How to prepare for the upcoming Mega Rayquaza debut in Pokemon GO

Hardcore Pokemon GO players and min-max battlers have been eagerly waiting for the debut of Mega Rayquaza in the mobile game. The Pocket Monster was announced during the reveal of the 2023 GO Fest event and will be joining the title's roster for the occasion. This has generated a fair share of hype among the community.

Mega Rayquaza is held as the best Mega Evolution in the Pokemon franchise. The sole existence of this mighty beast is the reason why the "Anything Goes" tier of play exists. A big contributor to the creature's overpowered status is the fact that its method of Mega Evolution is tied to knowing a move rather than holding an item. This allows the Pocket Monster to hold an item like the Life Orb or Z-Crystal.

With so many players looking forward to the debut of Mega Rayquaza in Pokemon GO, some are wondering what they can do now to help prepare for its release. It may also be worth knowing how trainers should proceed with the event and the Rayquaza raids it will bring.

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How to Mega Evolve Rayquaza in Pokemon GO

Once again, Rayquaza's ability to Mega Evolve in Pokemon GO is linked to its access to the new Dragon Ascent move. This is good news for casual players who just want to obtain Mega Rayquaza for their Pokedex.

However, it becomes very stressful for hardcore raiders and gym battlers, as they will need to unlock the second charged move slot if they wish to use Rayquaza in an optimal manner. However, this is a hard feat to achieve, as it requires trainers to farm an absurd amount of Rayquaza candies and Stardust.

With Rayquaza being as rare as it is, players will be better off saving all the Rare Candies they earn from battling and certain research tasks to reduce the number of raids they need to accomplish to reach this goal.

However, this is just to give Rayquaza a helpful charged attack that does not reduce its stats with each use. To get Dragon Ascent, players will need to find the new Meteorite item during the GO Fest event.

Rayquaza will also still require Mega Energy to Mega Evolve in Pokemon GO.

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How to counter Rayquaza in Pokemon GO

Mega Rayquaza, as seen in Pokemon Generations (Image via The Pokemon Company)

For those who have not yet captured a Rayquaza in Pokemon GO, it should go without saying that one is required in order to see a Mega Rayquaza. With the Legendary Pokemon sure to make an appearance during the GO Fest event, many trainers will need to know some good strategies for taking it down in battle.

Rayquaza is a Flying and Dragon-type Pokemon, which leaves it incredibly vulnerable to Ice-type attacks. As such, Galarian Darmanitan and Mamoswine are the two best creatures players can bring for this fight.

For more under-leveled or inexperienced trainers who may not have access to the best counters, Glaceon is a serviceable and cheap counter since it only requires 25 Eevee candies and knowledge of the nickname trick.