Niantic
The first Exclusive Raid Passes have just begun appearing in Pokemon Go after forced app updates on Android and iOS, according to Pokemon Go fan site The Silph Road.
The first Exclusive Raid passes have just begun appearing in-game after forced app updates on Android and iOS, travelers!
User broseph23 received the Exclusive Raid Pass, as they shows on a post on The Silph Road’s Reddit page.
Exclusive Raid Passes allow you to partake in Exclusive Raid Battles, where you work together with other players to take down a Raid Boss Pokemon for rewards and a chance to capture the Raid Boss. In order to receive one, you need to complete a Raid Battle recently (within the past few weeks according to Pokemon Go Hub) at the Gym where the Exclusive Raid Battle will take place, according to a blog post from Niantic. Advance warning of when the Exclusive Raid will take place is included in the invitation, allowing you to coordinate with other players. Some legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are only available to capture after completing Exclusive Raid Battles. To access regular Raids, all you need to do is visit a Gym once a day for a free Raid Pass or spend 100 PokeCoins in the in-game shop.
According to Pokemon Go Hub, Exclusive Raids offer the same rewards as Tier 1-4 Raid Battles, however players are reporting that they received 50 Premier Balls in order to catch Mewtwo. Other rewards include Rare Candies, Golden Razz Berries, Charged TMs, and Fast TMs. A Raid Egg will appear on top of the Gym prior to invitations being sent out. Rumor has it that only the most popular Gyms will be chosen for Exclusive Raids according to the publication, though there is no official criteria used to pick Gyms for Exclusive Raids. They also recommend at least 14 players for Mewtwo. So far only Mewtwo has been confirmed for Exclusive Raid Battles but Niantic have said that other Pokemon will be joining it over the next several weeks.
Broseph23 said that they has seen three other people with the same pass for the same Gym. They also said that the invitation came just over 48 hours in advance. The pass popped up during normal gameplay and you can see the invitation again by clicking on the pass in the items bag or by viewing it in your journal. They completed a Raid at the location in the invitation a day before he got the pass. Broseph23 is also at level 29 (just shy of 30) and won 40 Raids with around 20 Pokemon caught from those raids.
The location of the invitation, Water, Precious Water in Bellevue Park in Bellevue, WA, was where the first Moltres Raid occurred. Broseph23 said that the park is a pretty popular spot for trainers.
One user, DubiousCosmos, reports that they did not receive an Exclusive Raid Pass even though they completed a Raid there recently and even caught the Raikou at the Raid.
EX Raid Battles will soon be replacing Exclusive Raid Battles, according to a blog post by Niantic. EX Raid Battles will be available in field-testing phases at select Gyms to acquire player feedback before the feature is released globally. Periodic adjustments to the eligibility requirements, frequency, times, locations, and durations will be made during the tests. The first EX Raid Passes will be sent out soon and invited players will be able to test them out starting September 6.
Have you received an Exclusive Raid Pass yet? Let us know in the comment section below.
In other news, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune were released on August 31, 2017 with each Pokemon exclusive to a different region. Raikou is found in the Americas, Entei in Europe and Africa; and Suicune in the Asia-Pacific region. They’ll rotate to different regions on September 30 and again on October 31.
Also, Safari Zone Events will be held in shopping malls throughout Europe starting September 16, offering trainers a chance to catch regional Pokemon not found in the area, Shiny Pokemon, special Eggs, and more. Some of the Safari Zone Events have been rescheduled to October after being cancelled for August.
