
Doable at trainer level 25 with proper counters
HP | 3,600 | ATK | 157.68 | DEF | 123.37 |
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CP Range | |||
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Lvl 20 | 1238 - 1306 | Lvl 25 | 1548 - 1633 |
Notable Weather
Fast Move Difficulty
Move | Difficulty |
---|---|
Volt Switch | Intermediate |
Spark | Easy |
Thunder Shock | Easy |
Charge Move Difficulty
Move | Difficulty |
---|---|
Psychic | Intermediate |
Thunder Punch | Intermediate |
Wild Charge | Challenging |
Grass Knot | Challenging |
Overview
Let's not beat around the bush; Alolan Raichu has a lot of potential counters, each of which can excel in a specific scenario. From the very basics for raiding to powerful specialists, many Pokemon pose a huge threat to Alolan Raichu, but it also has the tools to cause quite a bit of pain to many of them by that same token. Because of this, a bit of diversity can go a long way, but it's not really needed by any great stretch.
Approach
Team composition
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Depending on the moveset faced, the best choices for this battle tend to be Giratina - Origin, Garchomp, Darkrai, and Chandelure. A mix of 2-3 of these can easily make the solo with a bit of luck/skill.
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Front-load any Glass Cannons that you may use
Dodging strategy
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Thunder Punch is not worth dodging, nor Psychic if it’s doubly resisted
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Grass Knot can be a large threat depending on the counters chosen
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Teams with frailer Pokemon not listed above may benefit from dodging
Note: Good movesets are not necessarily viable at the level indicated.
Best Raid Boss Counters

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Snarl | Shadow Ball | Best |
Snarl | Dark Pulse | Good |
Pros:
- Great overall mix of DPS and TDO, a great overall choice to make this fight easier
- Double-resists Psychic
Cons:
- Mythic Pokemon status can make it hard to earn candy

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Hex | Shadow Ball | Best |
Pros:
- One of the best performers for this raid; one of the highest DPS counts with great TDO to back it up
- Resists Grass Knot, all other movesets are neutral
Cons:
- Currently considered rare and not easily obtained.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Shadow Claw | Shadow Ball | Best |
Pros:
- The Great Wall, sporting one of the the highest TDOs against Alolan Raichu with very high DPS as well
- Resists every move that Alolan Raichu has save Psychic
- Has no weaknesses among Alolan Raichu's moveset
- The best overall counter to Alolan Raichu
Cons:
- Low candy accessibility due to legendary Pokemon status

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Mud Shot | Earthquake | Best |
Pros:
- Great overall performer, sporting good DPS and huge TDO.
- Triple-resists Electric Type movesets
- Ground Type that is not weak to Grass Knot
- Has no weaknesses among Alolan Raichu's movesets
Cons:
- Rare Pokemon, hard to obtain candy for

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Shadow Claw | Shadow Ball | Best |
Lick | Shadow Ball | Best |
Pros:
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Elite Move variants reach the highest DPS vs. Alolan Raichu
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Resists Grass Knot
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Many players have one, as it featured on a raid challenge
Cons:
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Very frail and weak to Psychic
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Requires dodging to maximize effectiveness
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Top performance requires Lick, an Elite Move, though Shadow Claw is a very close second.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Mud Slap | Earthquake | Best |
Pros:
- Highest DPS among Ground Types
- Double-Resists Electric Movesets
Ground Type that is not weak to Grass Knot - Has no weaknesses among Alolan Raichu's movesets
Cons:
- Frail when not facing an Electric Type moveset

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Feint Attack | Foul Play | Good |
Pros:
- Highest DPS among Dark Type counters
- Double-resistance to Psychic
- Pre-evolution is common in many areas, has been a raid boss and featured in several past events.
- Has no weaknesses among Alolan Raichu's moveset
Cons:
-
Frail option, requires dodging to maximize damage output
Shadow Weavile
Shadow Weavile is the single highest DPS option in neutral weather. It's frail, but the blazing speed at which it racks up damage makes it one of the absolute top counters if you're lucky enough to have raised one.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Mud Shot | Earth Power | Best |
Pros:
- Resists Electric Type movesets
- Takes neutral damage from Grass Knot despite being a Ground Type
Cons:
- Low candy accessibility due to legendary Pokemon status
- Has a lesser Electric resistance due to Flying sub-type

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Mud Shot | Earthquake | Best |
Pros:
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High TDO Alolan Raichu counters with good DPS to back it up, especially Vs. Electric movesets
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Double-Resists Electric Type moves
Cons:
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Low candy accessibility due to legendary Pokemon status
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Weak to Grass Knot

