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Zacian pokemon go
Image via The Pokémon Company, remix by Dot Epsorts

All Zacian weaknesses and best Pokémon counters in Pokémon Go

What's the best way to defeat Zacian in Pokémon Go?

Zacian is one of the many Legendary Pokémon you can encounter and catch while playing Pokémon Go. For a limited time, it will reappear in five-star raids, giving you another chance to get it, but you’ll want to know all of its weaknesses and the best Pokémon counters against it.

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When it comes to creating a team you want to use against Zacian, there are a handful of choices you want to consider. Not only do you want to choose the Pokémon that have strong attacks to use against Zacian, but you want to make sure they can withstand any incoming attacks. The longer a Pokémon can stay in a fight against it, the higher your chances are of catching it when the dust settles. Here’s what you need to know about all Zacian weaknesses and the best Pokémon counters to use against it in Pokémon Go.

All Zacian weaknesses in Pokémon Go

Pokemon Go Legendary Heroes
Zacian’s Shiny form makes a debut during the Legendary Heroes event. Image via Niantic

Zacian is a Fairy-type Pokémon making a return during the Legendary Heroes event. You primarily want to focus on using Zacian’s weakness to Poison and Steel-type Pokémon, or ones that can use these attacks to do the most damage against it during battle. However, Zacian is resistant to Bug, Dark, Dragon, and Fighting-type moves, and you want to avoid using them during this battle in Pokémon Go.

Steel-types are more resilient Pokémon you can use in Pokémon Go, making them a superior option in this battle. They have a good amount of attack power and can brush off Zacian’s attacks far more efficiently, giving them more staying power than most Poison-type Pokémon. Still, it’s important to consider what attacks Zacian might use against you in this five-star raid. These are all the moves Zacian can use in Pokémon Go.

  • Close Combat (Fighting-type)
  • Fire Fang (Fire-type)
  • Iron Head (Steel-type)
  • Metal Claw (Steel-type)
  • Play Rough (Fairy-type)
  • Quick Attack (Normal-type)
  • Snarl (Dark-type)
  • Wild Charge (Electric-type)

Zacian has various types of attacks that make it a challenging adversary. Poison-type Pokémon are the only ones without an apparent weakness, whereas a Steel-type Pokémon takes super effective damage from Fire Fang and Cloe Combat.

The best Pokémon counters to Zacian in Pokémon Go

When it comes to creating your team, the best Pokémon you can use to counter Zacian are Dusk Mane Necrozma, Metagross, and Gengar.

Dusk Mane Necrozma is the most formidable Pokémon for some players to add to their party. It originally debuted during the Pokémon Go Fest 2024 event, and only a handful of players may be able to utilize it during these raids. Still, as a Psychic and Steel-type Pokémon, Dusk Mane Necrozma can damage Zacian and is one of the best attackers you can use in this raid. The best moveset to teach it is the fast move Shadow Claw and the charged moves Psycho Cut and Metal Claw.

The next Pokémon I recommend you use on your team is Metagross, another Psychic and Steel-type Pokémon. You can never go wrong with adding Metagross to your team against Zacian, and it has several Steel-type attacks you can utilize to deal a good amount of damage to it in this five-star raid. You’ll need to watch Metagross’ health and avoid Zacian’s Fire Fang and Close Combat attacks. The best moveset to give Metagross in Pokémon Go is the fast move Bullet Punch and the charged moves Earthquake and Meteor Mash.

The final Pokémon I want to recommend for you to add to your team is Gengar, the Ghost and Poison-type Pokémon. Gengar is more of an attacking Pokémon, and you don’t want to focus on defense during this Pokémon Go raid. You’ll benefit from having at least one Gengar on your team, or using the Mega Gengar version, if you can spare it. The best moveset to give Gengar is the fast move Shadow Claw and the charged moves Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb.

It would be best to use a full team of at least six Pokémon to battle against Zacian. You can add these other worthwhile choices to your Pokémon Go roster.

  • Aggron
  • Dialga
  • Empoleon
  • Excadrill
  • Genesect
  • Groudon
  • Kyogre
  • Melmetal
  • Mewtwo
  • Nihilego
  • Rayquaza
  • Venusaur

After defeating Zacian in a five-star raid, you and your team can catch it. We can confirm an opportunity for a Shiny Zacian to appear in Pokémon Go, but the chances of it happening are low.


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Zack Palm
Zack Palm has been writing about video games for the past five years. He spends his free time trying to learn about a new board, reading high-fantasy series, or working on his latest DnD character.