Shadow raid

Shadow Nidoking counters

#0034

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.

Lobby CP

35,074

15,000

Timer

5:00

Attack

179

Defense

140

Difficulty

2.19

Pokebattler scale

Beating Shadow Nidoking should take 2 trainers with level 40 counters. Caught CP 1,338-1,466.

Weak toground1.6xwater1.6xpsychic1.6xice1.6x

Who to bring

IncludeMega Legendary Shadow

Improve your raidweather · friendship · Mega in the lobby · Party Power · Adventure EffectsShow ▾

Weather

★ boosts a type this boss is weak to

No boost Sunny or clear ★Rainy ★Partly cloudy Cloudy Windy ★Snow ★Fog

Friendship

every trainer in the lobby who is your friend

None Good friend (+3%)Great friend (+5%)Ultra friend (+7%)Best friend (+10%)

Mega in the lobby

a Mega boosts every trainer's attacks: 1.3x of its own type, 1.1x of others

Try a Psychic Mega — most top counters attack with Psychic

Party Power

Party Play: the charged move after a full meter does 2x

Off 2 trainers 3 trainers 4 trainers

Adventure Effects

only these three change a raid

Behemoth Blade (+10% attack)Behemoth Bash (+10% defense)Dynamic Punch+ (+15% attack vs Mega)

Of 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 40

The best Shadow Nidoking counters are Mega Mewtwo Y, Shadow Mewtwo, Kyurem (White), Shadow Groudon, Mewtwo & Shadow Kyogre.

Suggested party of sixat most one Mega

M. Mewtwo Y
S. Mewtwo
Kyurem (White)
S. Groudon
Mewtwo
S. Kyogre

8 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 %

1Mega Mewtwo YMegaLegendarypartyPsycho Cut / Future Sight+1.657:46
2Mega Mewtwo XMegaLegendaryPsycho Cut / Psystrike2.009:27
3Mega StarmieMegaPsywave / Liquidation+2.2710:44
4Shadow MewtwoShadowLegendarypartyPsycho Cut / Psystrike2.3411:03
5Mega GreninjaMegaWater Shuriken / Surf+2.3411:03
6Primal KyogreMegaLegendaryWaterfall / Origin Pulse2.5311:56
7Kyurem (White)LegendarypartyIce Fang / Ice Burn2.5712:07
8Primal GroudonMegaLegendaryMud Shot / Precipice Blades2.5812:10
9Mega AlakazamMegaConfusion / Psychic2.6612:33
10Shadow GroudonShadowLegendarypartyMud Shot / Precipice Blades2.7713:06
11MewtwoLegendarypartyConfusion / Psystrike2.8113:17
14Shadow KyogreShadowLegendarypartyWaterfall / Origin Pulse2.8413:24

More orders under All settings (Sort by). The top 15 in detail.

Build and order a party of six →Plan your raid lobby →

Best from your Pokebox

Pokebox

The Pokebox saved in this browser · each at its own level, IVs and moves.

Search bosses

Type a name, then Enter or click a result

Raid tier — Shadow Legendary Raid

Super Mega Legendary Super Mega Primal Mega Legendary Mega Elite Shadow Tier 5 Tier 5 Shadow Tier 3 Tier 3 Shadow Tier 1 Tier 1 Tier 4 Tier 2

Raid alerts…

Top 15 Shadow Nidoking 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.

