Shadow Articuno Raid Guide

Shadow Articuno is available from Tier 5 legendary Shadow Raids. Shadow Raids can only be done using in-person raid passes. Shadow Articuno can be shiny from Shadow raids!

Shadow Articuno can be caught with the following CP values, with an IV floor of 6/6/6:

• 1604 – 1743 CP (no weather boost, 100% Articuno at Level 20)
• 2005 – 2179 CP (windy weather, 100% IV Articuno at Level 25)

Shadow Articuno is an Ice and Flying type and is 2 weak to Rock, and also weak to Electric Fire and Steel type attacks. Shadow Articuno is an immensely difficult tier 5 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.

Communication will be key for this raid! You will want to plan not only your Mega Pokémon team positions, and counters, but also your used of Purified Gems, so be sure you communicating with your fellow trainers.

We would suggest groups of 4+ for trainers with top counters that are maxed out, armed with Purified Gems, or 8-10+ for lower level trainers and those without ideal counters. Purified Gems are a must!

Shadow Raid Information & Advice

As a shadow raid, Articuno 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 raids are a tricky group 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 Articuno 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 Articuno 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!

Best Shadow Articuno Counters – Mega Pokémon

Articuno (Shadow)

We would highly recommend the use of Mega Pokémon in Shadow Articuno raids. They provide not only greater damage output, but also boost Pokémon of the same typing in the raid. We would suggest discussing your counter choices with your fellow trainers, and plan Mega Pokémon, and their position in your team accordingly.

If you have a group of 6 for example, one person have their mega in slot 1, the next slot 2, the next slot 3 etc, so you can try to keep the mega boost going throughout the raid.

#	Pokémon	Fast Move	Charge Move
1.	Tyranitar (Mega)	Smack Down Rock	Stone Edge Rock
2.	Aerodactyl (Mega)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock
3.	Blaziken (Mega)	Fire Spin Fire	Blast Burn Fire
4.	Charizard (Mega Y)	Fire Spin Fire	Blast Burn Fire
5.	Aggron (Mega)	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock
6.	Charizard (Mega X)	Fire Spin Fire	Blast Burn Fire
7.	Manectric (Mega)	Thunder Fang Electric	Wild Charge Electric
8.	Houndoom (Mega)	Fire Fang Fire	Fire Blast Fire
9.	Ampharos (Mega)	Volt Switch Electric	Power Gem Rock
10.	Scizor (Mega)	Bullet Punch Steel	Iron Head Steel
11.	Gengar (Mega)	Shadow Claw Ghost	Shadow Ball Ghost

Best Shadow Articuno Counters – Shadow Pokémon

While Shadow Pokémon are extremely expensive to power up, these are the top Shadow Pokémon you can use against Shadow Articuno. Ensure you no longer have Frustration on these Pokémon before considering adding them to your team. If you have any of these as an option, while they make take more damage than non-shadow Pokémon, they will also deal more.

#	Pokémon	Fast Move	Charge Move
1.	Rhyperior (Shadow)	Smack Down Rock	Rock Wrecker Rock
2.	Tyranitar (Shadow)	Smack Down Rock	Stone Edge Rock
3.	Aggron (Shadow)	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock
4.	Omastar (Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock
5.	Aerodactyl (Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock
6.	Golem (Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock
7.	Metagross (Shadow)	Bullet Punch Steel	Meteor Mash Steel
8.	Sudowoodo (Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Meteor Beam Rock
9.	Blaziken (Shadow)	Fire Spin Fire	Blast Burn Fire
10.	Entei (Shadow)	Fire Fang Fire	Overheat Fire
11.	Machamp (Shadow)	Bullet Punch Steel	Rock Slide Rock
12.	Hippowdon (Shadow)	Thunder Fang Electric	Weather Ball Rock
13.	Electivire (Shadow)	Thunder Shock Electric	Wild Charge Electric
14.	Moltres (Shadow)	Fire Spin Fire	Overheat Fire
15.	Magnezone (Shadow)	Spark Electric	Wild Charge Electric
16.	Raikou (Shadow)	Volt Switch Electric	Wild Charge Electric
17.	Zapdos (Shadow)	Thunder Shock Electric	Ancient Power Rock

Best Shadow Articuno Counters – Non Mega Pokémon

Here are the best Pokémon to use against a Articuno raid boss that are not Mega Pokémon. Being weak to three different types, Articuno’s counters table is diverse, and shows the strongest Pokémon to use against the raid boss.Try to pick from the top end of this list, and ensure they have the necessary movesets, and are powered up.

#	Pokémon	Fast Move	Charge Move
1.	Rampardos	Smack Down Rock	Rock Slide Rock
2.	Rhyperior	Smack Down Rock	Rock Wrecker Rock
3.	Terrakion	Smack Down Rock	Rock Slide Rock
4.	Gigalith	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock
5.	Tyrantrum	Rock Throw Rock	Meteor Beam Rock
6.	Tyranitar	Smack Down Rock	Stone Edge Rock
7.	Aggron	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock
8.	Aurorus	Rock Throw Rock	Meteor Beam Rock
9.	Lycanroc (Dusk)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock
10.	Lycanroc	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock
11.	Omastar	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock
12.	Lycanroc (Midday)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock
13.	Aerodactyl	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock
14.	Lycanroc (Midnight)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock
15.	Golem (Alola)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock
16.	Landorus (Incarnate)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock
17.	Landorus	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock
18.	Arcanine (Hisuian)	Fire Fang Fire	Rock Slide Rock
19.	Darmanitan	Fire Fang Fire	Rock Slide Rock
20.	Darmanitan (Standard)	Fire Fang Fire	Rock Slide Rock
21.	Golem	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock
22.	Archeops	Steel Wing Steel	Ancient Power Rock
23.	Nihilego	Pound Normal	Rock Slide Rock
24.	Reshiram	Fire Fang Fire	Fusion Flare Fire
25.	Kleavor	Quick Attack Normal	Rock Slide Rock
26.	Excadrill	Metal Claw Steel	Rock Slide Rock
27.	Sudowoodo	Rock Throw Rock	Meteor Beam Rock
28.	Xurkitree	Spark Electric	Discharge Electric
29.	Metagross	Bullet Punch Steel	Meteor Mash Steel

Articuno Move Sets

Articuno can have the following moves as a raid boss: