Pokemon GO: Yveltal Raid Guide, Weaknesses, & Best Counters

yveltal raid guide, yveltal raid, yveltal raid counters, yveltal weaknesses

Yveltal is the second member of the Aura trio to join Pokemon GO. Xerneas came first and it was honestly a bit of a disappointment. Fortunately, the Destruction Pokemon lives up to its name. If you want to add this Legendary Pokemon to your team, then just check out this raid guide to learn all about Yveltal’s weaknesses and the best counters to combat this powerful beast.

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Yveltal Raid Guide for Pokemon GO

Even though this big bird looks imposing, just think of it as a much more powerful Honchkrow. Yeah, it’ll knock out more Pokemon, but it’ll still get beaten up by the ‘mons that you’re used to using against Flying-types.

You can clear this raid with three trainers and a team of solid counters at or above level 35. Depending upon Yveltal’s moves, you may get wiped and need to re-enter. But don’t worry about dodging if you have more than three trainers with high-level counters in the raiding party.

Once you finish the raid, the Yveltal you can catch will be between 2073-2160 if it’s not weather boosted. During Fog or Windy weather, that CP range will increase to 2591-2701.

Yveltal Weaknesses

Remember, Yveltal is just like any other Dark/Flying-type Pokemon in the game, except that it’s one of the best ‘mons in the Master League. But your team composition should still be the same for Yveltal as it is for something like Honchkrow. Just don’t overthink it and pick your best Pokemon with the following attack types:

  • Electric
  • Fairy
  • Ice
  • Rock

Your best bet for victory in this raid is to take advantage of the weaknesses that Yveltal has by only selecting Pokemon that can hit it with super effective damage.

Best Yveltal Raid Counters

Choosing the best raid counters for taking on Yveltal will be the difference between victory and defeat. The Yveltal raid counters listed in this guide are from a Pokebattler simulation with level 35 ‘mons and no attack boosts of any kind. Mega and Shadow Pokemon will be listed separately since they’re currently quite costly and difficult to obtain.

  • Megas:
    • Mega Manectric (Charge Beam | Wild Charge)
    • Weather Boost: Rainy
      Mega Manectric is the best Electric-type Mega Pokemon to use in the Yveltal raid. It’s the second-best Yveltal raid counter behind Zekrom (excluding Shadow Pokemon). And it’ll give a boost to all Electric-type attacks, one of Yveltal’s biggest weaknesses.
    • Mega Ampharos (Volt Switch | Zap Cannon)
    • Weather Boost: Rainy
      Mega Ampharos is much bulkier than Mega Manectric, but it can’t deal as much damage. Depending upon what your raiding party needs, a Mega Ampharos may be a better choice. If you just want a Pokemon that will buff your teammates and take a few hits, then this is the way to go.
  • Zekrom (Charge Beam | Wild Charge)
  • Weather Boost: Rainy
    Zekrom is the best non-Shadow Yveltal raid counter. It hits the Dark/Flying type’s Electric weakness and it doesn’t take super-effective damage from any of Yveltal’s attacks. If you don’t already have a Zekrom, then try to trade for one because it’s just an all-around great Pokemon.
  • Therian Thundurus (Volt Switch | Thunderbolt)
  • Weather Boost: Rainy
    Next up is another Legendary Pokemon, Therian Forme Thundurus. And yes, only this form is a top-tier raid counter against Yveltal. Don’t try using the Incarnate Forme. There’s nothing too special about this Pokemon. It deals good damage and has average bulk.
  • Rhyperior (Smack Down | Rock Wrecker)
  • Weather Boost: Partly Cloudy
    If you don’t have any of the first four Pokemon mentioned, then that’s rough. But most trainers at least have a few Rhyperior because of the Community Day event from last year. Rhyperior is an absolute tank that deals massive Rock-type damage. Just look out for Yveltal’s Focus Blast since it’ll hit Rhyperior’s Fighting-type weakness.
  • Rampardos (Smack Down | Rock Slide)
  • Weather Boost: Partly Cloudy
    Rampardos is essentially a less common, less powerful, and less bulky version of Rhyperior. But it’s still a solid option if you have one available. As previously mentioned, look out for Yveltal’s Focus Blast since Fighting-type attacks make Rock-type Pokemon crumble.
  • Raikou* (Volt Switch | Wild Charge)
  • Weather Boost: Rainy
    Raikou and its Shadow form are both excellent Electric-type counters for taking on the Yveltal raid. There’s not much to say here that hasn’t already been said about the other Electric-type counters, but if you’re using a Shadow Raikou, then you’ll want to replace Volt Switch with Thunder Shock.
  • Zapdos* (Thunder Shock | Thunderbolt)
  • Weather Boost: Rainy
    Rounding out the list is one of the first Legendary Pokemon that most trainers likely encountered back in Pokemon Red and Blue. Don’t try to get too fancy here. Just stick to what works with all of the other Electric-type Yveltal raid counters. Go with a straight Electric moveset and keep on tapping.
  • Other Viable Yveltal Raid Counters:
    • Shadow Magnezone (Spark | Wild Charge) – Weather Boost: Rainy
    • Shadow Electivire (Thunder Shock | Wild Charge) – Weather Boost: Rainy
    • Shadow Tyranitar (Smack Down | Stone Edge) – Weather Boost: Partly Cloudy
    • Shadow Mamoswine (Powder Snow | Avalanche) – Weather Boost: Snow
    • Shadow Gardevoir (Charm | Dazzling Gleam) – Weather Boost: Cloudy
    • Shadow Weavile (Ice Shard | Avalanche) – Weather Boost: Snow

