The raid day event occurred from 2 to 5 p.m. local time Sunday, Sept. 28. As usual, I played from the Penn State Altoona campus, along with about a dozen other trainers. Even though my odds weren’t as great as I had hoped, it was still a fun time.

Raid days are some of the most fun events because every trainer encounters a Pokemon with different individual values, unlike spotlight hours or community days where the IVs for wild spawns are the same for all trainers level 30 and above.

In a sense, playing Pokemon Go is like getting together with a group of people to play the lottery.

Pokemon Go isn’t considered gambling because you can play it for free by spinning Pokestops for items to catch Pokemon. You can also earn a limited amount of free in-game currency to purchase items, like premium battle passes for raids, every day.

Poliwag, the tadpole Pokemon, is pictured near Penn State Altoona's Reflecting Pond using augmented reality. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

But the potential to encounter something good is what makes the game fun to play, and you get to cheer on other people in your community when they hit the jackpot, so to speak.

Walking throughout Penn State Altoona is peaceful and the campus has plenty of in-game gyms to host raids. Generally speaking, most college campuses are loaded with Pokestops and gyms, which make them great locations for playing the game.

The Niantic Campfire application is one of the best ways to find where other trainers are playing the game in your area. Many local communities have private Discord servers that they use to coordinate meetups for events, such as Mega Metagross raid day, which takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.

Metagross is one of the strongest steel-type mega evolutions in Pokemon Go, and it’s one of the last mega evolutions to be introduced to the game currently.

Unlike Camerupt, I already have a Metagross with perfect IVs, a nearly-perfect shiny Metagross with stats of 15 attack, 14 defense and 15 HP and a shiny shadow Metagross that I could purify into a shundo — a shiny Pokemon with perfect IVs.

Camerupt, the eruption Pokemon, is pictured next to the Nittany Lion Shrine at the Penn State Altoona campus using augmented reality. Camerupt has a volcano inside its body. Occasionally, the humps on its back erupt, spewing superheated magma. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

For me, the grind this weekend is strictly going to be for mega energy. Once I have enough resources to mega evolve the Metagross I already have, I will probably call it a day.

Shadow Pokemon cannot mega evolve unless they’re purified, but I have made the decision to never purify my shadow shiny Metagross. It has too much value and potential in its shadow form.

I caught it as a Beldum from a one-star shadow raid on May 23, 2023 — the day after shadow raids were introduced to the game. It was near the Cambria County Courthouse in Ebensburg.

After Metagross, there is only one mega evolution that has yet to be released: the X and Y forms of Mega Mewtwo.

An official announcement hasn’t been made about the release of Mega Mewtwo, but I’m hopeful that we’ll see its release during the 2026 Go Tour event in February.

The game’s developers put out a save the date announcement for the event, noting they are “mega” excited to have the in-person events in Taiwan and Los Angeles take place from Feb. 20-22, 2026. A global event will occur on Feb. 28 and March 1.

If Pokemon Go continues to follow the trend of the last five Go Tour events, trainers will likely discover Pokemon from the Kalos region at the Tour event next year.

Although Mewtwo is a Pokemon from the Kanto region, its mega evolution was introduced in the main series games “Pokemon X” and “Pokemon Y.” Both games are set in the Kalos region.

It is worth noting that “Pokemon Legends: Z-A” is the sequel of the X and Y versions. It takes place in the Kalos region, too.

Upon its release on Oct. 16, there will be more mega evolutions in the main series games, including Dragonite, Victreebell, Hawlucha, Malamar, Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja as well as the X and Y forms of Raichu.

We could see some of these Pokemon featured at the 2026 Go Tour instead. Pokemon Go will eventually confirm the event’s details, but it likely won’t be until late December or early January, based on previous years’ announcements.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520 and mchurella@altoonamirror.com