Pokemon GO Raikou raid guide: Best counters, weaknesses, and more

Raikou as seen in pokemon go
Official artwork for Raikou in Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Raikou is set to return to 5-star legendary raids in Pokemon GO. This tiger-like legendary Pocket Monster will be available in the aforementioned raids from Saturday, September 23, 2023, 10 am local time through Friday, October 6, 2023, 10 am local time. You can also find Raikou in 5-star raids during the raid hours on September 27, 2023, and October 4, 2023, between 6 pm and 7 pm local time.

If you are looking for the best counters to Raikou, you have come to the right place. This guide will take you through the creature's elemental typing, moveset and stats, and recommend the best counters to defeat it in 5-star raids based on that information.


What are the best monsters to counter Raikou in Pokemon GO?

Being a mono Electric-type critter, Raikou is vulnerable to only one elemental typing in the game. The typings that work best against it are as follows:

  • Ground

Raikou is resistant to the following elemental typings:

  • Electric
  • Flying
  • Steel

Recommended counters to beat Raikou in raids

  • Mega Charizard X
  • Mega Charizard Y
  • Garchomp
  • Therian Forme Landorus
  • Excadrill
  • Mega Gengar
  • Incarnate Forme Landorus
  • Landorus
  • Primal Groudon
  • Groudon
  • Krookodile
  • Mega Beedrill
  • Mega Venusaur
  • Mega Aerodactyl
  • Golurk
  • Mega Steelix
  • Mega Gyarados
  • Mamoswine
  • Mega Absol
  • Flygon
  • Donphan
  • Mega Lopunny
  • Haxorus
  • Regigigas
  • Mewtwo

What are the best moves to use against Raikou in Pokemon GO raids?

As mentioned earlier, Raikou is vulnerable to Ground-type critters. As a result, you should use creatures with the following moves against Raikou:

Fast moves

  • Hidden Power
  • Dragon Tail
  • Mud Shot
  • Mud Slap
  • Rock Throw
  • Snarl
  • Poison Jab
  • Vine Whip
  • Bite

Charged moves

  • Earth Power
  • Precipice Blades
  • Drill Run
  • Earthquake
  • Foul Play
  • Frenzy Plant
  • Hydro Cannon
  • Hyper Beam
  • Payback
  • Psystrike
  • Weather Ball
  • Giga Impact

Raikou’s moveset in Pokemon GO

Raikou comes with the following moves:

Fast moves

  • Thunder Shock
  • Volt Switch

Charged moves

  • Thunder
  • Wild Charge
  • Thunderbolt
  • Shadow Bolt

Catch Raikou's Combat Power (CP) in Pokemon GO

Raikou will have the following catch CPs:

  • Weather boosted: 2,361 CP to 2,466 CP at level 25 under Rainy conditions.
  • Non-weather boosted: 1,889 CP to 1,972 CP at level 20.

How to catch Raikou in Pokemon GO

Raikou will have a CP of 45,435, the highest out of the three legendary cat raid bosses. You might not have the necessary number of players to take down this critter if you live in a rural area or in a city that has a dearth of people playing this game.

Ideally, you should have at least three to five high-level trainers in your raid party to successfully defeat Raikou. However, if you cannot find anyone and your last resort is a solo raid, you can defeat it by yourself. While it will be a far cry from an easy boss raid, you can take down Raikou if you have high-level powerful counters, as mentioned above.


Shiny Raikou in Pokemon GO

Read this article to learn about Shiny Raikou and how to catch this rare shiny cat in GO.

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