Pokemon GO Accidentally Reveals Upcoming Legendary Dynamax Raids

Summary

• Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno are slated to appear in Dynamax Raids from January 20th to February 3rd.
• This information, initially posted on the official Saudi Arabia Pokémon GO Twitter page, was swiftly removed.

Pokémon GO has inadvertently revealed the upcoming arrival of Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno in Dynamax Raids later this January. Dynamax Pokémon debuted in Pokémon GO in September 2024, but these legendary birds would mark the first Dynamax legendary Pokémon in the game.

The Kanto legendary birds remain enduringly popular within the Pokémon community. Pokémon GO initially featured Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno in raids, along with their Shiny forms. In 2023, the Galarian bird trio were added to Daily Incense spawns, albeit with a lower appearance rate. Since October 2024, Shiny Galarian legendary birds have also been available. A now-deleted official post suggests Pokémon GO is poised to introduce another iteration of the Kanto birds.

As discovered by Reddit user nintendo101, a tweet from the official Pokémon GO Saudi Arabia account announced the Dynamax Raids featuring Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno from January 20th to February 3rd. The post's subsequent deletion might indicate the developers intended to keep this news under wraps for a bit longer. If accurate, the introduction of Dynamax legendary birds could potentially boost the popularity of Max Battles, given that some Pokémon GO players have previously avoided Max Raids.

Pokémon GO Accidentally Reveals Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno Dynamax Raids

The addition of the Dynamax bird trio suggests that more iconic legendary Pokémon may appear in Max Raids in the coming months. Pokémon Sword and Shield included Dynamax forms of Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, and others, suggesting Pokémon GO's legendaries could receive similar treatment. However, the difficulty of these legendary Max Raids remains uncertain. In October, Pokémon GO faced criticism regarding the difficulty of Max Raids, particularly the challenge of assembling 40 players for each battle. Whether these issues will persist with the Dynamax legendaries remains to be seen.

Pokémon GO has begun 2025 with a flurry of event announcements. Niantic has confirmed Ralts as the focus of Pokémon GO's next Community Day Classic on January 25th. A Shadow Raid Day featuring Shadow Ho-Oh is scheduled for January 19th, offering players up to seven free Raid Passes from Gyms during the event. The host cities for Pokémon GO Fest 2025 have also been revealed: Osaka, Jersey City, and Paris.