Zacian will soon be coming back to a Pokemon Go Gym near you for a limited-time appearance in five-star raid battles. This Legendary Pokemon returns after a long absence alongside Pokemon Go’s Pokemon World Championship event. We haven’t seen Zacian in raids inabout a year since it was initially released, so new players and those who might be coming back from a break are likely ready to battle the Warrior Pokemon and add it to their collections. Veterans will also have the opportunity to earn more Candy and Candy XL to power up the ones they may already have.
Zacian Raid Schedule
Zacian will appear as a five-star raid boss starting 10 AM local time on August 18, and will remain in five-star raids until the same time on August 31, but it will be sharing that spot with its “sibling” Zamazenta. Raids do not generally follow a set schedule, and Zacian raids will appear randomly at Gyms around the world during this time period, but you will receive a notification from the game when a raid is about to begin nearby.
Your best chance to find a Zacian raid (or a lot of them) is during the Raid Hours in which the Zacian will be exclusively featured. Every Wednesday from 6 PM to 7 PM local time, the majority of Gyms host five-star raids for Trainers to work together to take down. There are two raid hours occurring during Zacian’s stay in raids, but only the first one on August 24 will feature Zacian. As always, you’ll need your free daily Raid Pass or a Premium Battle Pass to join a raid in person, or a Remote Raid Pass to join a raid remotely.
Can I Catch a Shiny Zacian?
Despite this being Zacian’s second time being featured in five-star raids in Pokemon Go, its shiny form is still not available. This may make some Trainers decide to wait until its inevitable shiny release at some point in the future, but this is still a great opportunity to earn Candy and Candy XL to power up any of the Zacian you may have caught.
Zacian Weaknesses and Counters
Zacian is a Fairy-type Pokemon. This means it is weak to Steel and Poison-type attacks. Some recommended Pokemon include:
- Steel: Metagross, Mega Scizor, Dialga, Excadrill
- Poison: Mega Gengar, Mega Beedrill, Nihilego, Roserade
A Mega Tip: A Mega Evolved Pokemon boosts the damage of all Pokemon in the raid by 10%, and the damage of all Pokemon using attacks that share a type with the Mega Evolved Pokemon by 30%. Coordinate those Megas with your raid group for added damage. Mega Steelix will boost your allies’ Steel-type attacks, but because of its defensively-oriented stats and lack of a Steel-type fast move, it won’t contribute much damage of its own.
Don’t be afraid of the shadows: Shadow Pokemon deal 20% more damage than their non-shadow counterparts, so the shadow versions of any of the suggested Pokemon that have them can help you win.
Types to Avoid
Zacian’s Fairy-type attacks like Play Rough will deal super-effective damage to Dark, Fighting, and Dragon-type Pokemon, and other moves like Close Combat can provide it coverage against Steel-type Pokemon that are typically strong against it. Also keep in mind that Fairy-type Pokemon like Zacian resist Dark, Bug, and Fighting-type attacks, and double resist Dragon-type attacks. Stay away from these types of Pokemon.
Usefulness
Should you raid Zacian beyond registering it in your Pokédex? That depends on your playstyle and goals. If your main focus is raiding and PvE content, then Zacian might be one to save your coins on. Zacian lacks a Fairy-type fast move, meaning it is mostly outclassed by other Fairy-type Pokemon as a raid attacker that can deal out more consistent Fairy-type damage like Gardevoir and Togekiss. Zacian isn’t useless however; it is a Legendary Pokemon with the stats to match its title, and it can be useful against raid bosses like Giratina, which will take super-effective damage from Zacian’s most useful fast move, Snarl. Zacian also has another form, the Crowned Sword form, which will likely get released in Pokemon Go at some point in the future. This form gets even better stats, gains the secondary Steel typing, and may have a different moveset that could make it more useful in raids.
If you’re a player who is more focused on PvP, however, Zacian isn’t a boss to miss out on. Zacian is a staple of the Master League in Go Battle League. Its wide selection of charged moves such as Wild Charge, Close Combat, and Play Rough give it the versatility to act as a difficult to wall safe swap. It also serves as a strong check to Dialga, the long-reigning king of the Master League meta. Zacian can’t be encountered at a low enough CP to be eligible for Great League, and doesn’t perform as well in Ultra League, but if you’re interested in Master League, don’t pass up your chance to get a good Zacian to add to your roster.
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