As soon as the Legendary Birds went away, the Legendary Beasts went to play, in a way that we did not expect. The beasts were released in different regions, stayed in the region for one month until it moves on a different region. That’s 4 months ago, and since then, 4 more new Legendary Pokemon have been released, with Lugia even coming back. Are the Legendary Beasts still relevant in the current meta? Will they be relevant in the future meta? Let’s find out, and let’s start with Raikou.
Raikou in the Pokemon GO meta
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Raikou | |
| Current Meta | ★★★★★ | |
| Future Meta | ★★★★☆ | |
Raikou is arguably the best among the Legendary Beasts. Even if it’s not the bulkiest Legendary Beast, it has decent enough bulk to survive a hit, it only has a sole weakness on Ground type, and it can learn the best offensive Electric type moveset, Thunder Shock and Wild Charge, which is both great DPS wise and is flexible for dodging. It’s a great generalist because of its useful Electric typing and is almost a must-have for players.
The only thing against Raikou is it’s not really something you need as a counter for future meta relevant Pokemon or future releases of Legendary Raids. It’s going to be good once the Legendary Bird trio returns, and as well as Kyogre, Ho-oh, and Suicune, but other than that, it’s a great attacker for the common Water and defenders.
The only possible threat for its Electric type dominance is Zekrom, Thundurus, and Tapu Koko, especially the latter two because Zekrom can’t learn Thunder Shock, which will already hinder its Electric explosiveness. Even if Raikou’s dominance end, Raikou will still be a solid Pokemon to use.
Entei in the Pokemon GO meta
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Entei | |
| Current Meta | ★★★★☆ | |
| Future Meta | ★★★★☆ | |
Entei is the middle ground between the beasts – not too strong, not too bad in the meta game. With Raikou being Attack-oriented and Suicune being the Defense-oriented, Entei is the best of both worlds and is actually cheating in a way. Regular Pokemon with 230+ Attack are either Glass Cannons or stuff like Machamp that have only decent bulk. Entei, being the Legendary Beast that he is, has 230 HP. Let’s put that into perspective. Walrein, a Pokemon known for its bulk, is as bulky as Entei.
That means Entei is as powerful as Machamp, but is as bulky as Walrein. If you want a more reliable Fire attacker Entei is your choice. If you want to sacrifice bulk for more firepower (no pun intended), you can choose Moltres instead.
Like Moltres, the only Pokemon that will possibly outshine Entei is Reshiram, which will be released far in the future. The only current Fire fast move it can learn is Fire Fang so unless they add new moves, Fire Fang and Overheat is the best Fire STAB combo Reshiram can learn. Depending on how they will nerf Reshiram (which is almost certain since they did it on Kyogre, a Pokemon with lower Base Stat Total in the main series games), Entei may still be a good option, and when they forgo Reshiram’s Fire Fang, there is a chance it’ll still be one of the best Fire attacker along with Moltres.
Suicune in the Pokemon GO meta game
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Suicune | |
| Current Meta | ★★☆☆☆ | |
| Future Meta | ★★☆☆☆ | |
Suicune is clearly the worst Legendary Beast in the current Meta. It’s a defensive Pokemon but because it’s a Legendary Pokemon, it can’t be placed on gyms. What’s worse is that it can no longer learn Hidden Power, which is the only chance Suicune can learn a Water type STAB Fast Move, and replaced it with Snarl. Even with Hidden Power Water, Suicune is not really that powerful to begin with and only has 180 Attack.
With the number of Water Pokemon being released in the future that are not only more powerful, but can also learn Water type STAB moves, Suicune will slowly but surely decline unless Niantic finds a way for Legendary Pokemon to be placed on gyms. Being a gym defender is the only way Suicune will find use, and even then, it’s not the best Legendary Pokemon to use for defending. That crown goes to Lugia. The only thing Suicune has going for is his awesome design.
Can Suicune be saved? One way of saving Suicune is if it can learn Waterfall, a very good defensive move, and also Scald, a great Defensive move that is a Legacy move of Poliwhirl, while at the same time Niantic allows Suicune to be placed in gyms. It may not be the best Water defender, but it’ll make Suicune at least be in the conversation. Even if it can’t learn Waterfall, as long as it’s available to be placed in gyms, even an Extrasensory Suicune will be great, especially as a good partner with Normal type defenders, while Suicune’s Water charge moves will take care of Tyranitar, which is also a good counter for Normal type defenders.
Conclusion
Unlike the Legendary Birds, which each are good in their own way, Raikou is far and away the best among the three, with Entei not really far behind. Suicune is in his own hole crying. Raikou and Entei will surely be still in use for a long time. Suicune, however, bar a severe battle system overhaul, will not see much use. When these three beasts come back to play, you now know which beast you should prioritize. With Lugia’s recent return, players don’t really wonder if the Legendary Beasts will come back, rather players are wondering when the Legendary Beasts will come back.