*Shadow version also viable

Yveltal Raid Moveset

Yveltal is one of the best Dark-type Pokemon in the game. It’s good for raids and PvP battles. It’s not necessarily the best option for either, but it’s definitely not just Pokedex filler. That means, unlike the Xerneas raid battle, you’ll actually have to try a bit when following this Yveltal guide.

This Legendary Pokemon hits hard with all of its same-type attack bonus (STAB) Dark attacks. Fortunately, its charge attacks don’t have the best coverage for Yveltal’s weaknesses. It’ll certainly hit Ice and Rock raid counters pretty hard with Focus Blast, but Yveltal can’t do anything against Electric or Fairy Pokemon.

Fast Attacks

  • Gust (Flying)
  • Weather Boost: Windy
    There’s no better option than Gust when it comes to pure power Flying-type fast attacks in Pokemon GO. Depending upon what charge attack Yveltal has, this can be one of the toughest fast attacks to face. Despite that, you may still want to go for a weather-boosted Yveltal in Windy weather since this Pokemon’s boosted Dark-type attacks are much more dangerous than Psychic and Hurricane.
  • Sucker Punch (Dark)
  • Weather Boost: Fog
    Sucker Punch isn’t a very scary attack, but it can still deal a decent amount of damage and prepare Yveltal’s charge attacks fairly quickly. If this attack is paired with Dark Pulse, then get ready for a rough time. Just fill up your team with Fairy-type Pokemon if that ends up being the case.
  • Snarl (Dark)
  • Weather Boost: Fog
    Almost every charge attack paired with Snarl will give you a hard time. Psychic and Hurricane are the two exceptions. Also, Snarl deals more damage and yields more charge attack energy than Sucker Punch. If you catch Yveltal, then you’ll want to use Snarl. Again, a Fairy-type like Togekiss can become a good Yveltal raid counter if this attack is paired with Dark Pulse.

Charge Attacks

  • Focus Blast (Fighting)
  • Weather Boost: Cloudy
    It’s surprising that there isn’t a petition to change this attack’s name to Goodbye Rhyperior. If you have a Rock-type Pokemon in the battle, then you may want to dodge. Focus Blast will even do a huge chunk of damage against the Electric-type Yveltal raid counters despite the fact that most of them don’t have a Fighting-type weakness.
  • Dark Pulse (Dark)
  • Weather Boost: Fog
    Dark Pulse is a powerful attack that charges quickly, but it’s not likely to kill your chances of winning in this raid. Bulky Yveltal raid counters should be able to get off a few charge attacks before getting KO’d by Dark Pulse. Even the Pokemon with less defense or HP should be able to get off more than one charge attack.
  • Hyper Beam (Normal)
  • Weather Boost: Partly Cloudy
    Hyper Beam takes forever to charge. That means you should probably try to get out of the way if your Pokemon isn’t near max HP when you see this attack animation start. Normally, dodging isn’t necessary for the Yveltal raid, but it doesn’t hurt if you want to survive Hyper Beam.
  • Psychic (Psychic)
  • Weather Boost: Windy
    Psychic is a good attack, but it’s not too intimidating in this battle. If you can find a raid where Yveltal has Psychic, then consider yourself lucky. None of the big Yveltal raid counters resist Psychic attacks, but they’re also not weak to them. That, combined with it not getting STAB makes this move feel safe.
  • Hurricane (Flying)
  • Weather Boost: Windy
    Normally, you would think that the Flying-type attack with the most power in Pokemon GO would be exceedingly dangerous. However, two of Yveltal’s major weaknesses in Electric and Rock both resist Flying-type attacks. That makes Hurricane one of the safest charge attacks you can run into when doing an Yveltal raid.

That’s all there is to know for this Yveltal raid guide, including counters and weaknesses. Hopefully, this guide will help you take down at least one of these ‘mons so you can add it to your collection. And if you can do one, then you’ll want to keep going back for more. It looks like Yveltal might end up being a top-tier raid counter and PvP option.


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Omar Banat
Omar is a UofM Duluth graduate who is obsessed with Smash Bros. Video games are life, but life is not video games. Playing Games Since: 1991, Favorite Genres: Puzzle, Platformer, Action-Adventure (mainly Metroidvanias)