Summary
- Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno are set to appear in Dynamax Raids from January 20 to February 3.
- The announcement was briefly posted on the official Saudi Arabia Pokemon GO Twitter account but was quickly deleted.
Pokemon GO has inadvertently disclosed the upcoming arrival of Dynamax Raids featuring Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno, slated for late January. Dynamax Pokemon were first introduced in Pokemon GO in September 2024, and this would mark the debut of Dynamax legendaries within the game.
The trio of Kanto legendary birds have long been cherished by the Pokemon community. Initially, Pokemon GO included Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno in its raid battles during the game's early stages, along with their Shiny variants. In 2023, the game introduced the Galarian versions of these birds through Daily Incense spawns, albeit with a lower spawn rate than more common Pokemon. Since October 2024, players have also had the chance to encounter Shiny versions of the Galarian legendary birds. Now, it appears that Pokemon GO is set to introduce yet another iteration of the Kanto Birds, as hinted by a now-deleted official post.
As reported by Reddit user nintendo101, a tweet from the official Pokemon GO Saudi Arabia account prematurely revealed that Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno will appear in Dynamax Raids from January 20 to February 3. The tweet was swiftly removed, suggesting that the developers may not have been ready to share this news. Should this leak prove accurate, the introduction of Dynamax legendary birds could boost the appeal of Max Battles, which some Pokemon GO players have been steering clear of.
Pokemon GO Accidentally Reveals Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno Dynamax Raids
The inclusion of the Dynamax bird trio could pave the way for other iconic legendary Pokemon to feature in Max Raids in the coming months. In Pokemon Sword and Shield, Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, and other legendaries had Dynamax forms, suggesting that similar transformations could be applied to Pokemon GO's legendaries. However, it remains uncertain whether these legendary Max Raids will pose a greater challenge than the current standard raids. Earlier in October, Pokemon GO received criticism for the difficulty of Max Raids, particularly when players struggled to assemble groups of 40 for each battle. Whether these challenges will resurface with the introduction of Dynamax legendaries is yet to be determined.
Pokemon GO has started 2025 with a flurry of event announcements. Niantic has confirmed that Ralts will be the spotlight of the next Community Day Classic on January 25. Additionally, a new Shadow Raid Day is scheduled for January 19, featuring Shadow Ho-Oh, where players can obtain up to seven free Raid Passes from Gyms. The locations for Pokemon GO Fest 2025 have also been revealed, with events planned in Osaka, Jersey City, and Paris.
