Can you solo defeat Shadow Ho-Oh in Pokemon GO 5-star Shadow Raids?

If you want to solo defeat Shadow Ho-Oh in Pokemon GO, it might be extremely taxing on your Pokemon and resources. Niantic's mobile game will witness Shadow Ho-Oh making its way to 5-star Shadow Raids during the Taken Treasure event. You can participate in them from Saturday, January 27, 2024, at 6 am local time, through Sunday, January 28, 2024, at 10 pm local time. The odds of a shiny encounter are approximately 1-in-20.

Shadow Raids that feature Legendary Pocket Monsters are notoriously difficult. In fact, they are some of the hardest raid battles in Pokemon GO, if not the hardest of them all. Even among them, Shadow raids that featured Lugia and Mewtwo were some of the most difficult, and Shadow Ho-oh raids will be of that level.

It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to solo defeat Shadow Ho-Oh in the upcoming shadow raids. So, it is advisable to go in with at least 3 to 4 high-level trainers. It might not be the easiest thing to find so many strong players for everyone, and they might wonder if it can be done solo.

Sadly, our estimations have shown that it might not be possible to solo defeat Shadow Ho-Oh in Pokemon GO. Since you cannot raid remotely, this guide will help you devise a strategy that will let you defeat this monster with three players.

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How to defeat Shadow Ho-Oh in Pokemon GO with three trainers

You may not be able to solo defeat Shadow Ho-Oh (Image via Niantic)

Shadow Ho-oh raids are going to be significantly difficult to complete successfully. So, ensure all the raiders have counters at level 40 and above. Anything lower than that will increase your difficulties in the raids.

Being a Fire- and Flying-type Pocket Monster, Shadow Ho-Oh will have the following weaknesses:

• Rock
• Electric
• Water

It would be ideal if all three players could take maxed-out counters from one of the three elemental typings mentioned above. Pokemon like Primal Kyogre, Mega Diancie, Shadow Rampardos, Shadow Rhyperior, Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Tyranitar, Rampardos, Shadow Aerodactyl, Shadow Aggron, Kyogre, and Terrakion are a few that are going to be extremely effective against Shadow Ho-Oh.

Some of these monsters can be hard to level up. So, we have listed a few easy-to-max counters for Shadow Ho-Oh:

• Rampardos with Smack Down and Rock Slide as its primary moves
• Tyrantrum with Rock Throw and Meteor Beam as its primary moves
• Rhyperior with Smack Down and Rock Wrecker as its primary moves
• Shadow Omastar with Rock Throw and Rock Slide as its primary moves
• Alolan Golem with Rock Throw and Rock Blast as its primary moves

One of the main things you need to do in these raids is use Purified Gems whenever Shadow Ho-Oh gets enraged. This is when it becomes almost invincible. No matter what counters you take, they won't stand a chance against Shadow Ho-Oh in this form.

Optimally use Purified Gems to remove the raid boss' enraged state, and make sure to always dodge the attacks coming from this monster. These will be crucial for defeating this monster in Pokemon GO.

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For PvP players, you can read this article to learn about Shadow Ho-Oh’s best moveset and viability in the current metagame of Pokemon GO. Read our other Pokemon GO articles:

• Monthly infographic
• Ditto disguises
• Buddy evolution Adventure Together guide
• Best Fast Attacks in Pokemon GO
• Sierra counters
• Cliff counters
• Arlo counters
• Giovanni counters