Raikou Raid Guide

Raikou

Raikou is a Tier 5 Legendary Raid Boss in Pokémon GO, with a Raid Boss CP of 45435. Raikou is a pure Electric type, meaning it is weak to Ground types, while resisting Electric, Flying and Steel types. It is boosted by Rainy weather.

Raikou can be caught in the following CP-ranges:

• 1889-1972 CP for a regular Level 20 encounter
• 2361-2466 CP for a Rainy weather boosted encounter (Level 25)

Raikou duo is possible, but it would require maxed out counters, as well as Best Friend Bonus, Sunny weather Boost, and a good amount of luck. We suggest you to take on Raikou in groups of 4-6 for high-level players, or 7-20 for lower level players.

Raikou is one of the Johto Beasts (together with Entei and Suicune), a Legendary Trio originally discovered in the Johto Region (Gen II). This guide has been updated as of July 2021.

Best Raikou Counters in Pokémon GO

#	Attacker	Fast Move	Charge Move	Faints	TTW
1.	Groudon (Primal)	Mud Shot Ground	Precipice Blades Ground	9	468.2s
2.	Garchomp (Shadow)	Mud Shot Ground	Earth Power Ground	12	551.5s
3.	Groudon	Mud Shot Ground	Precipice Blades Ground	13	555.4s
4.	Mamoswine (Shadow)	Mud-Slap Ground	High Horsepower Ground	18	513.9s
5.	Rhyperior (Shadow)	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	15	557.6s
6.	Garchomp	Mud Shot Ground	Earth Power Ground	12	652.4s
7.	Ursaluna (Shadow)	Tackle Normal	High Horsepower Ground	13	654.4s
8.	Rhydon (Shadow)	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	19	600.5s
9.	Swampert (Mega)	Mud Shot Ground	Earthquake Ground	18	602.0s
10.	Excadrill	Mud-Slap Ground	Scorching Sands Ground	20	610.8s
11.	Mamoswine	Mud-Slap Ground	High Horsepower Ground	18	611.2s
12.	Rhyperior	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	15	661.7s
13.	Landorus (Therian)	Mud Shot Ground	Earthquake Ground	23	592.7s
14.	Donphan (Shadow)	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	21	636.4s
15.	Golurk (Shadow)	Mud-Slap Ground	Earth Power Ground	27	565.8s
16.	Flygon (Shadow)	Mud Shot Ground	Scorching Sands Ground	20	658.5s
17.	Golem (Shadow)	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	21	623.7s
18.	Landorus (Incarnate)	Mud Shot Ground	Earth Power Ground	24	627.5s
19.	Ursaluna	Tackle Normal	High Horsepower Ground	13	774.6s
20.	Krookodile	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	19	719.1s
21.	Rayquaza (Mega)	Dragon Tail Dragon	Outrage Dragon	27	626.1s
22.	Sceptile (Mega)	Fury Cutter Bug	Earthquake Ground	22	669.8s
23.	Rhydon	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	19	713.4s
24.	Mewtwo (Shadow)	Psycho Cut Psychic	Psystrike Psychic	39	565.7s
25.	Hippowdon (Shadow)	Ice Fang Ice	Scorching Sands Ground	20	713.1s
26.	Nidoking (Shadow)	Fury Cutter Bug	Earth Power Ground	27	654.4s
27.	Swampert (Shadow)	Mud Shot Ground	Earthquake Ground	29	671.1s
28.	Donphan	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	21	755.5s
29.	Entei (Shadow)	Fire Fang Fire	Scorching Sands Ground	35	622.0s
30.	Tyranitar (Mega)	Bite Dark	Brutal Swing Dark	23	727.8s

All data and numbers used in this article are extracted from our GO Hub Database.

For more accessible options, Swampert, Nidoking, Hippowdon, and even Seismitoad (yes really) all make the list after the top 30.

Please note that this list is based on overall performance against all Raikou movesets, and Pokémon in this list have maxed out stats (powered up to level 40). Actual results may vary, depending on the moveset on the Raid Boss and the conditions of the Raid Battle.

Raikou has access to the following moves:

*Best moveset for Raikou is in bold

• Thunder hits hard, but it gets resisted by Ground types
• Wild Charge and Thunderbolt don’t hit as hard as Thunder, and also get resisted by Ground types
• Shadow Ball is a powerful move, but doesn’t deal Super Effective damage to any of your counters (unless you choose to fight with Mewtwo)

Again, you don’t need to worry about any of these moves, as almost all counters resist Electric moves due to their Ground typing.

Weather Effects

Raikou is boosted by Rainy weather, while being more vulnerable in Sunny weather.
Rainy weather will give you the chance to catch Raikou at level 25, but the battle will be harder because of Raikou’s boosted Electric moves. If you want the fight to be easier, challenge Raikou in Sunny weather to boost your Ground counters.