Xerneas makes its return to Pokemon Go Gyms near you for a limited-time appearance in five-star raid battles. This legendary Pokemon is appearing after its counterpart, the embodiment of destruction Yveltal, leaves raids during Pokemon Go’s Evolving Stars event.

　　

Xerneas Raid Schedule

Xerneas is appearing as the only five-star raid boss in Pokemon Go from 10 AM local time on October 8, 2022 and will remain available to battle in raids until the same time on October 20. Raids do not generally follow a set schedule, and Xerneas raids will appear randomly at Gyms around the world during this time period, but you will receive a notification from the game when a raid is about to begin nearby.

　　Your best chance to find Xerneas raids is during the two Raid Hours in which the Life Pokemon will be featured. Every Wednesday from 6 PM to 7 PM local time, the majority of Gyms host five-star raids for Trainers to work together to take down. The two Raid Hours that will occur while Yveltal is available to challenge will be on October 12 and 19. As with all raids, you’ll need your free daily Raid Pass or a Premium Battle Pass to join a raid in person, or a Remote Raid Pass to join a raid remotely.

　　

Can I Catch a Shiny Xerneas?

Clockwise from top-left: non-shiny Neutral Mode Xerneas, shiny Neutral Mode Xerneas, shiny Active Mode Xerneas, non-shiny Active Mode Xerneas in Pokemon Go

　　If you’re looking for Xerneas’ blue and white shiny version, you’re in luck. This appearance in raids will be the first time shiny Xerneas will be available to Pokemon Go trainers. Remember that a shiny is never guaranteed, and you won’t know if a Xerneas will be shiny until after you’ve completed the raid, so be sure to do as many as you can to increase your chances of finding a shiny.

　　

Xerneas Weaknesses and Counters

Xerneas is a pure Fairy-type Pokemon. This means it takes super effective damage from Steel and Poison-type attacks. Some recommended Pokemon include:

　　Steel: Mega Scizor, Metagross, Scizor, GenesectPoison: Mega Gengar, Nihilego, RoseradeA Mega Tip: A Mega Evolved Pokemon boosts the damage of all Pokemon in the raid by 10%, and the damage of all Pokemon using attacks that share a type with the Mega Evolved Pokemon by 30%. Coordinate those Megas with your raid group for added damage. Note that while Mega Steelix will boost the damage of fellow Steel types in the raid, its defensively oriented stats mean it likely won’t output enough damage of its own to be worth using. Mega Scizor, Gengar, Beedrill, or Aggron would be ideal Megas to use in Xerneas raids.

　　Don’t be afraid of the shadows: Shadow Pokemon deal 20% more damage than their non-shadow counterparts, so the shadow versions of any of the suggested Pokemon that have them can help you win.

　　There is also a relatively sparse number of strong Steel and Poison-type raid attackers in Pokemon Go. If you’re missing out on some of them, strong neutral attackers like Mewtwo can still pull some weight.

　　

Types to Avoid

Xerneas’ Fairy-type attack Moonblast deals super-effective damage to Fighting, Dark, and Dragon-types. It can also learn the Fighting-type move Close Combat, which can hurt the Steel-type counters used against it.. Also keep in mind that Fairy-types like Xerneas resist Dark, Fighting, and Bug-type attacks, and double resists Dragon-type attacks. Stay away from Pokemon that use these types of attacks.

　　

Usefulness

Is Xerneas worth raiding after you’ve gotten the new Pokedex entry or shiny? Xerneas lacks a Fairy-type fast move, meaning there are much better choices for Fairy-type raid attackers. In PvP, prior to this season, Xerneas was also considered largely useless since its only fast moves were Tackle and Zen Headbutt, both of which were significantly below-average moves. However, the Season of Light move rebalance buffed Tackle into a usable move. While not as great as it could be if it could learn the new Fairy Wind, the improved Tackle brings Xerneas into viability in Master League.