On Pokémon GO the Kanto Raid Day starts on Sunday, February 28. You can find out how to make the most of the event here.
When does the event start? The Kanto Raid Day begins on Sunday, February 28, at 11:00 AM and runs until 2:00 PM.
It is, in a sense, the endpoint for the last Kanto events: The Raid Day follows the Kanto Week, which ended on Saturday. Moreover, on Monday, the start of the Legendary Season will already take place.
Now the focus is on the Raid Day. And how to make the best use of it, we will look at in detail here.
These raids await you: During the three hours of the Raid Day, the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres will appear in Level 5 raids. The shiny version will also be available – so it could be an interesting timeframe for shiny hunters. Overall, they belong to the list of strong attackers in Pokémon GO – especially Moltres.
In the past, Raid Days always brought a three-hour raid at each gym.
The right counters against Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres on Kanto Raid Day
How to defeat the monsters: To effectively combat the birds, you should rely on the right counters. While you can manage with three people, it’s better with 4 to 5 players.
How to defeat Moltres: The best counters against Moltres are primarily rock combinations like:
- Rhydon with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Rhyperior with Rock Wrecker and Smack Down
- Terrakion with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Tyranitar with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Gigalith with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Aerodactyl with Rock Throw and Stone Edge
- Landorus with Rock Throw and Stone Edge
- Ampharos with Rock Throw and Stone Edge
- Geodude with Rock Throw and Rock Slide
- Charizard with Wing Attack and Ancient Power
However, you can also attack the Pokémon with water and electric monsters. Furthermore, the shadow forms of some monsters can inflict significant damage if you have them. This especially applies to Shadow Tyranitar. Mega Evolutions like Ampharos or Blastoise are also effective.
How to defeat Zapdos: Against Zapdos, you should also use rock, but ice is also effective.
Use for example:
- Rhydon with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Rhyperior with Rock Wrecker and Smack Down
- Terrakion with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Mamoswine with Powder Snow and Avalanche
- Galarian Darmanitan with Ice Fang and Avalanche
- Tyranitar with Rock Wrecker and Rock Slide
- Glaceon with Ice Shard and Avalanche
- Landorus with Rock Throw and Stone Edge
- Mewtwo with Confusion and Ice Beam
- Snorunt with Ice Shard and Avalanche
Here too, shadow monsters like Mamoswine, Tyranitar, or even Mewtwo can work particularly well. Mega Abomasnow is also a strong counter.
How to defeat Articuno: Against Articuno, you can also make good progress with rock, but you can also use fire, electric, or steel.
The best counters are:
- Rhydon with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Rhyperior with Rock Wrecker and Smack Down
- Terrakion with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Tyranitar with Rock Wrecker and Rock Slide
- Gigalith with Rock Wrecker and Stone Edge
- Ampharos with Rock Throw and Stone Edge
- Darmanitan with Fire Fang and Stone Edge
- Alolan Geodude with Rock Throw and Rock Slide
- Excadrill with Metal Claw and Stone Edge
- Reshiram with Fire Fang and Rock Slide
Shadow monsters like Tyranitar, Ampharos, or Metagross are also effective.
In short: If you go out Raiding, you should just put together a really strong rock team – then you will be well prepared against all the birds.
Free Raid Passes for the Raid Day
How to get Raid Passes: To ensure you can participate in raids, there are up to 5 free Raid Passes during the event. You can obtain them by spinning gym and PokéStop discs.
Furthermore, between Saturday, February 27, at 10:00 PM, and Monday, March 1, at 10:00 PM, you can receive a box with 3 Remote Raid Passes in the shop.
Defeating Team Rocket and Unlearning Frustration
What is Team Rocket planning? During the event, Team Rocket will also make an appearance. Even boss Giovanni is back – there will be a new Rocket Special Research where you can rescue a new legendary shadow Pokémon at the end.
The monster will be Shadow Articuno. Giovanni’s team will likely change as well. The best counters against Giovanni may therefore only be partially effective. For the battle against Articuno, a strong rock Pokémon is recommended again.
Defeating bosses: Before you reach Giovanni, you will likely first have to defeat the Rocket bosses Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff to assemble the Super Rocket Radar. The best counters against the three can be found here:
- Defeating Rocket Boss Sierra – the best counters
- Defeating Rocket Boss Arlo – the best counters
- Defeating Rocket Boss Cliff – the best counters
What about frustration? The problem with shadow Pokémon is that they usually only know the move “Frustration” and are not particularly useful. However, during the event, you can use Charged TMs to teach your shadow Pokémon a different Charged Move. Since shadows have an attacking bonus over normal monsters, this can be worth it.
The best Pokémon to unlearn frustration have been summarized here for you. Because some monsters can become really dangerous with frustration unlearned. This includes of course Mewtwo, but other shadows can also rise to be the best attackers in the game with a new move.
Once the Raid Day has passed, it will be time to look ahead. Here you can find all events in March in Pokémon GO.
