Pokemon Go Suicune Raid Day Guide: Counters, Shiny Suicune, Start Times, And What To Know [Update]

Update: Pokemon Go's Suicune Raid Day may have ended, but the Legendary will be making another appearance in the game very soon. Suicune and the two other Legendary dogs, Entei and Raikou, will return to Raids in September as part of Pokemon Go's Ultra Bonuses. That's not all; players can also take on a new "Thousand-Year Slumber" Special Research questline that leads to an encounter with the Mythical Jirachi, and the first Gen 5 Pokemon are set to make their debut in Go beginning September 16. The original story follows.

The Legendary Suicune is making an encore appearance in Pokemon Go today. As one of the rewards for completing enough Global Challenges during last week's Pokemon Go Fest event in Yokohama, Japan, Niantic is bringing the Legendary Pokemon back for a special Raid Day today, August 17--but it'll only be around for a very limited time.

Suicune hasn't appeared in Pokemon Go very often, which makes this weekend's Raid Day a good opportunity to add one to your collection if you've previously missed it. That's not the only reason to be excited for the event; you'll also be able to encounter a Shiny Suicune in Raids. The Legendary will only be around for a few hours, however, so to help you prepare for the event, we've rounded up all the most important details about this weekend's Suicune Raid Day below.

What Time Does Suicune Raid Day Start?

Much like Pokemon Go's monthly Community Days, this weekend's Suicune Raid Day will take place around the world for three hours, from 4-7 PM local time. During that window, the Legendary Pokemon will appear in Gyms as a five-star Raid boss. Once the event ends, Suicune will leave the game again, giving you only a couple of hours to catch it.

Shiny Suicune

Suicune will be a common sight in Gyms during Saturday's event, so you should have no trouble finding a Suicune Raid during the aforementioned hours. Even if you've previously captured Suicune, you'll want to participate in a few Raids, as you may come across a rare Shiny Suicune during the event. This variant sports a blue mane rather than a purple one, making it look even more majestic.

However, the odds of finding a Shiny Legendary in Pokemon Go are quite rare, and there's no definitive way of knowing in advance if a Raid will produce a Shiny Suicune. If you're hoping to snag a Shiny one this weekend, you'll need to be persistent and participate in as many Suicune Raids as you can during the event.

• Pokemon Go: Legendary Rayquaza Guide - Counters, Shiny Rayquaza, And How To Catch Tips
• Pokemon Go Team Rocket Guide - How To Catch & Purify Shadow Pokemon
• Pokemon Go Eevee Guide - How To Get Any Eevee Evolution

How To Participate In Raids

Before you can jump into a Raid Battle, you'll first need to have an item called a Raid Pass. Fortunately, you can get one of these for free from the first Photo Disc you spin at a Gym each day. You can typically only carry one of these free Raid Passes at a time, but Niantic will be giving out up to five free Raid Passes during the Suicune Raid Day, so everyone should be able to participate in a few Raids without any trouble.

Once you've gotten a Raid Pass, you'll need to physically head to a Gym where a Suicune Raid is taking place and challenge the Legendary to a battle. Five-star Raid Bosses like Suicune are very powerful, so you'll need to team up with several other players in-person if you're hoping to bring the Legendary down. If your group manages to defeat Suicune, each player who participated in the Raid will receive a handful of Premier Balls along with a chance to catch it.

Tips For Battling Suicune

Suicune is a pure Water-type, which makes putting together a team of counters fairly easy. Water Pokemon are vulnerable to Grass and Electric Pokemon, so you'll want to use as many of those types as possible when challenging the Legendary. Magnezone, Luxray, Electivire, Leafeon, and Roserade should all prove to be effective against Suicune; however, you'll need to be careful when using Grass-types, as Water Pokemon typically know Ice-type attacks that hit them for super-effective damage.

While Dragon Pokemon don't have a type advantage over Water Pokemon, they do resist Water attacks, which makes them a good option for rounding out your team. However, Fire, Rock, and Ground Pokemon all have a significant disadvantage against Water-types, so you should avoid using those when challenging Suicune.

Other Pokemon Go Bonuses

In addition to the Suicune Raid Day, Niantic has made a few other bonuses available in Pokemon Go as rewards for completing the latest batch of Global Challenges. From August 13-20, you'll earn triple the normal amount of Stardust for each Pokemon you capture or hatch. You'll also receive 3,000 Stardust for participating in Raids, and any Star Pieces you use during the week will last for an hour rather than 30 minutes.