With the Pokémon World Championships 2026 done and dusted, we now move into a brand-new season: Twilight Trails. While this time of year is usually an exciting prospect for PvP players, the Season’s GO Battle League attack updates have a lot in store for PvE as well!
We have a bunch of Pokémon that have received new attacks set to change their fortunes in Raids, so let’s first look at all the recipients and then filter out the best of the lot.
Attack Availability Updates
The following Pokémon will gain access to new moves during the Twilight Trails Season:
| Pokémon | Moves |
|---|---|
Volbeat
|
|
Illumise
|
|
Arbok
|
|
Aerodactyl
|
Brutal Swing Dark |
Alola Muk
|
|
Greninja
|
Brutal Swing Dark |
Ariados
|
Foul Play Dark |
Darkrai
|
|
Grafaiai
|
|
Victreebel
|
Sucker Punch Dark |
Audino
|
Charge Beam Electric |
Raichu
|
Volt Tackle Electric |
Alola Raichu
|
Volt Tackle Electric |
Grimmsnarl
|
Draining Kiss Fairy |
Aggron
|
Brick Break Fighting |
Zeraora
|
Dynamic Punch Fighting |
Defense Deoxys
|
Low Kick Fighting |
Kingambit
|
Low Kick Fighting |
Gallade
|
Sacred Sword Fighting |
Houndoom
|
|
Mismagius
|
Mystical Fire Fire |
Crobat
|
Gust |
Flamigo
|
Peck |
Chandelure
|
Astonish Ghost |
Cofagrigus
|
Energy Ball Grass |
Skarmory
|
Drill Run Ground |
Bombirdier
|
Drill Run Ground |
Lugia
|
Earth Power Ground |
Miltank
|
High Horsepower Ground |
Nidoking
|
Avalanche Ice |
Ursaluna
|
Scratch Normal |
Hisuian Zoroark
|
Swift Normal |
Low Key Toxtricity
Amped Toxtricity
|
Swift Normal |
Snorlax
|
Psywave Psychic |
This is a huge list, but only a select few Pokémon have come out with flying colors when it comes to usage in Raid battles. Who are they?
Twilight Trails: Top Winners for Raids
Shadow Darkrai (Foul Play) and Mega Greninja (Brutal Swing)
Darkness rises in Pokémon Go as two popular yet underused Dark types finally get their moment to shine in this meta. Darkrai and Greninja were riddled with underwhelming Dark-type Charged Attacks in the form of Dark Pulse and Night Slash respectively. As a result, Shadow Darkrai couldn’t be used well in its typing and had to resort to Shadow Ball to take on Ghost and Psychic Raid Bosses. On the other hand, the new Mega Greninja was destined for the Water meta, with Night Slash being absolutely terrible on it.
Now, the tables have turned. Shadow Darkrai with Foul Play and Mega Greninja with Brutal Swing are both top-tier Dark-type attackers, with the former taking the throne until Mega Absol Z arrives. Mega Greninja, though strong, is the less exciting of the two. Its DPS and TDO are both below the widely used Mega Tyranitar, with the only advantage for the Frog being that it’s a Starter, so cheaper power-up costs. Otherwise, it is always preferable to go with Mega Tyranitar instead.
Shadow Darkrai dishes out a ridiculous amount of damage and still boasts a higher TDO than Mega Absol Z. So ultimately, the true winner here is Mega Darkrai, who goes from zero to hero and becomes the overall best Dark type in the meta. It can be argued that Mega Ttar is more efficient given the higher bulk and access to Brutal Swing, but Mega Darkrai tops it up with the quicker (higher Energy Per Second) Snarl, ending up with 1.64% higher damage. Of course, Shadow Darkrai takes the lead in pure damage numbers, doing roughly 4.6% more.
Since Dark types compete with Ghost types for super-effective damage against Ghost and Psychic Bosses, let’s compare Mega/Shadow Darkrai with the top Ghost types.
Will you get a load of that?! Shadow Darkrai figures out just after Mega Gengar and Dawn Wings Necrozma for DPS. Keep in mind that unlike Ghost Pokémon, Mega/Shadow Darkrai does not take super-effective damage from Ghost-type attacks, so the Mythical would often end up being the go-to attacker in these battles. With Mega Darkrai yet to debut, invest in your Shadow Darkrai right away!
Mega Gallade (Sacred Sword)
It was only a matter of time before the honorable, sword-armed (literally) Gallade received Sacred Sword, and it finally did! With this, Mega Gallade with Sacred Sword becomes a strong Fighting-type attacker, and while it trails behind a handful of top-notch attackers, it is a huge win for Gallade fans.
Note that Rock type Raid Bosses often have Fighting moves for coverage, which can hurt Mega Lucario super-effectively and do neutral damage to the other relevant Fighting types. Mega Gallade, courtesy of its Psychic subtyping, resists Fighting and is thus a good counter against Rock Raid Bosses in general!
Pokémon that fell short
Some other powerhouses (Megas/Shadows) received new moves that are unfortunately inferior to their current meta standing. These include:
- Mega/Shadow Chandelure received Astonish. Still inferior to Hex.
- Mega Houndoom received Incinerate. Still inferior to Fire Fang.
- Mega Raichu Y and X received Volt Switch. Still inferior to Thunder Shock.
- Mega/Zeraora received Dynamic Punch. Sadly, with Volt Switch and Dynamic Punch, even Mega Zeraora does less damage than other non-STAB Fighting attackers such as Mega Latios, Shadow Raikou, and Kartana.
Parting words
Welp, it’s just three Pokémon that earn bragging rights in Raids. Mega/Shadow Darkrai is a huge winner, getting a massive upgrade and becoming a tremendous attacker against Ghost and Psychic Raid Bosses. Mega Greninja and Mega Gallade are great picks, but they don’t match the flex displayed by Mega/Shadow Darkrai.
All the best, trainers!
