July is about as busy as a month can get in the world of Pokemon GO thanks to the fifth anniversary celebration, GO Fest 2021, and all of the usual monthly events that take place throughout the year. Players need to keep a close eye on the "Today" screen to make sure they don't miss anything and take full advantage of all of the bonuses, features, and rewards available each week. Right now, that means preparing for an evening of exciting Battle Raids against Deoxys (Defense Forme).
The July 7 Raid Hour in Pokemon GO fires off at 6pm local time and offers trainers a chance to find a Deoxys hatching at just about every Gym in sight. Players can plan ahead by organizing parties of friends to get maximum damage bonuses and head out with a Raid party this evening to defeat Deoxys and earn some exciting encounters and item rewards.
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Deoxys is a pretty powerful foe, so trainers will need to take a bit of time to prepare solid roster of counters for this fight. The Raid Boss is a Psychic type, which means that players will want to focus on Ghost-, Dark-, and Bug-type counters to take advantage of the enemy's biggest weaknesses. Luckily, many of the best choices have been popular for other Battle Raid bosses, so hopefully many players will already have some of these Pokemon powered up and ready to drop into their updated roster...
Gengar (Mega) - Lick Shadow Ball
Houndoom (Mega) - Snarl Foul Play
Gyarados (Mega) - Bite Crunch
Darkrai - Snarl Shadow Ball
Giratina (Origin) - Shadow Claw Shadow Ball
Chandelure - Hex Shadow Ball
Hydreigon - Bite Dark Pulse
Gengar - Lick Shadow Ball
Beedrill (Mega) - Bug Bite X-Scissor
Mewtwo - Psycho Cut Shadow Ball
As always, keep in mind that players don't need a full roster of these top tier counters in order to participate in the Battle Raid and succeed. The most important thing is to head into the battle with a solid group (five or more players) and focus on using any Pokemon that lineup with the boss's weaknesses. It's definitely wise to use some Candy, TMs, and Stardust ahead of time to power up a few of the best available options to make the Battle Raid go a little more smoothly for everyone involved.
In the coming weeks, we should learn more about what other events will be arriving during the rest of the Season of Discovery. Be sure to check back in the near future for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.
MORE: Pokemon GO Complete Guide for General Tips, Tricks, & Strategies