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Keep an eye out on a Pokemon Go Gym near you for the limited-time reappearance of Deoxys in five-star raid battles. This Mythical Pokemon returns in all its forms as Pokémon Go’s new season, the Season of Light, kicks off and the annual Psychic Spectacular event comes back. Deoxys is appearing in all of its formes–Normal, Attack, Defense, and Speed–at once, so there’s plenty of time to find the one or ones you need.
Deoxys Raid Schedule
Deoxys will appear as the sole five-star raid boss starting 10 AM local time on September 1 and will remain in five-star raids until the same time on September 13. Although it doesn’t have to share the spotlight with another Legendary or Mythical Pokemon, all four formes of Deoxys will be appearing. Raids do not generally follow a set schedule, and there’s no way to tell in advance which Deoxys forme a five-star raid egg will hatch into, but you will be notified by the game if there’s a raid starting nearby.
Your best chance to find a Deoxys raid will be during Raid Hour on September 7. Every Wednesday from 6 PM to 7 PM local time, the majority of Gyms host five-star raids for Trainers to challenge. All four formes of Deoxys will be fighting each other for the spotlight, but there should be enough raids happening during this time to find the formes you need the most.
How to Catch Shiny Deoxys
Normal Forme Deoxys has had its shiny variant released since 2020, and the other three formes all had their shines released earlier this year, so you have a chance of encountering any of the four formes in their shiny variant from raids this time. Remember that a shiny is never guaranteed, and you won’t know if a raid will result in a shiny Deoxys until after you’ve defeated it and entered the catch screen. The best way to ensure you catch a shiny Deoxys is to complete as many five-star raids as possible before September 13. Also, since Mythical Pokemon like Deoxys can’t be traded, you’ll have to get the shiny yourself instead of hoping one of your friends catches an extra one.
Deoxys Weaknesses and Counters
Deoxys is a pure Psychic-type Pokemon in all of its formes. Psychic types take super effective damage from Dark, Ghost, and Bug-type attacks. Some recommended Pokemon from each type include:
Dark: Mega Gyarados, Darkrai, Tyranitar, Hydreigon, and YveltalGhost: Mega Gengar, Giratina (Origin Forme), Chandelure, Gengar, and Hoopa (Confined)Bug: Mega Beedrill, Genesect, Scizor, Pinsir, and Scyther
Remember that using a Mega Evolved Pokemon will boost 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 Pokémon by 30%. Coordinate those Megas with your raid group for added damage, which might be even more important against Defense forme. As its name suggests, this forme has very high Defense, so it can take a lot of hits and usually requires a larger group to complete.
Shadow Pokemon also 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
Deoxys’ Psychic-type signature attack Psycho Boost will deal super-effective damage to Fighting, and Poison-type Pokemon. This means Deoxys can hit back hard against some of its counters, like Gengar, because of its secondary Poison typing. Also keep in mind that Deoxys’ Psychic typing means that it resists Fighting and Psychic-type attacks. Stay away from these types of Pokemon.
Usefulness
Should you raid Deoxys beyond entering it in your Pokedex and, if you’re lucky, getting the shiny versions of its various formes? Only the Defense forme is worth continuing to raid. Defense forme Deoxys has been a staple of the Great League for a long time, and since it can’t be traded, anyone who doesn’t have one for Great League already should definitely get one (and the Candy to power it up and unlock its second move) while they have the chance. Defense forme Deoxys also has some play in Ultra League, but that does require maxing it out to level 50 (or close to it) with Candy XL. Some players might find that worth it, but it’s certainly quite the grind to do so.
Deoxys’ other formes don’t have a whole lot of use. Normal and Speed formes don’t have outstanding stats or moves to be able to do much in either raids or PvP. At first glace, you would expect Attack forme to be useful for raids since it has one of the highest Attack stats in the game, but it has a lackluster moveset and its virtually non-existent bulk means it can’t stick around long enough to deal meaningful damage. These three are likely just dex entries and shiny goals for most players.
