Here’s how to get legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO

It’s important to get legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO since they tend to be of huge importance for winning raids and trainer battles. Getting these powerful Pokemon isn’t easy, however.

While legendaries were once obtainable by simply completing field research, things have become significantly more difficult with time. Now they are gated behind a variety of other features in Pokemon GO, making it generally difficult to catch them and especially tough to catch a specific one.

So what can players do? Here’s how to get legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO.

Battle in raids to get legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO

The primary way to get legendary and mythical Pokemon in Pokemon GO is battling in raids.

Raids in Pokemon GO are time-based events that happen near gyms. An enormous egg will appear on top of a gym, will hatch after some time, and a very powerful Pokemon will then appear. Players will typically need to team up with others in order to defeat these Pokemon, which can have CP approaching 60,000 in some cases. 

While the Pokemon is still in its egg before a raid, players can see whether the egg will contain legendaries or mythicals. A five-star egg will almost always contain one of these Pokemon. 

Which Pokemon are in eggs in Pokemon GO raids?

Niantic rotates the Pokemon available in raids. In most cases, anywhere from one to three different legendaries will appear as the five-star raid boss. A specific Pokemon will appear in raids for anywhere from hours to weeks at a time. The schedule for raids is often announced in advance, allowing players to plan their attack and raise up counters.

Complete certain special research missions to get legendary Pokemon

Raids are by far the best way to get legendaries, but players can occasionally find some elsewhere. Certain special research missions have included a legendary or mythical prize.

Pokemon GO Fest traditionally includes a mythical Pokemon that can be obtained during the event for a price or later in the year for free. 2022 included Shaymin, 2021 offered Hoopa, and so on. Alongside this are other missions that can yield shadow versions of legendaries including the likes of Mewtwo and Lugia.

These events don’t happen often and are sometimes missable. Regardless, battling in raids is the fastest and best way to get legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO.