In Pokémon GO the Mega Raid Day begins with Mega Gyarados. We provide you with all the important information.
When does the Mega Raid Day start? The Raid Day with Mega Gyarados starts on Sunday, August 31, 2025, at 2:00 PM. It ends at 5:00 PM.
What happens during the Mega Raid Day? As usual for the Raid Day, almost all gyms will be taken over by Mega Gyarados during the event period. The following bonuses apply:
- If you catch Gyarados in the Mega Raid, it will know “Aqua Tail.” Gyarados is a strong option in the Master League when it has this exclusive attack in its repertoire.
- The remote raid limit is increased to 20.
- You can earn up to 5 raid passes from gyms by spinning.
- The chance of shiny Gyarados is increased.
Ticket in the shop: There is also a ticket for $4.99 in the shop that gives you additional bonuses:
- 8 more raid passes from gyms
- An increased chance of XL candies (if you are level 31)
- 50% more XP from raid battles
- Double star dust from raid battles
Overall, the event is quite useful even without the ticket from the shop. How do you make the most of it? We summarize it for you here.
Counters against Mega Gyarados and tips for the day
How do I defeat Mega Gyarados? Mega Gyarados is of the Dark and Water type – not Flying, like the regular Gyarados. Therefore, you should primarily focus on Pokémon and attacks of the Fighting, Bug, Grass, Electric, and Fairy types.
Good options include Mega Evolutions like Mega Lucario or Mega Scizor of the Fighting type, or Mega Sceptile as a Grass type and Mega Gardevoir as a Fairy attacker. Otherwise, use monsters like Terrakion, Katagami or other top attackers of their types.
You can find a list of the best counters against Mega Gyarados here.
How many trainers do I need against Mega Gyarados? With the right counters, you can defeat Mega Gyarados with two players.
A tip for the Raid Day: As a Dark and Water boss in the raid, Mega Gyarados is ideal to advance your evolution for Dakuma. You need to use it as a buddy and then defeat either 30 Dark or 30 Water Pokémon in raids and Dynamax battles, depending on which form of Wulaosu you want. Mega Gyarados counts for both types.
How do I make the most of the Raid Day? You only receive a new raid pass from gyms when the last one has been used up. Therefore, your goal should be to quickly hit as many gyms as possible. Follow these steps:
- Assemble a team with strong counters
- Team up with friends, using team play for increased damage
- Complete the first raid
- Go to the next gym
- Collect the pass from the disk
- Battle the next Mega Gyarados
In this way, you can quickly and efficiently collect multiple Gyarados specimens.
Keep in mind: You will only receive the regular Gyarados from the raid, not the Mega form. To get that, you need to use the Mega Energy from the raid to evolve it. The quicker you finish the raid, the more energy you will get. So, it is worth using strong counters and teammates to obtain as much energy as possible.
Otherwise, the August event in Pokémon GO with the Gyarados Day will come to an end. However, it will seamlessly continue with the new month, the current XP event, and in a few days the start of the new season. September will be quite interesting! Want an overview? Then check it out here: All events in September 2025 in Pokémon GO.
