After months of pining and speculations, the folks at Niantic have finally confirmed that their coveted legendaries are going to be released to Pokemon Go through the new Legendary Gym Raids this weekend! As shared by Niantic, the unique Legendary Eggs will be appearing in gyms as raids champions and you will need to fight along side with fellow trainers to capture them! But if you are thinking of leaving them as gyms defenders, you are going to be really disappointed at least till they change the rules again. 
As Trainers around the world go out and explore their neighbourhoods 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. – Niantic
Where Can We Get First Legendaries?
Unfortunately for most of us in Singapore, we will not be part of the action to free the first legendary Pokemon into the wild. Pokemon trainers in Chicago will get their hands on legendaries first. They must satisfy the game challenge at the Pokemon Go Fest to unlock the legendaries worldwide. If they succeed, we will start to see legendaries appearing on 23 July but only in legendary raids.
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.
Who Are The Legendaries?
In the promotion trailer below, we see all sorts of mythical monsters – Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Lugia and Ho-oh. However, it is unclear which Pokemon will start appearing on Saturday.
Legendaries Gym Mechanics
The promotion trailer seems to suggest that the Legendary raids will last for 48 hours rather than the usual 60 minutes. This would be probably due to the fact that legendary raids are rarer hence it needs to allow more time for folks to travel to a location to battle the legendary.
The video also showed trainers receiving a special invitation for a Legendary Raid. How this invitation will work or how it will be awarded is still unknown. We hope it would not be too restrictive as this is after all a community game.
Once in the wild, trainers can search for unique legendary eggs at gym locations around the world. Players can team up with friends and other trainers to join legendary raid battle to defeat the legendary pokémon and earn a chance to catch it. – Niantic
Time To Train Up
If you are still below Level 15, it is time to start powering up. Remember you have to be at least Level 15 to take part in a legendary raid.
Legendaries As Gym Defenders
Niantic has made it clear that you can use Legendary Pokémon to take on the tough Raid Bosses and Gym Battles but you will not be able to left them as champions to defend your hard-earned gyms. Guess they wanted to make sure that gym are well-balanced and everyone has a chance to capture their own gyms.
Everyone Is Invited!
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!
