Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: azelf, Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go

Azelf Raid Guide For Pokémon GO Players: Lake Legends

The Lake Trio takes over in raids in Pokémon GO tomorrow and Bleeding Cool is here to help you prepare. Now, these three Legendary Pokémon have very similar counters, which will make it easy to build teams of counters, but don't overlook the fact that Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit each have quirks that set them apart. Let's take a look at the top counters to help trainers take down Azelf, a pure Psychic-type. With this Raid Guide, you can prepare a team to take on this Legendary from the Sinnoh region, perfect your catching strategy, and understand Azelf's 100% IVs.

Top Azelf Counters

Pokebattler, which calculates all possible combinations of Pokémon and moves, lists the top 10 Azelf counters as such:

• Mega Gengar (Lick, Shadow Ball)
• Mega Houndoom (Snarl, Foul Play)*
• Shadow Tyranitar (Bite, Crunch)
• Shadow Mewtwo (Psycho Cut, Shadow Ball)
• Darkrai (Snarl, Shadow Ball)
• Shadow Houndoom (Snarl, Foul Play)
• Shadow Weavile (Snarl, Foul Play)
• Giratina Origin Forme (Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball)
• Chandelure (Hex, Shadow Ball)
• Hydreigon (Bite, Dark Pulse)

*Please note that you cannot currently have two Megas active at once. You will need to pick between these two counters.

It is recommended to power up your counters as much as possible, but creating that amount of strong Shadow or Mega Pokémon with their moves unlocked is a tall order for even the most practiced players. Here are ten additional non-Shadow and non-Mega counters that can help take down Azelf with efficiency.

• Tyranitar (Bite, Crunch)
• Mewtwo (Psycho Cut, Shadow Ball)
• Houndoom (Snarl, Foul Play)
• Honchkrow (Snarl, Dark Pulse)
• Gengar (Lick, Shadow Ball)
• Weavile (Snarl, Foul Play)
• Krookodile (Snarl, Crunch)
• Regigigas (Hidden Power Ghost-type, Giga Impact)
• Bisharp (Snarl, Dark Pulse)
• Absol (Snarl, Dark Pulse)

How Many Trainers Are Needed?

Azelf is a difficult but possible duo. Going in with three to four strong trainers will be the best bet if you can't guarantee the top counters, but this Pokémon isn't going to give you immense trouble.

Catching Azelf

What was that about Azelf not giving you immense trouble? On the catch screen, it just may. Azelf is a bizarrely close Pokémon. It's Glameow-close. It's too damn close. The normal long throw you need for most Legendaries will not work for this little Sinnoh bad boy. A tight, delicately released curveball is the best bet. Using the Circle Lock Technique to aim for Great or Excellent throws, along with Golden Razz Berries, should do the trick… but don't underestimate the closeness of Azelf. Unless Pokémon GO changes its catch circle, which is doubtful, it is oddly close.

Shiny Odds & 100% IVs

Azelf's Shiny form has not been announced. Generally, Pokémon GO doesn't plan surprise Shiny releases for Legendaries, so it's pretty safe to assume that it will not be available during this run.

Azelf's 100%s IVs are 1834 in normal weather and 2293 in boosted weather conditions.

Happy raiding, fellow trainers!

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