A Shadow raid boss hits harder than its normal form (Shadow Frenzy), and the Pokemon you catch afterwards is a Shadow. Purified Gems weaken it mid-fight; the simulation does not use them.
Beating Shadow Archen should take 2 trainers with level 40 counters. Caught CP 939-1,052.
Weak torock1.6xsteel1.6xwater1.6xelectric1.6xice1.6x
Improve your raidweather · friendship · Mega in the lobby · Party Power · Adventure EffectsShow ▾Hide ▴
Weather
★ boosts a type this boss is weak toFriendship
every trainer in the lobby who is your friendMega in the lobby
a Mega boosts every trainer's attacks: 1.3x of its own type, 1.1x of othersParty Power
Party Play: the charged move after a full meter does 2xAdventure Effects
only these three change a raidOf the game's eleven Adventure Effects only Behemoth Blade (Crowned Sword Zacian), Behemoth Bash (Crowned Shield Zamazenta) and Dynamic Punch+ (Mega Mewtwo X) change a raid; Roar of Time, Spacial Rend, Freeze Shock, Ice Burn, Sunsteel Strike, Moongeist Beam, Future Sight+ and Dynamax Cannon act outside raids. Dynamic Punch+ only counts against a Mega boss, so it changes nothing here. Sources: the full list, Behemoth Blade / Bash, Dynamic Punch+.
Best counters
Mega, Legendary, Shadow · level 40The best Shadow Archen counters are Zacian (Crowned Sword), Zamazenta (Crowned Shield), Mega Greninja, Necrozma (Dusk Mane), Kyurem (White) & Shadow Metagross.
Zacian (Crowned Sword)
Zamazenta (Crowned Shield)
M. Greninja
Necrozma (Dusk Mane)
Kyurem (White)
S. Metagross
6 more Megas ranked inside the top six — a party can hold only one Mega, so the best one stays and the next non-Mega takes the slot.
Ranked by Estimator (trainers needed); small print: time to winOrder byEstimatorOverall %
- 1Zacian (Crowned Sword)LegendarypartyMetal Claw / Behemoth Blade1.306:09
- 2Zamazenta (Crowned Shield)LegendarypartyMetal Claw / Behemoth Bash1.316:13
- 3Mega GreninjaMegapartyWater Shuriken / Surf+1.326:15
- 4
Mega Raichu YMegaThunder Shock / Zap Cannon+1.326:15 - 5Necrozma (Dusk Mane)LegendarypartyMetal Claw / Sunsteel Strike1.416:39
- 6
Mega Raichu XMegaThunder Shock / Volt Tackle+1.436:46 - 7
Mega StarmieMegaPsywave / Liquidation+1.456:51 - 8
Primal KyogreMegaLegendaryWaterfall / Origin Pulse1.497:02 - 9
Mega LucarioMegaForce Palm / Meteor Mash1.557:20 - 10Kyurem (White)LegendarypartyIce Fang / Ice Burn1.567:22
- 12Shadow MetagrossShadowpartyBullet Punch / Meteor Mash1.597:29
More orders under All settings (Sort by). The top 15 in detail.
Type a name, then Enter or click a result
Top 15 Shadow Archen counters in detail
Click a row for damage per move, breakpoints and the energy cycle. Click a column to sort. All 30 ranked attackers, with every column, are under All settings.
