Nihilego weaknesses and counters in Pokemon GO (August 2022)

With the recent wave of new players who have managed to get their hands on the Ultra Beast Nihilego, thanks to the Pokemon GO Fest, its usage in the competitive Battle League has spiked. This has led to more users looking for answers on how they can counter this defensive beast of a Pokemon.

As many are aware, the meta for Niantic's mobile game thrives heavily on defensive attributes. This is due to its unique battle system practically guaranteeing that all participating Pokemon will take damage when they enter the fight. The lack of abilities and a special attack stat do not help much.

With Nihilego's unique typing, unrelenting bulk, and recent implementation, many gamers may need guidance when dealing with this threat in Pokemon GO. Whether it's for countering it in the Battle League or preparing a strategy for when it returns in Raid Battles, a bit of research never hurts.

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Nihilego in Pokemon GO: An analysis

Nihilego as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Nihilego possesses an entirely unique type combination as of writing. The Rock and Poison type combination is one of the more interesting combinations in the franchise. This is due to the Poison typing covering the most commonplace weakness of the Rock typing, i.e., Fighting-type and Grass-type attacks.

However, this is counteracted by the combination resulting in a significant weakness to Ground-type attacks while adding a weakness to Psychic-type attacks. With this in mind, readers already know Nihilego's biggest weakness: Supercharged Ground-type attacks.

But which attacks from this catalog are best suited for the job?

While a powerful move is always handy, base power is not everything. A Pokemon's ability to hit an opponent in their weak spot is what truly matters.

Nihilego's stats in Pokemon GO appear to be perfectly balanced, with most sitting firmly around the 240 mark. However, there is a noteworthy outlier.

Nihilego's weakest stat is its defense which sits at only 210. With this in mind, players can begin to look at some of its best counters.

For starters, Excadrill is an excellent choice thanks to its typing, which provides it with more powerful Ground-type attacks and excellent resistances thanks to its additional Steel typing.

For users wanting to take an all-out offensive approach to Nihilego, Garchomp is a great choice. This is due to Garchomp's incredibly high base attack stat and its access to Earthquake, one of Pokemon GO's best Ground-type attacks.

Groudon is also a good choice, albeit much harder to come by than most others.

Given Nihilego's low defense rather than stamina, it is also vulnerable to burst damage that super-effective fast attacks can apply in rapid succession. The moves Mud Shot and Mud Slap are most common among Pokemon of the Ground typing, and they can use the attack to provide more than serviceable damage.

Overall, Nihilego's status as an Ultra Beast can often get the best of Pokemon GO gamers' senses. However, with some research and careful planning, the Pokemon can provide nothing more than a slight inconvenience if they are caught off-guard by its appearance.