What are Shadow Moltres' weaknesses in Pokemon GO?

Now that we know Giovanni will be using Shadow Moltres in Pokemon GO throughout May, trainers might be very interested in what its weaknesses are.

Players can face off against Giovanni by gaining a Super Rocket Radar from completing the “The Higher they Fly” Special Research. Defeating Shadow Moltres will be no easy task, though. Considering the standard Moltres has 251 Attack, its Shadow version will certainly be even more powerful. Keeping the weaknesses mentioned below in mind, though, should help any player beat Shadow Moltres.

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Whater are Shadow Moltres' weaknesses in Pokemon GO?

Image via The Pokemon Company

The most effective way to defeat Shadow Moltres is with Rock-type Pokemon. As a Pokemon that is both Fire-type and Flying-type, Shadow Moltres hates taking Rock attacks because they do 256% damage. Not only that, but Rock-types also resist most of the attacks Shadow Moltres can use (Wing Attack, Fire Spin, Overheat, Sky Attack, etc.). Any Tyranitar, Ramparados, Regirock, or similar Pokemon is going to have no issues in the Shadow Moltres matchup.

Though not all trainers have a strong Rock-type Pokemon handy, there are other ways of beating Shadow Moltres. Bulky Water-type Pokemon can also take hits and fire back with super effective attacks. The only thing that Water-types have to look out for is Sky Attack. This charge move is incredibly potent, doing a flat 40 DPS. Water doesn’t resist Flying either, so this attack is guaranteed to hurt. That being said, Pokemon like Blastoise, Swampert and Jellicent should do fine here.

Being a Fire and Flying-type Pokemon, the only other weakness Shadow Moltres has is Electric Pokemon. Electric attacks hit Shadow Moltres for super effective damage. Most Electric Pokemon are not full counters, though. They don’t resist Shadow Moltres’ fire attacks, so their health will drop to a strong Overheat or Fire Blast. The best case scenario for any Electric Pokemon would be to KO Shadow Moltres before it can charge its own attacks. Pokemon like Raikou and Zapdos should do a good job in this fight, as well as the Mega Manectric that was a Raid boss only last month.