Raids have become a major aspect of Pokemon GO since they were first introduced. Raids are (somewhat) cooperative battles located at gyms. Players take turns attacking the gym with the goal of clearing out the defending Pokemon in order to collect the reward.
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When participating in these raids, there are several Pokemon that players dread seeing in the defending team or as the raid boss. Most of this is due to many players using the same Pokemon in their attack team (like Machamp), which leads to the Pokémon who are strong against these fan favorites being high on the list of toughest defenders. Of course, some Pokemon are just naturally better in a defensive role.
Updated on September 17, 2021, by Jeff Drake: Pokemon GO is an ever-evolving game. Over time, various Pokemon are made available for raiding as others are retired. Retired at least temporarily - they may be re-introduced for raiding in the future. This update will include some of the Pokemon that you could raid between the time this article was originally published to today. If they are available to be raided at the time of this update, it will be noted in the entry. Just to prepare you, Arceus (in its many different forms) will be a raid boss in the near future. So, it's not on this list, but it assuredly will be among the hardest raid bosses in Pokemon GO. The stats given below are the stats a Pokemon has when raided, and not their typical stats.
15 Rayquaza
The serpent-like Rayquaza just makes this list - mainly because of its high attack rating. It has a maximum CP of 49808, an attack rating of 236, and a defense rating of 146. With this Pokemon it is a challenge to do enough damage before it overpowers your Pokemon.
Another reason why this Pokemon is last on this list is its move-sets. It has some powerful move-sets that make it one of the hardest raids in Pokemon GO- until compared to the other Pokemon. Air Slash and Ancient Power is its best move-set, with Dragon Tail and Ancient Power being a close second. Mamoswine is a good match for Rayquaza.
14 Latios
Many trainers who have faced Latios in a raid, especially ones who favor including Machamp in their primary attack party, have watched their team get beaten down by a flurry of Zen Headbutts followed by a finishing Solar Beam. This Pokémon has a reasonably high max CP of 52220. Its max hit points of 15000 (all the Pokemmon on this list have 15000 hit points), attack of 223, and defense of 179 make it a dangerous foe.
Latios' attack is the 26th best in Pokemon GO, while its defense is in the top 50. Latios’ other quick move is Dragon Breath, which actually has a higher DPS (damage-per-second) and much better recovery time than Zen Headbutt, although its EPS (energy-per-second) is slightly less. Psychic and Dragon Claw are Latios’ other charge moves.
13 Palkia
Palkia is a tough dragon/water type Pokemon with a max CP of 54793, one of the best attack ratings in the game (223), as well as a strong defense rating (181). A lot of players might stack their team with grass types due to Palkia being a water type, however, this could be a big mistake.
This is because Fire Blast is one of Palkia’s charge moves and it is not particularly weak against grass moves. Both of its quick moves, Dragon Breath and Dragon Tail, are very potent. Its charge moves are Draco Meteor, Fire Blast, and Hydro Pump.
12 Dialga
Dialga is a generation 4 Pokemon in GO. It has an exceptionally high max CP of 53394, and its attack (275), and defense (178) are both quite good. It has resistance to ten move types, and is weak to only to two types; in fact, Dialga is the only dragon-type Pokemon in GO that isn’t super weak against dragon moves.
Dragon Breath and Metal Claw are its available quick moves, with the former being the better of the two. Dialga’s charge moves are Draco Meteor, Thunder, and Iron Head. Draco Meteor has the highest DPS and DPE (damage-per-energy), but also the longest recovery time.
11 Groudon
Groudon is a Gen 3 ground-type Pokemon with a max CP of 54411, an attack rating of 225, and a stout defense rating of 191. With stats so high, many might be wondering why Groudon is not higher on this list. The answer is simple – Groudon’s move-set is not the best (but by no means awful either).
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Its two available quick moves are Mud Shot and Dragon Tail. Mud Shot has a lower DPS than Dragon Tail, but its recovery time, EPS, and type-matching are all superior. Groudon’s available charge moves are Solar Beam, Fire Blast, and Earthquake.
10 Regigigas
Regigigas is a towering, odd-looking figure, and one a lot of players dread seeing. It has a max CP of 55480, an attack rating of 238, and a defense rating of 177. Its quick attacks are Zen Headbutt and Hidden Power.
Hidden Power is the better of the two in terms of DPS and EPS, but has a slower recovery time. Its only vulnerability is to fighting-type moves. Those wanting to have their Machamp face off against Regigigas should be wary of the Zen Headbutt though. Its charge attacks are Thunder, Giga Impact, and Focus Blast.
9 Deoxys
Deoxys in its normal form is definitely one of the hardest bosses to raid; its Deoxys-Defense form is also a very hard raid in Pokemon GO. It has a CP rating of 50271, an attack rating of 284, and a defense rating of 102. Its low defense is why it's not rated higher, but it also doesn't mean this is an easy raid.
This Pokemon has numerous move-sets, and they are not all equal. The Zen Headbutt and Psycho Boost move-set is by far the most difficult to raid. Charge Beam and Psycho Boost, and Charge Beam and Hyper Beam, are not much easier. Chandelure and Tyrantiar are good choices to send against Deoxys.
