Many Trainers have been begging Niantic for some new Raid Bosses for months now. Well, we've finally gotten some, but are they what everyone was hoping for? Let's discuss.
Firstly, we agree that some of the Pokémon are a bit underwhelming. The old batch of Raid Bosses were more useful in the moment, but these Raid Bosses are in no way, shape, or form useless. So lets go over each boss individually.
IVYSAUR, CHARMELEON, WARTORTLE: The second-stage Kanto starters are, admittedly, a bit underwhelming and definitely a downgrade from their evolved forms. That said, these three Pokémon are solo-able, which proves better for obtaining better versions for rural players. Although it isn't a direct obtaining of Venusaur, Charizard, or Blastoise, it is a easier way to stockpile Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur Candy.
METAPOD: Remember how we said that none of the new Bosses were useless? Well, Metapod is the only exception. At least Magikarp has an available Shiny variant and amazing Evolution, so Metapod is probably the worse replacement. Kakuna's Evolution, Beedrill, has a Mega Evolution in Generation 6, so it would have been more useful.
MAGNETON: Magneton is a decent Pokémon. It can definitely be used against Water-types and Ice-types for those without a bunch of Zapdos and / or Raikou. Magneton and Megnemite are also very rare for some people without access to saltwater, so it will be a good opportunity to increase your count of Magnemite Candy. And make sure to do that, because Magneton gains an Evolution in Generation 4 known as Magnezone (a massive improvement and great Pokémon).
SANDSLASH, MAROWAK: Although Sandslash and Marowak are not great Ground-type Pokémon (especially compared to Golem, Rhydon, and Donphan), they can be useful as backups in Entei Raids. By no means are these fanominal additions to the Raid roster, but there are worse Pokémon (we're looking at you, Metapod).
SABLEYE: Although Sableye is not a great Pokémon in terms of stats, it has its perks. It is only weak to Fairy-type attacks (ones that aren't common in the meta-game), and will have a Mega Evolution in Generation 6. Without the Halloween spawns, Sableye (and Shiny Sableye even more so) is very rare, so having it in Raids will increase the availability of a good-IV, Shiny version.
TENTACRUEL, NINETALES: Similarly to the situation that Sandslash and Marowak face, Tentacruel and Ninetales are mid-tier attackers that can be useful as backups. Tentacruel isn't a great Water-type (as there are a variety of other, stronger options), but it isn't a bad Poison-type. Ninetales also isn't a great Fire-type, but a Ninetales with Solar Beam does cover all of its weaknesses.
PORYGON: Although Porygon isn't good, Porygon2 is a decent Pokémon with fairly good defenses. Also, Porygon2 evolves to Porygon-Z in Generation 4. And with the rarity of wild Porygon, be sure to take advantage of these easy Raids. With enough Candy, you could also use up some spare Up-Grades that are cluttering up your inventory.
SCYTHER: Scyther became more rare inside of Eggs when it was downgraded to 5KM's. And with EX Raids currently containing Mewtwo, Scizor is a very viable counter. Scizor is also very good against Grass-types and Psychic-types, especially Exeggutor.
CLOYSTER: Although Articuno has been released, Cloyster is still one of the best Ice-types. It is very tank-y, so it will survive Dragonite's powerful attacks. And with Salamence and Flygon going to be introduced soon, it will also prove a good counter for them, along with the Legendary Rayquaza.
OMASTAR: Omastar is, without a doubt, the second-best new Boss. Every one of its possible and legacy moves are super-effective against Fire-types like Arcanine, Ninetales, Entei, and Moltres. It isn't as strong as Vaporeon or Golem, but it is definitely a good mix between the two.
POLIWRATH: Poliwrath is a decent Pokémon, although not rare. It could be useful for those who don't have a team of Machamp. And both Poliwrath's Water-type and Fighting-type are effective on Tyranitar.
And, as a quick update, there was a leak showing the Shiny variants of Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, and Politoed. That leak has been debunked by other credible sources and taken down off The Silph Road reddit page.
VICTREEBEL: Although Bellsprout is not the rarest Pokémon in most biomes, Victreebel is one of the top three Grass-types. Also, it makes a great counter to Water-types (a dominating force in Pokémon GO).
NIDOKING, NIDOQUEEN: Nidoking and Nidoqueen are definetly high up in the mid-tier range of attackers. They are useful Ground-types (more so than Sandslash and Marowak) with access to Earthquake. And, if you ever need a Poison-type or diverse Gym defender, Nidoking and Nidoqueen make good candidates.
GOLEM: By far, Golem is the best of the new Raid Bosses. It has been super-effective against every released Legendary (except for Suicune and Mewtwo) so far. It will also be useful against Ho-Oh, Salamence, Metagross, Rayquaza, Regirock, Regice, and Registeel.
OUR THOUGHTS: So, yes, these Pokémon all have their uses. Some are more specific than others, but they still all have a niche. That said, Niantic definitely could have picked better candidates than Marowak and Metapod. They also could have kept more of the older Bosses, as it would make them more exciting and valued.
We hope that the candidates indicate a more frequent Raid-rotation schedule. Also, introducing Shiny variants for these species would definitely excite Trainers a lot more. Good luck with your new Raids, Trainers.
