Hello students! My name is Professor Geekbeak, and today, I wish to draw attention to Shadow Moltres. Shadow Moltres has not withered as much as some of the earlier legendaries, managing to stay afloat as a strong Flying type attacker. The shadow form propels it quite a bit as well. Grab your notebooks, class is in session. For those who wish to do their research independently, our raw data can be found here. And for those who wish for a simple visual guide, go ahead and take a look at the below visual guide by CaptGoldfish.

NOTE: Some visual guides will be outdated for the duration of GO FEST. They will remain mostly accurate, but lack modern counters, such as the Mega Mewtwo duo, or Eternatus.

Course Schedule

This counter is one of many GO FEST raids. There are too many to put a coherent schedule here, but rest assured, pretty much every legendary, mega, and shadow under the sun will be going at some point. Look to your local GO FEST event or the Pokebattler.com raid schedule to see exactly what raids will be going.

The Flying and Fire type combination makes Moltres doubly weak to Rock, and Moltres has no charge moves to take care of Rock types.

Effectiveness	Types
Double Resist (0.4x)	Bug Grass
Resist (0.6x)	Fighting Ground Steel Fire Fairy
Neutral	Normal Flying Poison Ghost Psychic Ice Dragon Dark
Super Effective (1.6x)	Water Electric
Double Super Effective (2.6x)	Rock

Shadow Moltres’s moveset includes the following charge moves:

• Heat Wave
• Ancient Power
• Fire Blast
• Overheat
• Fly
• Frustration
• Sky Attack

The Dean’s List consists of the top 5 counters to Shadow Moltres. As always, the Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and the Third Ranked will have their best moveset alternatives in a table with their rankings and a table detailing their defensive prowess against the charge moves listed above.

Shadow Rampardos A

Best Moveset: Smack Down / Rock Slide

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★★

Reliability★★★☆☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Smack Down	Rock Slide	100%
Zen Headbutt	Rock Slide	65%
Smack Down	Flamethrower	64%
Smack Down	Outrage	60%
Smack Down	Frustration	48%
Zen Headbutt	Outrage	30%

Mega Diancie A

Best Moveset: Rock Throw / Rock Slide

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Rock Throw	Rock Slide	100%
Rock Throw	Power Gem	97%
Tackle	Rock Slide	68%
Tackle	Power Gem	66%
Rock Throw	Moonblast	66%
Tackle	Moonblast	25%

Shadow Rhyperior A

Best Moveset: Smack Down / Rock Wrecker

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★☆

Reliability★★★☆☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Smack Down	Rock Wrecker	100%
Smack Down	Stone Edge	88%
Smack Down	Surf	74%
Mud-Slap	Rock Wrecker	74%
Smack Down	Breaking Swipe	68%
Smack Down	Skull Bash	66%

Defensive Grades for Top 3

Boss Move
Overheat	🛡	🛡	🛡
Fly	🛡	🛡	🛡
Fire Blast	🛡	🛡	🛡
Heat Wave	🛡	🛡	🛡
Ancient Power	—	—	🛡

Shadow Tyrantrum A

Best Moveset: Rock Throw / Meteor Beam

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Shadow Gigalith A

Best Moveset: Smack Down / Meteor Beam

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★★★☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Also Noteworthy: A: Mega Aerodactyl

We here at Pokebattler Pokémon Research Institute can’t expect you to have the best counters every time. So, here are some of our other best options, most of which will be easier to find than the members of the Dean’s List.

Mega Tyranitar A

Best Moveset: Smack Down / Stone Edge

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★★★★★

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Shadow Tyranitar A

Best Moveset: Smack Down / Stone Edge

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Rampardos A

Best Moveset: Smack Down / Rock Slide

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★★★☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Glimmora A

Best Moveset: Rock Throw / Meteor Beam

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★★★★☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Shadow Aurorus A

Best Moveset: Rock Throw / Meteor Beam

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★☆☆☆☆

2

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Of course, besides our 10 best counters, there are plenty of Pokémon that also work against Shadow Moltres. Here are a few star choices, worthy of praise.

A	RhyperiorShadow AerodactylTyrantrumTerrakionShadow OmastarGigalithShadow LandorusShadow AggronShadow RegigigasTyranitarShadow Alola GolemShadow GolemPrimal KyogreStonjournerMega RayquazaAurorusShadow SudowoodoMega BlastoiseAerodactyl

Sometimes, the weather can be your most powerful ally. In certain weather conditions, certain Pokémon on our list excel. The most transformative cases are noted below.

Partly Cloudy

Mega Tyranitar (1.5)Mega Aerodactyl (1.5)Shadow Tyranitar (1.5)

Overall, Shadow Moltres is a very simple counter. That double weakness to Rock types is incredibly difficult to overcome. Of course, if you wish to do more research on your box’s best Pokémon for the job, Pokebattler.com itself can be a great help! Remember, the best counter is the one you have powered up and ready to go. I grant extra credit to those who use their best friend bonus and the weather to their advantage. Class dismissed!