Pokemon GO Ho-Oh guide (March 2023): Best counters, weaknesses, and more

Ho-Oh is making its triumphant return to Pokemon GO as a limited-time Raid Boss. It will appear in five-star raids from March 8, 2023, to March 21, 2023.

Many long-time fans of the franchise are familiar with this guardian of the skies. It is known for appearing on the boxes of Pokemon Gold and HeartGold.

Being a Legendary Pokemon, Ho-Oh is no pushover. For this reason, trainers must think of a plan before facing it in battle. However, finding the perfect strategy for taking down this powerful beast is much easier said than done.

So, what can players do to increase their chances of emerging victorious? A little bit of game knowledge goes a long way, so trainers who have not participated in this raid yet should do their research on Ho-Oh before challenging it in Pokemon GO.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer

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Everything to know about facing Ho-Oh as a Raid Boss in Pokemon GO

Ho-Oh as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The first thing every player should know about a raid boss before challenging it in Pokemon GO is its elemental typing. Ho-Oh is a Fire and Flying-type creature, just like Charizard. As many hardcore battlers will know, this type combination makes Charizard a bit iffy to use in competitive battles and very easy to deal with.

This combination is weak to Water, Electric, and especially Rock-type attacks. Rock-type attacks are the best counters against Ho-oh, thanks to their double coverage against it and the fact that the typing houses some of the best tanks in the franchise. One of the best offensive creatures in Pokemon GO, Rampardos, is also of Rock typing.

Overall, Ho-oh is incredibly balanced, which can make it hard to deal with. However, a small difference in its stat spread reveals its weakness.

Ho-oh's highest stat in Pokemon GO is its defense. With this being the case, players should prioritize picking counters that can spam the creature with charged attacks to take advantage of its smaller health pool.

Ho-Oh's best counters are offensively oriented Rock-type Pocket Monsters. Since creatures of the element naturally resist Ho-Oh's Flying and Fire-type attacks, players do not need to worry much about bringing a wall to help anchor the fight. Some of the best picks for this raid are Rampardos, Tyrantrum, and Tyranitar.

Players who want to roll in a smaller group are advised to use some more bulky creatures. Rhyperior, Terrakion, and Gigalith can give trainers a defensive edge if they do not have a large group of players to challenge Pokemon GO's newest Raid Boss with.

On the topic of group size, players should opt to challenge Ho-oh in groups of six or seven. Since this is not an Elite Raid, they can find other trainers who are looking for raid groups through online social media sites and forum boards like Discord, Twitter, and Facebook.

However, the recommended size of the raid party shifts depending on the creatures everyone has access to as well as their personal skill level in raid battles.