Pokémon GO Leaks Dynamax Raid Surprise

A leaked and subsequently deleted tweet from the official Pokémon GO Saudi Arabia Twitter account revealed an upcoming Dynamax Raid event featuring Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno. This event is tentatively scheduled from January 20th to February 3rd.

This leak marks a significant development, as it would be the first appearance of Dynamax legendary Pokémon in Pokémon GO. Dynamax Pokémon were introduced in September 2024, but until now, only non-legendary Pokémon have been featured in this raid format. The Kanto birds, long-time fan favorites, have appeared in various forms within the game previously, including standard raids and, more recently, their Galarian counterparts in Daily Incense.

The unexpected revelation, spotted by Reddit user nintendo101, may indicate a premature announcement by the developers. The quick deletion of the tweet suggests the information was not yet ready for public release. The inclusion of these legendary birds in Dynamax Raids could potentially boost the popularity of Max Battles, which have faced criticism regarding their difficulty and player participation requirements. Concerns remain about whether these challenges will persist with the addition of powerful Dynamax legendary Pokémon.

The addition of these three legendary birds opens the door for more iconic legendary Pokémon to receive the Dynamax treatment in future Max Raids. Given the Dynamax forms of Mewtwo and Ho-Oh in Pokémon Sword and Shield, this seems a logical progression.

Pokémon GO's January 2025 event schedule is already packed. This includes a Community Day Classic featuring Ralts on January 25th, a Shadow Raid Day with Shadow Ho-Oh on January 19th (offering up to seven free Raid Passes), and the announced host cities for Pokémon GO Fest 2025: Osaka, Jersey City, and Paris.