Tapu Bulu Raid Duo Guide

Mega Beedrill is the top counter for this raid, no doubt. It deals very high damage thanks to its strong Poison Type moveset, it boosts Poison Type damage for other players, and it double resists every move that Tapu Bulu can throw at it, save Moonblast which it still has a single resistance to. Add to this the low Mega Energy cost of Mega Beedrill, and you've got the perfect-storm counter for this raid.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses: None

Despite being undeniably stronger than Mega Beedrill by virtually every metric, Mega Gengar falls short in one key area; a lack of Poison Type Fast Moves. In the case of of a double weakness, the difference between fully preying on that weakness and dealing neutral Fast Move damage can be pretty significant.

That said, Mega Gengar is not a bad choice by ANY stretch of the imagine. This toxic ghost resists everything that Tapu Bulu cam throw at it, and puts out great DPS, to the point where it's perfectly viable for a Mega-only duo

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Rock Smash (3x), Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses:  None

Mega Rayquaza is always going to show up on raid guides when Flying is a weakness, and it can actually put up solid numbers despite its lack of Poison typing, even potentially rivaling the top Poison Mega Evolutions to a certain degree. However, that same fact also means that it doesn't provide a boost to the best type in this raid, which is desperately needed for many Poison Types, which makes it less effective on a team-bases. Still, it's a fine pick.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Megahorn 
• Weaknesses:  Dazzling Gleam

While it doesn't quite reach the DPS of Mega Blaziken, Mega Charizard Y stands out as the top non-Poison Mega Pokemon for this raid due to its tremendous average TDO and very comparable DPS. Given the fact that it's still well above duo-viable DPS with one of the highest TDO totals in this raid, a strong argument can be made that Mega Charizard Y is actually the single most efficient counter to this raid, especially in Clear Weather. The main drawback to its use has to be that it doesn't boost Poison Types while active, so it can put a bit more pressure on your partner to bring high-powered counters. 

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses: None

Mega Blaziken has the highest DPS of the non-Poison Mega Types for this raid, and is a solid pick in Clear weather, but it's overshadowed by the options above in this case.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses: None

Mega Venusaur falls pretty far behind the competition, and it lacks a Poison Type Fast Move to maximize its potential output, but it's also a solid supportive Mega Evolution that can last a decent amount of time and boost Poison Types.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam
• Weaknesses: None

The Ultra Beasts invaded Alola first, and they're still doing their best to take over! Nihilego's Rock sub-typing makes it a bit more susceptible to Grass Type moves and Rock Smash than most other Poison Types, but it still has the top average non-Mega performance in the game. Prioritize this monster if you can.

• Strengths: Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn
• Weaknesses:  None

Despite the previously mentioned issue with Gengar's Fast Move typing, Shadow Gengar is a remarkably strong option that hits very hard. It's a bit glassy, but it definitely is outstanding.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Rock Smash (3x), Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses:  None

Shadow Toxicroak isn't going to last long against most movesets, but it makes up for that fact with great DPS.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Rock Smash, Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses:  None

Shadow Victreebel has a DPS output close to the Mega Evolutions outlined above. It resists everything that Tapu Bulu can throw at it, and is outstanding for keeping ahead of the clock. Remember: always farm decoy grunts when you get a Super Rocket Radar!

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam
• Weaknesses: None

Our bizarro guide continues with Shadow Vileplume, who is... basically the classic DPS vs. TDO argument that's raged on for so many other types when compared to Shadow Victreebel. Its DPS is lower, but it stays on the field longer to compensate.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam
• Weaknesses: None

A bit more of a standard-fare for many other guides, Roserade is well known for its Grass Type performance, but is also an outstanding Poison Type attacker as well. This is an old classic, and it's hard to go wrong making use of it

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn
• Weaknesses: None

This ancient spiky fish from the Hisui region packs a punch among Poison Types, and is a genuinely good pick for this raid. While its Dark sub-typing puts it at a bit of a disadvantage against Fairy and Fighting movesets, it can still put in the numbers needed to be worth bringing along.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Grass Knot, Solar Beam
• Weaknesses: None

A classical Generation one Pokemon, Muk's Shadow forme is actually near the top of the Poison Type meta, which makes it a natural choice for this raid

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Rock Smash, Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn
• Weaknesses: None

While easily overlooked, this Generation-1 vanilla Poison Type is actually really solid, and can put in a lot of work if utilized in this raid.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Rock Smash, Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn
• Weaknesses: None

Even when not Mega Evolved or powered by a Shadow boost, our good buddy Gengar can still put in the work here

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Rock Smash (3x) Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses: None

Yes, we've had to cover this much ground to reach our first non-Poison/non-Mega counter. Despite being one of the absolute strongest things in the entire game, a Shadow Metagross packing Meteor Mash and hitting for Super Effective damage is just an "okay" option here. This shows just how huge 2x effectiveness really is in raids

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Dazzling Gleam
• Weaknesses: None

Ho-oh has great bulk, and can anchor battles very well where needed. However, the value of tanks has dropped quite a bit recently, and this is a Pokemon that really needs its Apex form for Sacred Fire+ and Hidden Power Poison to excel. 

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses: None

The classic Poison/Grass typing really pays off in this raid, and Victreebel is one of the absolute classics on that front

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot, Solar Beam, Dazzling Gleam
• Weaknesses: None

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash (2x), Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam
• Weaknesses: None

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam
• Weaknesses: None

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash, Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses: None

A good option, but its Dark subtyping does it no favors for this raid.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed, Grass Knot, Solar Beam
• Weaknesses: None

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Rock Smash (2x), Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam, Megahorn
• Weaknesses: None

Heatran lacks power in this raid, falling behind on the DPS chart by a large amount. However, it's still trio-worthy, and has an outstanding TDO, staying on the field for an extremely long time against the vast majority of movesets.

• Strengths: Bullet Seed (2x), Grass Knot (2x), Solar Beam (2x), Dazzling Gleam (2x), Megahorn (2x)
• Weaknesses:  Rock Smash