Donphan Raid Boss Guide

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Donphan is a Tier 3 raid boss, with a Raid Boss CP of 19431. As a pure Ground type, Donphan is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water. This page details the best Donphan raid counters and strategies.

When defeated, Donphan can have these CPs as a perfect encounter:

  • 1722 CP (Regular level 20 encounter)
  • 2152 CP (Weather boosted level 25 encounter)

Donphan Raid Counters

It’s whale versus elephant: the best Donphan counter is Kyogre!

Donphan Raid Counters
Donphan
Weaknesses: Grass Ice Water Boosted By: Sunny
Supreme Donphan raid counters
Kyogre Waterfall Water Hydro Pump Water
The undeniable champion, Kyogre is a beast where it hits Super Effectively and this raid boss is no exception.
Excellent Donphan raid counters
Gyarados Waterfall Water Hydro Pump Water
Gyarados is basically the same Pokemon as Kyogre, just with a slight increase in time-to-win and number of faints.
Feraligatr Water Gun Water Hydro Cannon Water
With its Community Day-exclusive move, Hydro Cannon Feraligatr is a great counter with less time-to-win (but also more faints) on average than Gyarados.
Roserade Razor Leaf Grass Grass Knot Grass
Roserade has excellent grass-type DPS, and has the added bonus of resisting both Counter and Play Rough.
Good Donphan raid counters
Time to win/number of faints rises further from here, however a consideration must always be given to weather, where some of these counters reach the top of the list.
Jynx Frost Breath Ice Avalanche Ice
Sceptile Bullet Seed Grass Leaf Blade Grass
Venusaur Vine Whip Grass Frenzy Plant Grass
Tangrowth Vine Whip Grass Solar Beam Grass
Mewtwo Psycho Cut Psychic Ice Beam Ice
Exeggutor Bullet Seed Grass Solar Beam Grass
Vaporeon Water Gun Water Hydro Pump Water
Breloom Bullet Seed Grass Grass Knot Grass

To state simply, your best counter overall will be Waterfall / Hydro Pump Kyogre, and should be the optimal choice for those looking to beat this boss quickly. The only scenario it loses is by the Grass types Venusaur, Exeggutor, and Sceptile in Sunny weather, and technically Jynx in the Snow.

Donphan Moves and Stats

Donphan has a max CP of 3013 with stats of:

  • 214 Attack
  • 185 Defense
  • 207 Stamina

As well, Donphan has access to the following moves:

  • Mud Slap Ground (fast)
  • Tackle Normal (fast)
  • Counter Fighting (fast)
  • Earthquake Ground (Charged) 1-Bar
  • Heavy Slam Steel (Charged) 2-Bar
  • Play Rough Fairy (Charged) 2-Bar

Weather Effects

Weather Pro Attacker Pro Donphan
Sunny Boosts Super Effective Grass attacks Boosts Mud Slap Ground and Earthquake Ground
Partly Cloudy Boosts Tackle Normal
Cloudy Boosts Counter Fighting and Play Rough Fairy
Rainy Boosts Super Effective Water attacks
Snow Boosts Super Effective Ice attacks Boosts Heavy Slam Steel
Fog
Windy

A Donphan will receive boosts in varying weather conditions, however the biggest one to worry about is Sunny weather as it boosts its STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) Earthquake and can cause major damage. The best weather to fight a Donphan in is Rainy weather, as it boosts the best counters in the game, while providing no benefits to Donphan.

Additional Counters

Those looking for an interesting challenge or those looking for counters they might not have above, here is a concise list:

  • Shifty with Razor Leaf / Leaf Blade
  • Cacturne with Sucker Punch / Grass Knot
  • Victreebel with Razor Leaf / Leaf Blade
  • Swampert with Water Gun / Surf
  • Torterra with Razor Leaf / Solar Beam
  • Palkia with Dragon Tail / Hydro Pump
  • Groudon with Mud Shot / Solar Beam

Author & tags

ProHitman002
ProHitman002
Level 40 Dedicated Mystic Player, Small town player, loves writing and burning other gyms with Charizard. Age 20

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