Firstly, we agree that some of the Pokémon are a bit underwhelming. The old batch of Raid Bosses were more useful in the moment, but these Raid Bosses are in no way, shape, or form useless. So lets go over each boss individually.
IVYSAUR, CHARMELEON, WARTORTLE: The second-stage Kanto starters are, admittedly, a bit underwhelming and definitely a downgrade from their evolved forms. That said, these three Pokémon are solo-able, which proves better for obtaining better versions for rural players. Although it isn't a direct obtaining of Venusaur, Charizard, or Blastoise, it is a easier way to stockpile Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur Candy.
METAPOD: Remember how we said that none of the new Bosses were useless? Well, Metapod is the only exception. At least Magikarp has an available Shiny variant and amazing Evolution, so Metapod is probably the worse replacement. Kakuna's Evolution, Beedrill, has a Mega Evolution in Generation 6, so it would have been more useful.
MAGNETON: Magneton is a decent Pokémon. It can definitely be used against Water-types and Ice-types for those without a bunch of Zapdos and / or Raikou. Magneton and Megnemite are also very rare for some people without access to saltwater, so it will be a good opportunity to increase your count of Magnemite Candy. And make sure to do that, because Magneton gains an Evolution in Generation 4 known as Magnezone (a massive improvement and great Pokémon).
SANDSLASH, MAROWAK: Although Sandslash and Marowak are not great Ground-type Pokémon (especially compared to Golem, Rhydon, and Donphan), they can be useful as backups in Entei Raids. By no means are these fanominal additions to the Raid roster, but there are worse Pokémon (we're looking at you, Metapod).
SABLEYE: Although Sableye is not a great Pokémon in terms of stats, it has its perks. It is only weak to Fairy-type attacks (ones that aren't common in the meta-game), and will have a Mega Evolution in Generation 6. Without the Halloween spawns, Sableye (and Shiny Sableye even more so) is very rare, so having it in Raids will increase the availability of a good-IV, Shiny version.
TENTACRUEL, NINETALES: Similarly to the situation that Sandslash and Marowak face, Tentacruel and Ninetales are mid-tier attackers that can be useful as backups. Tentacruel isn't a great Water-type (as there are a variety of other, stronger options), but it isn't a bad Poison-type. Ninetales also isn't a great Fire-type, but a Ninetales with Solar Beam does cover all of its weaknesses.
PORYGON: Although Porygon isn't good, Porygon2 is a decent Pokémon with fairly good defenses. Also, Porygon2 evolves to Porygon-Z in Generation 4. And with the rarity of wild Porygon, be sure to take advantage of these easy Raids. With enough Candy, you could also use up some spare Up-Grades that are cluttering up your inventory.
SCYTHER: Scyther became more rare inside of Eggs when it was downgraded to 5KM's. And with EX Raids currently containing Mewtwo, Scizor is a very viable counter. Scizor is also very good against Grass-types and Psychic-types, especially Exeggutor.
CLOYSTER: Although Articuno has been released, Cloyster is still one of the best Ice-types. It is very tank-y, so it will survive Dragonite's powerful attacks. And with Salamence and Flygon going to be introduced soon, it will also prove a good counter for them, along with the Legendary Rayquaza.
OMASTAR: Omastar is, without a doubt, the second-best new Boss. Every one of its possible and legacy moves are super-effective against Fire-types like Arcanine, Ninetales, Entei, and Moltres. It isn't as strong as Vaporeon or Golem, but it is definitely a good mix between the two.
POLIWRATH: Poliwrath is a decent Pokémon, although not rare. It could be useful for those who don't have a team of Machamp. And both Poliwrath's Water-type and Fighting-type are effective on Tyranitar.
And, as a quick update, there was a leak showing the Shiny variants of Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, and Politoed. That leak has been debunked by other credible sources and taken down off The Silph Road reddit page.
VICTREEBEL: Although Bellsprout is not the rarest Pokémon in most biomes, Victreebel is one of the top three Grass-types. Also, it makes a great counter to Water-types (a dominating force in Pokémon GO).
NIDOKING, NIDOQUEEN: Nidoking and Nidoqueen are definetly high up in the mid-tier range of attackers. They are useful Ground-types (more so than Sandslash and Marowak) with access to Earthquake. And, if you ever need a Poison-type or diverse Gym defender, Nidoking and Nidoqueen make good candidates.
GOLEM: By far, Golem is the best of the new Raid Bosses. It has been super-effective against every released Legendary (except for Suicune and Mewtwo) so far. It will also be useful against Ho-Oh, Salamence, Metagross, Rayquaza, Regirock, Regice, and Registeel.
OUR THOUGHTS: So, yes, these Pokémon all have their uses. Some are more specific than others, but they still all have a niche. That said, Niantic definitely could have picked better candidates than Marowak and Metapod. They also could have kept more of the older Bosses, as it would make them more exciting and valued.
We hope that the candidates indicate a more frequent Raid-rotation schedule. Also, introducing Shiny variants for these species would definitely excite Trainers a lot more. Good luck with your new Raids, Trainers.