Even the most ardent Pokéholic would be forgiven for having long since fallen off the Pokémon Go wagon. The app was a real phenomenon on its launch this time last year, only for most of that luster to quickly fade in the light of Niantic’s struggles.

There are only so many crashes, bugs, glitches and endless damn spawning Pidgeys and Ratattas that fans can take, after all. All of the launch fanfare may have died down to a teeny barely audible gnat-fart in recent months, but the devs aren’t beaten yet. On the contrary, they’ve started an extensive program of updates and new additions to get everyone back on the road toward catching them all.

Last week’s big update was centered around overhauling gyms, and the amazing new Raid Battles. These co-op throwdowns are about the closest we’ll ever get to experiencing that dramatic players-teaming-up-against-Mewtwo battle from the Go trailer (nope, Mewtwo’s not in the game yet). If you’re returning to the game for the first time in months, like many players, you’ll probably want to know more about these Raid Battles and how to find them.

Pokémon Go Raid Battles Third Party
Via: media.buzz.ie

As Pokémon Go has been updated, so too has GymHuntr. This third party site (and you know how Niantic feel about third party sites) is an invaluable tool for dedicated users of the app, giving them a far more reliable method of tracking Pokémon than the game’s own. As Nintendo Life reports, the site now has the new function of helping players locate and take part in Raids.

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Raid battles take place in gyms, and consist of a co-op match against a gym Pokémon with greatly souped up CP. They are time-specific, and last only for an hour, so challengers will need to prepare in advance where to be and when in order to take part. Which is where GymHuntr comes in. The site is able to scan your surrounding area for gyms, and provide you all the details you need about them. Prestige level and which team is currently holding the gym are a given, but users are also given information about ongoing raids and when future raids are due to start. In game, of course, you have a very limited view of your immediate surroundings, and are really leaving these sorts of timed events to chance.

If you want to get in on the GymHuntr action, the site is super simple to use. The pink timers on the map show how long remains until a raid begins, and the orange timers signifies how long is left on a raid that is currently underway. There’s no telling how long this resource will be available, with Niantic’s habit of unleashing the rabid winged lawyer-monkeys on third party sites, so make use of it while you can.