Niantic have just dropped the announcement of Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon GO.

Legendary Raids have been confirmed! Players around the world will be able to take on Legendary Pokémon in Raid Battles. If successful, each player will then get a chance to catch the Legendary. It has been confirmed that these Pokémon cannot defend Gyms.

Trainers,

As part of our ongoing celebration of Pokémon GO’s one-year anniversary, we’re excited to reveal that Legendary Pokémon are nearly here! Soon, millions of Trainers around the world will be able to discover, battle, and catch these extremely rare and very powerful Pokémon.

As Trainers around the world go out and explore their neighborhoods in search of Pokémon and Raid Battles, they can keep an eye out for unique Legendary Eggs appearing at Gyms. If Trainers and their team are able to successfully defeat a Legendary Raid Boss, they’ll have the opportunity to catch a Legendary Pokémon of their own! While Legendary Pokémon will help them take on the toughest Raid Bosses and Gym Battles, they’re not willing to leave their Trainer’s side, so they can’t be left to defend Gyms.

On July 22, thousands of Trainers in Grant Park for Pokémon GO Fest and the millions of others around the world will be working together to unlock in-game bonuses for the entire Pokémon GO community. If they manage to catch enough Pokémon during the Pokémon GO Fest Challenge Windows, the first Legendary Pokémon will be revealed in Grant Park. If the Trainers in Chicago succeed in defeating the Legendary Pokémon, that Pokémon will start appearing in Raid Battles around the world, after Pokémon GO Fest.

Trainers everywhere can tune in to watch the action taking place in Grant Park live and join in the conversation using #PokemonGOFest on social media. Follow the official livestream on Twitch or YouTube for the latest news coming out of Pokémon GO Fest including Challenge Window updates, exclusive interviews, and the reveal of the first Legendary Pokémon!

It’s time for Trainers everywhere to start powering up their Pokémon for battle because there are many legendary adventures to come!

The video indicates that the invitation to Legendary Raids will be granted to players via Legendary Raid Passes, and the countdown to Legendary Raid Eggs hatching will last two days. The battle will only last for one hour however! The Lugia in the video also had a CP of 35,000, and the Ho-Oh 32,000 CP. These values are comparable to the high end of Tier 4 Raids.

Legendaries seen in the video include Lugia, Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno, Ho-Oh and Mewtwo. More specifics are not yet known.

Are you excited for Legendary Raids?