| # | Attacker | Moveset | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zacian (Crowned Sword)fairysteeljoint top pick | steelMetal ClawsteelBehemoth Blade | 4,979 | 6:09 | 1.30 | 4.8 | 86.8% | |
| 2 | Zamazenta (Crowned Shield)fightingsteeljoint top pick | steelMetal ClawsteelBehemoth Bash | 4,172 | 6:13 | 1.31 | 4.3 | 85.8% | |
| 3 | Mega Greninjawaterdarkjoint top pick | waterWater ShurikenwaterSurf+ | 3,784 | 6:15 | 1.32 | 6.0 | 85.4% | |
| 4 | Mega Raichu Yelectricjoint top pick | electricThunder ShockelectricZap Cannon+ | 3,780 | 6:15 | 1.32 | 6.0 | 85.4% | |
| 5 | Necrozma (Dusk Mane)psychicsteel | steelMetal ClawsteelSunsteel Strike | 4,099 | 6:39 | 1.41 | 5.7 | 80.1% | |
| 6 | Mega Raichu Xelectric | electricThunder ShockelectricVolt Tackle+ | 3,510 | 6:46 | 1.43 | 6.0 | 78.8% | |
| 7 | Mega Starmiewaterpsychic | psychicPsywavewaterLiquidation+ | 3,701 | 6:51 | 1.45 | 6.0 | 77.8% | |
| 8 | Primal Kyogrewater | waterWaterfallwaterOrigin Pulse | 5,902 | 7:02 | 1.49 | 6.0 | 75.8% | |
| 9 | Mega Lucariofightingsteel | fightingForce PalmsteelMeteor Mash | 3,826 | 7:20 | 1.55 | 6.0 | 72.7% | |
| 10 | Kyurem (White)dragonice | iceIce FangiceIce Burn | 4,605 | 7:22 | 1.56 | 6.0 | 72.5% | |
| 11 |  Mega Mewtwo Ypsychic | psychicPsycho CutpsychicFuture Sight+ | 6,428 | 7:27 | 1.58 | 6.0 | 71.5% | |
| 12 | Shadow Metagrosssteelpsychic | steelBullet PunchsteelMeteor Mash | 3,791 | 7:29 | 1.59 | 6.0 | 71.2% | |
| 13 |  Shadow Thundurus (Therian)electricflying | electricVolt SwitchelectricWildbolt Storm | 3,659 | 7:31 | 1.59 | 6.0 | 70.9% | |
| 14 |  Mega Metagrosssteelpsychic | steelBullet PunchsteelMeteor Mash | 4,911 | 7:34 | 1.60 | 5.2 | 70.5% | |
| 15 |  Shadow Kyogrewater | waterWaterfallwaterOrigin Pulse | 4,115 | 7:52 | 1.66 | 6.0 | 67.8% |
Ordered by Estimator alone, fewest trainers needed first. . The place badge names each row's Overall place on hover.
Times are one trainer with six copies of that attacker, level 40 at 15/15/15, no weather, no friendship, no dodging, Shadow / Mega / Legendary attackers hidden — the same defaults pokebattler.com's own counter pages open with. Open the full counter tool to change any of them. "Details" opens the per-move damage, breakpoints and energy cycle against Shadow Archen.
Estimator is how many trainers of this strength the fight needs. Power is the share of Shadow Archen's HP that six of that attacker remove inside one raid timer, so over 100% means they finish it with time to spare. Faints is how many of the six go down inside that timer.
“Joint top pick”: 4 attackers inside 2.1% of each other — this simulator's own accuracy against pokebattler.com (median 1.6% per attacker), so any of them is the right answer.
Simulating each boss moveset…
Archen weaknesses and resistances
Every one of the 18 attacking types against this boss's typing. GO multipliers: 1.6x super effective, 2.56x doubly, 0.625x resisted, 0.39x doubly resisted.
- Weak (5)
- Neutral (7)
- Resists (6)
It resists normal0.625xflying0.625xpoison0.625xground0.625xbug0.625xfire0.625x— bringing one of those is throwing damage away.
What Archen throws at you
Its standard movepool, with the damage window a dodge has to beat.
