The Pokemon GO has had a complicated relationship with EX Raids for the past few years, but the system doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. The latest Deoxys form is currently available through the invite-only limited time raid system and, according to the latest reports, a new batch of Gyms is eligible to host the special raids.

For those who aren't aware of how EX Raids work, certain gyms in throughout the game are eligible to host EX Raids. To get an invite, players either need to have completed a regular raid there in a certain window of time or receive an invite from a Best or Ultra Friend. The system has been a bit frustrating, but opening it up to more Gyms seems like a nice incentive to get more players participating.

According to the latest data, it seems Niantic has released a silent update that marked new Gyms around the around as EX eligible. To understand why, players need to learn a little bit about the connection between Ingress and Pokemon GO.

pokemon go ex raid pass

Here are the rules, as broken down by Pokemon GO Hub...

  • "Only one PokéStop or one Gym can exist in a Level 17 cell. There can be multiple Ingress portal in an L17 cell, but only one Point of Interest in Pokémon GO.
  • Gyms are decided in Level 14 cells. Each level 14 cell contains 64 Level 17 cells, so up to 64 PoI in Pokémon GO. The number of PokéStops determines the number of Gyms in Pokémon GO
  • EX raids are controlled by Level 13 cells. Only one gym in each Level 13 cell can host an EX raid in any given week.
  • Level 20 cells are used to decide whether or not a gym that is on the boundary of a park is eligible for EX raids."

So, what that really means is that certain Gyms should have been EX eligible already, but were not. This update fixes that and marks the appropriate Gyms as EX eligible. For Pokemon GO players, hopefully all this means is some addition EX Raid invites when the next batch deploys!

Be sure to check back for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, updates, and news in the coming days. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!

Pokemon GO is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.

Source: Pokemon GO Hub