On the weekend, you can catch the unleashed Hoopa in Pokémon GO. We will show you all the information about the raid day that you need to know.
When can I catch Hoopa? The raid day with the unleashed Hoopa starts on Saturday, February 15th, at 2:00 PM. It ends at 5:00 PM. You have three hours to catch it.
How can I catch Hoopa? It will appear as a five-star boss in most gyms during the event.
What kind of Pokémon is that? Hoopa is a mysterious Pokémon that has the types Dark and Psychic in its unleashed form. There is also a banished form of Psychic/Ghost type, which is noticeably weaker. But on Saturday, there will be the unleashed Hoopa, which is considered one of the best attackers in the game.
Can Hoopa be shiny? No, the shiny form has not yet been activated in Pokémon GO and cannot be caught during the event.
What bonuses are active? During the raid day event, you will receive up to five free raid passes when you spin gyms. Consequently, with the two standard free passes per day, you can participate in seven raids against Hoopa if you want.
Additionally, the remote raid limit has been increased to 20 from 2:00 AM until Sunday morning at 5:00 AM. Thus, you can also join raids worldwide, but there are no free passes available here.
In the shop: Furthermore, there is an event ticket that costs 5 US dollars (similarly priced in euros). This grants you 8 additional raid passes when spinning, as well as an increased chance for XL candies after raids and 50% extra XP and double star dust after raids. These benefits also apply on February 15th from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. However, the ticket is optional.
How to defeat the unleashed Hoopa?
Strong counters against Hoopa: Actually, the unleashed Hoopa, with its type combination, is a rare case, as it is extremely vulnerable to bug attacks. This makes it one of the few raid bosses for which your bug Pokémon are indeed a really strong option. You can find a list of the best counters against the unleashed Hoopa here.
Some of your best fighters against Hoopa are:
- Mega Pinsir
- Mega Scizor
- Mega Heracross
- Mega Beedrill
- Genesect
However, other bugs are also a good choice. Make sure to use bug attacks, and do not accidentally have moves of other types active on your Pokémon.
Use team play: Remember to activate the team play feature during raids when you are attacking in a group. This will increase your damage, and you can defeat the opponent faster.
How many trainers do I need? The unleashed Hoopa was, last time it was in the game, an extremely difficult opponent in top raids. Fortunately, this is not the case this time. Two trainers with powerful bug Pokémon might be enough against the 5-star boss. However, you are on the safe side if you attack with more trainers.
Get the most out of it: The three hours on Saturday will go by quickly, so you should move from raid to raid to collect as many raid passes as possible. Because: You only receive the next free pass once you have used the last one.
This makes it a good idea to visit many gyms in a row and defeat Hoopa as often as possible. Then you will earn plenty of candies and have a higher chance of catching a good specimen with strong stats. Because those are rare – read more about four-star Pokémon in Pokémon GO here.
