Pokemon GO Flareon raid guide (July 2023): Best counters, weaknesses, and more

With Pokemon GO's Dark Flames event coming to a close, players around the world are taking advantage of the last opportunities they have to challenge many of the event's different Raid Bosses. One of the many is the Fire-type evolution of the fan-favorite Pokemon, Eevee, Flareon. However, some players may be having more issues with this fight than they may have initially thought.

Flareon has been a part of the Pokemon franchise, and by extension, Niantic's popular mobile game, since the very beginning. First appearing in Pokemon Red and Blue for the Nintendo Gameboy, it is one of the original 151 creatures to appear in the first generation of the franchise. This also means that Flareon was a part of Niantic's mobile game since its launch back in July of 2016.

Though some players may not have problems taking down Pokemon GO's Flareon Raid Boss, others may want to have a brief refresher on possible strategies. Having a solid strategy prepared before going into a battle is often a great idea, as it can mitigate the chances of failure that would result in a waste of a valuable Raid Pass.

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How to counter Flareon in Pokemon GO

Flareon as seen in Pokemon Evolutions (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The first thing players will need to know before rushing head-first into any Raid Battle in Pokemon GO is the elemental typing of the boss. This valuable piece of information can help set the foundation of a strategy that players should use to effectively and optimally take down any Raid Boss. In the case of Flareon, the creature sports a pure Fire-typing.

The pure Fire-typing only leaves Flareon open to Water, Ground, and Rock-type attacks. This leaves the best possible counters being those that sport a Water or Rock typing. Creatures of these elements possess the capabilities to deal super-effective damage to Flareon, whilst weakening the damage it inflicts with its Fire-type attacks.

Analyzing Flareon's stat spread in Pokemon GO shows that the creature possesses strong offensive capabilities at the cost of having siginifcantly weaker bulk. This means that players should bring those possessing high bulk of their own as a way to outlast the Raid Boss, rather than bringing glass cannons of their own.

For experienced players that have access to Legendary Pokemon, bringing powerful selections like Kyogre and Palkia are the key to making quick work of this battle. In fact, bringing these creatures makes completing this Raid Battle by themselves much easier. However, not every player can use these Legendary Pokemon.

Thankfully, there are tons of great "budget" options for newer or less experienced players. Gyarados, while being very costly for the price of 400 Magikarp candies, is one of the top counters for Flareon. Players can also take Vaporeon, another evolution of Eevee, to this fight. Utilizing the nickname easter egg, players only need 25 Eevee candies to get one, making it the cheapest viable counter.

Finally, players looking to grind these raids for the opportunity to catch a shiny variant of Flareon will be deeply disappointed. This is due to Niantic refusing to enable its shiny form as a possible encounter after completing the respective Raid Battle. However, players can still obtain Flareons with higher stats and IV spreads for effective use in Pokemon GO's Battle League.