Shadow Nidorino Raid Guide

Shadow Nidorino can be captured from Tier 3 Shadow Raids and these raids can only be accessed by using in-person raid passes.

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

702 – 796 CP (no weather boost, 100% Nidorino at Level 20)
878 – 995 CP (Cloudy weather, 100% IV Nidorino at Level 25)

Shadow Nidorino is a pure Poison type and as such, it is weak to the Ground, and Psychic type attacks. Shadow Nidorino is a hard-to-beat Tier 3 raid due to how Shadow Raids work. You will need to be well prepared with the best counters, correct moveset, powered-up Pokémon, and most importantly, Purified Gems.

Avoid weather that boosts Nidorino, that is, Cloudy weather, and ensure that you are using top-tier counters. These are much more difficult raids than your usual tier 3 raid. If you are lower level or without ideal counters, you will definitely need to bring a friend, or two!

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Shadow Raid Information & Advice

As a shadow raid, Nidorino will dish out more damage 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 tough to beat, even for 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 defense.

You will need to subdue Shadow Nidorino by using Purified Gems, a new item that can be assembled from Shadow Shards.

Pokémon GO Purified Crystal — Purified Gem

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 Nidorino 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 defense 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 Nidorino Counters

Since Shadow Pokémon are extremely expensive to power up and require specific events to remove Frustration with a Charge TM, they will NOT be listed as raid counters in this article. That being said, if you have the shadow form of a listed raid counter Pokémon powered up and TMed, use it.

The best raid counters according to our GO Hub battle simulator for Shadow Nidorino are:

#	Pokémon	Fast Move	Charge Move	TTW	Deaths
1.	Groudon (Primal)	Mud Shot Ground	Precipice Blades Ground	52.6s	0.00
2.	Alakazam (Mega)	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	53.7s	1.00
3.	Latios (Mega)	Zen Headbutt Psychic	Psychic Psychic	59.5s	1.00
4.	Mewtwo	Confusion Psychic	Psystrike Psychic	58.1s	1.00
5.	Gardevoir (Mega)	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	59.4s	1.00
6.	Rayquaza (Mega)	Dragon Tail Dragon	Dragon Ascent Flying	64.4s	1.00
7.	Hoopa (Unbound)	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	61.7s	1.00
8.	Groudon	Mud Shot Ground	Precipice Blades Ground	72.0s	0.00
9.	Latias (Mega)	Zen Headbutt Psychic	Psychic Psychic	67.9s	1.00
10.	Lunala	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	70.5s	1.00
11.	Gengar (Mega)	Lick Ghost	Psychic Psychic	70.8s	1.00
12.	Swampert (Mega)	Mud Shot Ground	Earthquake Ground	73.5s	1.00
13.	Landorus (Therian)	Mud Shot Ground	Earthquake Ground	74.8s	1.00
14.	Excadrill	Mud-Slap Ground	Scorching Sands Ground	73.1s	1.00
15.	Garchomp	Mud Shot Ground	Earth Power Ground	76.8s	2.00
16.	Mamoswine	Mud-Slap Ground	High Horsepower Ground	75.4s	1.00
17.	Rhyperior	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	79.2s	1.00
18.	Hoopa (Confined)	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	71.6s	1.00
19.	Metagross	Zen Headbutt Psychic	Psychic Psychic	75.3s	1.00
20.	Latios	Zen Headbutt Psychic	Psychic Psychic	73.7s	1.00
21.	Landorus (Incarnate)	Mud Shot Ground	Earth Power Ground	78.2s	1.00
22.	Alakazam	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	72.7s	2.00
23.	Espeon	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	73.7s	2.00
24.	Azelf	Confusion Psychic	Future Sight Psychic	76.7s	2.00
25.	Articuno (Galarian)	Confusion Psychic	Future Sight Psychic	79.1s	1.00
26.	Slowbro (Mega)	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	80.7s	1.00
27.	Jirachi	Mud-Slap Ground	Brutal Swing Dark	85.2s	1.00
28.	Krookodile	Mud-Slap Ground	Earthquake Ground	85.9s	1.00
29.	Gallade	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	79.7s	2.00
30.	Kyogre (Primal)	Waterfall Water	Origin Pulse Water	893.1s	1.00
31.	Golurk	Mud-Slap Ground	Earth Power Ground	85.7s	1.00
32.	Rhydon	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	86.8s	1.00
33.	Tapu Lele	Confusion Psychic	Future Sight Psychic	79.9s	2.00
34.	Exeggutor	Confusion Psychic	Psychic Psychic	80.5s	2.00
35.	Latias	Zen Headbutt Psychic	Psychic Psychic	85.2s	1.00