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Gym and Raid Features Added to Pokémon GO

Pokemon GO Raids BannerNiantic continues to trickle out updates for Pokémon GO, this time in the form of enhanced gym battles and the newly introduced Raid features. Listed as “coming soon”, the update brings a variety of features that will enhance the battling experience as a whole and allow trainers to band together and defeat tougher monsters.

A Raid Battle is a cooperative gameplay experience that encourages you to work with other Trainers to defeat an extremely powerful Pokémon known as the Raid Boss. Before a Raid Battle begins, a large Egg will appear atop the Gym. When the countdown above the Egg reaches zero, the Raid Boss will be revealed. – Pokémon GO Blog Post

To participate in these Raid battles, trainers will need to hold a Raid Pass item. This pass and other items will drop after interacting with a Gym, similar to the existing PokéStops. You can get one free Raid Pass per day by visiting a Gym and you can only hold one at a time. Upon using your pass to join the battle, you and up to 20 other Trainers work together to defeat the Raid Boss.

In terms of the Pokémon GO Gyms which previously had up to ten levels, Now, teams will only be able to assign up to a maximum of six Pokémon per Gym. Also, only one Pokémon of a single type can be assigned to a Gym at any one time. While these changes are being put into effect, Gyms will be temporarily unavailable and any Pokémon you’ve assigned to Gyms will be returned to you at that time.

For a breakdown of the additional features and new items, head over to the Niantic website.