Shadow Ho-Oh Raid Guide

Ho-Oh (Shadow)

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 starting January 27, 2024, 10:00 am local time.

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

• 2050 – 2207 CP (no weather boost, 100% Ho-Oh at Level 20)
• 2563 – 2759 CP (Sunny and Windy weather, 100% IV Ho-Oh at Level 25)

Shadow Ho-Oh is a Fire and Flying 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.

Best Shadow Ho-Oh Counters

Here are the best Pokémon to use against a Ho-Oh raid boss. Being weak to three different types, Ho-Oh’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 move-sets, and are powered up.

#	Attacker	Fast Move	Charge Move	Faints	TTW
1.	Diancie (Mega)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	36	559s
2.	Tyranitar (Mega)	Smack Down Rock	Stone Edge Rock	21	586s
3.	Aerodactyl (Mega)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	25	582s
4.	Rampardos	Smack Down Rock	Rock Slide Rock	46	618s
5.	Rhyperior	Smack Down Rock	Rock Wrecker Rock	32	630s
6.	Tyrantrum	Rock Throw Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	32	669s
7.	Terrakion	Smack Down Rock	Rock Slide Rock	38	676s
8.	Rayquaza (Mega)	Dragon Tail Dragon	Ancient Power Rock	25	695s
9.	Kyogre (Primal)	Waterfall Water	Origin Pulse Water	28	721s
10.	Gigalith	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	38	716s
11.	Tyranitar	Smack Down Rock	Stone Edge Rock	34	731s
12.	Aurorus	Rock Throw Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	44	770s
13.	Swampert (Mega)	Water Gun Water	Hydro Cannon Water	38	771s
14.	Aerodactyl	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	42	772s
15.	Archeops	Wing Attack Flying	Ancient Power Rock	48	783s
16.	Landorus (Incarnate)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	43	783s
17.	Landorus	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	43	783s
18.	Aggron (Mega)	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	37	789s
19.	Ampharos (Mega)	Volt Switch Electric	Power Gem Rock	35	790s
20.	Nihilego	Acid Poison	Rock Slide Rock	38	799s
21.	Aggron	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	43	826s
22.	Omastar	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	50	844s
23.	Blastoise (Mega)	Water Gun Water	Hydro Cannon Water	40	846s
24.	Arcanine (Hisuian)	Snarl Dark	Rock Slide Rock	46	858s
25.	Golem (Alola)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock	51	881s
26.	Avalugg (Hisuian)	Powder Snow Ice	Rock Slide Rock	46	906s
27.	Rayquaza	Dragon Tail Dragon	Ancient Power Rock	41	917s
28.	Zekrom	Charge Beam Electric	Fusion Bolt Electric	40	924s
29.	Melmetal	Thunder Shock Electric	Rock Slide Rock	47	924s
30.	Kleavor	Quick Attack Normal	Rock Slide Rock	58	858s

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 Overview

Ho-Oh (Shadow) FireFlying
Max CP at Level 40 3863 | Max CP at Level 50 4367
ATK 239		DEF 244		HP 214
Weak To: Strong Against: Rock Electric Water Bug Grass Fairy Fighting Fire Ground Steel

Ho-Oh Move Sets

Ho-Oh can have the following moves as a raid boss:

Weather Effects

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

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!

Shadow Raid Information & Advice

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!