Party Hat Gengar and Nidorino Raid Day Guide

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As part of the Pokemon Day celebration, Gengar and Nidorino are ready to party Sunday, March 1st, 2pm to 5pm local time, as a reference to the opening screen of Pokemon Red, Firered/Leafgreen, and even the original Pokemon anime series.

Image result for pokemon red opening

How nostalgic.

Gengar will know the moves Lick Ghost and Psychic Psychic on catch, and both Gengar and Nidorino will be wearing party hats with a shiny chance. Gengar is a T4 raid with 33531 CP and Nidorino is a T2 raid with 7238 CP. You get 5 free raid passes during the event.

Nidorino

We’ll start off with the easier raid boss, since you really don’t have to use a lot of effort to take Nidorino down. It’s a T2 boss, so of course it’s soloable, and it’s weak to Mewtwo, which means it’ll crumble in less than a minute with maxed proper counters. Even level 20 armoured Mewtwos can solo Nidorino with plenty of room to spare. No reason to fear it, you’ll likely not even need to spend a single revive afterwards. Keep in mind that since it’s a raid day event, you’ll likely have a crew with you, so rest in peace Nidorino.

Nidorino

Poison

Max CP 1393
ATK 137 DEF 111 HP 156
Weak to
Ground Psychic

For reasons I already mentioned, I won’t spend too much time on counters: anything decently levelled that knows a psychic or ground attack can solo it. Be creative, beat it with a team of 4 level 30 Drilburs (it’s possible, 80 seconds). Upload a neat challenge video to YouTube, get views. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe. All you get from it is a trophy, unless you plan on using Nidorino in great league, in which case I respect that.

Nidorino can be caught at the following CP values:

  • 743 – 796 Unboosted
  • 929 – 995 Boosted by Cloudy weather

Shiny Comparison

Non-Shiny Shiny

Gengar

Okay, now we’ll cover what you came here for. Gengar takes a bit more effort to take down than Nidorino, so be sure to bring some help, it needs 2-3 trainers.

Gengar

Ghost Poison

Max CP 2878
ATK 261 DEF 149 HP 155
Weak to
Dark Ghost Ground Psychic

 

Gengar’s weak to Psychic and Ghost, so many strong options are available as counters, but most of them are double-edged swords, being weak to many of Gengar’s attacks. Dark and certain Ground attackers should watch out for Focus Blast, as undodged it’s basically an insta-KO. Don’t be afraid to dodge, Gengar’s attack stat is not to be slept on.

Counters

Gengar Counters
Gengar
Supreme Gengar raid counters
Mewtwo Confusion Psychic Psystrike* Psychic Psychic Psychic
Good ol’ Mewtwo’s a beastly option, of course, just be sure to watch out for Shadow Ball, and keep in mind Mewtwo’s weak to all of Gengar’s fast attacks.
Giratina (Origin) Shadow Claw Ghost Shadow Ball Ghost
Nice and bulky, Giratina shines against Focus Blast. Same situation as Mewtwo though; Shadow Ball is killer.
Darkrai Snarl Dark Shadow Ball Ghost
Darkrai, unlike the above two, actually resists Gengar’s fast attacks and Shadow Ball, despite being weak to Focus Blast.
Great Gengar raid counters
Latios Zen Headbutt Psychic Psychic Psychic
Metagross Zen Headbutt Psychic Psychic Psychic
Groudon Mud Shot Ground Earthquake Ground
Good Gengar raid counters
Gengar Shadow Claw Ghost Lick* Ghost Shadow Ball Ghost
Gallade Gardevoir Confusion Psychic Psychic Psychic
Rhyperior Mud Slap Ground Earthquake Ground
Hydreigon Bite Dark Dark Pulse Dark
Tyranitar Bite Dark Crunch Dark

(*legacy or event move)

Gengar still has a place in the meta, in spite of other options like Giratina and Darkrai being more bulky and not weak to what you’re trying to take down. Do those two have a neat hat? I think not.

Gengar Moveset Analysis

Gengar will have the following moves in battle. It’s guaranteed to have the moveset Lick and Psychic on catch, though.

Fast Moves Charge Moves
  • Shadow Claw Ghost
  • Hex Ghost
  • Sucker Punch Dark
  • Shadow Ball Ghost
  • Sludge Bomb Poison
  • Focus Blast Fighting

Sucker Punch and Sludge Bomb are probably the least threatening moves Gengar can use, but they’ll still hurt quite a bit unless your counters resist them. Hex and Shadow Ball will shred your team if you’re using top counters, so be careful.

Gengar can be caught at the following CP values:

  • 1566 – 1644 Unboosted
  • 1985 – 2055 Boosted by Fog and Cloudy weather

Shiny Comparison

Non-Shiny Shiny

Summary

Although Gengar’s not strong against a lot of gen 5 legendary Pokemon, and Nidorino is just gonna sit in your inventory, it’s still 5 free raids at least. Keep in mind that T4 raids have coveted charge TMs as a guaranteed drop, which is important as season 1 of GO Battle League starts soon.

Remember to drink plenty of water, and don’t risk going out in dangerous weather conditions. Stay safe, Trainers!

Author & tags

Tags
Platinum
Platinum
I enjoy drinking coffee and going for walks if I can muster the energy. I mostly spend time shiny hunting in mainline Pokémon games. My favourite Pokémon is Falinks, and I'm still in disbelief that it was added to GO like a year or two early. Empoleon is a close second, though.

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