The Lunar New Year event is bringing a lot of excitement to Pokemon GO with some popular increased spawns, bonuses, and temporary Battle Raid bosses to throw down against. Included in that list of powerful Pokemon to defeat is a highly-anticipated addition to the mobile AR game's Mega evolution lineup - Mega Gyarados.
Gyarados has been one of the most popular Pokemon in the game for as long as the app has been around and many fans are very excited about the possibility of temporarily evolving into a Mega form. In order to have that opportunity, Pokemon GO players are going to have to find some Mega Gyarados battles while they are live and earn enough resources to trigger the temporary evolution when the time is right.
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Mega Gyarados isn't available quite yet, but it's never too early to start preparing. When the Lunar New Year event kicks off next week, the battle will become available and trainers should have their ideal counter roster ready to go...
Mega Pidgeot, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Ampharos will be appearing in Mega Raids from Tuesday, February 9, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Saturday, February 20, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. local time. This will be Mega Gyarados’s debut in Pokémon GO!
Once players find a Gym that has hatched a Mega Gyarados raid opportunity between February 9 and February 20, they're going to need to pull together a powerful list of counters to defeat the big boss. Mega Gyarados is a Water- and Dark-type Pokemon, which means that it is going to be weak to Electric-, Grass-. Fighting-, Bug-, and Fairy-types. That gives players a lot to work with.
For the best requests, players should consider putting together a roster that includes at least a few of these supreme counters and optimal move sets...
Shadow Raikou - Thunder Shock/Wild Charge
Zekrom - Charge Beam/Wild Charge
Mega Venusaur - Vine Whip/Frenzy Plant
Lucario - Counter/Aura Sphere
Electivire - Thunder Shock/Wild Charge
Magnezone - Spark/Wild Charge
Zapdos - Thunder Shock/Thunderbolt
As always, players should keep in mind that the list presented represents the absolute best counters and move sets based on the current meta game. It's not the end of the world if any trainers can't pull together a roster of that quality though. The main thing to keep in mind is that the selected roster should focus on using the best Electric-, Grass-. Fighting-, Bug-, and Fairy-type Pokemon available.
Once players manage to team up with a group of other trainers and put those counters to good use, it should be possible to win the raid and move on to the encounter. Keep in mind that team and damage bonuses can help players secure additional Premium Pokeballs to use during the reward encounter though, so being a top damage dealer has its perks. Mega Evolutions aren't actually caught, so completing the Mega Raid will help players save up the resources needed for the temporary Mega Evolution.
Over the next week or so players should begin to learn a lot more about what other events are on the way in February. Be sure to check back in the near future for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.
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Source: Pokemon GO Hub