The final days of February are here and it’s almost time for the Season of Alola to take over the Pokemon GO calendar. That said, February’s activities aren’t finished just yet. GO Tour Johto is now finished, but there are still some late February Battle Raids active to help challenge players at the end of the weekend.
PvE fans of the mobile AR game have one final version of Deoxys to battle before February comes to a close. Deoxys (this time in Speed forme) will be taking over the Tier 5 Battle Raid slot from February 25 through March 1. That means Pokemon GO trainers still have a full day or two left to head out with friends and challenge the big boss before the next rotation arrives.
Deoxys (Speed Forme), just like the previous two formes, is still a powerful foe in PoGO, so trainers will need to take a bit of time to prepare a solid roster of counters for this fight. The Raid Boss is a Psychic type, which means that players will want to focus on Ghost-, Dark-, and Bug-type counters to take advantage of the enemy's biggest weaknesses. Luckily, many of the best choices have been popular for other Battle Raid bosses, so hopefully many players will already have some of these Pokemon powered up and ready to drop into their updated roster…
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Best Deoxys Speed Forme Counters
- Gengar (Mega) - Lick Shadow Ball
- Houndoom (Mega) - Snarl Foul Play
- Gyarados (Mega) - Bite Crunch
- Darkrai - Snarl Shadow Ball
- Giratina (Origin) - Shadow Claw Shadow Ball
- Chandelure - Hex Shadow Ball
- Hydreigon - Bite Dark Pulse
- Gengar - Lick Shadow Ball
- Beedrill (Mega) - Bug Bite X-Scissor
- Mewtwo - Psycho Cut Shadow Ball
Players should take note that they don't need a full roster of these top tier counters in order to participate in the Battle Raid and earn that encounter reward. The most important thing is to head into the battle with a solid group (five or more players) and focus on using any Pokemon that lineup with the boss's weaknesses. It's definitely wise to use some Candy, TMs, and Stardust ahead of time to power up a few of the best available options to make the Battle Raid go a little more smoothly for everyone involved.
In the week ahead, as the Season of Alola kicks off, players should learn a lot more about what to expect throughout the end of winter and the early spring. Be sure to check back in the near future for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.