Trainers2duo

#	Attacker	Moveset
1	Mega Mewtwo Ypsychicjoint top pick	psychicPsycho CutpsychicFuture Sight+	6,428	7:46	1.65	6.0	68.6%
2	Mega Mewtwo Xpsychicfighting	psychicPsycho CutpsychicPsystrike	6,112	9:27	2.00	6.0	56.4%
3	Mega Starmiewaterpsychic	psychicPsywavewaterLiquidation+	3,701	10:44	2.27	6.0	49.7%
4	Shadow Mewtwopsychic	psychicPsycho CutpsychicPsystrike	4,178	11:03	2.34	6.0	48.3%
5	Mega Greninjawaterdark	waterWater ShurikenwaterSurf+	3,784	11:03	2.34	6.0	48.2%
6	Primal Kyogrewater	waterWaterfallwaterOrigin Pulse	5,902	11:56	2.53	5.9	44.7%
7	Kyurem (White)dragonice	iceIce FangiceIce Burn	4,605	12:07	2.57	6.0	44.0%
8	Primal Groudongroundfire	groundMud ShotgroundPrecipice Blades	5,902	12:10	2.58	5.9	43.8%
9	Mega Alakazampsychic	psychicConfusionpsychicPsychic	4,510	12:33	2.66	6.0	42.5%
10	Shadow Groudonground	groundMud ShotgroundPrecipice Blades	4,115	13:06	2.77	6.0	40.7%
11	Mewtwopsychic	psychicConfusionpsychicPsystrike	4,178	13:17	2.81	6.0	40.1%
12	Mega Galladepsychicfighting	psychicConfusionpsychicPsychic	4,521	13:19	2.82	6.0	40.1%
13	Mega Gardevoirpsychicfairy	psychicConfusionpsychicPsychic	4,512	13:23	2.84	6.0	39.8%
14	Shadow Kyogrewater	waterWaterfallwaterOrigin Pulse	4,115	13:24	2.84	6.0	39.8%
15	Mega Swampertwaterground	waterWater GunwaterHydro Cannon	4,401	13:26	2.84	6.0	39.7%

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 Nidoking.

Estimator is how many trainers of this strength the fight needs. Power is the share of Shadow Nidoking'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.

Hardest movesets to raid against

The same boss is a different fight depending on what it knows. Each row re-simulates the top 6 counters above against one specific moveset; the list is ordered hardest first, and clicking a row filters the whole page to that moveset — the ranking, the estimator and the share link all follow.

Boss moveset	Win % (2)	Overall	Power	Time to win	Faints	Estimator
Random (any moveset)showing	17%	50%	45.3%	11:46	6.0	2.49
Poison Sting / Earthquake	17%	42%	43.3%	12:19	6.0	2.61
Double Kick / Earthquake	17%	44%	44.1%	12:06	6.0	2.56
Poison Jab / Earthquake	17%	44%	44.2%	12:04	6.0	2.55
Iron Tail / Earthquake	17%	43%	44.3%	12:02	6.0	2.55
Poison Jab / Megahorn	17%	46%	44.7%	11:55	6.0	2.52
Iron Tail / Sludge Wave	17%	51%	44.8%	11:54	6.0	2.52
Poison Sting / Earth Power	17%	48%	44.8%	11:54	6.0	2.52
Double Kick / Sludge Wave	17%	54%	44.8%	11:53	6.0	2.52
Double Kick / Earth Power	17%	49%	45.0%	11:51	6.0	2.51
Double Kick / Megahorn	17%	47%	45.0%	11:50	6.0	2.51
Poison Jab / Sludge Wave	17%	52%	45.1%	11:49	6.0	2.50
Poison Sting / Sludge Wave	17%	54%	45.2%	11:48	6.0	2.50
Iron Tail / Earth Power	17%	47%	45.2%	11:48	6.0	2.50
Poison Jab / Earth Power	17%	47%	45.3%	11:47	6.0	2.49
Iron Tail / Avalanche	17%	54%	45.4%	11:44	6.0	2.49
Poison Sting / Avalanche	17%	56%	45.4%	11:44	6.0	2.48
Double Kick / Avalanche	17%	57%	45.6%	11:42	6.0	2.48
Poison Jab / Avalanche	17%	54%	45.6%	11:42	6.0	2.48
Iron Tail / Megahorn	17%	47%	45.6%	11:42	6.0	2.48
Poison Sting / Megahorn	17%	50%	45.7%	11:39	6.0	2.47
Poison Sting / Sand Tomb	17%	76%	46.8%	11:23	6.0	2.41
Iron Tail / Sand Tomb	17%	72%	47.1%	11:20	6.0	2.40
Double Kick / Sand Tomb	17%	76%	47.1%	11:19	6.0	2.39
Poison Jab / Sand Tomb	17%	72%	47.2%	11:18	6.0	2.39

