Shadow Moltres Raid Guide

Moltres (Shadow)

Shadow Moltres is available from Tier 5 legendary Shadow Raids. Shadow Raids can only be completed using in-person raid passes. Shiny Shadow Moltres ✨ is available from Raids starting October 1, 2023, 10:00 am local time.

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

• 1830 – 1980 CP (no weather boost, 100% Moltres at Level 20)
• 2288 – 2475 CP (Sunny and Windy weather, 100% IV Moltres at Level 25)

Shadow Moltres is a Fire and Flying type and is weak to Rock, Electric and Water type attacks. Shadow Moltres 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!

Best Shadow Moltres Counters

Here are the best Pokémon to use against a Moltres raid boss. Being weak to three different types, Moltres’ 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.	Rhyperior (Shadow)	Smack Down Rock	Rock Wrecker Rock	8	277.4s
2.	Diancie (Mega)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	10	274.4s
3.	Tyranitar (Mega)	Smack Down Rock	Stone Edge Rock	7	301.4s
4.	Aerodactyl (Mega)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	10	306.2s
5.	Tyranitar (Shadow)	Smack Down Rock	Stone Edge Rock	10	316.1s
6.	Rampardos	Smack Down Rock	Rock Slide Rock	15	313.6s
7.	Rhyperior	Smack Down Rock	Rock Wrecker Rock	8	331.1s
8.	Tyrantrum	Rock Throw Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	9	338.0s
9.	Terrakion	Smack Down Rock	Rock Slide Rock	12	346.6s
10.	Aerodactyl (Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	17	344.3s
11.	Omastar (Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	12	355.0s
12.	Gigalith	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	11	360.5s
13.	Aggron (Shadow)	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	14	355.9s
14.	Tyranitar	Smack Down Rock	Stone Edge Rock	10	372.7s
15.	Kyogre (Primal)	Waterfall Water	Origin Pulse Water	10	375.6s
16.	Golem (Alola Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock	13	368.3s
17.	Golem (Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock	14	370.0s
18.	Rayquaza (Mega)	Dragon Tail Dragon	Ancient Power Rock	12	372.9s
19.	Aurorus	Rock Throw Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	16	401.2s
20.	Regirock (Shadow)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock	11	414.3s
21.	Swampert (Mega)	Water Gun Water	Hydro Cannon Water	12	414.1s
22.	Aerodactyl	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	17	404.8s
23.	Ampharos (Mega)	Volt Switch Electric	Power Gem Rock	13	413.6s
24.	Omastar	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	12	418.9s
25.	Aggron	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	14	417.0s
26.	Aggron (Mega)	Smack Down Rock	Meteor Beam Rock	17	416.4s
27.	Landorus (Incarnate)	Rock Throw Rock	Rock Slide Rock	20	415.5s
28.	Archeops	Wing Attack Flying	Ancient Power Rock	20	416.3s
29.	Lycanroc (Dusk)	Rock Throw Rock	Stone Edge Rock	19	417.8s
30.	Nihilego	Acid Poison	Rock Slide Rock	11	436.4s

While Shadow Pokémon are extremely expensive to power up, these are the top Shadow Pokémon you can use against Shadow Moltres. 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 Moltres 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 Moltres Overview

Moltres (Shadow) FireFlying
Max CP at Level 40 3465 | Max CP at Level 50 3917
ATK 251		DEF 181		HP 207
Weak To: Strong Against: Rock Electric Water Bug Grass Fairy Fighting Fire Ground Steel

Moltres Move Sets

Moltres can have the following moves as a raid boss:

*Denotes a Legacy Move only available via Elite TM.

Weather Effects

As you can see, Rainy weather is the best for countering Shadow Moltres, however given the nature of shadow raids meaning you cannot play remotely, this may be less than desirable. If you’re using the top attackers, Partly Cloudy, weather will give you the best weather boost – but be aware there is a chance of Shadow Moltres knowing Ancient Power. 

Shiny Shadow Moltres

Shiny Shadow Moltres is available from defeating Moltres in Shadow Raids. This verification screenshot was shared on Reddit by a user named Aluthiago. Good luck Trainers!

Shadow Raid Information & Advice

As a shadow raid, Moltres 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 Moltres 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 Moltres 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!