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

If you want to solo defeat Shadow Raikou in Pokemon GO’s upcoming Shadow Raids, you might be in a tight fix. This is because Shadow Pocket Monsters are known to be extremely difficult when they are featured as raid bosses. Since you will be going up against one of Raikou’s calibers, a solo raid can become the product of your worst nightmare.

In this article, we will take a look at if and how you can defeat Shadow Raikou as a solo Pokemon GO player.

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Is it possible to solo defeat Shadow Raikou in Pokemon GO 5-star Shadow Raids?

Raikou in Pokemon GO (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Shadow Pokemon, when featured as raid bosses in this game (except 1-star raids), can slip into an Enraged Form that significantly boosts the creature’s defense and attack stats.

As a result, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to defeat Shadow Raikou solo in the upcoming Shadow Raids. No matter how many strong counters you have in your party, you will almost always fail to defeat this legendary Shadow Raid boss by yourself.

We ran some simulations, and sadly, our estimations have shown that you will not be able to solo defeat Raikou’s shadow variant in the upcoming Shadow Raids. A team of at least three to four players is recommended for this monster.

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How to defeat Shadow Raikou in Pokemon GO with three trainers

Shadow Raikou has a massive CP stat of 45,435 with an attack stat of 241 and a defense stat of 195 in Pokemon GO. These numbers will be significantly boosted in its Enraged Form. So, make sure you have Purified Gems to subdue this monster once it becomes enraged.

Besides Purified Gems, you will need a raid party with the strongest Ground-type Pokemon in your account. Being a pure Electric-type monster, Raikou is weak to only Ground-type beasts.

If you go in with three players for these raids, it is advisable to have strong counters like Primal Groudon, Mega Garchomp, Shadow Garchomp, and similar powerful Ground-type creatures in your lineup. Since there are three players, all of you should have the strongest Ground-type Mega or Primal Evolution leading your raid party.

Mega Garchomp is a brilliant counter (Image via The Pokemon Company)

We have listed a few easy-to-max counters for Shadow Raikou:

• Shadow Garchomp: With Mud Shot and Earth Power as its primary moves.
• Shadow Mamoswine: WIth Mud-Slap and High Horsepower as its primary moves.
• Shadow Rhyperior: With Mud-Slap and Earthquake as its primary moves.
• Garchomp: With Mud Shot and Earth Power as its primary moves.
• Shadow Excadrill: With Mud-Slap and Scorching Sands as its primary moves.

Once you are ready with the attackers and are in the raid, make sure to dodge the attacks coming from this raid boss, as it hits like an absolute tank. After a few turns, you will get an idea of when this beast is going to attack, and then, you must swipe on your device to move left or right to avoid getting hit.

When this creature becomes enraged, you must use Purified Gems to subdue it. Each player needs to use the gems individually. You will have to strike the raid boss with Charged attacks as much as you can to take down its HP before the timer hits zero.

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If you want a more detailed raid guide, we have a Shadow Raikou raid guide that talks about this monster’s resistances and weaknesses, along with the most effective counters and how you can beat this monster.