Measured over the top 6 attackers on the list above rather than by re-ranking the whole roster once per moveset — the ordering is what the table is for, and a full re-rank per moveset would cost ten times the page's whole simulation budget. Win % is the share of runs 2 trainers of those attackers finish inside the raid timer. Overall is Pokebattler's published blend on its own absolute scale (higher is easier), not a percentage of the best row the way the ranked table's Overall column is — which is why an easy boss reads well above 100% here.

Simulating each boss moveset…

Nidoking 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.

ground1.6x water1.6x psychic1.6x ice1.6x normal1x flying1x ghost1x steel1x fire1x grass1x dragon1x dark1x fighting0.63x rock0.63x bug0.63x fairy0.63x poison0.39x electric0.39x

Weak (4)
Neutral (8)
Resists (6)

It resists poison0.39xelectric0.39xfighting0.625xrock0.625xbug0.625xfairy0.625x— bringing one of those is throwing damage away.

What Nidoking throws at you

Its standard movepool, with the damage window a dodge has to beat.

Fast moves

Move	Power	Energy	Duration	Hits at
poisonPoison JabSTAB	13	+9	1.0s	0.40s
steelIron Tail	14	+6	1.0s	0.75s
fightingDouble Kick	10	+13	1.0s	0.30s
poisonPoison StingSTAB	4	+6	0.5s	0.28s

Charged moves

Move	Power	Energy	Duration	Hits at
bugMegahorn	105	-100	2.0s	1.50s
groundEarthquakeSTAB	140	-100	3.5s	2.60s
poisonSludge WaveSTAB	105	-100	3.0s	1.80s
groundEarth PowerSTAB	100	-50	3.5s	2.60s
iceAvalanche	85	-50	2.5s	1.50s
groundSand TombSTAB	60	-33	4.0s	1.70s

Catch CP

What the encounter after the fight can hand you.

IV spread	CP at L20	CP at L25 (weather boosted)
6/6/6floor	1,338	1,673
7/7/7	1,352	1,691
8/8/8	1,366	1,708
9/9/9	1,380	1,726
10/10/10	1,395	1,743
11/11/11	1,409	1,761
12/12/12	1,423	1,779
13/13/13	1,437	1,797
14/14/14	1,452	1,815
15/15/15hundo	1,466	1,833

Caught CP range 1,338 - 1,466, or 1,673 - 1,833 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 1,338, not at the 1,395 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 57 CP higher than this one.

When it is in raids

From the raid schedule, refreshed daily.

Nidoking 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 179 / Defense 140 (15/15/15 at tier CPM 0.82).

Raid bossAttacker levelAttacker IVsWeatherFriendshipDodgingTrainers in the lobbyMega in the lobbyParty Play trainersBoss fast moveBoss charged moveSort by

