Adventure Week is back for 2023 in Pokemon GO, and with it comes Mega Tyranitar in Mega Raids starting July 27 at 10 a.m. EST. Since Tyranitar has its shiny version, you may even be able to get a Shiny Mega Tyranitar. A fan favorite, it’s the final form of Larvitar. A strong Pokemon for the Battle League as well as Raids, this is one you’ll want to defeat Mega Tyranitar over the course of this event.
How to Beat Mega Tyranitar in Pokemon GO
Since Mega Tyranitar is a buffed up version of the normal Pokemon, this guide will cover how to defeat both Pokemon. Keep in mind that Mega Tyranitar will have higher stats and HP that you need to blow through during the Raid timer. If you’re facing it in the Battle League, you’ll be able to take a bit to focus as that Raid timer doesn’t exist.
Tyranitar Attacks
As stated, Mega Tyranitar will bring extra challenge compared to its regular counterpart. Such is the nature of a Mega Raid! If you’re coming up against it, it’ll only have the potential of two fast attacks for you to have to worry about:
- Iron Tail (Steel)
- Bite (Dark)
In this situation, Bite is the only attack that will benefit from the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), as Tyranitar is a Dark and Rock Pokemon. If you’re facing Mega Tyranitar in the Battle League, however, it may have the ability to use the legacy fast attack, Smack Down (Rock), which also benefits from STAB. For its Charged Attack, it can pull from a pool of four attacks:
- Stone Edge (Rock)
- Fire Blast (Fire)
- Brutal Swing (Dark)
- Crunch (Dark)
In a Battle League match, the best moveset is Bite and Brutal Swing, so you’ll want to be prepared for that. In a Raid, the attacks are randomly chosen, but you should prepare to face off against at least one Dark type attack.
Primary Weaknesses
As a duo Dark and Rock type Pokemon, it’s weak to a variety of other Pokemon types. I know it seems like a Dragon, but just like Charizard, it’s appearance doesn’t match its typing. That means you need to alter your strategy away from Dragon weaknesses, to those listed below.
- Grass
- Water
- Fairy
- Steel
- Ground
- Fighting
- Bug
That’s quite a variety to chose from when it comes to selecting your team. It’s especially weak to Fighting, as both Rock and Dark types are weak to it. On the flip side are the Pokemon types you won’t want to bring into this particular Mega Raid:
- Flying
- Psychic
- Fire
- Ghost
- Normal
- Poison
- Dark
Psychic moves do very little damage to Tyranitar, and it’s weak to Dark attacks. Flying and Fire Pokemon are weak to Rock moves. Ghost Pokemon are weak to Dark type moves, while Normal, Poison and Dark moves do reduced damage against it due to its typing.
Best Mega Tyranitar Counters
Whether you’re facing off against Tyranitar or Mega Tyranitar, the follow Pokemon are the ones you want to use. If you don’t have any of the following, or they’re relatively weak, you want to chose your highest CP Pokemon from a type it’s weak to. You also want to make sure to take advantage of STAB by having a same type attack for at least one of the slots.
- Keldeo: Low Kick, Sacred Sword, Close Combat
- Phermosa: Low Kick, Focus Blast
- Breloom: Counter, Bullet Seed, Dynamic Punch
- Heracross: Counter, Close Combat
- Togekiss: Charm, Aura Sphere
- Granbull: Charm, Close Combat, Play Rough
Those are some of the best Pokemon to have on your team when trying to beat Mega Tyranitar. Focusing on Fighting Pokemon is the sure way to victory for this combat. If you’re struggling with knocking out other Raid Pokemon, keep losing in Battle League or simply want to know if a certain Pokemon has its shiny version in game, check out the rest of our Pokemon GO guides.
