Charges to enter Mega Raids, including Super Mega Raids!
- Mega Pokémon gain a new max level: Super Max!
Mega Victreebel and Mega Malamar
During Kalos Tour, Mega Victreebel and Mega Malamar will make their debut in Super Mega Raids! You’ll be able to bring them to the new Super Max Level as soon as they debut, so be sure to Raid them for plenty of Mega Energy.
What are Super Mega Raids?
Super Mega Raids are a new type of Raid Battle in Pokémon GO that are incredibly powerful. You’ll need to work together with at least seven (7) other Trainers in order to defeat these Raid Bosses, and you will all need to use a Mega Pokémon in your Raid team. Some Pokémon, like Legendary Pokémon, may require even more Trainers to defeat them.
While these battles are a lot more difficult to complete, they will give you even more rewards, including Mega Energy!
Super Mega Bosses can Enrage!
During Super Mega Raids the Mega Pokémon can become enraged, and even used shields that dramatically reduce the amount of damage they take. You’ll have to work together to take down these shields, but each Trainer can only take down one shield.
- Once the Mega Pokémon boss activates a shield, a Mega Pokémon from your Raid team will be automatically sent into the battle.
- Your next attack by your Mega Pokémon will be significantly more powerful than usual, allowing you to break down the bosses shield!
Once you and your fellow Trainers have broken enough shields the Raid Boss will return to it’s normal state and you will be able to do normal damage again.
Where can I Find Super Mega Raids?
With Super Mega Raids needing more teamwork than ever, Pokémon GO is making it easier than ever to find Gyms, Power Spots and more with a new web-based map! You’ll be able to filter the map to show certain types of events, and view event days in advance, helping you to plan your event days with ease.
- You’ll also be able to share links to the maps with your friends by tapping on Super Mega Raids, or community meet ups.
- Community meet ups will also be visible through this map, so it’ll be a great way to find your local community, or even visit a new community.
Note on Primal Pokémon and Ditto
Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, and Ditto transformed into a Mega Pokémon, cannot break shields in Super Mega Raids.
Link Charges are a new currency for Mega Raids
Beginning with the Kalos Tour, all Mega Raids, including Super Mega Raids, will be entered using a brand new resource, Link Charges!
- If you join a Mega or Super Mega Raid locally, you’ll can use Link Charges or a Premium Battle Pass to enter. You’ll be given the option to select which resource you want to use when you enter the Raid lobby.
- In general it will be better value to use Link Charges rather than Premium Battle Passes for standard Mega Raids.
- If you enter a Super Mega Raid remotely, you must use both a Remote Raid Pass and Link Charges.
- Standard Mega Raids will only need a Remote Raid Pass to enter remotely.
What are Link Charges?
Link Charges are a brand new resource in Pokémon GO that you can collect with your Link Holder in order to take part in Mega and Super Mega Raids.
You will automatically receive the Link Holder in your Item Bag when you collect your first Link Charges. It is a key item and cannot be removed from your Item Bag. Your Link Holder can only hold a certain amount of Link Charges at any one time.
How To Collect Link Charges
You can earn Link Charges in the following ways:
- Completing Weekly Challenges with friends
- Opening Gifts from friends
- Checking into Community Meetups via Campfire
- Purchasing from the Pokémon GO Web Store and in-game shop
New Mega Level: Super Max
Each time you Mega Evolve a Pokémon you work towards increasing their Mega Level. Previously there were three Mega Levels, but there will now be a fourth level, Super Max. Each level brings you bonuses, with bonuses getting greater as you level up.
To help you reach your Pokémon’s Mega Level reach Super Max, you’ll need to not only Mega Evolve it, but use Mega Energy to level it up. Once your Pokémon reaches Super Max, the following bonuses will become active in addition to the bonuses currently available at the third level:
Greatly increased CP
Greatly increased catch XP for catching Pokémon that share a typing with your Mega Evolved Pokémon
Greatly increased catch Candy for catching Pokémon that share a typing with your Mega Evolved Pokémon
Greatly increased catch Candy XL for catching Pokémon that share a typing with your Mega Evolved Pokémon
The Mega Evolution cooldown period before your Pokémon can Mega Evolve without using Mega Energy decreases to 24 hours
Note
You must increase your Pokémon’s Mega Level to the current Max third level, before you can increase it to Super Max. You will need Mega Energy in order to power it up to Super Max Level, so be sure to Raid and gather as much Mega Energy as you can.
Super Mega Raids During Kalos Tour
During Kalos Tour the following bonuses will be available to celebrate the debut of Super Mega Raids:
Increased chance of encountering Shiny Pokémon from Super Mega Raids.
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Pokémon caught from Super Mega Raids are more likely to have higher Attack, HP and Defense stats.
Plus, at the start of the Road to Kalos event on February 23rd, 2026, all Trainers will have an opportunity to encounter a Beedrill via a new introduction to Mega Evolution that can Mega Evolve. You’ll also receive Beedrill Mega Energy to test out Mega Evolution ready to take part in Super Mega Raids.
Link Charges During Kalos Tour
- During Kalos Tour you’ll be able to earn additional Link Charges during the event!
- During the Tainan and Los Angeles events ticket-holding Trainers will receive free Link Charges as part of their free GO Pass during the event.
- During the Global Tour you can check into a Community Meetup on February 28th and March 1st via Campfire to collect Link Charges each day. You’ll also receive some Link Charges as part of the free GO Pass, and a significant amount of Link Charges with the GO Pass: Deluxe.
- The Weekly Challenge during GO Tour will be Raid focused, and it will award more Link Charges than normal. Additionally for the duration of the GO Pass: Kalos, you’ll be able to store a higher number of Link Charges than usual if you get earn the Link Charges from the Weekly Challenge, Timed Research, Special Research and the GO Pass. After the event the number of Link Charges you can collect will return to the normal amount.
In the future you will be able to use Mega Energy to increase all of your Pokémon’s Mega Levels, not just to Super Max! The amount of Mega Energy required to level up will depend on how many times you have Mega Evolved that Pokémon: the more times you have Mega Evolved it, the less Mega Energy it will cost.
Stay tuned for more information on this in the future!
