Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: claydol, Niantic, pokemon, pokemon go, raid guide

Claydol Raid Guide: The Most Difficult Tier Three Raid In Pokémon GO

Currently, every active Tier Three Raid in Pokémon GO can be completed by solo trainers without Mega Pokémon… except one. This Pokémon may not look like it would put up a bigger fight than other Tier Three champs like Tyranitar and Alolan Marowak, but Claydol is nothing to play around with. Megas shifted the meta of raids a bit, making this a Pokémon that can just about be taken down, but it's going to be a tough battle. Follow these counters below to take on this Ground/Psychic-type boobface.

Top Claydol Counters

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

• Mega Blastoise (Water Gun, Hydro Cannon)
• Mega Houndoom (Snarl, Foul Play)*
• Mega Venusaur (Vine Whip, Frenzy Plant)
• Mega Beedrill (Bug Bite, X-Scissor)
• Shadow Weavile (Snarl, Avalanche)
• Shadow Swampert (Water Gun, Hydro Cannon)
• Mega Charizard Y (Fire Spin, Blast Burn)
• Shadow Mewtwo (Psycho Cut, Shadow Ball)
• Shadow Gyarados (Waterfall, Hydro Pump)
• Shadow Cacturne (Sucker Punch, Grass Knot)

*Mega Houndoom is not yet in-game, but with it scheduled to be released so soon, we've made the call to keep it in this counters list.

Wow. If that above isn't a demonstration of how powerful Megas and Shadows are as counters, I don't know what is.

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

• Darkrai (Snarl, Shadow Ball)
• Kyogre (Waterfall, Surf)
• Crawdaunt (Snarl, Crabhammer)
• Weavile (Snarl, Avalanche)
• Galarian Darmanitan (Ice Fang, Avalanche)
• Chandelure (Hex, Shadow Ball)
• Kingler (Bubble, Crabhammer)
• Giratina Origin forme (Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball)
• Gengar (Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball)
• Mamoswine (Powder Snow, Avalanche)

How Many Trainers Are Needed?

Claydol is ranked as an advanced-only solo now that Megas and Shadow Pokémon are in the game. Two trainers can easily take it down, but to pull this off alone, you'll need the top counters maxed.

Catching Claydol

Claydol's catching difficulty is intermediate, harder than some Tier Three bosses, and easier than others. If you want to be sure you catch this Pokémon, pair a Golden Razz Berry with the circle lock technique.

Using the circle lock technique, players can hold down the ball until Claydol's catch circle shrinks. Releasing when the circle is at its smallest point allows the circle to lock, guaranteeing an "Excellent" throw if the ball can hit that point. Throw the ball when it is finishing its attack in order to successfully hit. Claydol's attack sees the Pokémon surge forward, its arms detaching and swirling around it until it pulls back. Yeah, it's an odd one. Once it settles back into place, throw the ball at the center of its stomach for one of the strangest circle placements in the game.

Shiny Claydol odds

Claydol is a second-stage Pokémon and, while Baltoy can be found Shiny in the wild, Claydol cannot be caught in its Shiny form.

100% IVs

When looking for a Pokémon with the best stats, the 100% IV Claydol will have a CP of 1126 in normal weather conditions, and 1408 in boosted conditions. We hope this Raid Guide helps you use these top counters to catch yourself this oddity of the Pokémon universe.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!