GamePress

Articuno Raid Duo Guide

Submit Feedback or Error
Tier 5 Raid Boss Guides
Articuno Duo
Difficulty:

Easy at trainer level 30 with optimized counters or weather boost

HP15,000 ATK163.53 DEF208.56
CP Range
Lvl 20 1665 - 1743 Lvl 25 2082 - 2179

Notable Weather

Boosts Boss's Moves Boosts Counters' Moves
Snow, Partly Cloudy Snow, Sunny / Clear, Rain, Partly Cloudy

Fast Move Difficulty

Charge Move Difficulty

Move Difficulty
Blizzard Intermediate
Ice Beam Challenging
Icy Wind Easy
Ancient Power Easy

Overview

Articuno has very solid defense, but it suffers from one of the semi-common flaws that Pokemon with good defensive stats tend to have: a double weakness. Ice alone puts Articuno in range of a few big-name attackers, and adding Flying to it just makes life that much harder for Team Mystic's mascot. A duo is very viable with a bit of careful dodging, and is even easier in partly cloudy weather

Approach

Team composition

  • Rock Types are definitely the name of the game

  • Front-load glass cannons to maximize their average time on the field.

Battling strategy

  • Given the right team comp, DPS is not an issue at all. A bit of dodging is helpful for making the duo work, though.

  • For a super-easy duo, have both players bring nothing but Mega Aerodactyl. They will boost eachother and offer obscene average DPS. When one or both drop, just drop a Max Revive, re-enter, and repeat until Articuno lay shattered and ready for the sweet embrace of your Premier Balls.

    • If you want to make it even more crazy, wait for partly cloudy weather.

Note: "Good" movesets are not necessarily viable at the level indicated.

Best Raid Boss Counters

Mega Evolution Counters
Mega Aerodactyl Mega Aerodactyl
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Despite being weak to Ice, Mega Aerodactyl has an average performance that's almost identical to Rampardos. Add to this the fact that Mega Aerodactyl boosts Rock Type moves, and it becomes obvious that this is the absolute best Pokemon to throw at poor Articuno. Heck, a very viable duo-strategy is to just have both players throw out Mega Aerodactyl so that they buff themselves, and recover/re-enter when they drop. Just make sure that you dodge Blizzard at the very least, as that move hurts our poor reanimated pterosaur. 

Mega Aggron Mega Aggron
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

No Rock typing? No problem. Mega Aggron is amazingly bulky and resists everything that Articuno can possibly throw at it, making it the premier TDO counter by a mile. Its DPS is pretty low yet still duo-worthy, so it's a great overall option for this raid.

Mega Blaziken Mega Blaziken
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

While not a Rock Type, Mega Blaziknen's Fire Type attacks are so strong that it sits somewhere between Mega Aggron and Mega Aerodactyl on the charts. It's not the best Mega for this raid, but it definitely works as a stop-gap if you don't have the other two ready!

Supreme Counters
Rampardos Rampardos
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Remember all of those old Roadrunner cartoons where Wile E. Coyote would get instantly crushed by a giant, falling boulder? That's Rampardos in this raid. Between its great moveset and sky-high attack stat, this Pokemon is rivaled only by Mega Aerodactyl in terms of its sheer power, and should definitely be a top non-Mega priority for this raid.

aggron Shadow Aggron
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

This is a Pokemon that's come a long way! Between its TREMENDOUS bulk, resistance to everything that Articuno can throw at it, and surprisingly high power thanks to Meteor Beam, you can't go wrong having Shadow Aggron on your team.

ShadowTyranitar Shadow Tyranitar
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Shadow Tyranitar mixes high DPS with high survivability to make a really, really good overall pick for this raid. Just remember that it needs Smack Down to excel, and you're good to go! 

Rhyperior Rhyperior
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Another power-house Pokemon, Rhyperior can carry its own tremendous weight very well, and can smack down poor Articuno with ease. Just note that it needs its Elite Charged Move, Rock Wrecker, in order to Wreck with Rocks, and be ready to dodge as it's weak to almost everything that Articuno will throw its way.

Terrakion Terrakion
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

This guy is a real work-horse of a Rock Type. Often overlooked in this regard, but still pulling its own weight with strong Rock Type damage.

Good Counters
ShadowOmastar Shadow Omastar
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

The good, old-fashioned rare counter to Articuno in its original release, but turned evil! Shadow Omastar resists just about everything that Articuno can throw at it, and hits back decently hard in response. Just know that you're going to need to break out your Elite TM stash if you want the right moves for this raid.

Gigalith Gigalith
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

The one true vanilla Rock Type, Gigalith hits very hard and can make Articuno regret its every life choice.

Tyranitar Tyranitar
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

One of the old-school good Rock Types, Tyranitar is still here and still throwing rocks. Just make sure that it knows Smack Down before bringing it along!

tyrantrum Tyrantrum
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

This T-Rex Pokemon spits meteor beams to cause Articuno to feel massive pain. However, it also really hates Ice Type moves....

Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

An odd-ball, but Aurorous can actually utilize its Ice typing in this raid to do a solid job.

Tank Counters
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

It's strange to think that Aggron is actually good now, but here we are!

Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Need to survive? Because this is how you survive. Heatran doesn't have the greatest DPS, but holy crap it lives for a long time in this raid!

ShadowMetagross Shadow Metagross
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Despite not throwing out Rock Type damage, the sheer power of Shadow Metagross puts it on our list. When running Meteor Mash, this monster of a Pokemon is... alright. Yeah, even the mighty Shadow Metagross pales when compared to a rock-tossing snail in this raid.

Glass Counters
aero Shadow Aerodactyl
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

One of the better DPS options, but also pretty glassy.

Shadow-Golem Shadow Golem
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Evil Golem is here, and it's ready to throw some rocks... just note that it really doesn't like the cold.

Aerodactyl Aerodactyl
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Mega Evolve first, then throw any other Aerodactyl in that you may have left over as fodder.

Archeops Archeops
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating
Landorus (Incarnate Forme) Landorus (Incarnate Forme)
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating
Fast MoveCharge MoveRating

Raid Graph