How to Beat Articuno in Pokemon Go

Team Mystic got a big surprise on Saturday when Pokemon Go announced that Articuno would join [...]

By Christian Hoffer

Team Mystic got a big surprise on Saturday when Pokemon Go announced that Articuno would join Lugia as the first Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon Go. While Articuno is the weakest of the Legendary Birds, it should still be a challenge for most trainers, especially since its stats get a big boost as a Raid Boss.

Although a lot of sites recommended that players bring Rock-Type Pokemon to Legendary Raid battles, that strategy might not work with Articuno. Articuno's Ice-Type attacks would wreck Pokemon like Golem and Rhydon since Ice is effective against Ground-Type attacks.

Most raid battles come down to a combination of having a numbers advantage and having luck on your side. Here's a couple of tips that could also help you beat Articuno in battle:

Tyranitar It Up

Tyranitar is definitely the best Pokemon to use against Articuno. Tyranitar has access to both Fire Blast and Stone Edge, the two attacks that will do the most damage against Articuno. Unlike Golem and Rhydon, Tyranitar doesn't have a weakness to Articuno's attack as it's a Rock/Dark dual-type Pokemon instead of a Rock/Groun dual-type.

If you want to build up your team around Rock-Type attacks, there's another surprising Pokemon that you could add to your team. Kabutops not only has access to Stone Edge, it's also resistant to all of Articuno's attacks as a Water-Type Pokemon.

Other Pokemon with Stone Edge that aren't weak against Ice-Type Pokemon include Magcargo and Sudowoodo. If you need bodies to throw at Articuno, consider using some of these Pokemon to fill out your team.

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Make Articuno Sweat

Articuno is weak against a lot of different Pokemon, as both Ice-Type and Flying-Types carry their own weaknesses. In addition to a weakness to Rock-Type attacks, Ice-Type Pokemon are also vulnerable to Fire, Fighting, and Steel-Type attacks. While Articuno's Flying-Type negates its weakness to Fighting-Type attacks, there's still a lot of Pokemon who can use Fire and Steel attacks against Articuno.

As a Flying-Type Pokemon, Articuno is also weak against Electric-Type attacks.

After Stone Edge, the attacks that will do the most damage to Articuno are Thunder, Overheat, Zap Cannon, and Flash Cannon. While Jolteon, Charizard, Typhlosion or Flareon are all solid selections, you might also want to consider bringing Magneton since it has access to both Zap Cannon and Flash Cannon.

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Bring Some Friends

The Pokemon Go fanbase is still feeling out the Articuno raid, but the general consensus is that it'll take at least 6 players to take down Articuno. That seems like a lot, but remember that most players will be pretty pumped for a chance to grab one of these powerful Pokemon.

While it might seem useful to simply outwait Articuno by loading up your team with Blissey, Chansey, and Snorlax, remember that the number of Premier Balls you get is partially determined by how much damage your team does against Articuno. A Chansey might mean you won't lose many Pokemon, but it also means you'll end up with less Premier Balls when it comes time to catch Articuno. However, losing all your Pokemon will also impact how many Premiere Balls you get too.

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