Hello students! My name is Professor Geekbeak, and today, I wish to draw attention to Pheromosa. Its main use case is as a Bug type attacker, a type dominated by Mega Heracross and Mega Pinsir. If you’re missing any of the particularly strong bug types, it can be worth it, but Pheromosa is famously fragile, so be prepared to dodge 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.

Course Schedule

This raid will take place from September 23rd to September 29th. It is preceded by Zamazenta and Mega Venusaur, coincides with Xurkitree, Buzzwole, and Mega Malamar, and followed by Mega Victreebel and Xerneas.

Similarly to its very buff sibling Buzzwole, Pheromosa is doubly weak to Flying, and has no way to fight back against Flying types in its charge move pool.

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

Pheromosa’s moveset includes the following charge moves:

• Bug Buzz
• Close Combat
• Focus Blast
• Lunge

The Dean’s List consists of the top 5 counters to Pheromosa. 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.

Mega Rayquaza A

Best Moveset: Air Slash / Dragon Ascent

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★★

Reliability★★★★★

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Air Slash	Dragon Ascent	100%
Dragon Tail	Dragon Ascent	84%
Air Slash	Hurricane	73%
Air Slash	Aerial Ace	71%
Air Slash	Breaking Swipe	57%
Dragon Tail	Aerial Ace	56%

Mega Staraptor A

Best Moveset: Wing Attack / BRAVE BIRD PLUS

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★★★☆

Reliability★★★★☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Wing Attack	BRAVE BIRD PLUS	100%
Gust	BRAVE BIRD PLUS	100%
Gust	Fly	86%
Quick Attack	BRAVE BIRD PLUS	85%
Wing Attack	Fly	83%
Sand Attack	BRAVE BIRD PLUS	83%

Shadow Moltres A

Best Moveset: Wing Attack / Fly

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★★☆☆☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Wing Attack	Fly	100%
Wing Attack	Sky Attack	92%
Fire Spin	Fly	87%
Fire Spin	Sky Attack	80%
Wing Attack	Overheat	62%
Wing Attack	Fire Blast	58%

Defensive Grades for Top 3

Boss Move
Focus Blast	🛡	🛡	🛡
Close Combat	🛡	🛡	🛡
Bug Buzz	🛡	🛡🛡	🛡🛡
Lunge	🛡	🛡🛡	🛡🛡

Mega Skarmory A

Best Moveset: Air Slash / Drill Peck+

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★☆☆☆☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Mega Mewtwo Y A

Best Moveset: Psycho Cut / Future Sight+

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★★★☆☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Also Noteworthy: A: Rayquaza

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.

Shadow Salamence A

Best Moveset: Fire Fang / Fly

DPS★★☆☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★☆☆☆☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Mega Salamence A

Best Moveset: Fire Fang / Fly

DPS★★☆☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★★☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Enamorus A

Best Moveset: Fairy Wind / Fly

DPS★★☆☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★★☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Mega Mewtwo X A

Best Moveset: Confusion / Psystrike

DPS★★☆☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★★★

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Moltres A

Best Moveset: Wing Attack / Fly

DPS★★☆☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★☆☆☆☆

1

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

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

A	Shadow Ho-OhGalarian ArticunoShadow ZapdosYveltalShadow LugiaMega PidgeotSalamenceMega DelphoxShadow TornadusMega Charizard YTornadus TherianHisuian BraviaryBraviaryHo-OhLugiaShadow TalonflameShadow VikavoltGalarian MoltresMega Blaziken

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.

Windy

Rayquaza (0.4)Shadow Salamence (0.5)Mega Salamence (0.5)

Overall, Pheromosa is a very easy raid. It suffers from the same problem that Buzzwole suffers from, but does not have the health to tank these super effective attacks, resulting in an easy solo. 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! Speaking of, we have rolled out a new system that will give a discount to our subscriptions, and I have been graciously granted a code! So, for those lucky readers who make it all the way down here, the code is GEEKBEAK20. This code not only supports the owner of Pokebattler, but also me! And, to be honest, in real life, the presidigious Professor Geekbeak is a broke college student, so I would really appreciate the support. Thank you! 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!