Solo Pokemon GO Raids: Myth or real?

Many players have tried taking down powerful Mythicals and Legendaries in Pokemon GO Raids solo but have failed miserably. However, there are cases where they have won. So, what factors determine whether a trainer would win or lose when battled alone?

Raid Battles are segmented into different tiers; each tier has distinct names and difficulty levels. Low-tier raids like one-star are easy, so emerging victorious is guaranteed.

However, as you go for higher tiers, it becomes more challenging. It's hard to imagine that conquering Five-Star, Mega, or Primal Raids in a row is a thing for solo players.

Here is everything you need to know about soloing Pokemon GO raids and how to emerge victorious.

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Five things to remember before going for solo Pokemon GO Raids attempt

What are the important things to keep in mind as a solo trainer? (Image via Niantic)

To fully understand solo Pokemon GO Raids challenges, you need to learn which Pokemon are best suited for the job. Not every Raid Bosses Niantic introduces can be beaten without the help of a team. Since this particular PvE gameplay is made to be played with friends, going for individuality is a risky decision.

Nevertheless, many players live in rural areas and need help finding GO friends to team up with. Another realistic scenario would be a situation where you must battle alone. This leads to one missing out on catching critters like Mega Aggron from Mega Raids or Tapu Bulu from 5-star Raids.

Here are five things to note when charging Pokemon GO Raids all by yourself:

1) Tiers

Choose your tier carefully (Image via Niantic)

Since the mobile game divides Raid Battles into multiple tiers, you should pick the most comfortable one. If you’re in a high-tier losing fight, wouldn't it be best to avoid it beforehand? You will faint your counters and lose tons of materials and items in the process.

Back in the day, you could partake in several tiers of raids. The developers used to host two-star and four-star raids in a timely manner, but they removed the Two-star raid and barely organized the Four-star battles. Nowadays, the latter is held whenever there is a Pokemon GO event like the Bellsprout Community Day featuring Weepinbell.

The important thing you can learn is that winning Raids solo is a real thing if it’s a low-tier raid. But as you climb higher, the chance of being victorious significantly drops.

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2) Combat Power of Raid Boss

How to calculate Raid CP in Pokemon GO? (Image via TPC)

Raid Bosses' Combat Power must be taken into account when attempting to solo win Raids in Pokemon GO. Here is a formula to compute a featured raid Pokemon's Combat Power (CP).

CP = [(√HP x Attack X √Defense) / 10]

HP stands for Hit Point, and each raid has a different HP. The above table shows that a one-star raid has the lowest HP, but a Legendary Mega Raid has tremendous HP. Thus, tiers with more HP tend to have more raid CP when calculating.

One more thing to note when measuring the Combat Power of a Raid Boss is that you must add +15 to Attack and +15 to Defense stat. Here is an example.

If you face Registeel in Pokemon GO 5-star Raids, its fixed HP would be 15,000. Its Attack stat is 143, and its Defense stat is 285 in the game. But after you add + 15 to both stats, you would get 158 Attack and 300 Defense.

Let’s apply the formula to determine Registeel's total Raid CP.

• [(√HP x Attack X √Defense) / 10]
• [(√15000 x 158 x √300) / 10]
• [(122.48 x 158 x 17.32) / 10]
• [(335173.85) / 10]
• 33517.38

Taking down a monster with 33,517 CP would be extremely difficult and is practically difficult. And because Registeel is a Steel-type Pokemon, it is highly resistant to a wide variety of attacks.

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3) Weaknesses and resistance

Weakness and Resistance let players know how effective their counters can be in frays (Image via TPC)

The third point you need to look for is a Pokemon’s weaknesses and resistance. In Pokemon GO, there are 18 different types of creatures. Each type is weak to certain moves and can resist certain attacks. Steel and Electric-type Pokemon, such as Magnezone, are very strong defensively. It resists damage from 12 different types.

Resistance and weaknesses help you build proper counters. By avoiding moves a Raid Boss can resist, you can significantly improve your chances of damaging it. Sometimes, a creature is double weak to a particular move like Pokemon GO Magnezone, which is defensively potent but is 256% weak to Ground-type attacks.

By figuring out Magnezone’s CP and forming the best raid counters, a solo fighter could take it down. In a hypothetical situation where Magnezone is not super vulnerable to Ground, it would be challenging to solo dolo.

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4) High-level counters

Dodge is an important skill that helps evade hits (Image via TPC)

As we have already discussed the importance of tiers, it is essential to have counters that are high levels. If you confront a Tier-1 boss like Rockruff in Pokemon GO 1-star raids, you may not even need high-level Pokemon. It can be easily beaten. However, max-level counters are needed in 5-star or Mega Raids formats. It would also be best to choose super-effective moves.

There is a myth that a Pokemon with the best moveset is the right pick for Pokemon GO Raids. This is untrue in several cases because the best moveset comprises moves with high Damage Per Second (DPS) and Total Damage Output (DPS).

Let’s take Magnezone as an example again. The best counter for this Pokemon after Primal Ground is Mega Garchomp, and Mega Garchomp’s best moveset is Dragon Tail and Outrage, both Dragon-type attacks. However, since Magnezone is highly susceptible to Ground-type attacks, you need to teach Mega Garchomp Mud Shot and Earth Power.

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5) Use effects and items

Effects and items are your assets (Image via TPC)

While solo raiding in Pokemon GO, you should utilize different in-game effects and items. Counters need to regain their strength once they faint in skirmishes. For that, you have to stock up on Revives and Max Revives. These items restore a counter’s health and make it battle-ready.

The Same Type of Attack Bonus, also known as STAB, dramatically boosts the damage output of a move. The counter and its moves must be of similar typing to activate it. The effect of the Weather Boost (WB) feature can also increase the level of Raid Boss, further increasing its power.

While you can make use of the STAB effect as a solo trainer, you can’t benefit from the WB effect. The WB effect boosts the raid boss's capabilities. For example, Pokemon GO Magnezone in Raids in Rain or Snowy weather conditions can deal more damage than the Magnezone in other climates.

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From this research, we can conclude that you can emerge victorious if it is a low-tier solo Raid, but you need to learn the Raid Boss’s CP, weaknesses, resistance, and counters. However, many 5-star Legendary or Mega Raids are impossible to win. Thus, it’s no longer a myth; beating Pokemon GO raids as an individual is real.