Super Mega Raids are the hardest of the three Mega Raid tiers, sitting above standard Mega Raids and Mega Legendary Raids. They debuted with Pokémon GO Tour: Kalos in February 2026 and now run as recurring Super Mega Raid Day events.
The thing that separates them from every other raid is not boss HP. It is a shield mechanic that cannot be solved by damage alone. Partway through the fight the boss enrages and puts up shields, and the only thing that removes a shield is a Charged Attack from a Mega Evolved Pokémon. Each trainer can break one. That turns lobby composition into a hard requirement rather than a recommendation, and it is the part most guides skip. For the basics of Mega Raids overall, including Link Charges and Mega Levels, see the Mega Raids guide.
This guide covers what the official announcement confirms, what the community has measured, and what to actually bring.
Confirmed Mechanics
These come from the Pokémon GO Help Center and the official event announcements.
The Three Mega Raid Tiers
The Help Center lists Mega Raids, Mega Legendary Raids, and Super Mega Raids. All three end with the boss de-Mega Evolving so you catch its regular form. Super Mega Raids are the most challenging of the three.
Enrage and Shields
At a certain point in the battle, the Mega Pokémon becomes enraged and gains shields that heavily reduce incoming damage while active.
Shields are broken by a Charged Attack from a Mega Evolved Pokémon. When the boss enrages, your Mega is sent into battle automatically with its Charged Attack ready. Each trainer can typically break only one shield no matter how many Charged Attacks their Mega fires. Once enough shields are down, the boss returns to normal and takes full damage again.
The number of shields varies by boss and is shown on screen during the raid, so you can check what you are up against rather than guessing. Because the cap is one break per trainer, that number is also the number of Megas your group needs.
Every Party Needs a Mega
If your battle party does not contain a Mega Evolved Pokémon, you cannot tap Ready in the lobby. You can still get in by waiting out the lobby timer, but you will not be able to break a shield, which means the rest of the group has to cover for you.
Two exceptions worth knowing before you build a team:
- Pokémon that have undergone Primal Reversion, meaning Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, do not count as Mega Pokémon and cannot break shields.
- A Ditto transformed into a Mega Pokémon also cannot break shields.
- Shadow Pokémon cannot Mega Evolve at all, so a Shadow attacker contributes damage but never a shield break.
Entry Costs and Link Charges
Since the Kalos Tour update, Mega Raids and Super Mega Raids are entered using Link Charges, a resource stored in a Link Holder key item.
- In person: Link Charges or a Premium Battle Pass. You pick which one at the lobby screen.
- Remotely: a Remote Raid Pass and Link Charges. Standard Mega Raids still only need the Remote Raid Pass.
Link Charges come from weekly challenges with friends, opening Gifts, checking into Community Meetups via Campfire, and the shop. Your Link Holder caps how many you can hold at once.
They Only Appear at Certain Gyms
Super Mega Raids are limited to designated Gyms rather than appearing anywhere a raid can spawn. The official announcements point players to the web map at pokemongo.com/map, which shows in-progress and upcoming Super Mega Raids, filters by event type, and lists nearby community meetups days in advance.
Rewards
Confirmed payouts:
- Mega Energy, in higher amounts than a standard Mega Raid. The Speed stat on the results screen determines how much you get, so a faster clear pays more.
- A catch encounter with the boss in its regular form.
- On recent Super Mega Raid Days, the featured Pokémon has been caught with Mega Level 1 already unlocked, which skips the usual first Mega Evolution cost.
That Mega Energy has somewhere to go now. The update added a fourth Mega Level above the old maximum, called Super Max, and reaching it costs Mega Energy on top of Mega Evolving.
Be careful with reward claims you see elsewhere. Increased Shiny odds, boosted IVs, and guaranteed Rare Candy XL have all appeared attached to Super Mega Raids, but as event-specific or paid-ticket bonuses on particular Raid Days, not as standing features of the tier. Check the announcement for the day you are raiding.
Super Mega Raids vs Standard Mega Raids
| Mega Raid | Super Mega Raid | |
|---|---|---|
| Shields | None | Boss enrages and shields; only Megas break them |
| Minimum group | Damage dependent | Equal to the boss’s shield count |
| Mega required? | Helpful | Effectively required to press Ready |
| Where it spawns | Any eligible Gym | Designated Gyms only |
| Local entry | Link Charges or Premium Pass | Link Charges or Premium Pass |
| Remote entry | Remote Raid Pass | Remote Raid Pass plus Link Charges |
| Mega Energy | Standard | Higher, scaled by clear speed |
What the Community Has Measured
The developer has not published a hard trainer count or the exact shield stat values. The figures below come from community coverage and guide sites, so treat them as well-supported estimates.
- Shield counts are per boss: community guides put most Super Mega bosses at seven or eight shields, with Mega Mewtwo and Mega Dragonite as the known exceptions at ten. GO Hub’s Mega Dragonite guide states ten directly. Expect the number to vary with each new boss rather than settling on one figure.