Fast moves
| Move | Power | Energy | Duration | Hits at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| flyingWing AttackSTAB | 10 | +11 | 1.0s | 0.75s |
| normalQuick Attack | 10 | +13 | 1.0s | 0.45s |
Charged moves
| Move | Power | Energy | Duration | Hits at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dragonDragon Claw | 45 | -33 | 1.5s | 0.90s |
| rockAncient PowerSTAB | 70 | -33 | 3.5s | 2.85s |
| darkCrunch | 65 | -33 | 3.0s | 1.10s |
Catch CP
What the encounter after the fight can hand you.
| IV spread | CP at L20 | CP at L25 (weather boosted) |
|---|---|---|
| 6/6/6floor | 939 | 1,174 |
| 7/7/7 | 951 | 1,189 |
| 8/8/8 | 963 | 1,205 |
| 9/9/9 | 976 | 1,220 |
| 10/10/10 | 989 | 1,236 |
| 11/11/11 | 1,001 | 1,252 |
| 12/12/12 | 1,014 | 1,268 |
| 13/13/13 | 1,027 | 1,284 |
| 14/14/14 | 1,040 | 1,300 |
| 15/15/15hundo | 1,052 | 1,316 |
Caught CP range 939 - 1,052, or 1,174 - 1,316 when the weather boosts it.
A raid encounter is level 20 (level 25 weather boosted) and cannot roll an IV below 6/6/6 — a Shadow raid's floor is 6, not the usual 10. Anything outside the first range is not this raid's reward.
Shadow raid floor. A Shadow Raid encounter rolls a minimum of 6/6/6, so this band starts at 939, not at the 989 a 10/10/10 catch would give. pokebattler.com's own page for a Shadow boss prints that 10/10/10 value as its floor — it is applying the standard-raid rule — so expect its range to start 50 CP higher than this one. LeekDuck's published band agrees with the table above.
When it is in raids
From the raid schedule, refreshed daily.
Archen is not on the raid schedule right now. The simulation above is still exact for the tier chosen — any boss can be simulated, current or not.
All settings
Shadow Tier 5: 15,000 HP, 5:00 timer, boss Attack 186 / Defense 85 (15/15/15 at tier CPM 0.82).
Every column, and pokebattler.com's own rank
On a phone the list shows estimator, time to win and faints. Overall, Power, win chance, CP, DPS and TDO appear on a wider screen.
| # | Attacker | Moveset | Overall | Power | Est.Estimator | TimeTime to win | Faints | Win % (2) | CP | DPS | TDO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zacian (Crowned Sword) top pickfairysteel Metal Claw / Behemoth Blade | Metal Claw / Behemoth Blade+7 more movesets | 100% | 86.8% | 1.30 | 6:09 | 5.8 | 100% | 4,979 | 41.6 | 2392 |
| 2 | Zamazenta (Crowned Shield) top pickfightingsteel Metal Claw / Behemoth Bash | Metal Claw / Behemoth Bash+7 more movesets | 100% | 85.8% | 1.31 | 6:13 | 5.1 | 100% | 4,172 | 40.8 | 2428 |
| 3 | Mega Greninja top pickwaterdarkmega Water Shuriken / Surf+ | Water Shuriken / Surf++17 more movesets | 91% | 85.4% | 1.32 | 6:15 | 12.7 | 100% | 3,784 | 41.8 | 1103 |
| 4 | Mega Raichu Y top pickelectricmega Thunder Shock / Zap Cannon+ | Thunder Shock / Zap Cannon++35 more movesets | 88% | 85.4% | 1.32 | 6:15 | 16.9 | 100% | 3,780 | 42.6 | 839 |
| 5 | Necrozma (Dusk Mane) psychicsteel Metal Claw / Sunsteel Strike | Metal Claw / Sunsteel Strike+14 more movesets | 87% | 80.1% | 1.41 | 6:39 | 10.0 | 100% | 4,099 | 38.9 | 1498 |
