Mega Pokémon always arrive in the same way, but Mega Tyranitar is the type of headliner Niantic only gets to drop in Pokémon Go once, even if the developer isn’t really breaking new ground with its new release.
With the list of Mega Evolutions not available in Pokémon Go growing ever smaller, Mega Tyranitar is the first of several big releases dropping in Summer 2023—followed by Mega Rayquaza during Pokémon Go Fest 2023.
In comparison to Mega Rayquaza, Mega Tyranitar is a standard Mega Pokémon with no extra bells and whistles. The important thing here is Tyranitar on its own is a powerhouse and Mega Evolution takes it to another level a lot of players will want to reach, though they will have to wait a bit for the release date.
When does Mega Tyranitar release in Pokémon Go?
Mega Tyranitar isn’t tied to an event like some other Mega Pokémon. Instead, it will release between two different events running during Pokémon Go’s July content lineup. Once Mega Blaziken leaves the Mega Raid rotation on July 25, Mega Tyranitar will step into the spotlight for the first time. Players will be able to encounter it from July 25 to Aug. 4. After that it will appear in future Mega Raid rotations and events.
How to catch Mega Tyranitar in Pokémon Go?
Just like with every Mega Raid, you don’t actually catch the Mega Pokémon. You challenge the raid, work with teammates to defeat the Raid Boss, and then have a chance to capture the Pokémon in question—though it will be in its regular form.
If you catch a Mega Raid Boss, you will still need to spend Mega Energy to enable the Pokémon to Mega Evolve. Every Pokémon has a Mega Evolution cost that varies between species, but once you do that, you can simply wait out the cooldown timer whenever you want to Mega Evolve again and work on raising its Mega Levels.
Related: How to get and use Mega Energy in Pokemon Go
All of these factors apply to Mega Tyranitar, but Pokémon like Mega Rayquaza or similar mechanics like Primal Reversion work a bit differently.
