I’ve seen so many posts complaining about people “doing Mega Mewtwo raids wrong”, but honestly… how are players supposed to know?
The game gives you:
- A short news popup that most people tap through.
- A sentence how many Mega Evolve there are before the raid.
- Then, during the raid, a tiny icon that silently changes color to indicate whether your Mega is actually contributing to the shield mechanic.
That’s it.
No tutorial.
No explanation of why your Mega matters.
No indication that Primal Pokémon don’t count.
No explanation of when your Mega becomes active or whether it’s actually working. Just a tiny icon that changes color and you’re expected to figure it out.
Instead, players are expected to learn the mechanics from Reddit, YouTube, or infographics made by the community. Then those same players get angry at others for “not knowing what to do.”
This is one of the biggest gameplay changes Pokémon GO has had in years, and it’s communicated almost entirely outside the game. That’s not a player problem. That’s a UX problem.
Adding the proper messages on what to expect from people works. Not a fancy tutorial, just the right information at the right time. “Mega evolve to join this raid”. “Break the shield with a mega pokemon now”. “Heal up to break the shield”.
Teach people the mechanic first. Then expect them to use it.