| 6 | Mega Raichu X electricmega Thunder Shock / Volt Tackle+ | Thunder Shock / Volt Tackle++35 more movesets | 82% | 78.8% | 1.43 | 6:46 | 14.6 | 100% | 3,510 | 38.9 | 951 |
| 7 | Mega Starmie waterpsychicmega Psywave / Liquidation+ | Psywave / Liquidation++44 more movesets | 81% | 77.8% | 1.45 | 6:51 | 15.4 | 100% | 3,701 | 38.6 | 923 |
| 8 | Primal Kyogre watermega Waterfall / Origin Pulse | Waterfall / Origin Pulse+5 more movesets | 83% | 75.8% | 1.49 | 7:02 | 9.8 | 100% | 5,902 | 36.4 | 1364 |
| 9 | Mega Lucario fightingsteelmega Force Palm / Meteor Mash | Force Palm / Meteor Mash+23 more movesets | 78% | 72.7% | 1.55 | 7:20 | 10.8 | 100% | 3,826 | 35.1 | 1252 |
| 10 | Kyurem (White) dragonice Ice Fang / Ice Burn | Ice Fang / Ice Burn+17 more movesets | 75% | 72.5% | 1.56 | 7:22 | 16.5 | 100% | 4,605 | 35.7 | 876 |
| 11 | Mega Mewtwo Y psychicmega Psycho Cut / Future Sight+ | Psycho Cut / Future Sight++26 more movesets | 76% | 71.5% | 1.58 | 7:27 | 13.0 | 100% | 6,428 | 34.9 | 1089 |
| 12 | Shadow Metagross steelpsychicshadow Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash | Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash+15 more movesets | 75% | 71.2% | 1.59 | 7:29 | 13.4 | 100% | 3,791 | 34.6 | 1122 |
| 13 | Shadow Thundurus (Therian) electricflyingshadow Volt Switch / Wildbolt Storm | Volt Switch / Wildbolt Storm+9 more movesets | 71% | 70.9% | 1.59 | 7:31 | 21.8 | 100% | 3,659 | 35.7 | 679 |
| 14 | Mega Metagross steelpsychicmega Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash | Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash+15 more movesets | 77% | 70.5% | 1.60 | 7:34 | 9.5 | 100% | 4,911 | 33.9 | 1541 |
| 15 | Shadow Kyogre watershadow Waterfall / Origin Pulse | Waterfall / Origin Pulse+5 more movesets | 70% | 67.8% | 1.66 | 7:52 | 15.5 | 100% | 4,115 | 33.2 | 894 |
| 16 | Mega Mewtwo X psychicfightingmega Psycho Cut / Dynamic Punch+ | Psycho Cut / Dynamic Punch++26 more movesets | 72% | 67.2% | 1.68 | 7:56 | 11.6 | 100% | 6,112 | 32.6 | 1177 |
| 17 | Mega Swampert watergroundmega Water Gun / Hydro Cannon | Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+11 more movesets | 71% | 66.4% | 1.70 | 8:02 | 11.4 | 100% | 4,401 | 32.1 | 1187 |
| 18 | Mega Diancie rockfairymega Rock Throw / Rock Slide | Rock Throw / Rock Slide+5 more movesets | 70% | 65.8% | 1.71 | 8:06 | 12.9 | 100% | 4,346 | 32.0 | 1189 |
| 19 | Regieleki electric Thunder Shock / Thunder Cage | Thunder Shock / Thunder Cage+11 more movesets | 65% | 64.9% | 1.74 | 8:13 | 22.9 | 100% | 2,803 | 32.5 | 626 |
| 20 | Kyurem (Black) dragonice Dragon Tail / Freeze Shock | Dragon Tail / Freeze Shock+11 more movesets | 66% | 64.7% | 1.75 | 8:15 | 18.4 | 100% | 4,605 | 32.0 | 792 |
| 21 | Shadow Rampardos rockshadow Smack Down / Rock Slide | Smack Down / Rock Slide+5 more movesets | 63% | 64.3% | 1.76 | 8:18 | 25.5 | 100% | 3,298 | 32.3 | 556 |
| 22 | Shadow Dialga steeldragonshadow Metal Claw / Iron Head | Metal Claw / Iron Head+5 more movesets | 67% | 64.1% | 1.76 | 8:19 | 14.2 | 100% | 4,038 | 31.1 | 972 |
