Raikou is back in Pokémon GO. Here you will find the best counters against the raid boss to catch Raikou.
Changes in the raids: On Sunday, January 31st at 10:00 AM, the legendary Pokémon Raikou returned to level 5 raid battles.
Previously, Entei was there, now you will encounter the electric monster.
How long will Raikou stay? Raikou will remain in the raids until February 4th at 10:00 AM, after which it will be replaced by Suicune. You can find out what happens next in the overview of February events in Pokémon GO.
You don’t have much time to secure Raikou. To effectively defeat it while on your raid tour, you can find the best counters here.
The strongest counters against Raikou
Raikou is an Electric-type monster, which means it has a weakness to Ground Pokémon. Therefore, you should use monsters of this type that can also attack with Ground moves.
For Raikou, you should start with at least three trainers, or preferably more. Here are the best counters:
Rhyperior
If you have secured a strong Rhyperior, you should use it here. You don’t even need the event move Rock Wrecker, but can use other moves instead.
- Fast Move: Mud Slap
- Charge Move: Earthquake
Excadrill
Excadrill is a very good Ground-type attacker because it has the move Drill Run. You should also use this against Raikou.
- Fast Move: Mud Slap
- Charge Move: Drill Run
Garchomp
Garchomp is not so easy to obtain, as you rarely encounter Gible in Pokémon GO. But if you have the dragon on your team, it will help you with Ground attacks against Raikou.
- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charge Move: Earthquake
Groudon
Among the legendary monsters, Groudon is the best suited for a battle against Raikou. Here, the right move combination is also crucial.
- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charge Move: Earthquake
Landorus
Similar to Groudon, Landorus is also very useful, although it’s been a while since it was in raids. If you have a Landorus available, use it with this combination:
- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charge Move: Foul Play
Crypto Counters Against Raikou
Even among the ranks of Crypto monsters, there are some Pokémon that can help you very well against Raikou. It is important that you have taught them the right moves.
- Crypto Mamoswine can serve as a very strong counter against Raikou. If you have it at a high level and with the moves Mud Slap and Body Slam, it’s even the strongest counter against Raikou.
- Crypto Mewtwo is almost always a good choice because it simply deals a lot of damage. Use it with Psycho Cut and Psystrike.
- Crypto Flygon is also a good choice. It can deal damage to Raikou with Mud Shot and Foul Play.
Other Good Counters
These monsters can be used to fill up your team if you lack some of the top counters. However, keep in mind that you might need more players to defeat Raikou.
- Feraligatr with Mud Slap and Earthquake
- Rhyperior with Mud Slap and Earthquake
- Mamoswine with Mud Slap and Body Slam
- Regigigas with Hidden Power and Giga Impact
- Golurk with Mud Slap and Foul Play
What You Need to Know About Raikou
These stats Raikou can have: Raikou with perfect IV from a raid has a maximum of 1972 CP. In rainy weather, it receives an additional stat boost – then it can have 2466 CP.
At most, you can bring Raikou up to 3902 CP, and as a buddy, it can even reach 3949 CP.
What about the Shiny? You can also get Raikou in its Shiny version from the raid. However, you need a lot of luck as shiny variants are rare.
Do you already have a strong Raikou? Or do you still need to catch one? Soon Pokémon GO will introduce some features that are meant to make playing easier.
