Pokémon GO Kyurem raid: When does it start, how to get, counters and raid hours

Pokémon GO fans are finally getting the opportunity to catch Legendary Pokémon Kyurem, the last one of the Tao Trio after Reshiram and Zekrom debuted earlier in the year.

As a five-star raid, it won't be an easy task to get your hands on Kyurem, as it will require teamwork and knowing his weaknesses to properly take him down.

Here's everything you need to know about the event.

When does the Pokémon GO Kyurem raid start?

(Picture: Niantic)

Niantic announced in a blog post that the Kyurem five-star raid will begin this 7th July at 9 pm GMT. While the Legendary Pokémon is part of the raid activities, every Wednesday at 6 pm of your local timezone Kyurem will take over every Gym as part of the special Raid Hour event.

Best counters for Kyurem Pokémon GO raid

Kyurem is a Dragon/Ice type, so he's got many counters, detailed below:

• Dragon: 160% damage
• Fairy: 160% damage
• Fight: 160% damage
• Rock: 160% damage
• Steel: 160% damage

On the other hand, he’s resistant to three specific types of attacks:

• Electric: 62.5% damage
• Water: 62.5% damage
• Grass: 62.5% damage

Best Pokémon for the Kyurem Pokémon GO raid

(Credit: Niantic)

Taking into consideration several factors like type advantages, special moves, or how resistant to Kyurem's attacks certain Pokémon are, the optimal options to try and tackle this raid (even as a duo) are the following:

• Metagross
  • Fast Move: Bullet Punch
  • Charge Move: Meteor Mash
• Lucario
  • Fast Move: Counter or Bullet Punch
  • Charge Move: Aura Sphere
• Rampardos
  • Fast Move: Smack Down
  • Charge Move: Rock Slide
• Dialga
  • Fast Move: Metal Claw or Dragon Breath
  • Charge Move: Draco Meteor or Iron Head
• Gardevoir
  • Fast Move: Charm
  • Charge Move: Dazzling Gleam
• Tyranitar
  • Fast Move: Smack Down
  • Charge Move: Stone Edge

Shadow Pokémon can also play a big part in taking down Kyurem. Having different stats than their regular counterparts focused on raw attack numbers, they can inflict serious damage to the Legendary Pokémon at the cost of having considerably less survivability. 
The recommended Shadow Pokémon are:

• Shadow Metagross
• Shadow Gardevoir
• Shadow Salamence
• Shadow Dragonite
• Shadow Tyranitar

While Pokémon GO keeps receiving massive support from Niantic, the company is already hard at work developing several more titles, with an adaptation of the board game CATAN getting prepped for release.