- Group size follows the shield count: because each trainer breaks exactly one shield, the minimum lobby is the shield count in trainers, all with active Megas. Eight shields means eight Megas. A six-person lobby of maxed accounts still loses, because two shields never come down no matter how much damage the group does. This is the single biggest difference from every other raid tier, where more damage substitutes for fewer bodies.
- Shield strength: at least one community guide describes active shields as roughly doubling the boss’s Attack and quadrupling its Defense.
- Put your Mega in the last party slot: GO Hub’s raid guides recommend this so your Mega is not knocked out before the boss enrages and its Charged Attack is needed.
- If your Mega faints before it breaks a shield, leave and come back: GO Hub’s Mega Dragonite guide advises leaving the battle, healing your team, and re-entering the raid, since your Mega has to survive long enough to land one Charged Attack for your break to count. Field reports from raid groups describe the same fix. Worth knowing before you assume a fainted Mega has cost the group the clear.
- What else enrage changes is unsettled: guides and player reports describe the enraged boss as tougher in more than one way, variously as boosted stats or added health. The specifics have not been officially published and community sources do not agree, so the safe read is simply that attacking into an active shield is close to wasted time.
Running One
Here is the sequence for a typical Super Mega Raid Day, using the Skarmory and Raichu events as the pattern.
Before the day, check pokemongo.com/map and pick a designated Gym, ideally one with a meetup attached. You need a head count matching the boss’s shields, which is usually seven or eight and ten for Mega Mewtwo and Mega Dragonite, rather than the three you can scrape together for a five-star. Bank Link Charges in the week beforehand from Gift opens and the weekly challenge, since running dry at the lobby screen is the most common way to miss a raid you travelled for.
Build your party around the shield, not just the type chart. Bring a Mega whose type is strong against the boss, so its shield-breaking Charged Attack also does real damage. Against Mega Skarmory, a Steel and Flying type, that means a Fire or Electric Mega rather than whichever Mega you happen to have charged. Then park it in your last party slot. Leading with it risks it fainting before the enrage phase arrives, and a fainted Mega is a shield your group does not break.
In the fight, open normally. When the boss enrages and shields go up, your Mega swaps in with its Charged Attack ready. Fire it, break your one shield, and go back to damage. If your Mega faints before it gets that Charged Attack off, community guides recommend leaving the battle, healing, and re-entering rather than playing on, since an unbroken shield is a bigger problem than the seconds you lose. If the group is short on Megas, that is where the timer runs out, not on raw damage.
Afterwards, catch the boss in its regular form, then check the results screen Speed stat, since that is what set your Mega Energy payout. Put that energy toward Super Max on a Mega you actually use.
Keeping Track of What You Catch
Raid Days pile up duplicates fast. Between Skarmory, Raichu, Falinks, Starmie, and whatever comes next, you end up with a box of the same species where only a few are worth keeping: one Shiny, one high-IV specimen for a league, one already sitting at Mega Level 1. Working out which is which means opening them one at a time, and in-game storage does not give you a place to record why you kept something.
A tracker like GoDex helps with the sorting rather than the raiding. You can scan a catch screenshot to read CP and IVs automatically, see how those IVs rank for the Great, Ultra, or Little Cup before you decide what to transfer, and tag variants including Shiny, Lucky, or an event-specific Special Background with custom variant tags. A short note on a Pokémon is usually enough to remember why it earned its box space.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you solo a Super Mega Raid? No. The shield mechanic caps each trainer at one shield break, so the boss cannot be de-shielded by one person regardless of how strong the account is.
How many trainers do I actually need? As many as the boss has shields, all with a Mega in their party. Community guides put most bosses at seven or eight, with Mega Mewtwo and Mega Dragonite at ten. The shield count is shown during the raid.
What happens if I join without a Mega? You cannot tap Ready. You can still enter by letting the lobby timer run out, but you will not be able to break a shield.
Can I use a Primal Groudon or Primal Kyogre? For damage, yes. For shields, no. Primal Reversion does not count as Mega Evolution here, so bringing one instead of a Mega costs your group a shield break.
Can I raid these remotely? Yes, but remote entry costs a Remote Raid Pass and Link Charges together. Event days have sometimes raised the daily remote raid limit, so check the announcement.
Where do Super Mega Raids appear? Only at designated Gyms. Use pokemongo.com/map to find them, including upcoming ones.
Key Takeaways
- Bring a Mega, every time. Without one you cannot press Ready and cannot break a shield.
- Count the shields, then count the heads. One break per trainer means your minimum lobby equals the boss’s shield count. Usually seven or eight, ten for Mega Mewtwo and Mega Dragonite.
- Last slot, not first. A Mega that faints before the enrage phase costs your group a shield break.
- Stock Link Charges early. Remote entry needs a Remote Raid Pass and Link Charges together.
- Scout the Gym first. These only appear at designated locations, listed on pokemongo.com/map.
- Clear fast. Mega Energy scales with the Speed stat, and Super Max levels are expensive.
We do our best to keep these guides accurate, but Pokémon GO mechanics change often. If you spot a mistake or something that's out of date, please send us feedback — we'll fix it.
About GoDex
A free companion app for tracking your collection, scanning IVs from screenshots, and checking PVP rankings. Available on iOS and Android.
