Pokemon Go Raikou Guide: Counters, Weaknesses, And More Tips

Raikou – The Legendary Thunder Pokemon

The formidable Electric-type Legendary Pokemon makes its triumphant return to five-star raids starting January 31, presenting trainers with a limited-time opportunity to add this powerful creature to their collections. Understanding the precise timing and preparation requirements significantly enhances your chances of success.

Raikou’s availability window remains exceptionally brief, departing from the raid rotation on February 4. This compressed schedule demands strategic planning, as missing this appearance could mean waiting months for another chance. The Legendary Thunder Pokemon represents one of the most sought-after raid bosses due to its impressive stats and unique typing.

Raikou emerges as a five-star raid boss commencing at 10 AM local time on January 31, maintaining presence until identical timing on February 4. While raid battles operate on dynamic spawn patterns rather than fixed schedules, the game provides real-time notifications when raids initiate at nearby gyms. Advanced preparation during this four-day window proves crucial for maximizing capture opportunities.

Participating in Raikou raids requires either a standard Raid Pass for in-person engagement or a Remote Raid Pass for virtual participation. Both variants remain available through Pokemon Go’s in-game marketplace. Additionally, trainers can acquire one complimentary Raid Pass daily by interacting with gym photo discs, though inventory restrictions limit carrying capacity to a single free pass simultaneously.

As a pure Electric-type Pokemon, Raikou maintains singular vulnerability to Ground-type attacks, creating clear strategic priorities for team composition. This focused weakness profile simplifies counter selection while demanding optimized move sets and proper execution.

The game offers numerous powerful Ground-type options that excel against Raikou. Groudon stands as the premier choice with its massive attack stat and access to Mud Shot and Earthquake. Rhyperior provides excellent durability while dealing substantial damage through Mud-Slap and Earthquake. Golem delivers reliable performance with Rock Throw and Earthquake, while Garchomp offers blistering speed with Mud Shot and Earth Power.

Trainers lacking extensive Ground-type rosters can employ strategic alternatives. Both Grass and Dragon types provide valuable resistance to Electric attacks, significantly improving battlefield longevity. Pokemon like Excadrill, Mamoswine, and Landorus also perform admirably when properly powered up with optimal moves.

Advanced strategy involves prioritizing Pokemon with fast-charging charged moves to break Raikou’s shields quickly. Utilizing weather boosts during partly cloudy or sunny conditions can provide additional damage multipliers for your Ground-type attackers.

Electric-type attacks demonstrate super-effective damage against Flying and Water types, making these Pokemon exceptionally vulnerable against Raikou. Including them in your raid party typically results in rapid defeats, diminishing overall team damage output and potentially costing you the victory.

Common team-building errors involve overestimating bulk or disregarding type interactions. Pokemon like Gyarados, Charizard, and Lugia suffer devastating damage from Raikou’s Electric moves, often falling before contributing meaningful damage.

Survival strategies emphasize maintaining a full team of viable counters rather than including suboptimal choices. Even moderately effective Ground-types typically outperform top-tier Pokemon of vulnerable types due to the defensive advantage and super-effective damage multiplier.

Additional pitfalls include inadequate preparation of multiple battle parties and failure to coordinate with other trainers. Having backup teams ready for rejoining battles and communicating with raid partners ensures consistent damage output throughout the encounter.

Raikou represents just one component of the returning Legendary beast trio from Pokemon Gold and Silver. Niantic’s scheduling rotates all three creatures across successive weeks, providing structured collection opportunities.

The complete rotation schedule unfolds as follows:

Strategic planning involves resource allocation across multiple legendary raids. Managing raid passes, healing items, and time investment across these limited windows maximizes overall legendary acquisition.

Resource management proves particularly important during back-to-back legendary appearances. Planning your Battlefield 6 gaming sessions around these raid schedules ensures you don’t miss critical opportunities while maintaining balanced gameplay across different titles.

No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Pokemon Go Raikou Guide: Counters, Weaknesses, And More Tips Master Raikou raids with expert strategies, optimal counters, and timing tips for successful captures