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Psycho Cut | Shadow Ball | Best |
Pros:
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Sports a n acceptable mix of DPS and TDO
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Has no weaknesses among Alolan Raichu's moveset
Cons:
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Limited EX raid availability and difficult to obtain candy for
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Quick Moves are resisted, limiting potential DPS
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Required an Elite Charged Move to be effective

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Bite | Dark Pulse | Best |
Pros:
- Good counter thanks to high DPS and high TDO combined
- Resists Alolan Raichu's entire moveset, even double-resisting Psychic
Cons:
- Rare Pokemon, hard to obtain and gain candy for.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Mud Shot | Earth Power | Best |
Mud Shot | Earthquake | Best |
Pros:
- Triple-resists Electric Type movesets, fantastic budget choice for this raid
- Elite Charged Move Earth Power and normal Charged Move Earthquake have extremely close performance, meaning Elite/Community Day move isn't genuinely needed
- Semi-common species in some areas that has been featured in its own Community Day, good general availability
Shadow Flygon
Shadow Flygon gains increased power and becomes a very good counter in this matchup, though its performance is not top-tier

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Pros:
- Common species in many areas
- Many players have several, as it was featured in its own Community Day
- Double-resists Electric Type movesets
Cons:
- Weak to Grass Knot

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Pros:
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A remarkably bulky non-legendary counter with good DPS
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Historic tier 4 raid boss; also featured on Community Day
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Double-resists Psychic
Cons:
-
Weak to Grass Knot
Shadow Tyranitar
Shadow Tyranitar sees a large jump in overall power, placing it just a bit behind Darkrai in overall performance.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Mud Slap | Earthquake | Best |
Pros:
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Very bulky non-legendary counter
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Double-resists Electric Type moves
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Fairly common species in many areas that has been featured since day 1 and has had its own community day
Cons:
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Despite bulk, faints very quickly Vs. Grass Knot
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Fairly low DPS

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Snarl | Dark Pulse | Best |
Pros:
- Good Dark Type moveset, high DPS
- Pre-evolution is extremely common in many areas, making it easily accessible
- Resists Grass Knot
- Double-resists Psychic
Cons:
- Very frail and weak to Electric, making it unreliable for many movesets
- Requires dodging to be effective

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Shadow Claw | Shadow Ball | Best |
Pros:
- Solid DPS option
- No weaknesses among Alolan Raichu's movesets
- Has been featured in several events, making it generally available to most players
Cons:
- Very frail, needs dodging to be effective.
- No resistances among Alolan Raichu's movesets
Shadow Banette
Very high DPS, but also very frail.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Snarl | Dark Pulse | Best |
Pros:
- Good DPS thanks to decent Attack Stat and great Dark Type moveset
- Resists Grass Knot
- Double resists Pschic
Cons:
- Not a particularly effective Pokemon to invest Stardust into
Shadow Houndoom
Shadow Houndoom sees a large jump in performance, but it still has lower overall performance than titans like Chandelure or Darkrai.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Pros:
- Long-term Tier 4 boss, good general accessibility
- Double-resists Psychic Type movesets
Cons:
- Frail, appreciates dodging
- Not generally a recommended investment

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Poison Jab | Dark Pulse | Best |
Pros:
- Good DPS, can help to get ahead of the clock
- Resists Psychic
Cons:
- Extremely frail, outright requires immaculate dodging to be effective.
- Should only be used in lead position to maximize effectiveness, should only use one per team
- Not as effective as other DPS counters such as Gengar or Chandelure
- Average DPS is actually lower than Giratina-Origin

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Fury Cutter | X-Scissor | Best |
Pros:
- Great overall performer in the rain
- Double-resists Grass Knot
- Resists Psychic
Cons:
- Lackluster outside of rain
- Mythical species, can be difficult to obtain candy for and cannot be traded

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Fury Cutter | X-Scissor | Best |
Pros:
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Many players have one, as it is a historical tier 3 raid boss that has been available since day 1
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Resists Grass Knot
Cons:
- Highest DPS among Bug Types, but low comparative DPS and TDO, only truly worthwhile in the rain
Shadow Pinsir
With Shadow Boost, Pinsir becomes about what normal Pinsir is in the rain. But when you add a rain boost to Shadow Pinsir, its DPS rises to insane levels.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Pros:
- Basically Scizor, but just a hair stronger in this fight
Cons:
- Can be very expensive to evolve if not traded

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Fury Cutter | X-Scissor | Best |
Pros:
-
Many players have one, as it is a historical tier 3 raid boss and its species has been available since day 1
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Double-resists Grass Knot
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Resists Psychic
Cons:
- Low DPS and TDO, only truly worthwhile in the rain
Shadow Scizor
In shadow forme, Scizor becomes a decent overall choice for this raid. In rain, it becomes a hugely effective bug that hits hard and holds onto solid TDO at the same time.