Pokemon GO players have been enjoying a decent variety of Legendary Pokemon this month. Now that Cresselia is preparing for its departure at 1 PM (PDT) today, players can gear up for the return of Articuno to 5-star Raid Battles.
Articuno has been available before in Pokemon GO, both as a Legendary Raid Battle, and as a weekly Research Breakthrough encounter. While its latest appearance won't introduce any dazzling new moves or abilities, it will give dedicated Trainers another opportunity to snag a Shiny variant of the elusive legend.
This time around, there isn't any sort of Ice-type event, or any other relevant event, accompanying Articuno. It's simply replacing Cresselia as the raid-available Legendary Pokemon from September 18th through September 25th at 1 PM (PDT). That said, it's thankfully one of the easier Legendary opponents to take out, so players can at least take advantage of the new updates to raid rewards for extra Premier Balls. Articuno can be easily defeated with a group of 3-4 mid-to-high-level players, though two level 40 Trainers can confidently challenge the Legendary bird if they're stocked with appropriate counters.
Below is a brief overview of Articuno's current stats in Pokemon GO:
- Ice/Flying-type Pokemon
- Weaknesses: Electric, Fire, Rock, Steel
- Potential Fast Attacks: Frost Breath (Ice), Ice Shard (Ice)
- Potential Charged Attacks: Ancient Power (Rock), Blizzard (Ice), Ice Beam (Ice), Icy Wind (Ice)
Thankfully, like the Psychic-type Legendary Cresselia, Articuno is one of the more straightforward opponents in Pokemon GO. There aren't any particularly tricky type matchups to beware, though players should obviously avoid heading into battle with Bug or Grass-type Pokemon, for example.
Given its dual Flying/Ice typing, Articuno is doubly weak to Rock-type Pokemon, so Trainers should try and build a team of Rock-type attackers if they want to be most efficient. Unfortunately, this isn't the best opportunity to show off the new Mega Pokemon in Pokemon GO, even if Mega Charizard's Fire-typing seems tempting.
- Powerful counter options: Tyranitar (Smack Down/Stone Edge), Rampardos (Smack Down/Rock Slide) Rhyperior (Rock Wrecker), Alolan Golem (Stone Edge), Golem (Stone Edge), Omastar (Rock Slide), Heatran (Fire Spin/Stone Edge)
- Viable alternatives: Dialga, Magnezone, Raikou, Metagross
Powerhouses like Tyranitar are increasingly common nowadays, thanks to Raid Battles, Community Day events, and recent gifts like the one-coin Remote Raid Pass bundle. So by now, most players should have some sort of high-level Rock-type options to employ, but for those who don't quite have an army of Rock-types, simply focus on dealing extra damage while staying as safe as possible. This is best done by taking advantage of Steel-type Pokemon, like Dialga and Magnezone, who can dish out Super Effective damage while hiding safely behind their Ice-type resistances.
As always, players should take note that a counter's attack moves are ultimately more important than the Pokemon itself. For example, Tyranitar is certainly an incredible counter to Articuno, but, if and only if it happens to have access to its Rock-type moves. A Tyranitar using Bite and Crunch (Dark-type moves) should be avoided as a counter to Articuno, even though players may be convinced that "Tyranitar is a great counter." And as always, be sure to check the weather; an unexpectedly boosted Articuno may call for an extra teammate or two.
Pokemon GO is available now on the App Store and Google Play.