Pokemon Go Xerneas Raid Strategy: Best Counters, Weaknesses, and Moveset Oct 8 2022

Until October 20th, the legendary fairy Pokemon will appear in raids.

The raid bosses in Pokemon Go have shifted again again, bringing back another legendary Pokemon for a limited time. Xerneas, the cover monster of Pokemon X, will be available as a five-star raid boss until Oct. 20, giving you another opportunity to add one to your collection. Furthermore, there’s a chance the legendary Pokemon will be shiny.

Here are various strategies for defeating and capturing Xerneas before it leaves the raid cycle.

Xerneas raid times

From October 8 to October 20, Xerneas will debut as a five-star raid boss. These raids will happen on a regular basis, but you’ll have more chances to join one on Oct. 12 and Oct. 19, when Pokemon Go conducts its weekly Raid Hour event. More Xerneas raids will take place at gyms on those evenings from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time, giving you more opportunity to battle and catch the legendary Pokemon.

Xerneas’s weaknesses

Xerneas is a pure fairy-type Pokemon, which means it is exclusively vulnerable to poison and steel. When battling the legendary Pokemon, any will be useful, but avoid employing any dragon types; not only does Xerneas withstand dragon moves, but it also does supereffective damage to dragon Pokemon.

Xerneas counters that work best

Here are some suggested Pokemon and moves for battling Xerneas:

Poison

Mega Beedrill: Poison Jab, Sludge Bomb.
Roserade: Poison Jab, Sludge Bomb.
Muk: Poison Jab, Gunk Shot.
Vileplume: Acid, Sludge Bomb.
Nidoking: Poison Jab, Earth Power/Sludge Wave.

Steel

Metagross: Bullet Punch, Meteor Mash.
Dialga: Metal Claw, Iron Head.
Cobalion: Metal Claw, Iron Head.
Zacian: Metal Claw, Iron Head.
Zamazenta: Metal Claw, Iron Head.

Xerneas’ best moveset

Despite being a fairy Pokemon, Xerneas can presently only learn one fairy-type move, so you’d be better off teaching it other types of attacks. Xerneas will fare best in terms of damage output if it knows the Fast Attack Tackle and the Charged Attack Giga Impact.

You can also teach it the Fast Attack Zen Headbutt and the Charged Attack Moonblast if you want to take advantage of its fairy typing. Because the latter move is of the same type as Xerneas, it will gain power when employed.

Types Of Raids

Five-Star and Mega Raids
Three-Star Raids
One-Star Raids
Four-Star Raids

Five-Star and Mega Raids

Xerneas

Xerneas hit the game as a bit of a perennial disappointment. With an abysmal set of Fast Moves available, it seemed as though it had absolutely no hope. However, the buff to Tackle during the Go Battle League Season 12 update has given it some new viability in the Master League, where it can wreak havoc when shields are down. It doesn’t work on every team, but it might just be a handy addition if you don’t already have one!

Three-Star Raids

Magnezone, Magneton’s evolution, is a solid raider with a lot of general utility among Electric Type raids thanks to its unique and potent type, high Attack, and good moveset, and it also has some clout in the Master Premier Classic, so fishing for a high-IV individual isn’t a bad idea at all. Meanwhile, Rhydon is well recognised for Rhyperior’s exceptional performance as a Rock Type attacker as well as solid work as a Ground Type attacker. Simply prepare to wait for the next occurrence that will reward Rock Wrecker or drop an Elite TM on it.

Piloswine’s Mamoswine is another great attacker with some PvP usefulness, thus striving to score a high IV person may be beneficial in the long term. Finally, Togetic evolves into Togekiss, who terrorises the Master League with Fairy Type spam, so it would be a nice pick as well, especially given how rare this family is.

Overall, none of our Tier 3 offers are awful, with each providing a unique set of possible benefits. They’re not a waste if you can solo them and don’t have the capacity to routinely use your Raid Pass against Xerneas/Mega Manectric.

One-Star Raids

Objectively speaking, one-star Raid Bosses are less beneficial. Sunkern and its descendant, Sunflora, have never proven particularly beneficial, therefore they can be skipped. Despite the existence of Porygon 2 and Porygon-Z, Slowpoke’s family of Slowking, Slowbro, and Mega Slowbro have some utility, but they’re all very niche for the most part.

However, they have value in some cups, and Mega Slowbro’s Water/Psychic Type bonuses make it a nice utility Mega to have accessible, so it’s not the worst choice. Steelix has some utility in PvP, and Mega Steelix is at least a viable option in select raids, if only owing to its multiple Mega perks as a Steel/Ground Type.

If you intend to go for One Star Raids, prioritise Onix wherever feasible, with Slowpoke as a close second. The rest may be useful, but they pale in contrast for the most part.

Four-Star Raids

This raid cycle just so happens to include Litwick Community Day, which will include special Four Star Raids starring Lampent! Because these raids take place throughout the Community Day timeframe, it’s certainly worth hitting this raid as many times as possible, especially considering that this gives 10-IV floor Pokemon, not to mention how impressive shiny Chandelure looks!