The new year has begun and lots of big stuff is happening in Pokémon GO. Events should be coming out every week or two and things are kicking off in a big way with the return of Ho-Oh. This legendary bird Pokémon is a big fan favorite and also vital to the meta around raids and PvP in GO Battle League. But with so much having changed since he last appeared you’ll want to learn all the new best counters against him in our Pokémon GO Ho-Oh raid guide.
Pokémon GO Ho-Oh Raid Guide
Below you’ll find a chart featuring all the best counters against Ho-Oh in Pokémon GO, but first we have some tips, tricks, and other info to guide you through the raid. Let’s start by answering some of the biggest questions about Ho-Oh raids.
When do Ho-Oh Raids Begin and End
Ho-Oh will be available in five star legendary raids in Pokémon GO starting Friday, January 1st, 2021 at 4pm Eastern Time. The raids will randomly appear at gyms all around the world for the next few days, concluding at 10am your local time according to Niantic.
How Many Trainers are Needed
Ho-Oh is one of Pokémon GO’s easier legendary raid bosses. With a full set of powered up counters you can beat him with just two trainers in the fight. However, most won’t have that going in so we recommend at least four trainers total for any raid battles against the Fire and Flying Pokémon.
What Weather to Watch for
Given his dual typing of Fire and Flying Ho-Oh will be boosted by both Sunny and Windy weather. If you want an extra challenge with a better reward of a stronger Ho-Oh waiting at the end then you can watch for either of these to catch the powered up Pokémon. However, if you want an easier time in your legendary raid you can wait for Partly Cloudy weather, which will boost the Rock type Pokémon you’ll be using to counter Ho-Oh.
CP Range and Perfect IVs
Ho-Oh’s IVs will make his CP range from 2119 to 2207 CP without weather boost. If you get to the catch screen and see 2207 CP then be sure to use Golden Razz Berries and go for excellent throws, cause that’s a 100% perfect IV Ho-Oh. If the weather shifts to either Sunny or Windy then the range will change to 2649 to 2759 CP, so be even more cautious catching at that 2759 CP level since it will be a level 25, perfect IV Ho-Oh if you get it. But to do that you have to win the fight, so here’s the best counters against Ho-Oh in Pokémon GO for January 2021.
The Best Ho-Oh Counters in January 2021
The theme to all of Ho-Oh’s counters is Rock, Rock, and Rock. Smack Down specifically since it’s the most powerful fast move for the type. You have a lot of great options, but note that any Shadow version will do more damage despite the IVs. So if you have any with the proper moveset be sure to throw them onto your team. Otherwise here’s the chart of all the best Ho-Oh counters in Pokémon GO for January 2021.
| Pokémon | Fast Attack | Charged Attack |
| Rampardos | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Tyranitar | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
| Terrakion | Smack Down | Rock Slide |
| Rhyperior | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
| Aggron | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
| Aerodactyl | Rock Throw | Rock Slide |
Like I said, there’s a definite theme here. If you don’t have some of these or they don’t have the right moveset you can search for “@smack down” to find anything with that move. Also just searching for Rock type Pokémon and sorting by CP should give you a lot of good choices. They’ll be dealing a lot of damage even if they aren’t the ideal counter.
How to Get Shiny Ho-Oh
Once you do defeat the legendary bird you have a chance at getting a shiny Ho-Oh as your reward. There’s no way to boost these chances, so the only tip for how to get shiny Ho-Oh in Pokémon GO is to do as many raids as you can while you can. Once one appears just know that the catch is guaranteed if the ball connects, so feel free to use a Pinap Berry to get extra candy.
And that’s our Pokémon GO Ho-Oh raid guide for January 2021, showing you all the best counters and how to beat the legendary bird.
