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Added to Pokemon GO along with its fellow Swords of Justice Cobalion and Terrakion, Virizion hails from the Unova region as a Legendary Fighting/Grass-Type and has been a tough find since its introduction in 2019.
Not appearing in the wild, Virizion was initially introduced as a Raid Boss. In addition, it was obtainable as a reward from GO Battle League during November 2020 for trainers at Rank 7 and above. Sadly, Virizion hasn't had many appearances in Pokemon GO since, meaning players will likely need to wait for announcements by Niantic on upcoming events.
If it does reappear as a Raid Boss, capturing will take substantial effort.
Pokemon GO: Beating Virizion as a Raid Boss
Once Virizion makes its grand reappearance, there's a significant chance it will once again return to terrorize Pokemon GO players in gym raids around the world. Being a Grass and Fighting-Type Pokemon, it has several weaknesses, one in particular that exploits both of its types at once. These type advantages can be broken down by the percentage of damage effectiveness:
- Fairy moves: 160% damage
- Fire moves: 160% damage
- Flying moves: 256% damage
- Ice moves: 160% damage
- Poison moves: 160% damage
- Psychic moves: 160% damage
Since Flying-Type moves hit Virizion even harder than its other weaknesses, Pokemon GO players will need to team up in their raids and hammer away with those moves in order to maximize damage output. Its other type weaknesses are of course beneficial as well, but Flying-Type moves just provide the extra punch necessary to take down a Legendary like Virizion.
When it comes to Pokemon choices, there are a significant number of choices that are capable of taking on Virizion effectively. Recommended Pokemon and moves include:
- Mega Pidgeot using Gust and Brave Bird
- Moltres using Wing Attack and Sky Attack
- Mega Charizard Y using Air Slash and Blast Burn
- Rayquaza using Air Slash and Hurricane
- Tornadus using Air Slash and Hurricane
- Honchkrow using Peck and Sky Attack
Defeating Virizion won't depend solely on type effectiveness, however. Players wishing to defeat and have a capture encounter against it will also need to stock up on raiding necessities. Expect to burn through a fair amount of Revives, Hyper Potions and/or Max Potions. Dependent on the CP of the players' Pokemon, they will need significantly more or less of these items in case their roster faints during the raid battle.
With a solid Pokemon team and a sizable group of at least five fellow trainers, Pokemon GO players should be able to take down and capture Virizion when it makes its return. Until then, they'll need to keep their eyes and ears open. Pokemon GO's event calendar is always being updated, and it will only be a matter of time until Unova's Swords of Justice emerge once again.