| 23 | Shadow Raikou electricshadow Thunder Shock / Wild Charge | Thunder Shock / Wild Charge+9 more movesets | 65% | 63.9% | 1.77 | 8:20 | 17.8 | 100% | 3,452 | 31.4 | 784 |
| 24 | Shadow Greninja waterdarkshadow Water Shuriken / Hydro Cannon | Water Shuriken / Hydro Cannon+14 more movesets | 63% | 63.6% | 1.78 | 8:23 | 23.4 | 100% | 2,654 | 31.8 | 623 |
| 25 | Shadow Rhyperior groundrockshadow Smack Down / Rock Wrecker | Smack Down / Rock Wrecker+15 more movesets | 67% | 63.3% | 1.78 | 8:25 | 13.5 | 100% | 3,733 | 30.7 | 1023 |
| 26 | Shadow Empoleon watersteelshadow Metal Claw / Hydro Cannon | Metal Claw / Hydro Cannon+19 more movesets | 66% | 63.3% | 1.78 | 8:26 | 15.3 | 100% | 2,900 | 30.9 | 932 |
| 27 | Xurkitree electric Thunder Shock / Discharge | Thunder Shock / Discharge+7 more movesets | 64% | 63.1% | 1.79 | 8:27 | 20.6 | 100% | 3,937 | 31.2 | 685 |
| 28 | Zeraora electric Volt Switch / Plasma Fists | Volt Switch / Plasma Fists+9 more movesets | 65% | 62.8% | 1.80 | 8:29 | 17.1 | 100% | 3,419 | 30.7 | 823 |
| 29 | Mega Manectric electricmega Thunder Fang / Wild Charge | Thunder Fang / Wild Charge+14 more movesets | 63% | 62.2% | 1.82 | 8:34 | 19.7 | 100% | 3,580 | 30.7 | 713 |
| 30 | Mega Blastoise watermega Water Gun / Hydro Cannon | Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+14 more movesets | 65% | 62.1% | 1.82 | 8:35 | 15.1 | 100% | 3,941 | 30.2 | 916 |
How accurate is this? Same top pick as pokebattler.com on 26 of 27 lists checked, 90% of its top tens shared; weakest on Mewtwo's default list (7 of 10).
Ranking. Our full ranking against the page pokebattler.com serves for the same boss and settings, on 27 boss and filter combinations read live (2026-10-04): 242 of 270 top-ten places shared, the same #1 on 26. On the six fixed reference bosses (read 2026-10-03): 85% top-ten overlap with its default filters, 83% with Shadow, Mega and Legendary on. A close top three is shown as a tie because the order inside it is below what we can measure.
Time to win. Graded with Pokebattler's own movesets against every boss moveset, average per boss: Tier 1 and 3 +0.1% to +1.2%; Tier 5 −2.9% to +1.3%; Mega −1.1% to +2.6%; Shadow Tier 5 −1.8% to +0.3%. One attacker can be off by more: median 1.6%, worst 15%, RMS per boss moveset 2.05%.
- Mewtwo (Tier 5, default filters) shares 7 of Pokebattler's top 10: Absol, Incineroar and Salamence sit just outside ours, Polteageist, Cursola and Hisuian Typhlosion just inside.
- Groudon (Tier 5, default filters) shares 7 of 10; its Grass and Water counters run 2-6% fast here.
- Tier 5 times run about 2-3% fast for attackers that faint often, and 2-3% slow on Mega Charizard Y and Mega Beedrill, whose counters resist the boss.
- Tier 1 lists are the least checked: Combee (Tier 1) shares only 3 of Pokebattler's top 10, with Gigalith first here where Pokebattler puts Rhyperior.
This boss on pokebattler.com (its Shadow boss page; the ordinary boss's page is a different, easier fight). Boss-by-boss accuracy report.
Ranked 30 attackers in 0.9 s (50 Monte Carlo runs each, seed 1). Same boss on pokebattler.com. The same ranking as JSON: /api/raids/rank.