8 Darkrai
This Dark/Ghost-type Pokemon can be a very hard raid in Pokemon GO. A lot of the difficulty is the result of it type combination. Of course, if you have a strong Fighting-Type Pokemon, this Pokemon's type combination makes it a lot easier to fight. Darkrai has a maximum CP of 53623, an attack rating of 237, and a defense rating of 168.
Feint Attack and Snarl are Darkrai's available quick moves - both are frustrating to deal with. Shadow Ball is by far its best charge move, with the other two possibilities being Dark Pulse and Focus Blast. As stated, bring a Fighting-type Pokemon to battle Darkrai; Lucario and Machamp are excellent choices.
7 Ho-oh
If there’s one thing a player who favors grass or water types hate to see when raiding, it’s Ho-oh with Solar Beam for its charge move. Ho-oh is a fire/flying-type with a max CP of 50064, an attack rating of 200, and a defense rating of 204.
Extrasensory is its best quick move, but Hidden Power and Steel Wing have their usefulness against the right Pokemon types. Ho-oh's charge moves are Solar Beam, Fire Blast, and Brave Bird. Solar Beam is the best of the three and helps compensate when facing water-type Pokemon. If it had a better move-set, Ho-oh would have been a little higher on this list.
6 Lugia
Lugia is a flying/psychic type Pokemon with a max CP of 45925, a somewhat weak attack (164), and one of the best defense ratings for a raid boss (256). With its extremely high defense and impressive assortment of psychic moves, Lugia is the bane of fighting types.
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Its quick moves are Extrasensory and Dragon Tail. While both are good, Extrasensory is better due to its high EPS. Lugia’s available charge moves are Sky Attack, Hydro Pump, and Future Sight. Sky Attack is probably the best of the three with its superior recovery time and DPE. Lugia is a current raid boss.
5 Mewtwo
Nobody should be shocked to see Mewtwo on this list. It is far more surprising to see it at only number three. Mewtwo is a psychic type with a max CP 54148, an incredibly high attack rating of 248, and a defense rating of 155. Its weaknesses are against Pokemon types that many players don’t use, and its moves are strong against many player favorites (again, like Machamp). Mewtwo is a top tier combatant - it's no surprise it is going to be a hard boss to raid.
Mewtwo’s quick moves are Confusion and Psycho Cut. Confusion does more damage, but Psycho Cut has a much better EPS and recovery time. Its available charge moves (minus the legacy moves) are Psychic, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Psystrike, and Focus Blast.
4 Zekrom
Seeing this legendary black dragon rated high on this list is probably not a surprise to many. Not matter what Pokemon game you are playing, if you're fighting Zekrom, be prepared for a challenging raid. As a raid boss, Zekrom has a maximum CP of 53394, an attack rating of 229, and a defense rating of 178.
The move-sets available to Zekrom are similar to most of the Dragon-types that made this list. Its best move-set it Charge Beam and Wild Charge; though Charge Beam and Flash Cannon, and Dragon Breath and Wild Charge, are also dangerous combos. Dragonite is a great choice to fight Zekrom.
3 Reshiram
The legendary Reshiram is a raid boss that will take at the absolute minimum 3 trainers to defeat. It has a maximum CP of 53394, an attack rating of 229, and a defense rating of 178. Reshiram's strong attacks will make short work of your Pokemon, and its defense is good enough to blunt a lot of your Pokemon's attacks.
This Dragon-type, unsurprisingly, has many devastatingly effective move-sets. Its quick moves will either be Dragon Breath or Fire Fang; both are great. Its best charge move is Overheat, but Crunch and Stone Edge are not much weaker. When raiding Reshiram, bring a Dragon-type.
2 Armored Mewtwo
When facing Mewtwo during a raid, the armored version is definitely the tougher of the two, mainly because of its extremely high defense rating (231). Otherwise, the armored version has a lower max CP (41299) and attack rating (155).
Its quick moves are Confusion and Iron Tail. Confusion is generally considered the better of the two because of its better EPS. The Armored Mewtwo has some different charge moves than the regular version, as it can attack with Rock Slide, Dynamic Punch, and Earthquake. However, like the regular Mewtwo, its best charge move is Psystrike.
1 Kyogre
Kyogre is a water-type Pokemon with a max CP of 54411, an attack rating of 225, and a defense rating of 191. With the charge move Blizzard, Kyogre is pure nightmare fuel for many raiders. Kyogre only has one available quick move, Waterfall. This quick move has a great DPS but a low EPS.
Besides Blizzard, Kyogre can also have Hydro Pump, Thunder, and Surf. While Surf doesn’t have a very high damage output per attack, its DPE is excellent. This Pokemon was originally notoriously difficult to catch during a raid due to a glitch. Kyogre’s only weaknesses are to grass and electric moves, and Blizzard is effective against electric Pokemon. Use dragon types against Kyogre to makes things a little easier. Regardless of which Pokemon you use, Kyogre is a hard boss to raid.
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