Pokemon Go Moltres Raid Guide: Best Counters, Weaknesses, Raid Hours, And More Tips

Pokemon Go has brought back another Legendary Pokemon for a limited time. As part of the game's October events, Moltres, one of the three Legendary birds from Pokemon Red and Blue, is appearing as a five-star Raid boss until October 9. Like Articuno and Zapdos before it, Moltres has made numerous appearances in Pokemon Go since it first debuted in the game back in 2017, but if you've yet to capture one or are looking to stock up on more Moltres Candy, we've put together some tips to help you beat and catch Moltres below.

Moltres Raid Schedule

Moltres will return to five-star Raids starting October 2 at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET, and it will remain in the game until the same time on Friday, October 9. These Raid Battles don't follow a set schedule, but you'll receive a notification within the game when one is about to begin at a nearby Gym, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding a Moltres Raid near you.

If you're really eager to catch a Moltres, your best chance will come tonight, Wednesday, October 7, when Niantic holds its weekly Raid Hour event. That night from 6-7 PM local time, most Gyms will be taken over by Moltres Raids, which should give you plenty of opportunities to find and battle the Legendary Pokemon.

Moltres Weaknesses And Counters

As a Fire/Flying type, Moltres is especially weak to Rock Pokemon, making those your best choice to bring along when battling it. Since both of Moltres's types are vulnerable to Rock, it takes four times as much damage from Rock-type moves. On top of that, Rock Pokemon resist Moltres's Fire and Flying attacks, making them great counters. Rhyperior, Golem, Tyranitar, and Terrakion in particular will dish out a ton of damage against the Legendary.

Water Pokemon are also super-effective against Moltres, so you'll want to bring those along as well when challenging the Legendary. If you have enough Blastoise Mega Energy, Mega Blastoise is a great Pokemon to use, but you'll also find other Water types like Swampert, Suicune, Kyogre, and Palkia helpful if you have them.

Finally, because Moltres is part-Flying, it's weak to Electric Pokemon as well. Most Electric Pokemon have fairly low defense stats, so they likely won't last too long in battle against the Legendary, but they'll at least hit it with super-effective damage before they faint. Electivire, Raikou, Zapdos, and Alolan Golem are some of the best Electric Pokemon in the game to use.

Types To Avoid

Grass and Bug Pokemon both take super-effective damage from Fire and Flying attacks, so you'll want to avoid using either of those types when you're battling Moltres. While Steel Pokemon normally resist most attacks, they also take super-effective damage from Fire, and Fighting Pokemon are weak to Flying attacks, making them poor choices as well (unless they have a secondary type that helps offset that weakness, as Terrakion does).