How to solo defeat Shadow Kirlia in Pokemon GO 3-star Shadow Raids

Can you solo defeat Shadow Kirlia in Pokemon GO's 3-star Shadow Raids? It's a question you may be asking as Shadow Kirlia is set to return during the 2024 Pokemon World Championship Celebration beginning on August 16, 2024, at 10:00 am local time and lasting until August 20, 2024, at 8:00 pm local time. Fortunately, the answer is yes! Shadow Kirlia can be beaten alone.

With the appropriate movesets and counters, as well as a general awareness of Shadow Kirlia's weaknesses in Pokemon GO, defeating the Shadow Raid boss shouldn't be too difficult of a task. Having said that, it's worth taking a look at how to solo defeat Shadow Kirlia when it returns to 3-star Shadow Raids.

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What to do to solo defeat Shadow Kirlia in Pokemon GO

Kirlia in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Before diving too deeply into the raid itself, it's important to take note of some basic information surrounding how Shadow Kirlia will be encountered in this Pokemon GO arena from an analytical standpoint. The full slate of info on this raid boss can be found below:

• Type: Psychic and Fairy
• Combat Power: 8,115
• Attack: 117
• Defense: 90
• Stamina: 3,600 HP
• Fast Attacks: Confusion, Charge Beam, and Magical Leaf
• Charged Attacks: Shadow Sneak, Disarming Voice, Draining Kiss, Psychic, Triple Axel, and Frustration
• Weaknesses: Ghost, Poison, and Steel-type moves

You'll have 180 seconds to defeat Shadow Kirlia in this raid. While that sounds generous, considering this boss only has 3,600 health, not every Pocket Monster will be able to solo Shadow Kirlia raids.

The following Pocket Monsters should be able to efficiently solo defeat Shadow Kirlia in Pokemon GO's 3-star Shadow Raids with plenty of time left on the raid timer:

• Dusk Mane Necrozma with Metal Claw and Sunsteel Strike
• Dawn Wings Necrozma with Shadow Claw and Moongeist Beam
• Shadow Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash
• Mega/Shadow Gengar with Lick and Shadow Ball
• Shadow Chandelure with Hex and Shadow Ball
• Mega Banette with Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball
• Blacephalon with Astonish and Shadow Ball
• Mega Beedrill with Poison Jab and Sludge Bomb
• Shadow Excadrill with Metal Claw and Iron Head
• Gholdengo with Hex and Shadow Ball
• Mega Lucario with Bullet Punch and Shadow Ball
• Nihilego with Poison Jab and Sludge Bomb
• Origin Forme Giratina with Shadow Claw and Shadow Force

Based on these picks' move types, damage per second (DPS) and total damage overall (TDO) numbers, and any available Weather Boosts that may be active, they should be able to solo defeat Shadow Kirlia in no more than approximately 130 seconds if they have the highest possible IV stats. This remains true even if the likes of Gholdengo, Giratina, and Nihilego may faint once.

Tips and tricks to solo defeat Shadow Kirlia in Pokemon GO

• Stockpile plenty of Max Revives in case your raiding Pokemon faint during the battle. There's no time to waste during this solo raid.
• Much like Max Revives, collect Shadow Gems by completing other Shadow Raids and defeating Team GO Rocket grunts, which can be combined into Purified Gems. These gems are capable of preventing Shadow Kirlia's rage mechanic during the Shadow Raid. Rage increases Shadow Kirlia's stats throughout the raid, so keeping the rage mechanic subdued will prevent the raid from dragging out too long.
• Practice dodging Charged Attacks to optimally deal damage while avoiding fainting during this Shadow Raid.

These tips and counters should give you a great chance at solo defeating Shadow Kirlia in Pokemon GO's 3-star Shadow Raids. However, there's no shame in taking on the raid with allies if at all possible.

While Shadow Raids don't allow you to invite other trainers or raid remotely, if other players arrive at the raid arena, they can make the job of defeating Shadow Kirlia much easier.