Here's What Pokemon to Use Against Pokemon Go's Toughest Raid Bosses

Pokemon Go introduced a new raid mechanic earlier this month that pits players against super-powerful versions of some of the game’s strongest Pokemon.

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So far, there are four different tiers of raids with varying levels of difficulty. Level 1 and Level 2 raids can be defeated by a single player with ease, but Level 3 and Level 4 raids are proving to be much more difficult for players.

While two players (or less) can beat a Level 3 Raid Boss, players will need to form teams of three or more to face a Level 4 Raid Boss. Even if their stats were jacked up to exteme levels, a Level 4 Raid Boss would still be hard to beat as they’re among the most powerful Pokemon species in the game.

While you won’t be able to beat a Level 4 Raid Boss on your own, you can make an impact by choosing the right Pokemon. So we’ve provided a handy guide to the top counters to each of the Level 4 Raid Bosses so that you (and your friends) can emerge victorious when staring down these formidable foes.

Lapras

Lapras is the weakest of the Level 4 Raid Bosses, with a CP of “only” 21,768. However, Lapras is still dangerous, especially when wielding a set of Ice-Type attacks.

The best counters to Lapras aren’t the most obvious ones thanks to its Water/Ice dual-typing. Lapras loses its disadvantage to Grass-Type Pokemon thanks to Ice-Type attacks, but it picks up a crucial weakness to Rock-Type and Fighting-Type Pokemon.

The best counter to Lapras is Machamp, as its high Attack stats and Fighting-Type moves can deal out a lot of pain to Lapras, no matter what set of moves its sporting. Jolteon is another solid counter, although you’ll want to bring a Jolteon that can use Thunder to maximize its effectiveness.

Lapras can also be countered by Arcanine if its sporting a pair of Ice-Type attacks. A Golem with Rock-Type moves might also be useful in a battle against Lapras, although all of Lapras’s moves are super-effective against it.

Blastoise

As a pure Water-Type Pokemon, Blastoise isn’t nearly as tricky as Lapras to beat. Your best bet is to load up on Electric and Grass-Type Pokemon and simply pummel it into submission.

You’ll want to bring in as many Electric-Type Pokemon as you can to face Blastoise, as its possible that Blastoise will have Ice Beam as a charge attack. Jolteon and Magneton are the two strongest Electric-Type attackers in the game, but you can also use Ampharos if needed.

If Blastoise doesn’t know Ice Beam, then feel free to include Grass-Type Pokemon like Venusaur or Exeggutor in your raid team.

Snorlax

Snorlax is armed with a ton of HP and only one weakness, so you better bring your strongest attackers to face this mammoth Pokemon.

Machamp and Heracross are the two strongest Fighting-Type Pokemon in the game, but Heracross is only available in South America (or in Chicago if you’re attending Pokemon Go Fest next month.)

If you don’t have six Fighting-Type Pokemon to use against Snorlax, you should consider bringing some Rock-Type Pokemon that have a natural resistance to most of Snorlax’s attacks. Tyranitar might not be able to deal out any super effective damage against Snorlax, but it also won’t get knocked out in one hit if hit by a Hyper Beam attack either.

Venusaur

Venusaur sits in the middle of the pack when it comes to its CP compared to other Level 4 Raid Bosses, but it has plenty of weaknesses to exploit thanks to its Grass/Poison dual-typing.

The best strategy against Venusaur is to just burn it out. Charizard, Thyphlosion, or Flareon are all solid choices to bring into battle against Venusaur, especially if they know Overheat.

Another less obvious choice is Espeon or Alakazam, as Venusaur is also weak against Poison-Type attacks. Alakazam is the stronger attacker, but Espeon will probably last a bit longer in battle due to its higher Defense stat.

Charizard

While Charizard looks like a Dragon-Type Pokemon, it’s actually a Fire/Flying dual type with an entirely different set of weaknesses to exploit than Dragon Pokemon.

A Golem or Rhydon armed with Rock-Type moves is your best bet against Charizard. Charizard has a double weakness against Rock-Type moves, so every hit you land will do twice as much damage as a regular attacks.

Other potential counters include Omastar (who can hurt Charizard with either its Rock-Type moves or its Water-Type attacks) and Tyranitar, which can also learn some Rock-Type moves.

Another option is to flood Charizard using Vaporeon and other strong Water-Type Pokemon.

Rhydon

Rhydon is a tough but slow Pokemon, so you should have a bit more time to dodge attacks if necessary. Rhydon has double weaknesses to both Water and Grass-Type moves, so it shouldn’t be too tough to defeat even though it has the second highest CP of any Raid Boss in Pokemon Go.

The strongest Grass-Type Pokemon are Venusaur and Exeggutor and the strongest Water-Type Pokemon is Vaporeon.

Gyarados is another option, but it could be weak to any Rock-Type attacks Rhydon could be sporting.

Tyranitar

The most powerful Raid Boss currently in the game is Tyranitar, with a whopping 34,707 CP. Tyranitar’s Dark/Rock dual-typing also gives it a serious advantage over traditionally powerful attackers like Alakazam or Dragonite.

However, Tyranitar does have one critical weakness: Fighting-Type Pokemon. Tyranitar has a double weakness to Fighting-Type Pokemon, so all you need is a Pokemon that can punch it a lot.

As previously stated, the top two Fighting-Type Pokemon in Pokemon Go are Machamp and Heracross. Vaporeon is another option, as Tyranitar is also weak against Water-Type attacks. You might also consider bringing a Pokemon that knows a powerful Fairy-Type or Ground-Type move.

Be warned, though: Tyranitar has an impressive movepool that includes Fire-Type, Dark-Type, Rock-Type, and Steel-Type moves, so chances are it has a move that could really mess up your Pokemon if it hits you.