Raid Preferences

Today's the last day for Latios raids in Pokémon Go in my area - for others, that would be Latias raids. Meanwhile, Ho-Oh raids will continue until the end of the week. And yet, what has happened over the past few weeks is that Ho-Oh raids had "stolen the spotlight" from Latios raids in my area; the same can be imagined to happen in areas where Latias raids are concerned, especially since Latias may be considered lesser-abled. This leads to a consideration of raid preferences, in particular for level 5 raids, which are prime targets.

Based on a conversation with one of my raid fellows, it seems that this kind of thing happens all the time, especially when raids for two or more Legendary Pokémon overlap. Players seem to like the "in" thing, no matter how strong it is in comparison to the others. Thus Ho-Oh is the current "in" thing, and the possibility of it being Shiny only helps to establish it as so. As recent as Rayquaza, however, it has been evident that even the "in" thing can beat previously introduced strong raid bosses (Kyogre and Groudon) even when they are both restored. It seems that this might be a simple determinant.

Even so, other things might determine preference, including strength; I was once told that if Latias and Latios appeared at the same time in the same places, then players might go for the latter rather than the former, due to their relative strengths. Aesthetics might also be a factor, as it can be conceived that some players might pursue a Shiny Ho-Oh first before going back to Latias or Latios, or pursue certain counts of Latias and/or Latios, then go on to Ho-Oh; the former may have been practiced by a few in my raid group, while I confess to have practiced the latter. And then again, some might just not have any preferences and will take any level 5 raids that appear, regardless of the raid boss.

The issue of preferences is a captivating one that comes into play when multiple raid bosses appear in one level. On one hand, trends are a major factor that may lead players to raid new bosses than old ones. On the other hand, other factors might just lead players to raid whatever bosses they like. In the end, it seems to just boil down to what most players will want, and then it proceeds from there, whether preferences have been stated or not - as it had happened for Ho-Oh. It may still deserve consideration as raid bosses keep changing.

One year ago: Sympathy for Villains