The (Un)Popularity of Legendary Raid Bosses

During the Pokémon Go Tour event, the Level 5 or Legendary raid bosses featured the three birds of Kanto and Mewtwo. That remains the case for the time being, which should be explained in an event rollup soon to come. However, I've noticed that my raid (sub-)groups are not interested in raiding the former and seem only attracted to raid the latter. In other words, the latter is more popular than the former to them. It seems worthwhile to try to determine why this is the case.

A prime suspect of the lopsided popularity is something that I myself have noted in the past as being lopsided: Candy XL, which has its own quibbles. As far as my groups are concerned, Mewtwo is a far more lucrative target to earn Candy XL off of raids, and the conclusion is that it's more worth it to raid for Mewtwo than it is for the three birds. With the way Candy XL are, it's only a given that those in my groups would rather raid for it and maintain good chances of getting Candy XL in some way, even through transfers. Even if Candy XL was a given rather than a chance, the above is still likely the case.

As a secondary suspect, movesets are likely to contribute. It is worth noting that the four Legendary Pokémon above currently don't have their special moves, so their values are slightly decreased. Yet, Mewtwo has the most interesting overall moveset out of the four Legendary Pokémon, which may also become a virtue for when its double Mega forms are introduced later on at some point - Mega Evolution is in Pokémon Go after all. Knowing this, it's only a given that some would seek for them now instead of later.

Perhaps the simplest suspect for the popularity is that they simply are together. If the birds were on their own rather than Mewtwo, they're likely to be raided regardless by their respective legions of Trainers and fans. Even so, among the birds there would likely be favoritism of one species or another due to circumstances; even the two previous suspects above would still be suspect, as for example, I've also detected that if Mewtwo weren't present, there would be a favoritism for Articuno for different reasons, which could make it more appealing to raid.

Evidently, with more Legendary raid bosses on the table, odds are some of them will get shoved aside, and looking at my raid groups, this seems to be the case. It might also be the case for similar groups in different places. If anything, the three suspect causes above may be sufficient to explain the case of why this occurs. Until it becomes hard to shove aside one boss or another, one (in this case, I) will likely have to deal with not the Legendary raids being offered, but the offerings that others take up.

One year ago: Tournament: Raid Group Rose Cup

Two years ago: Let's Go Take Pictures

Three years ago: Community Days!

Four years ago: Competitive or Non-Competitive?