
Easy at trainer level 30 with optimized counters or weather boost
HP | 15,000 | ATK | 163.53 | DEF | 208.56 |
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CP Range | |||
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Lvl 20 | 1665 - 1743 | Lvl 25 | 2082 - 2179 |
Notable Weather
Boosts Boss's Moves | Boosts Counters' Moves |
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Snow, Partly Cloudy | Snow, Sunny / Clear, Rain, Partly Cloudy |
Fast Move Difficulty
Move |
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Frost Breath |
Charge Move Difficulty
Move | Difficulty |
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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
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With the proper weather, Mega Evolutions can somewhat change what's considered optimal for this raid.
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Mega Aerodactyl, Rampardos, Shadow Tyranitar, Rhyperior, Terrakion, and Shadow Omastar are the true VIPs of this fight
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Many other Pokemon are viable, but keep in mind that even non-STAB/weak rock moves tend to be stronger here than 1x super effective, strong STAB moves.
Battling strategy
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Given the right team comp, DPS is not an issue at all. A bit of dodging is needed to make the duo work in general.
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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.
Note: "Good" movesets are not necessarily viable at the level indicated.
Best Raid Boss Counters

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Rock Throw | Rock Slide | Best |
Despite being weak to Ice, Mega Aerodactyl has an average DPS that's almost identical to Rampardos on average, and a TDO that pulls a bit ahead. 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.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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When it's sunny out this is your guy... or rather it would be if the Sun offered enough of a damage boost to compete with the top Rock Type attackers. Mega Charizard Y is still a solid Pokemon, but it's substantially behind Mega Aerodactyl by every metric.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Thunder Fang | Wild Charge | Best |
The king of the Electric Type Mega Evolutions, Mega Manectric is definitely viable here... but still falls behind the top Rock Types, even in the rain. The main utility here is if you know as a fact that your raid group is Electric-heavy, as that boost is nothing to scoff at.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Volt Switch | Power Gem | Best |
Need proof of the superiority of Rock Type damage for this raid? Look no farther than Mega Ampharos. Even in the rain, a non-STAB move as weak as Power Gem outclasses its STAB Super Effective Zap Cannon. That said, Mega Ampharos is perfectly fine, but doesn't like the fact that it's weak to most of Articuno's moveset.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Smack Down | Rock Slide | Best |
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 the top non-Mega priority for this raid.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Smack Down | Stone Edge | Best |
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!

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Smack Down | Rock Wrecker | Best |
Smack Down | Stone Edge | Good |
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 almostThis everything that Articuno will throw its way.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Smack Down | Rock Slide | Best |
This guy is a real work-horse of a Rock Type. Often overlooked, but still pulling its own weight with strong Rock Type damage.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Rock Throw | Rock Slide | Best |
Rock Throw | Ancient Power | Good |
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.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Smack Down | Stone Edge | Best |
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!

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Rock Throw | Rock Slide | Best |
Mega Evolve first, then throw any other Aerodactyl in that you may have left over as fodder.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Smack Down | Rock Slide | Best |
No real advantages or disadvantages. Just a solid overall counter.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Rock Throw | Rock Slide | Best |
Rock Throw | Ancient Power | Good |
The original rare counter to Articuno, Omastar can still hold its own in this fight. Just make sure that you've got an old one with the right moveset, or get ready to break into your Elite TM stash.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Bullet Punch | Meteor Mash | Best |
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.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Rock Throw | Stone Edge | Best |
No real pros or cons. A solid overall counter with the bonus of outstanding facial hair.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Rock Throw | Stone Edge | Best |
This is the real OG counter! Back when Articuno first hit the scene, everyone was scrambling to catch as many Geodude as they could. Nowadays it's still fine, but is definitely outclassed. Never forget that it's weak to Ice!

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Smack Down | Stone Edge | Best |
Yes, Aggron is a meme. No, Shadow Aggron is not a meme. It's a bit low on DPS, but it's still able to perform really well given the chance.

Fast Move | Charge Move | Rating |
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Fire Spin | Stone Edge | Best |
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!