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Pokemon GO's Season of Shared Skies is heralding the return of Mega Rayquaza since its first appearance during GO Fest 2023, but the manner of how it's being reintroduced has caused some distaste among fans. Specifically, Mega Rayquaza will be made available on June 29, 2024, from 12 pm to 6 pm local time, and it will appear as an Elite Raid boss instead of a Mega Raid boss.
As an Elite Raid boss, Mega Rayquaza will only hatch on June 29, 2024, in Elite Raids at specific times (12 pm, 1 pm, 5 pm, and 6 pm local time), severely limiting the times that trainers can raid it. Moreover, as an Elite Raid, trainers can only enter the Mega Rayquaza raid in person.
With these two factors combined, trainers are left with several hurdles just to take part in a Mega Rayquaza raid, much less complete one.
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Pokemon GO's Mega Rayquaza Elite Raid presents logistical challenges for players
Limiting Mega Rayquaza's return in Pokemon GO to a single day, at specific hours, with no means of attending the raid remotely, will cause conflicts for trainers for multiple reasons. It's no secret that many players have real-world obligations outside of the game that they need to attend to, and being asked to head to an Elite Raid location at a specific time can cause scheduling conflicts.
Location is also a limiting factor. Some trainers simply aren't close enough to gyms hosting Elite Raids in Pokemon GO and would have to travel a considerable distance just to attempt a Mega Rayquaza raid under these circumstances. Suppose a player travels a long distance to participate in the raid just to fail it, it's only understandable that they would be frustrated.
Sure, some players may have nothing but time and live in areas that are overflowing with gyms, but these trainers don't represent the collective Pokemon GO community, and it's understandable for some to be unhappy when Niantic severely restricts access to Mega Rayquaza after it was already limited to start with, as a GO Fest 2023 appearance.
Put plainly, many players have lives, families, professions, and other obligations that come first. They shouldn't be penalized due to a small time window and lack of remote gameplay. Had Mega Rayquaza received a standard Raid Day where it appeared in Mega Raids, players would likely be more understanding, but placing this coveted Pokemon in Elite Raids is understandably frustrating.
It's unclear if Niantic is willing to budge on this issue, especially since the fear of missing out (FOMO) on rare Pokemon is one of the driving forces of Pokemon GO player engagement. However, severely limiting access to Mega Rayquaza likely hurts more players than it helps, and creates an image of a developer that only caters to certain trainers who fit the right time and location requirements.
