Pokemon GO (January 11): How to best prepare for Zekrom Raid Hour

Pokemon GO players are very familiar with the Spotlight Hour and Community Day occurrences. However, one of the more underappreciated events in the game is arguably the Raid Hour.

The mobile game has an abundance of Raid Bosses for its players to challenge at every rotation of content. The One-Star, Three-Star, Five-Star, and Mega Raids host different creatures in their divisions.

On January 11, 2023, players will be able to encounter the Five-Star Raid Boss, Zekrom, from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm local time. This is because it is the spotlight creature for the Raid Hour event.

However, since Zekrom is a Legendary Pokemon, players may have a hard time taking it on and may need a few pointers.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

---

Zekrom is weak to Ground, Fairy, Ice, and other Dragon-type attacks in Pokemon GO

Zekrom as it appears in Pokemon Evolutions (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The first thing players may find themselves in need of when taking advantage of the upcoming Raid Hour is medical supplies. Items like potions and revives are some of the most important consumables for trainers to have on standby, as every participating Pokemon is guaranteed to take damage.

Raid passes are another important item that players should consider when pursuing multiple Raid Battles in a given session. Consumption of one of these raid passes is required for trainers to even have a chance to challenge one raid. This means they may find themselves needing to purchase one raid pass for every attempt.

All of the aforementioned items can be purchased from Pokemon GO's in-game shop for 100 Pokecoins each. This translates to around $1 USD for each raid pass, 10 Max Revives, and 10 Max Potions.

Of course, players can also passively earn Pokecoins by defending Gyms with their own Pokemon. However, this is incredibly grindy, so many just prefer to purchase their Pokecoins.

Of course, in order to defeat any Raid Boss in Pokemon GO, players will need to know how to counter it. Since Zekrom is a Dragon and Electric-type Pokemon, it is weak to Ground, Fairy, Ice, and other Dragon-type attacks.

While it may seem tempting to bring Dragon-type creatures to this Raid Battle, Zekrom's overwhelming attacking power as a Raid Boss will leave them ineffective.

Some of the most potent counters for this Raid Battle in Pokemon GO are bulky Ground-type Pocket Monsters. Mamoswine, Excadrill, and even Garchomp are some of the best possible picks to make quick work of Zekrom due to their high damage output and ability to check the Legendary Pokemon in terms of elemental typing.

There is always power in numbers when it comes to raids in Pokemon GO. Given Zekrom's incredibly potent stat spread, a team of seven trainers is recommended. However, it can be difficult to find six other players to grind out an entire hour's worth of raids with. For this reason, one should consult message boards for the game on sites like Discord or Facebook in order to find teammates.