Shadow Sawk is now available in Tier 3 raids throughout Europe, Asia and Australia in Pokémon GO. Shadow raids can only be accessed with in-person passes. Shadow Sawk is an immensely difficult tier 3 raid due to the Shadow Raid mechanism. You will need to be well prepared with top counters, correct movesets, powered up Pokémon, and most importantly, Purified Gems.
Keep an eye on the weather, Cloudy weather will boost Shadow Sawk, and make this already difficult raid, even harder.
You can catch shadow Sawk after the raid with the following CP values (starting at 6/6/6 IV):
- 1458- 1593 CP, at Level 20 with no weather boost
- 1823 – 1991 CP, at Level 25 with weather boost, during Cloudy weather conditions
Sawk is a pure Fighting type Pokémon, and is weak to Fairy, and Psychic type moves. Even though Sawk has a shiny variant in the game, Shadow Sawk encountered from raid battles won’t be able to be shiny.
Related reading
- Pokémon GO Shadow Raids: Comprehensive Guide is an overall guide to all things Shadow Raids
Shadow Raid Information & Advice
As a shadow raid, Sawk will hit harder than ever before, so make sure your counters are powered up, have the right moveset, and aren’t weak to the raid bosses moves. These tier 3 raids are a tricky solo task for even the most prepared trainers, and you will need Purified Gems to defeat them. Shadow Raid Bosses will grow enraged as you battle them, boosting their attack and defence.
You will need to subdue Shadow Sawk using Purified Gems, a new item that can be assembled from Shadow Shards.
Shadow Shards are mysterious gem pieces that may be dropped by Team GO Rocket grunts, leaders, and from Shadow Raids. You will need to gather enough shards to use Professor Willow’s newly invented Shard Refiner, and in return you’ll be rewarded with a Purified Gem. Be sure to have collected as many as you can before you attempt a Shadow Sawk raid, as without them you won’t be able to return it to its normal, non-enraged state.
There are multiple ways Purified Gems can assist your battle against enraged Shadow Raid Bosses:
- When you use a Purified Gem during a Shadow Raid, the enraged Shadow Raid Boss’s attack and defence will be lowered temporarily. This can give you the opening you need to take them down.
- You and your fellow Trainers can use more than one Purified Gem during a Shadow Raid. If used at the same time, their effects will stack.
- If enough Purified Gems are used, the enraged Shadow Raid Boss will be subdued—returned to its non-enraged state—which might give you the edge you need to defeat it!
Purified Gems will show in the bottom left corner of the raid battle when you are able to use them, so be sure to communicate with your raid group to stack their effects!
Shadow Sawk Counters
Since powering up Shadow Pokémon is exceedingly expensive and removing Frustration with a Charged TM depends on specific events, this article will NOT list them as raid counters. However, if you already have a listed raid counter Pokémon in its shadow form, powered up and TM-ed, feel free to use it. The figures in our database for DPS and TDO are calculated using Level 40 Pokémon with perfect IVs.
The best counters for shadow Sawk are the following:
# | Pokemon | Fast Move | Charge Move | TTW | Faints |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Alakazam (Mega) | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
41.77s | 0.75 |
2. | Gardevoir (Mega) | Confusion Psychic |
Dazzling Gleam Fairy |
46.85s | 0.50 |
3. | Latios (Mega) | Zen Headbutt Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
47.80s | 0.50 |
4. | Pidgeot (Mega) | Gust |
Brave Bird |
52.77s | 1.00 |
5. | Latias (Mega) | Zen Headbutt Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
56.21s | 0.38 |
6. | Mewtwo | Psycho Cut Psychic |
Psystrike Psychic |
60.59s | 0.88 |
7. | Gengar (Mega) | Shadow Claw Ghost |
Psychic Psychic |
64.67s | 0.38 |
8. | Charizard (Mega Y) | Air Slash |
Blast Burn Fire |
63.23s | 1.00 |
9. | Slowbro (Mega) | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
65.87s | 0.63 |
10. | Hoopa (Unbound) | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
63.61s | 1.75 |
11. | Blaziken (Mega) | Counter Fighting |
Brave Bird |
65.16s | 1.75 |
12. | Hoopa (Confined) | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
74.34s | 0.38 |
13. | Lunala | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
76.07s | 0.13 |
14. | Articuno (Galarian) | Confusion Psychic |
Brave Bird |
74.49s | 0.75 |
15. | Banette (Mega) | Shadow Claw Ghost |
Dazzling Gleam Fairy |
74.16s | 1.00 |
16. | Swampert (Mega) | Water Gun Water |
Hydro Cannon Water |
76.17s | 1.00 |
17. | Alakazam | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
73.35s | 1.75 |
18. | Salamence (Mega) | Dragon Tail Dragon |
Draco Meteor Dragon |
77.24s | 1.00 |
19. | Moltres | Wing Attack |
Sky Attack |
76.14s | 1.38 |
20. | Espeon | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
74.54s | 1.63 |
21. | Metagross | Zen Headbutt Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
80.27s | 0.60 |
22. | Medicham (Mega) | Psycho Cut Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
75.22s | 1.63 |
23. | Latios | Zen Headbutt Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
77.63s | 1.25 |
24. | Yveltal | Gust |
Hurricane |
82.17s | 0.50 |
25. | Azelf | Confusion Psychic |
Future Sight Psychic |
76.07s | 1.75 |
26. | Sceptile (Mega) | Bullet Seed Grass |
Frenzy Plant Grass |
74.99s | 2.00 |
27. | Tapu Lele | Confusion Psychic |
Future Sight Psychic |
79.16s | 1.38 |
28. | Blastoise (Mega) | Water Gun Water |
Hydro Cannon Water |
82.53s | 0.75 |
29. | Ho-Oh | Extrasensory Psychic |
Brave Bird |
83.06s | 0.75 |
30. | Charizard (Mega X) | Fire Spin Fire |
Blast Burn Fire |
81.48s | 1.00 |
31. | Meloetta (Aria) | Confusion Psychic |
Psyshock Psychic |
84.92s | 0.50 |
32. | Gardevoir | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
81.90s | 1.17 |
33. | Rayquaza | Air Slash |
Hurricane |
80.46s | 1.38 |
34. | Altaria (Mega) | Peck |
Dazzling Gleam Fairy |
80.25s | 1.43 |
35. | Gallade | Confusion Psychic |
Psychic Psychic |
80.72s | 1.50 |
Stats and Max CP
Sawk (Shadow) Fighting | |||||||||
Max CP at Level 40 2788 | Max CP at Level 50 3152 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ATK 231 | DEF 153 | HP 181 | |||||||
|
Moveset
Fast Moves | Charged Moves |
Low Kick Fighting | Focus Blast Fighting |
Poison Jab Poison | Body Slam Normal |
Low Sweep Fighting | |
Frustration Normal |
And that’s all, Good luck with your shadow Sawk raids, and until next time, trainers!