Hello students! My name is Professor Geekbeak, and today, I wish to draw attention to Shadow Landorus. While the Therian form may be better, Incarnate Shadow Landorus is still worth the catch, as it is a strong Ground type attacker that doesn’t take that much investment to make strong, making it an excellent option if on a budget, or you don’t have many Ground type options. Grab your notebooks, class is in session. For those who wish to do their research independently, our raw data can be found here. And for those who wish for a simple visual guide, go ahead and take a look at the below visual guide by CaptGoldfish.

Course Schedule

This raid will take place from October 7th to November 3rd, and was preceded by Shadow Thunderus.

Despite the double effectiveness of Ice on Shadow Landorus, be very careful of Rock Slide and Focus Blast, both of which are super effective on Ice types.

Effectiveness	Types
Double Resist (0.4x)	Ground
Resist (0.6x)	Fighting Poison Bug Electric
Neutral	Normal Flying Rock Ghost Steel Fire Grass Psychic Dragon Dark Fairy
Super Effective (1.6x)	Water
Double Super Effective (2.6x)	Ice

Shadow Landorus’s moveset includes the following charge moves:

• Rock Slide
• Focus Blast
• Outrage
• Earth Power
• Frustration

The Dean’s List consists of the top 5 counters to Shadow Landorus. As always, the Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and the Third Ranked will have their best moveset alternatives in a table with their rankings and a table detailing their defensive prowess against the charge moves listed above.

White Kyurem A

Best Moveset: Ice Fang / Ice Burn

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★★

Reliability★★☆☆☆

3

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Ice Fang	Ice Burn	100%
Ice Fang	Blizzard	76%
Dragon Breath	Ice Burn	76%
Steel Wing	Ice Burn	73%
Dragon Breath	Blizzard	54%
Ice Fang	Fusion Flare	52%

Mega Mewtwo X A

Best Moveset: Psycho Cut / Ice Beam

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★★

Reliability★★☆☆☆

3

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Psycho Cut	Ice Beam	100%
Confusion	Ice Beam	91%
Counter	Ice Beam	85%
Psycho Cut	Psystrike	64%
Confusion	Psystrike	61%
Psycho Cut	Psychic	58%

Mega Mewtwo Y A

Best Moveset: Psycho Cut / Ice Beam

DPS★★★★★

Tank★★★★★

Reliability★★★☆☆

3

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Quick Move	Charge Move	Efficacy
Psycho Cut	Ice Beam	100%
Confusion	Ice Beam	92%
Counter	Ice Beam	83%
Psycho Cut	Future Sight+	77%
Confusion	Future Sight+	70%
Psycho Cut	Psystrike	65%

Defensive Grades for Top 3

Boss Move
Focus Blast	⚔	🛡	🛡
Outrage	⚔	—	—
Earth Power	—	—	—
Rock Slide	⚔	🛡	—

Primal Kyogre A

Best Moveset: Waterfall / Avalanche

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★★★☆

Reliability★★★☆☆

3

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Shadow Mamoswine A

Best Moveset: Powder Snow / Avalanche

DPS★★★★☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★☆☆☆☆

3

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Also Noteworthy: A: Black Kyurem

We here at Pokebattler Pokémon Research Institute can’t expect you to have the best counters every time. So, here are some of our other best options, most of which will be easier to find than the members of the Dean’s List.

Shadow Weavile A

Best Moveset: Ice Shard / Triple Axel

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★★☆☆☆

3

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Mega Abomasnow A

Best Moveset: Powder Snow / Weather Ball

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★☆☆☆☆

4

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Mega Starmie A

Best Moveset: Hidden Power / Liquidation+

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★☆☆☆☆

4

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Shadow Articuno A

Best Moveset: Frost Breath / Triple Axel

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★★☆☆

Reliability★☆☆☆☆

4

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Shadow Kyogre A

Best Moveset: Waterfall / Avalanche

DPS★★★☆☆

Tank★★☆☆☆

Reliability★★★☆☆

4

Trainers
(Lvl 40)

Of course, besides our 10 best counters, there are plenty of Pokémon that also work against Shadow Landorus. Here are a few star choices, worthy of praise.

A	Mega GardevoirBaxcaliburMamoswineShadow RegigigasGalarian DarmanitanMega GlalieShadow MewtwoShadow AurorusMega GreninjaWeavileCetitanMega SwampertGlaceonShadow AbomasnowShadow Alola NinetalesKyogreZamazenta - Crowned ShieldRegigigasShadow Walrein

Sometimes, the weather can be your most powerful ally. In certain weather conditions, certain Pokémon on our list excel. The most transformative cases are noted below.

Snow

Shadow Weavile (2.5)

Overall, Shadow Landorus is a tough raid. Despite the glaring double weakness, Shadow Landorus has multiple options to deal with them, and can be a massive challenge if they roll those charge moves. If not, it’s a much easier raid. Of course, if you wish to do more research on your box’s best Pokémon for the job, Pokebattler.com itself can be a great help! Speaking of, we have rolled out a new system that will give a discount to our subscriptions, and I have been graciously granted a code! So, for those lucky readers who make it all the way down here, the code is GEEKBEAK20. This code not only supports the owner of Pokebattler, but also me! And, to be honest, in real life, the presidigious Professor Geekbeak is a broke college student, so I would really appreciate the support. Thank you! Remember, the best counter is the one you have powered up and ready to go. I grant extra credit to those who use their best friend bonus and the weather to their advantage. Class dismissed!