The coming weeks are full of exciting Battle Raid bosses in Pokemon GO, including a lot of boss rotations and the return of some old favorites. Currently the mobile AR experience is giving each of the Johto Beasts about a week in the Legendary slot and once Entei finishes up, it will be Raikou's time to shine.
Raikou is possibly the most powerful of the Johto Beasts and has held a solid spot in the Pokemon GO metagame ever since it first appeared in the early days of Legendary Battle Raids. Quite a lot has changed in the game since then, but trainers can still use high IV copies of Raikou to help dominate certain PvE or PvP match ups in Pokemon GO. In order to take advantage of this opportunity and defeat and catch Raikou, many players are going to need to update their counter rosters first.
Raikou is an Electric-type, which means that players are going to want to focus on taking advantage of its weakness to Ground-types during these battles. Although that used to mean a counter roster full of multiple Golems (and that strategy can still work), there are lots of other options available this time around thanks to new move sets and evolutions that have been released in the game. The added option of a few key Mega Evolutions also helps to offer additional options when putting this counter roster together...
Best Raikou Counters
Garchomp - Mud Shot/Earthquake
Groudon - Mud Shot/Earthquake
Rhyperior - Mud-Slap/Earthquake
Excadrill - Mud-Slap/Drill Run
Landorus - Mud Shot/Earth Power
Krookodile - Mud-Slap/Earthquake
Mamoswine - Mud-Slap/Bulldoze
Golurk - Mud-Slap/Earth Power
Gengar (Mega) - Lick/Shadow Ball
Donphan - Mud-Slap/Earthquake
Golem - Mud-Slap/Earthquake
It's always good to keep in mind that the list presented represents the absolute best counters and move sets. It's not the end of the world if any trainers can't pull together a roster of that quality though. The main thing to keep in mind is that the roster should focus on using the best Ground-type Pokemon available. As long as players team up with a decent group of other trainers and avoid Raikou's resistances, it should be possible to win the raid and move on to the encounter. Keep in mind that team and damage bonuses can help players secure additional Premium Pokeballs to use during the reward encounter though, so being a top damage dealer has its perks.
Over the next week or so players should begin to learn a lot more about what other events are on the way in February. 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 GOÂ is available on Android and iOS.
Source: Pokemon GO Hub