Lapras is Tier 3 Raid Boss in Pokémon GO, with a Boss CP of 23476. It is weak to Electric, Rock, Fighting and Grass, but depending on what moves Lapras has, it can do some serious damage to some of those counters.
Lapras can be caught in the following CP ranges:
- 1435 – 1509 CP (L20, no weather boost)
- 1794 – 1886 CP (L25, Rainy and Snow weather)
Lapras is soloable, but only with top, high level counters, so keep this in mind! It is a very tanky defender, so groups of 2-4 are recommended depending on player levels and available counters.
Best Attackers Against Lapras
Since Shadow Pokémon are extremely expensive to power up and require specific events to remove Frustration with a Charge TM, they will NOT be listed as raid counters in this article. That being said, if you have the shadow form of a listed raid counter Pokémon powered up and TMed, use it.
The best counters for Lapras are the following:
| # | Pokémon | Fast Move | Charge Move | Time to win | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Manectric (Mega)
|
Thunder Fang Electric | Wild Charge Electric | 85.05s | 3.00 |
| 2. |
Venusaur (Mega)
|
Vine Whip Grass | Frenzy Plant Grass | 94.41s | 2.25 |
| 3. |
Lopunny (Mega)
|
Double Kick Fighting | Focus Blast Fighting | 92.91s | 2.75 |
| 4. |
Ampharos (Mega)
|
Volt Switch Electric | Zap Cannon Electric | 98.33s | 2.13 |
| 5. |
Aerodactyl (Mega)
|
Rock Throw Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 90.13s | 3.63 |
| 6. |
Alakazam (Mega)
|
Counter Fighting | Focus Blast Fighting | 102.12s | 3.38 |
| 7. |
Kartana
|
Razor Leaf Grass | Leaf Blade Grass | 104.81s | 3.63 |
| 8. |
Latios (Mega)
|
Dragon Breath Dragon | Solar Beam Grass | 114.76s | 2.63 |
| 9. |
Terrakion
|
Double Kick Fighting | Sacred Sword Fighting | 107.37s | 3.50 |
| 10. |
Gengar (Mega)
|
Lick Ghost | Focus Blast Fighting | 109.81s | 3.25 |
| 11. |
Abomasnow (Mega)
|
Razor Leaf Grass | Energy Ball Grass | 120.23s | 2.50 |
| 12. |
Zekrom
|
Charge Beam Electric | Wild Charge Electric | 120.24s | 2.57 |
| 13. |
Charizard (Mega Y)
|
Fire Spin Fire | Blast Burn Fire | 119.00s | 3.50 |
| 14. |
Xurkitree
|
Spark Electric | Discharge Electric | 108.94s | 4.25 |
| 15. |
Lucario
|
Counter Fighting | Aura Sphere Fighting | 116.35s | 3.75 |
| 16. |
Rampardos
|
Smack Down Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 117.29s | 4.00 |
| 17. |
Zarude
|
Vine Whip Grass | Power Whip Grass | 127.87s | 2.43 |
| 18. |
Blaziken
|
Counter Fighting | Focus Blast Fighting | 135.65s | 3.00 |
| 19. |
Banette (Mega)
|
Shadow Claw Ghost | Shadow Ball Ghost | 122.83s | 3.40 |
| 20. |
Rhyperior
|
Smack Down Rock | Rock Wrecker Rock | 131.85s | 2.00 |
| 21. |
Cobalion
|
Double Kick Fighting | Sacred Sword Fighting | 142.93s | 2.00 |
| 22. |
Raikou
|
Volt Switch Electric | Wild Charge Electric | 127.61s | 3.14 |
| 23. |
Houndoom (Mega)
|
Fire Fang Fire | Foul Play Dark | 138.86s | 2.50 |
| 24. |
Magnezone
|
Spark Electric | Wild Charge Electric | 136.18s | 2.67 |
| 25. |
Gigalith
|
Smack Down Rock | Meteor Beam Rock | 134.71s | 2.00 |
| 26. |
Conkeldurr
|
Counter Fighting | Dynamic Punch Fighting | 124.34s | 3.67 |
| 27. |
Thundurus (Therian)
|
Volt Switch Electric | Thunderbolt Electric | 119.58s | 4.17 |
| 28. |
Zapdos
|
Thunder Shock Electric | Thunderbolt Electric | 131.63s | 3.00 |
| 29. |
Latias (Mega)
|
Dragon Breath Dragon | Psychic Psychic | 138.89s | 2.00 |
| 30. |
Tapu Bulu
|
Bullet Seed Grass | Grass Knot Grass | 136.80s | 2.33 |
| 31. |
Roserade
|
Razor Leaf Grass | Grass Knot Grass | 133.88s | 2.50 |
| 32. |
Machamp
|
Counter Fighting | Dynamic Punch Fighting | 127.76s | 3.67 |
| 33. |
Breloom
|
Counter Fighting | Dynamic Punch Fighting | 133.71s | 3.00 |
| 34. |
Celebi
|
Magical Leaf Grass | Leaf Storm Grass | 144.35s | 2.00 |
| 35. |
Virizion
|
Double Kick Fighting | Sacred Sword Fighting | 144.38s | 2.00 |
Moveset
| Fast Moves | Charge Moves |
|
|
*denotes legacy move only obtainable via Elite TM.
With a variety of Ice and Water type moves, Lapras can be tricky to counter. When going into the raid, have a look what your recommended Pokémon are before you pick your team. If it is suggesting Rock types it is probably safe to assume it doesn’t have Water type moves. If no Grass types are appearing, it more than likely comes armed with Ice type moves that will make quick work of your Grass types.
The best attackers to fight Lapras that are not weak to any of its moves, are strong Fighting types like Machamp and Lucario, or electric type attackers with great DPS output such as Raikou, Magnezone, Electivire, and Zapdos.
Other potential options include Heracross, Poliwrath with double fighting type moves (Rock Smash/Dynamic Punch) and Lanturn with double electric type attacks, but they are way below in terms of viability with respect to the three mentioned at the beginning.
Honorable Mentions
- Lucario with Counter / Close Combat
- Rhyperior with Smack Down / Stone Edge
- Jolteon with Thunder Shock / Thunderbolt
- Heracross with Counter / Close Combat
- Exeggutor with Bullet Seed / Solar Beam
- Tangrowth with Vine Whip / Solar Beam
Final tips
Lapras is considered as an ultra-rare Pokémon. It is rarely found in the wild! It is a great gym defending option to consider, due to its typing and available ice type movesets. If you see a Lapras Raid Boss, you should consider giving it a try.
Catching a Lapras can be extremely difficult. Its catch percentage went down from is only 5%, which makes it very challenging to catch one. Even after using a Golden Razz Berry, its circle will still show up red, so aiming carefully is almost mandatory in order to catch it.