Zacian - Hero of Many Battles Raid Trio Guide

Overview

One of the major Legends of the Galar region, Zacian is here at last. This box-art mascot of Pokemon Sword.... apparently left its sword at home, as this is just its base form. Still, it can be a bit of a difficult raid as it has the moves needed to shred any of its counters and can have at least something boosted in nearly every single type of weather. It's going to take a bit of planning, but the Trio is definitely an achievable feat. In fact, the Duo is also possible, but since it takes very specific counters and/or scenarios, this guide will focus on the Trio.

Approach

Team composition

• The name of the game is Shadow Metagross, though normal Metagross is a fairly close second.
• Mega Gengar and Mega Beedrill are the best Mega Evolutions for this raid, though the former definitely pulls ahead.
• Steel Types tend to have the top performance here. Poison Types should only be prioritized given an active Poison Type Mega Evolution and/or Weather boosts.

Battling strategy

• Re-entering may be necessary; strong lineups shouldn't have to re-enter

• Zacian's movesets can shift the viability of runs that are attempting to take it down with few trainers. Keep an eye on the recommended Pokemon at the start of the raid, and try to predict what Zacian is packing. Remember that the game seems to like putting emphasis on resistances when recommending Pokemon.

• Dodging is a bit difficult against many movesets, but is generally recommended.

Note: "Good" movesets are not necessarily viable at the level indicated.