Mega Rayquaza Elite Raid Counters Guide

Mega Rayquaza

Mega Rayquaza is set to make their return to Pokémon GO in Elite Raids! Elite Raids are a trickier level than the typical raids, so be sure to prepare your counters and your local community in advance. You can only participate in Elite Raids in person, being organised is key.

Depending on your group’s Trainer levels and counters, we would recommend 6-7 trainers who are high level, and more if you don’t have optimal teams. This guide will tell you how to beat Mega Rayquaza in Elite Raids, as well as its optimal stats, moves and CP range.

You cannot catch Rayquaza in its Mega evolved state from a Raid. Mega Rayquaza is always catchable in its base form and as such, the CP ranges are for a regular Rayquaza. Rayquaza can be caught with the following CP values:

• 2102 – 2191 CP no weather boost
• 2627 – 2739 CP boosted by Windy weather boost

Best Mega Rayquaza Counters

Mega Rayquaza is a Dragon and Flying type Mega Legendary Raid boss. The best counters for Mega Rayquaza will be your top Ice types, as it has a 2x weakness to Ice, along with weakness to Fairy Rock and Dragon types. Fairy and Rock type Pokémon will also have the benefit of resisting most of Mega Rayquaza’s attacks.

Let’s check out the top raid counters for Mega Rayquaza:

#	Attacker	Fast Move	Charge Move	Faints	TTW
1.	Shadow Mamoswine	Powder Snow Ice	Avalanche Ice	39	424s
2.	Galarian Standard Darmanitan	Ice Fang Ice	Avalanche Ice	49	477s
3.	Shadow Weavile	Ice Shard Ice	Avalanche Ice	52	466s
4.	Baxcalibur	Ice Fang Ice	Avalanche Ice	46	504s
5.	Shadow Mewtwo	Psycho Cut Psychic	Ice Beam Ice	43	511s
6.	Mamoswine	Powder Snow Ice	Avalanche Ice	40	520s
7.	Mega Glalie	Frost Breath Ice	Avalanche Ice	47	527s
8.	Cetitan	Ice Shard Ice	Avalanche Ice	38	557s
9.	Mega Gardevoir	Charm Fairy	Triple Axel Ice	33	574s
10.	Mega Rayquaza	Dragon Tail Dragon	Outrage Dragon	42	554s
11.	Mega Abomasnow	Powder Snow Ice	Weather Ball Ice	51	535s
12.	Shadow Mr. Rime	Ice Shard Ice	Triple Axel Ice	52	524s
13.	Shadow Articuno	Frost Breath Ice	Triple Axel Ice	45	570s
14.	Kyurem	Dragon Breath Dragon	Glaciate Ice	48	568s
15.	Glaceon	Frost Breath Ice	Avalanche Ice	50	578s
16.	Mega Garchomp	Dragon Tail Dragon	Outrage Dragon	40	614s
17.	Shadow Walrein	Frost Breath Ice	Icicle Spear Ice	49	601s
18.	Weavile	Ice Shard Ice	Avalanche Ice	54	565s
19.	Mewtwo	Psycho Cut Psychic	Ice Beam Ice	45	626s
20.	Shadow Gardevoir	Charm Fairy	Triple Axel Ice	49	628s
21.	Shadow Ursaluna	Tackle Normal	Ice Punch Ice	43	653s
22.	Shadow Piloswine	Ice Shard Ice	Avalanche Ice	58	567s
23.	Aurorus	Frost Breath Ice	Weather Ball Ice	38	671s
24.	Avalugg	Ice Fang Ice	Avalanche Ice	40	678s
25.	Shadow Lapras	Frost Breath Ice	Ice Beam Ice	49	662s
26.	Mega Diancie	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	36	701s
27.	Mega Salamence	Dragon Tail Dragon	Outrage Dragon	46	678s
28.	Shadow Rhyperior	Smack Down Rock	Rock Wrecker Rock	39	699s
29.	Alola Shadow Ninetales	Powder Snow Ice	Weather Ball Ice	52	650s
30.	Origin Dialga	Dragon Breath Dragon	Roar of Time Dragon	35	722s

How to get Mega Rayquaza

Rayquaza is one of the most unique Mega Evolution to come to Pokémon GO based on its requirements. In order to get Mega Rayquaza you will not only need 400 Mega Energy, but also its signature move Dragon Ascent which will only be obtained through use of a Meteorite item.

After that, as long as you don’t remove Dragon Ascent, it will cost 80 Mega energy to Mega evolve the same Rayquaza again, or wait the required ‘cooldown’ period after which the Mega Evolution will be free.

This cooldown period becomes shorter the higher mega level your Mega Pokémon is. Mega Energy can be obtained via Mega Rayquaza Raids, and once you have evolved Mega Rayquaza, you can earn 100 Mega Energy per candy while walking it as your buddy.

You can walk any Rayquaza to earn Mega Energy, as long as you have previously evolved one to register it to your Mega Pokédex.

Shiny Rayquaza

Like all Mega Raid Bosses, you can catch the shiny version of Rayquaza from a raid or in the wild. To obtain a shiny Mega Rayquaza you need to evolve a shiny Rayquaza.

Raquaza Sprite	Rayquaza Shiny Sprite
Mega Rayquaza Sprite	Mega Rayquaza Shiny Sprite

Mega Rayquaza Movesets

(*) Denotes a Legacy Move, only obtainable via Elite TM.
(**) Denotes a Legacy Move, only obtainable via a Meteorite. You need Dragon Ascent in order to Mega Evolve your Rayquaza.

Mega Rayquaza Stats

Mega Rayquaza DragonFlying
Max CP at lvl 40 5713
Max CP at lvl 50 6458
ATK 377		DEF 210		HP 227
Weak to			Resistances
Dragon Fairy Icex2 Rock			Grass Ground Bug Fighting Fire Water

Conclusion

Even with massive competition from other Dragon type Mega Pokémon, Mega Rayquaza beats them all! With a 100IV maxing out at over 5700CP at level 40, it hits 6458CP at level 50, leaving it just below its Primal counterparts for the highest CP at this time. Mega Rayquaza is going to be the top Dragon and Flying type attacker depending on their moveset, making a high IV one incredibly useful in the future.

Reminder about Elite Raids

Elite Raids are a type of raid focused on in-person play, and they will appear at selected EX Gyms worldwide. Elite Raids are designed to be challenging, a bit over Tier 5 difficulty, and they can only be completed in-person.

Elite Raid Eggs take 24 hours to hatch, and Trainers will have only 45 minutes to complete them once the Raid Egg has hatched. Since these Raids can only be completed in-person, Trainers are encouraged to organise well ahead of time and not be late for the spawn. 

Trainers will see a special Raid Egg on top of an EX Gym 24 hours before the Raid starts, and the Elite Raid Eggs will also be visible on the Nearby radar, and in Niantic Campfire.

For more information see our Elite Raids are coming to Pokémon GO article.