Trainer's Guide to Zekrom in Pokemon GO: Everything You Need to Know

We've compiled a comprehensive guide for Pokemon GO trainers looking to get their hands on Unova's legendary dragon, Zekrom.

Mythical Pokemon from the Unova region are taking over Raids in Pokemon GO this December 2021. According to a post by Niantic Labs on the official Pokemon GO news blog published on Tuesday, Nov. 30, both Zekrom and its counterpart, Reshiram, will be available as five-star Raid encounters from Wednesday, Dec. 1 through to Thursday, Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. local time.

Here's everything trainers need to know about Zekrom before heading into a Raid against it.

How to Catch Zekrom in Pokemon GO

Zekrom can currently be caught following a successful raid. It will be available as a five-star Raid boss from Dec. 1 through to Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. local time.

We recommend collecting Golden Razzberries and practicing curveballs in the time between raids.

Can Zekrom be Shiny in Pokemon GO?

Yes, Zekrom can be shiny in Pokemon GO.

Its appearance as a Raid headliner this month, December 2021, also serves as its shiny debut. It was originally released on June 16, 2020.

Shiny Zekrom takes on a turquiose hue with a higher contrast between its previously charcoal body color and black accents on its shoulders, knees, feet, head, hand webbing, and abdomen.

Best Raid Counters for Zekrom in Pokemon GO

As a dragon and electric-type, Zekrom is strong against flying, steel, fire, water, grass, and electric-type Pokemon. It is vulnerable to ground, ice, fairy, and other dragon-types—meaning we'll be relying heavily on those.

The best counter choices against Zekrom are:

• Black Kyurem (Dragon Tail + Outrage/Blizzard)
• White Kyurem (Dragon Breath + Blizzard)
• Galarian Zen Darmanitan (Ice Fang + Avalanche)
• Palkia (Dragon Tail + Draco Meteor)
• Rayquaza (Dragon Tail + Outrage)

However, if trainers don't have any of these Pokemon to spare, the following are decent substitues:

• Dragonite (Dragon Tail + Draco Meteor)
• Garchomp (Dragon Tail + Outrage)
• Haxorus (Dragon Tail + Dragon Claw)
• Salamence (Dragon Tail + Draco Meteor)
• Galarian Standard Darmanitan (Ice Fang + Avalanche)

Zekrom can have up to 53,394 CP as a five-star Raid boss.

Best Moveset for Zekrom in Pokemon GO

Zekrom has the following stats:

• Maximum CP: 4565
• Maximum HP: 184
• Attack: 275
• Defense: 211
• Stamina: 205

Its best moveset includes the quick move Charge Beam paired with the charged moves Wild Charge or Outrage.

Zekrom's two quick moves, Charge Beam and Dragon Breath, are two opposing sides of the same coin—as is typical. In fact, they almost mirror each other. Dragon Breath does more damage than Charge Beam—14 to its 9—but Charge Beam generates more energy—13 as opposed to 8. Therefore, due to more changes to prompt a charged move cast, Charge Beam is the superior choice.

Wild Charge and Outrage suffer the same situation. However, we'll leave this choice to trainer discretion. Wild Charge does 42 damage per second (DPS) at 19 energy per cast while Outrage does 34 DPS at 13 energy per cast.

All moves listed benefit from the 20% damage increase due to the Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB) condition.