How to beat Rayquaza in Pokemon Go: weakness, counters, Raid guide

Pokemon Go’s Weather Week marks the return of Gen III Legendary Rayquaza in the mobile title. Here is how to catch the Hoenn Dragon after defeating it in 5-star Raids. 

Niantic surprised players when they revealed that Emerald Legendary, Rayquaza, would be making its return to Pokemon Go for a limited time as a finale to the Weather Week event.

The Gen III Dragon will take over 5-star Raids starting March 27 at 10:00 AM local time. Here are the best counters that will bring down the epic beast and have you catching it in no time.

Niantic / The Pokemon Company

Rayquaza is making its return to Go during Weather Week.

Pokemon Go Rayquaza weakness

First introduced in 2005’s Pokemon Emerald, Rayquaza has since become one of the most beloved Legendaries in the franchise. The epic Flying/Dragon-type is the master of the Hoenn region’s Weather Trio.

Due its dual typing, the Gen III creature is open to a variety of weaknesses. Its main counter in the mobile game is Ice-type, with Dragon, Fairy, and Rock-type being just below it in terms of maximum damage.

• Read More: Pokemon Go April 2021 5-star Raids

While staggering in size and power, Rayquaza is fairly easy to bring down with the right team of Pokemon. Below, we will outline the best counters you can bring into battle to beat the Legendary with ease.

Pokemon Go Rayquaza counters

In the series’ lore, Dragon ‘mon were initially weak to Dragon and Fairy-types. However in 2021, the species’ greatest weakness is Ice, receiving almost double the damage from the type in Go

Top Rayquaza counters

Name	Pokemon	Move
Galarian Darmanitan		Fast: Ice Fang  Charge: Avalanche
Mamoswine		Fast: Powder Snow Charge: Avalanche
Weavile		Fast: Ice Shard Charge: Avalanche
Glaceon		Fast: Frost Breath Charge: Avalanche
Mewtwo		Fast: Psycho Cut Charge: Ice Beam

Budget Rayquaza counters

Name	Pokemon	Move
Cloyster		Fast: Frost Breathe Charge: Avalanche
Rampardos		Fast: Smack Down Charge: Rock Slide
Lapras		Fast: Frost Breathe Charge: Blizzard
Dragonite		Fast: Dragon Tail Charge: Outrage
Electivire		Fast: Thunder Shock Charge: Ice Punch

Trainers interested in catching Rayquaza will need to mark their calendars as the Gen III Legendary is only going to be in 5-star Raids for 33 hours. The ‘mon will officialy start appearing on March 27 at 10:00 AM and will leave the game on March 28 at 8:00 PM local time.

• Read More: Best Eelektross moveset in Pokemon Go

Players also set on getting the highly-sought after Shiny version of the Weather Trio Dragon will need to do multiple Raids. Like all Legendaries, it has a 1 out of 20 chance to be the alternative variant which actually isn’t all that bad compared to the mainline series. Being prepared with a team of Ice-type counters will certainly help.