The final hours before Pokemon GO Fest 2021 are ticking away and players can start diving into a full weekend of bonuses, features, and special spawns as soon as Saturday morning arrives. The annual event is once again a global undertaking this year and the first day will be all about catching Pokemon followed up be a Sunday jam-packed with Battle Raid opportunities and challenges.

The "Raid!" day in Pokemon GO this weekend features an enormous list of returning Legendary raid bosses that are going to be incredibly popular with many players thanks to their PoGO PvE metgame relevance and the chance to pick up shiny versions of some of them. There will also be tasks and challenges associated with the event that are likely going to provide even more motivation for trainers to head out and start burning through Premium and Remote Raid Passes during Sunday's festivities.

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There's already a ton to keep track of during the big event, but players should take a bit of time to familiarize themselves with the Legendary Raid Bosses that are going to be hatching during each of the rotating hours. Players who are short on Raid Passes and don't have a ton of coins to drop during the event should plan ahead and decide which bosses are going to be the most important to them during the event. It would be wise to think about how many Raid Passes are available (in addition to building counter rosters) and how they would ideally be spent if each one equaled one encounter with a Legendary Pokemon...

Raid Day Start Time

Players around the world will start with Wind Hour at 10am on July 18, before proceeding on to Lava, Frost and Thunder, and starting again with Wind at 2pm.

Wind Hour Raids

Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, Latias, Latios, Regigigas, Altered Forme Giratina, Cresselia, Virizion, Therian Forme Tornadus

Lava Hour Raids

Moltres, Entei, Regirock, Groudon, Heatran, Reshiram, Terrakion, Therian Forme Landorus, and Yveltal

Frost Hour Raids

Articuno, Suicune, Lugia, Regice, Kyogre, Palkia, and Kyurem – plus Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf in their respective regions

Thunder Hour Raids

Zapdos, Raikou, Registeel, Rayquaza, Dialga, Cobalion, Therian Forme Thundurus, Zekrom, and Xerneas

That is going to mean a ton of Battle Raid opportunities throughout the day on Sunday and it would be pretty hard for trainers to take advantage of all of them considering the time restraints and how long each Battle Raid takes to organize and execute. Even trainers who are racing around an area that is dense with Gyms with a full party of high level friends will have trouble knocking out all of these bosses. It will be very exciting to see how players approach the raid windows though.

In the coming weeks, we should learn more about what other events will be arriving during the rest of the Season of Discovery. Be sure to check back in the near future for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!

Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.

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Source: Pokemon GO Hub