Super Mega Raids — shield math, lobby size, party power
Super Mega Raids are not regular Mega Raids. The shield phase, the Mega-only requirement, and party power scaling fundamentally change how you stack a lobby. Here's everything before you spend a Remote Raid Pass.
Partway through every Super Mega Raid, the boss enrages and spawns a set number of shields. While shields are up, the boss takes no damage from regular attacks. To break each shield, a trainer must land a charged attack with a currently Mega-evolved Pokémon.
One shield-break per trainer per raid. If a boss spawns 8 shields, you need 8 trainers with active Megas — full stop. A 6-trainer lobby with massive damage output still loses because two shields stay up forever.
Verify before launch: every trainer in the lobby has a Mega-evolved Pokémon ready. If anyone is unsure, drop out and re-stack — better than burning a Remote Raid Pass on a guaranteed loss.
Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre use mega energy, look like Mega-evolved forms, and are colloquially grouped with Megas in most contexts. But they cannot break Super Mega Raid shields. This is hard-coded — there is no workaround.
If your strongest fighting-type attacker is Primal Groudon with Fire Punch, bring a Mega Heracross or Mega Lucario for shield-breaking and let the Primal handle damage in the non-shield phase. Same logic applies to any matchup where the best DPS attacker is a Primal — pair with a Mega to cover both phases.
| Party Size | Fast Attacks to Charge | Practical Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36 | Soloable in theory only — never practical for Super Mega |
| 2 | 18 | Charges roughly every 18 fast moves per trainer |
| 3 | 9 | Cuts charge time in half vs duo |
| 4 | 6 | Optimal party size — fastest charge + max item sharing |
Each trainer's party power charges independently. More trainers = fewer fast attacks needed per charge. Charged attacks do NOT contribute. Party power doubles damage on the next charged attack after it activates.
Incense, Lucky Eggs, and Star Pieces can be shared with party members. Shared items last 30 minutes for each recipient regardless of party size — cut from the 60-min full duration when activated solo.
- · 4 shares per day, per item type, per trainer
- · No daily cap on receiving shared items
- · Community Day incense is the exception: stays at 1.5 hours per recipient when shared
- · Optimal strategy: 4-player party where each trainer shares one Lucky Egg type cycle for 4 × 30 min = 2 hours of XP boost
Super Mega Raids cost more to remote than standard raids:
- · 200 Link Charges per raid (in addition to the Remote Raid Pass)
- · Standard Remote Raid limit (typically 5 per day, raised to 20 during specific events)
- · No invite-based bypass — you cannot be invited to a Super Mega Raid by another trainer to skip the Link Charge cost
- · Losing a remote attempt still consumes the pass and Link Charges
Verify lobby size BEFORE the timer starts. Once the raid begins, you can't leave without forfeiting the attempt.
▸What is a Super Mega Raid?
A new raid tier introduced in 2026 that sits between standard Mega Raids and Elite Raids. The defining mechanic is the shield phase: partway through the fight, the boss spawns multiple shields that can only be broken by Mega-evolved Pokémon's charged attacks. One shield-break per trainer per raid, so the number of shields equals the minimum lobby size with active Megas.
▸Can Primal Groudon or Primal Kyogre break Super Mega shields?
No. Despite Primals using mega energy and looking visually like Megas, they cannot break Super Mega Raid shields. Only Mega-evolved forms (Mega Charizard X/Y, Mega Rayquaza, Mega Beedrill, etc.) qualify. This is one of the most common lobby mistakes — verify with everyone that they have an actual Mega before launching.
▸How many trainers do I need for a Super Mega Raid?
Equal to the number of shields the boss spawns. Most Super Mega bosses spawn 8 shields, so 8 trainers with active Megas is the practical minimum. Larger lobbies finish faster and benefit from party power scaling, but anything under the shield count cannot win regardless of damage output.
▸How does party power work in Super Mega Raids?
Party power doubles damage on your next charged attack after it activates. Each trainer in the party builds party power independently via fast attacks (charged attacks do not contribute). More trainers in the party means fewer fast attacks needed per charge: ~18 in a 2-player party, 9 in a 3-player party, 6 in a 4-player party. Larger parties shift the optimal counter ranking toward fast-charging attackers.
▸Can I share items in a raid party?
Yes. Incense, Lucky Eggs, and Star Pieces can be shared with party members. The shared item lasts 30 minutes regardless of how many trainers receive it (cut from the 60-minute full duration). Each trainer can share an item up to 4 times per day per item type. Community Day incense duration is preserved at 1.5 hours per party member when shared.
▸Which gyms can host Super Mega Raids?
Only a curated subset. Niantic restricts Super Mega Raids to specific gyms to concentrate trainers in the same locations. Check the official web-based gym map on Niantic's website before driving anywhere — if no eligible gym is nearby, remote raiding is the only option (200 Link Charges + 1 Remote Raid Pass per attempt).
▸Do Super Mega Raids give more XP than regular Mega Raids?
Yes — 15,000 XP per Super Mega Raid completion, vs ~10,000 for a standard Mega Raid. Stack with a Lucky Egg for 30,000, or use Origin Dialga's Roar of Time adventure effect to extend the Lucky Egg window across multiple Super Mega Raids.