Zekrom and its Place in the Raid and Trainer Battle Metas

Zekrom has arrived to Pokemon GO! From June 16th until July 7th, trainers can battle and catch Zekrom in raids. Unlike its partner in Tao, Reshiram, Zekrom is extremely powerful in both raids and Master League PvP. It doesn’t appear that Zekrom will be featured as a Go Battle League reward, so you’ll want to dust off your Dragon and Ground-type attackers and squad up to take it on. The article below covers the best counters to the Zekrom raid and highlights its use in raids and Master League Trainer Battles.

Zekroms’s max catch CP is 2307, and 2884 when boosted by rainy or windy weather. 

Zekrom is a Dragon + Electric dual type Pokemon. This gives it shared Dragon and Ground-type counters with Reshiram, but also leaves Zekrom vulnerable to Ice and Fairy-type attacks.

Zekrom carries the attacks Charge Beam, Dragon Breath, Wild Charge, Outrage, Crunch, and Flash Cannon. Having 3 multi-bar Charge Moves will make Zekrom a more deadly and aggressive raid boss than Reshiram. Overall, Dragon-type Pokemon should be safe go-to answers to the fight, but Outrage Zekrom will cause a lot of lobbying. If you’re facing Outrage, Fairy-types will be useful. 

Zekrom can be tackled by 2 elite trainers if the weather is on their side. Well prepared trainers may consistently take Zekrom on with only 3 players. Most groups will want to have at least 5 decent trainers or more. Due to Zekrom’s aggressive attacks, expect to relobby at least once during your raids. Twice if you’re against Outrage with no Fairy-types to back up your bulk. 

The best overall counters to the Zekrom raid are Shadow Salamence and Shadow Dragonite. However, given that Zekrom carries multi-bar Charge Moves, they may get fainted down faster than you’d like. With that in mind, more bulky Dragon-type Pokemon such as Palkia, Dialga, and Zekrom itself may serve you better. As for the middleground, other Dragons such Rayquaza, Salamence, Dragonite, and Garchomp can work equally as well, but may miss launching some charge moves against Outrage Zekrom. If you’re up against the Wild Charge set, Garchomp ascends in power as it has a tripled resistance to Electric-type attacks, making it exceptionally tanky. 

As with the Reshiram raid, weather bonuses can make the difference for optimized counters. With cloudy weather, Gardevoir and Togekiss’s performance becomes respectable while Shadow Gardevoir becomes the overall best counter to the raid. With clear weather, Excadrill, Groudon, and Rhyperior rise significantly in value. Garchomp also gains from clear weather, putting its Dragon Tail + Earthquake set above its Dragon Tail + Outrage one. Of the clear weather counters, Excadrill’s performance is the most notable, as it gains the power to perform well in duo attempts outside of Wild Charge Zekrom. If you’re interested in Best Buddy Bonuses, Rayquaza, clear weather Rhyperior, and clear weather Groudon can all reach “level 41” Breakpoints in the raid.

Should you be lacking the above counters, most Ground, Fairy, and Dragon-type attacks perform well in this raid. Rhyperior, Excadrill, Mamoswine, and Rhydon are solid budget options as they give a respectable damage output and aren’t too concerned with Zekrom’s moveset. With the recent Mud Slap buff, Mud Slap becomes the Fast Move of choice for Mamoswine. Whichever Fast Move you decided to go with on Mamoswine, make sure it’s still packing Avalanche. As you make your way through the month, Zekrom itself counters Zekrom well and could be worth the stardust investment. 

Breakpoints

Raids

As a raid attacker, Zekrom is the best non-Shadow Electric-type Pokemon to date. With its Dragon sub-typing, Zekrom will be a top counter to any Water-type raid bosses that come its way. As a Dragon-type, Zekrom is pretty solid, being slightly better than Dragonite. Of course it’s no Rayquaza or Shadow Dragon, and it pales in comparison to the future Kyurem Black, but it’s definitely not bad. These points along with its prowess in the Master League makes Zekrom a solid investment.

PvP

Another Dragon Breath Pokemon? You got it, but this one has a few interesting things going for it. For one, it absolutely dominates Kyogre and most of the Steel-types. Aqua Tail Palkia may have that job covered, but Zekrom beats Palkia too. Groudon, Garchomp, Swampert, and Psystrike + Ice Beam Mewtwo serve as solid counters, but can be overcome in the 2 shield scenario if they don’t bait well. Dragonite will typically beat Zekrom, but if Zekrom doesn’t throw Crunch and Dragonite does throw Dragon Claw, it’s Zekrom’s match. Giratina Origin and Altered Forme don’t pose too many issues with Shadow Claw. However, with Dragon Breath or a Best Buddy Defense Breakpoint Giratina-A will flip the script on Zekrom

The main threats to the new Dragon Breath in town include Togekiss, Rhyperior, and Snorlax. While Togekiss crushes Zekrom with just 1 shield, Rhyperior may have to spend 2 shields to Zekrom’s 1 or face defeat. As usual, Snorlax is the bait master, and can easily fail if Earthquake gets shielded. Alternatively, a Snorlax could pull off an upset victory should Zekrom allow two Body Slams to go through. 

As expected, Dialga destroys Zekrom and gets that patented Best Buddy Defense Breakpoint against it as well. While Zekrom isn’t a Dialga counter, it is a solid Dialga protector with its ability to bait in and potentially subdue would-be-counters such as Groudon or Rhyperior. If you prefer the Master League to the Premier Cup, Zekrom is nearly a must have on your roster. Its prowess in raids only sweetens the deal. 

Being a top raid attacker and Master League Pokemon, Zekrom is finally a raid boss worth getting out of the house for. The raid will be tougher than the past dozen raid bosses have been, but the reward is definitely worth it. There is no telling when Zekrom is coming back (it’s been a year since we’ve seen the Master League God Dialga) so you’ll want to try to get the hundo and stock up on candy while you can.