Raid Boss Meta Overview – Tier 1 & 2

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With the Windy Weather Egg Hatches being released along with new Raid Bosses, one of the most important question players ask is which of the Raid Bosses are great in the game’s current and future meta. This article will overview and rate each Raid Boss per tier and see how they hold up not just in the present meta, but alongside the Pokemon to be released in the future and the possible meta once future generations are released.

If you are the type of player that pick and choose which Raid Boss to engage in, this is the article for you. Even if you aren’t selective with regards to raids, if you already have the Pokemon mentioned in this article, this will help you on which Pokemon you should invest your Stardust with.

Tier 1

  Magikarp
Current Meta ★★★★☆
Future Meta ★★★★☆

Among all the Pokemon in this tier (even in this whole article), Magikarp is the most useful, both in the current and the future meta. Its evolution, Gyarados, is the best non-Legendary Water type attacker in the meta. Once it learned Waterfall as a Fast move, it was clear that it outclassed Vaporeon, not just by having high Attack, but also a decent enough bulk to at least make it a decent defender as well.

While there will be a lot of threats in the next few Generations, it’s blessed by a high enough CP to survive the power creep. Not only that, it has a Mega Evolution that will definitely make that Bite and Crunch combo useful by replacing its Flying type with a more menacing Dark type. It’s no surprise that Kyogre will outclass it completely but being a second option to arguably one of the best Pokemon in the game might not be as bad as you think.

  Wailmer
Current Meta ★★★☆☆
Future Meta ★★☆☆☆

In the current meta, Wailmer is the next most useful Pokemon in this tier. Its evolution, Wailord, is a great defender because of its massive HP, and it pairs well with common Normal type defenders. The only thing holding it is that it will not age well, as more generations come in, better defenders like Drifblim, Rhyperior, Alomomola, and Ferrothorn will appear, not to mention some of the tanky Attackers like Mamoswine and Excadrill, and they all will push Wailord more and more into obscurity, but not by much because no one will come close to its huge HP, bar Legendary Pokemon.

Wailord will permanently be the Pokemon with 4th highest HP in the game, with only Blissey, Chansey, and Wobbuffet sporting higher HP. Sadly, this is the only Pokemon in the tier that has no Shiny variant yet, and also the only one in the tier who doesn’t have a Mega Evolution.

  Snorunt
Current Meta ☆☆☆☆☆
Future Meta ★★☆☆☆

Snorunt is the least valuable Pokemon in the current meta, and for a good reason. Its evolution, Glalie, has very bad stats across the board. Even Snorunt’s other evolution, Froslass, is as bad as Glalie’s, only having a decent enough attack but almost a non-existent bulk. Only Glalie has a Mega Evolution in the future, but even then, there are other Ice types with better overall stats even without the Mega Evolution. Mega Glalie still has a high enough Attack to warrant being an Ice type attacker, but compared to other Mega Evolution choices (especially if they also implemented one Mega Evolution per team), Mega Glalie’s stats will only be good at best.

  Swablu
Current Meta ★☆☆☆☆
Future Meta ★★★☆☆

Swablu is the second least valuable Pokemon in the current meta, and is almost the worst, to be frank. Its evolution, Altaria, might have the legendary Dragon typing and even learns Dragon Breath, but other than that, its stats leave a lot to be desired, so its more likely just a Pokedex filler rather than a real threat.

Unlike Glalie however, it can actually do a decent job of defending, with its Dragon typing giving Altaria key resistances. It does have a great Mega Evolution in the future, giving Altaria a new type combination: Dragon Fairy. This makes Mega Altaria the one of the only few Dragon Pokemon that can stand toe to toe against its fellow Dragon Pokemon, thanks to Fairy‘s immunity to Dragon. Dragon Breath and Dazzling Gleam is actually a good set for Mega Altaria. Still, it might not have the stats to make a reasonable dent, but it has the bulk to make Mega Altaria survive super-effective hits.

Tier 2

  Exeggutor
Current Meta ★★★☆☆
Future Meta ★★☆☆☆

Even during its first run as a Raid Boss, Exeggutor is the best Pokemon within its tier, especially because of how useful it is in the game. In the current meta, the lack of good Grass types made Pokemon like Venusaur, Tangela, and Sceptile shine as Grass type attackers, even though they are not really the best when it comes to their overall stats. The same goes for Exeggutor. What makes up for the lack of oomph in their stats is having one of the best offensive Charge move in the game, Solar Beam. What sets apart Exeggutor from the other Grass types is having better overall stats.

His only rival among the Grass types is Sceptile, but given how frail Sceptile is, Exeggutor is the safer choice for some people, especially with the advent of the Dodge glitch. Once better Grass types get released in the game, like Celebi, Shaymin, Tangrowth and Ferrothorn, Exeggutor will slowly fade from the limelight. Don’t worry, he will emerge again, but with a longer neck.

See also: Exeggutor Raid Guide

  Slowbro
Current Meta ★★☆☆☆
Future Meta ★★☆☆☆

Slowbro is an underrated defender. It has good bulk and a Psychic typing that goes well with Blissey to slow down the opponent’s momentum when attacking the gym. In future meta, it will slowly go down in usage at least until Mega Evolutions arrive, where its Mega Evolution sport a massive bulk that will definitely rival fellow defenders. Sadly there is no assurance that there is Mega Evolution during Gym defense, so it might have the same situation as Lugia, having good Defenses but nothing to use it for. If there is a way to implement Mega Evolutions in gyms, Slowbro might be one of the best defenders among Mega Evolutions, having both great Defense and Attack stats to successfully defend the gym.

See Also: Slowbro Raid Guide

  Sableye
Current Meta ☆☆☆☆☆
Future Meta ★★☆☆☆

Sableye has no place in the current meta. It might have only one weakness, and its to the rare Fairy type, but with its stats being laughably low, you won’t see Sableye at least until Mega Evolutions arrive. Sure, Mega Sableye has a monstrous Defense, but as with the case of Mega Slowbro, there is still no certainty in Mega Evolutions on Gym defense. The only thing going for Sableye is that it has a Shiny variant.

  Mawile
Current Meta ☆☆☆☆☆
Future Meta ★★☆☆☆

Mawile shares almost the same fate as Sableye. It also has abyssmal stats across the board, and won’t see the spotlight until Mega Evolutions arrive. Unlike Sableye though, Mawile is Attack-oriented so it’ll see much more use, plus it a decent boost in Defenses. The boosts are not enough though as it still lack the raw power even compared to some non-Mega Evolution Pokemon. Much like Sableye, it has a Shiny variant.

Conclusion

The best one among these two tiers is obviously Magikarp. Gyarados is the only one among these Pokemon that will surely be “future-proof” and will not be affected that much by the power creep in the future. Exeggutor is a distant second place, because of his placing in the current meta but do remember that there will be better Grass types in the future, so you should consider that before investing Stardust on it. Wailmer is also a good option in the current meta with its evolution, Wailord, having a huge HP to make it a good defender.

The remaining Pokemon are either too weak for the current meta (Altaria, Glalie, Sableye, Mawile) or are good Pokemon but have pre-evolutions that are relatively common (Slowbro).

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Ysmael
Ysmael
Avid Pokémon Fan since 2000

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