With Pokémon Go and Pokémon Sword & Shield comes raids. The idea of raids are for trainers to team up to battle a particularly powerful Pokémon and if they manage to defeat it, then they each have a chance to catch it at the end. Raids are ranked on how powerful the Pokémon is, and five-star raids can be extremely hard to get through. After all, these Pokémon are no joke — that's why you can even catch Pokémon like Mewtwo in raids.
They're a great addition to the games, but they can be a struggle to get the hang of. Here are some tips for mastering them.
10 Always Invite Others
Trainers don't have to use teamwork to participate in raids. You can battle the Pokémon by yourself. In Sword & Shield, the game will provide (fairly weak) NPCs to help out.
But the best thing to do is to let others help. Those participating in raids are likely around the same level as you, since you unlock higher levels of raids by moving through the game, so they'll be of good use.
9 Take Note Of The Star Rating
It's important to take note of the rating of the raid, particularly if you plan to go it alone. A three-star raid might be completely doable with a powerful Pokémon of your own and some NPCs provided by the game, but that probably isn't going t0 cut it for a five-star raid. Those raids are designed to be difficult, and also hold legendary Pokémon, so it's no easy feat to get through one and catch the Pokémon. That's only doable if you have some powerful teammates.
8 Type Advantages Matter As Much As Ever
Now more than ever, it's important to consider type advantages. Not just what your Pokémon is strong against, but what their weaknesses are.
For example, Eternatus isn't a good raid choice against an Electric Pokémon because its attacks are super effective, but it is a good choice because Electric attacks will do very little damage to it. Consider what their moves will do to your Pokémon, and choose wisely.
7 Beware The Shield
When the raid Pokémon receives a damaging physical blow, a shield will go up. How many bars the shield has will depend on how strong the Pokémon has, but the shield will need to be broken, otherwise, physical attacks will barely go through. It's important to be aware that this is going to go up when you attack! Perhaps a status move might be better?
6 Time Your Attacks
Timing your attacks is also important. Remember that the shield will go up and try to take note of the speed of each Pokémon during the first turn. If you attack first, use your strongest move. If you don't, and you know the shield will go up before you get a chance, it might be time to utilize that status move.
5 Dynamax When You Can
In a normal Pokémon battle, it's important to be strategic about when you Dynamax. Gym leaders will usually save this for last and most of the time, it's a good idea for you to do the same.
In raids, however, Dynamax the moment you get a chance. Turns are limited and only one trainer can Dynamax at a time, so you might as well use your turn to get as much of an advantage over the raid boss as you possibly can.
4 You'll Only Get One Shot To Catch The Pokémon
In most raid battles, you'll only have one chance to throw a ball at the end to catch the Pokémon. If it's one you really want, don't waste a PokéBall — make sure you have the best ball possible for that creature. It's important to be stocked up when you go into raids, even if you aren't specifically there to catch Pokémon. You might just stumble across one you really want, and you'll regret it if you have no Ultra Balls left.
3 Candies Are Everything
The best rewards you get from raids other than the Pokémon are the candies. Rare Candies used to be extremely hard to find but now, they're plentiful, as well as Exp Candies that actually often level up your Pokémon more than Rare Candies. These are invaluable when leveling up your team.
2 Protect The Weaker Pokémon
If NPCs join your battle, you might notice that the Pokémon they have are weaker. Protect them with moves, if you can. It might be tempting to let them keep dying off but unfortunately, if any Pokémon die four times in a raid, the battle is over.
1 Don't Take Too Long
It's also over if a certain amount of turns are taken up and no Pokémon faints. Strategically choose your Pokémon to do damage fast, because there's no point in trying to whittle away at the raid boss slowly while defending yourself. Ten turns, and it's game over! Speed is necessary.