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

Xerneas, the Legendary cover monster from Pokemon X, has arrived in Pokemon Go. As part of the ongoing Luminous Legends X event, the Gen 6 Legendary is appearing in five-star Raids until May 18, making this your first chance to catch one in Niantic's mobile game. If you need help adding it to your collection, we've rounded up some Xerneas counters and other tips on how to beat and catch the Life Pokemon.

Xerneas Weaknesses And Counters

Xerneas is a pure Fairy type, making it the first Legendary Pokemon of its kind in the series. This typing gives Xerneas two primary weaknesses, Poison and Steel, so your best bet is to use Pokemon of those types when battling it in Raids. Here are some recommended Pokemon of each type:

• Poison: Mega Gengar, Mega Beedrill, Mega Venusaur, Roserade, Vileplume
• Steel: Metagross, Lucario, Heatran, Empoleon, Excadrill

While any of those Pokemon will be helpful when battling Xerneas, especially if they know Fast and Charged Attacks of their respective type, Heatran in particular is a good counter to bring along if you have one. Since both of its types (Fire and Steel) resist Fairy-type attacks, Heatran will last longer in battle against Xerneas than most other monsters, and it can hit the Legendary back with super-effective damage.

Types To Avoid

While Dragon-type Pokemon are typically always helpful in battle, you'll want to avoid using them when challenging Xerneas. Not only does the Legendary resist Dragon-type attacks, but its own attacks are super-effective against Dragon Pokemon. Fighting and Dark types similarly take super-effective damage from Fairy attacks, so they won't last very long in battle against Xerneas.

Xerneas Raid Schedule

Xerneas is debuting in five-star Raid boss as part of the Luminous Legends X event, which kicks off at 10 AM local time on May 4 and runs until 8 PM local time on May 17. The Legendary will be available as a Raid boss throughout the entire event, giving you almost two weeks to catch it. After the event concludes, Niantic is kicking off a Luminous Legends Y event that introduces Xerneas's counterpart, the Destruction Pokemon Yveltal, to the game.