Pokemon Go Tapu Lele Raid Guide: Best Counters, Weaknesses, Raid Hours, And More Tips

Pokemon Go’s next special five star raid is coming soon, and trainers will be facing off against a Alolan island guardian this time around.

Tapu Lele, the game’s second Legendary Pokemon hailing from the Alolan region, has been named as the latest Pokemon Go five-star raid, running from now until March 26. Tapu Lele’s time as the five-star raid Pokemon comes during the Lush Jungle weekly event, part of the game’s Season of Alola event introducing Pokemon Sun and Moon to the game. Tapu Lele is the second “Tapu” Pokemon to be introduced to Pokemon Go, with Tapu Koko already in the game and Tapu Bulu and Tapu Fini still to come. If you caught Tapu Koko you’re on your way to completing the set, so if you’re going to challenge the Tapu Lele raid check out our tips below.

Tapu Lele Raid Schedule

Tapu Lele enters the five-star Raid ring starting March 22 at 10 AM local time, remaining there until 8 PM on March 26. Unfortunately, the game does not follow any set schedules with its raid–there’s no guarantee Tapu Lele will be waiting for you–but the game constantly tells you who’s around to raid, so just keep an eye out.

There is one hope for those who need a Tapu Lele appearance though: Pokemon Go’s weekly Raid Hour on Wednesday night. The Raid Hour event on March 23–from 6 PM to 7 PM local time–will feature the Land Spirit Pokemon at nearly every Gym in the game. If you want a guaranteed shot at Tapu Lele, gather your friends and head out after dinner Wednesday night.

Tapu Lele Weaknesses And Counters

Tapu Lele is a Psychic- and Fairy-type Pokemon, an odd type duo in the world of Pokemon. This combination is only weak to three out of Pokemon’s 18 types, which doesn’t leave you with many choices in the leadup to this five-star raid.

Ghost-, Poison-, and Steel-type Pokemon are your best bet against the island guardian, as each of the three will do increased damage against Tapu Lele during the raid. This means Pokemon like Gengar, Steelix, Alolan Marowak, Venusaur (or its Mega version from a previous raid cycle), and Crobat will all be a huge help throughout the battle. Luckily, Tapu Lele only has three resistances as well, so if you need some heavy hitters outside of its weaknesses Kyogre, Groudon, and Rhyperior would be solid options.

Types To Avoid

The Psychic- and Fairy-type Tapu Lele is resistant to three Pokemon types: Dragon-, Fighting-, and Psychic-types. That means when selecting your team, Pokemon like Dragonite, Machamp, Lucario, and Mewtwo should ride the pine. Thankfully only having three resistances means your choices aren’t severely limited, so you shouldn’t worry about the absence of these normally heavy hitters when you take on Tapu Lele.

Once you’ve captured the Land Spirit Pokemon for yourself, take it for a few rounds in the Go Battle League or use it or challenge some of the other raids available during the Lush Jungle event, like the Mega Raid featuring Mega Charizard Y.