
Shadow Ho-Oh is available from Tier 5 legendary Shadow Raids. Shadow Raids can only be completed using in-person raid passes. Shiny Shadow Ho-Oh ✨ is available from Raids.
Shadow Ho-Oh can be caught with the following CP values, with an IV floor of 7/7/7:
- 2067 CP – 2207 CP (no weather boost, 100% Ho-Oh at Level 20)
- 2584 CP – 2759 CP (Sunny and Windy weather, 100% IV Ho-Oh at Level 25)
Shadow Ho-Oh is a Fire and type and is weak to Rock, Electric and Water type attacks. Shadow Ho-Oh is an immensely difficult tier 5 raid due to the Shadow Raid mechanism. You will need to be well prepared with top counters, correct move-sets, 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 use of Purified Gems, so be sure you communicate with your fellow trainers.
We would suggest groups of 4+ for trainers with top counters that are maxed out, and armed with Purified Gems, or 8-10+ for lower-level trainers and those without ideal counters. Purified Gems are a must.
As these raids are in person only, you can make use of the Party Power raid bonus through Party Play! The Party Power is a Raid bonus that fills up as members of your Party attack the Raid Boss. Once the Party Power bonus is full, your next Charge Attack will receive a special boost. You can see the Party Power button and your progress towards achieving the bonus in the bottom left corner of your Raid Battle.
Related reading
- Pokémon GO Shadow Raids: Comprehensive Guide is an overall guide to all things Shadow Raids
Shadow Ho-Oh is double weak to Rock, and weak to Electric and Water attacks. Here are the best Pokémon to use against a Shadow Ho-Oh raid boss. Try to pick from the top end of this list, and ensure they have the necessary move-sets, and are powered up.
# | Attacker | Fast Move | Charge Move | Faints | TTW |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
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Smack Down Rock | Stone Edge Rock | 39 | 537s |
2. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 46 | 530s |
3. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 74 | 510s |
4. |
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Dragon Tail Dragon | Ancient Power Rock | 43 | 640s |
5. |
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Smack Down Rock | Rock Wrecker Rock | 74 | 559s |
6. |
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Smack Down Rock | Stone Edge Rock | 68 | 597s |
7. |
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Waterfall Water | Origin Pulse Water | 51 | 682s |
8. |
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Smack Down Rock | Rock Wrecker Rock | 68 | 618s |
9. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Meteor Beam Rock | 63 | 643s |
10. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 83 | 615s |
11. |
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Smack Down Rock | Stone Edge Rock | 65 | 678s |
12. |
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Smack Down Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 78 | 641s |
13. |
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Smack Down Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 86 | 635s |
14. |
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Volt Switch Electric | Power Gem Rock | 65 | 739s |
15. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 78 | 705s |
16. |
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Smack Down Rock | Outrage Dragon | 131 | 609s |
17. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 80 | 706s |
18. |
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Smack Down Rock | Meteor Beam Rock | 71 | 747s |
19. |
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Smack Down Rock | Meteor Beam Rock | 81 | 715s |
20. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Stone Edge Rock | 71 | 756s |
21. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 82 | 725s |
22. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Blast Rock | 107 | 703s |
23. |
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Thunder Shock Electric | Ancient Power Rock | 89 | 750s |
24. |
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Water Gun Water | Hydro Cannon Water | 80 | 783s |
25. |
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Smack Down Rock | Rock Slide Rock | 127 | 707s |
26. |
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Charge Beam Electric | Wild Charge Electric | 72 | 841s |
27. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Blast Rock | 116 | 734s |
28. |
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Smack Down Rock | Meteor Beam Rock | 102 | 761s |
29. |
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Rock Throw Rock | Rock Blast Rock | 120 | 728s |
30. |
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Waterfall Water | Surf Water | 88 | 795s |
While Shadow Pokémon are extremely expensive to power up, these are the top Shadow Pokémon you can use against Shadow Ho-Oh. 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 may take more damage than non-shadow Pokémon, they will also deal more.
We would highly recommend the use of Mega Pokémon in Shadow Ho-Oh 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 should have their mega in slot 1, the next slot 2, the next slot 3, etc., you can try to keep the mega boost going throughout the raid.
Shadow Ho-Oh can have the following moves as a raid boss:
Fast moves | Charged moves |
---|---|
|
|
Weather | Pro Attacker | Pro Shadow Ho-Oh |
Sunny/Sunny | – | Boosts Fire and Grass type moves |
Partly Cloudy | Boosts Super Effective Rock type attacks | Boosts Normal type moves |
Cloudy | – | – |
Rainy | Boosts Super Effective Electric and Water type attacks | – |
Snow | – | Boosts Steel type moves |
Fog | – | – |
Windy | – | Boosts Psychic and type moves |
The top 8 attackers are making use of Rock type moves which will be boosted by Partly Cloudy weather, however keep in mind Shadow Ho-Oh has access to the Normal type quick attack Hidden Power which will also be boosted in this weather. If luck is in your favour Ho-Oh will not be using Hidden Power, as Partly Cloudy weather seems your best bet for enhancing your attacks. If this fails, it looks like you should be hoping for Rainy weather – you might just have to take your waterproofs!
Shiny Shadow Ho-Oh is available from defeating Ho-Oh in Shadow Raids. Shiny shadow Ho-Oh has been verified as activated on Reddit. Good luck Trainers!
As a shadow raid, Ho-Oh will hit harder than ever before, so make sure your counters are powered up, have the right move-set, and aren’t weak to the raid boss’ 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 Ho-Oh 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 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 Ho-Oh raid, as without them you won’t be able to return it to its normal, non-enraged state. You can hold up to 10 Purified Gems in your inventory at a time.
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!
Notes 💡
The raid lasts 300 seconds. You get 3 guaranteed XL candy. It counts towards Battle Legend medal. It does not count towards the Ultra Hero medal. Shiny shadow Ho-Oh has been enabled. IV floor appears to be 6. It appears it is 8 gems needed to subdue Ho-Oh, like the T3 shadow raids.