Catching Raikou is no easy task. Right now, you can do so by challenging Giovanni and working your way through the A Professor’s Work is Never Done special research task. Going through this task is going to have you facing off against Team Rocket GO leaders Cliff, Sierra, and Arlo. After that, you face their leader, Giovanni, who has captured Raikou and turned them into a shadow Pokémon.
Raikou is a pure Electric Type Pokémon, so if you’ve been working on your Ground and Rock Type collection, you’ll have an easy time taking this one down. Here are some of the best Pokémon to use to take down this tough adversary.
Garchomp
Garchomp, a Ground and Dragon-type Pokémon, is always a great choice to go against Raikou. They have a max CP of 3,962, an attack of 261, defense of 193, and a stamina of 239. You mostly want to use a Garchomp who has Ground-type moves, with Earthquake being it’s best option. If you have a Garchomp with Mud Shot and Earthquake, you should find it does an extraordinary amount of damage against Raikou. While that won’t be the best Garchomp to use in other instances, it’s an ideal choice when facing off against Giovanni.
Excadrill
Excadrill is a Ground and Steel-type Pokémon, meaning it takes minimal amounts of damage whenever hit by Electric, Poison, or Rock-type moves. It has a max CP of 3,244, an attack of 255, defense of 129, and stamina of 242. Unfortunately, it’s lower defense is this Pokémon’s Achille’s heel. However, given how much damage it takes from Electric-type moves, you should do fine against Raikou. You have to make sure you focus on using an Excadrill with Ground-type attacks, such as Drill Run, Mud Slap, or Earthquake.
Golem
Golem is a Rock and Ground-type Pokémon, and like Excadrill, it takes meager amounts of damage from Electric-type attacks. It has a max CP of 2,949, an attack of 211, defense of 198, and stamina of 190. For those who have had trouble dealing with Giovanni’s other Team Rocket Go leaders, Golem is a great choice because of its higher defense. At the same time, it may not dish out the most significant attack. It can undoubtedly withstand any onslaught from an angry Raikou, though. You want to use one that has Mud Shot and Earthquake.
Steelix
Steelix is a Steel and Ground-type Pokémon with a max CP of 2,414 with an attack of 148, defense of 272, and stamina of 181. For those who thought Golem had high defense, Steelix knocks it out of the park, but this means you need to focus on using Ground-type attacks against a Raikou. While a Steelix won’t take too much damage from Electric-types attacks, you don’t want to lose a battle of attrition with a low attack. You want to use one that has Iron Tail or Dragon Tail with Earthquake.
Rhyperior
Rhyperior is a Ground and Rock-type Pokémon and is the evolved form of Rhydon if you use a Sinnoh Stone. It has a max CP of 3,733, an attack of 241, defense of 190, and stamina of 251. Rhyperior is on par with Garchomp in terms of power, but with Raikou, you need to make sure you’re consistently hitting them with rapid-fire Ground-tye attacks. Mud Slap and Earthquake are Rhyperior’s best choices, so if you have one with that ideal combination, you should have no trouble taking down the shadow Pokémon.
While these choices are going to handle Giovanni’s Raikou well, you still need to face the first two Pokémon Giovanni throws at you. Make sure to build your team to face every Pokémon Giovanni has and prepare for a tough battle.