Attackers allowed

ShadowMega and PrimalLegendary, Mythical, Ultra BeastLegacy and Elite TM moves

Share these exact settings

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	Mega Mewtwo Y psychicmega Psycho Cut / Future Sight+	Psycho Cut / Future Sight++26 more movesets	100%	68.6%	1.65	7:46	16.2	100%	6,428	33.7	904
2	Mega Mewtwo X psychicfightingmega Psycho Cut / Psystrike	Psycho Cut / Psystrike+26 more movesets	80%	56.4%	2.00	9:27	20.2	94%	6,112	27.7	729
3	Mega Starmie waterpsychicmega Psywave / Liquidation+	Psywave / Liquidation++44 more movesets	69%	49.7%	2.27	10:44	25.4	6%	3,701	24.7	590
4	Shadow Mewtwo psychicshadow Psycho Cut / Psystrike	Psycho Cut / Psystrike+23 more movesets	65%	48.3%	2.34	11:03	32.4	0%	4,178	24.2	453
5	Mega Greninja waterdarkmega Water Shuriken / Surf+	Water Shuriken / Surf++17 more movesets	66%	48.2%	2.34	11:03	31.0	0%	3,784	24.2	485
6	Primal Kyogre watermega Waterfall / Origin Pulse	Waterfall / Origin Pulse+5 more movesets	63%	44.7%	2.53	11:56	20.7	0%	5,902	21.8	715
7	Kyurem (White) dragonice Ice Fang / Ice Burn	Ice Fang / Ice Burn+17 more movesets	60%	44.0%	2.57	12:07	29.1	0%	4,605	21.8	503
8	Primal Groudon groundfiremega Mud Shot / Precipice Blades	Mud Shot / Precipice Blades+9 more movesets	61%	43.8%	2.58	12:10	24.2	0%	5,902	21.5	690
9	Mega Alakazam psychicmega Confusion / Psychic	Confusion / Psychic+17 more movesets	56%	42.5%	2.66	12:33	38.0	0%	4,510	21.4	392
10	Shadow Groudon groundshadow Mud Shot / Precipice Blades	Mud Shot / Precipice Blades+9 more movesets	55%	40.7%	2.77	13:06	33.5	0%	4,115	20.3	457
11	Mewtwo psychic Confusion / Psystrike	Confusion / Psystrike+23 more movesets	54%	40.1%	2.81	13:17	35.6	0%	4,178	20.0	418
12	Mega Gallade psychicfightingmega Confusion / Psychic	Confusion / Psychic+19 more movesets	54%	40.1%	2.82	13:19	33.8	0%	4,521	19.9	436
13	Mega Gardevoir psychicfairymega Confusion / Psychic	Confusion / Psychic+19 more movesets	53%	39.8%	2.84	13:23	37.0	0%	4,512	19.9	407
14	Shadow Kyogre watershadow Waterfall / Origin Pulse	Waterfall / Origin Pulse+5 more movesets	54%	39.8%	2.84	13:24	31.9	0%	4,115	19.7	472
15	Mega Swampert watergroundmega Water Gun / Hydro Cannon	Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+11 more movesets	55%	39.7%	2.84	13:26	27.4	0%	4,401	19.5	542
16	Mega Garchomp dragongroundmega Mud Shot / Earth Power	Mud Shot / Earth Power+13 more movesets	54%	39.5%	2.86	13:30	29.9	0%	5,424	19.5	541
17	Mega Latios dragonpsychicmega Zen Headbutt / Psychic	Zen Headbutt / Psychic+9 more movesets	53%	39.2%	2.88	13:36	33.6	0%	5,007	19.4	445
18	Kyurem (Black) dragonice Dragon Tail / Freeze Shock	Dragon Tail / Freeze Shock+11 more movesets	53%	38.7%	2.92	13:47	31.1	0%	4,605	19.2	467
19	Mega Malamar darkpsychicmega Psycho Cut / Psybeam+	Psycho Cut / Psybeam++14 more movesets	52%	38.7%	2.92	13:48	32.1	0%	3,143	19.2	474
20	Mega Delphox firepsychicmega Zen Headbutt / Psychic	Zen Headbutt / Psychic+23 more movesets	52%	38.6%	2.92	13:48	35.8	0%	4,783	19.3	444
21	Shadow Regigigas normalshadow Zen Headbutt / Crush Grip	Zen Headbutt / Crush Grip+7 more movesets	51%	38.1%	2.96	13:59	36.0	0%	4,346	19.0	409
22	Shadow Landorus (Therian) groundflyingshadow Mud Shot / Sandsear Storm	Mud Shot / Sandsear Storm+9 more movesets	50%	38.0%	2.97	14:02	46.3	0%	3,922	20.5	634
23	Mega Blastoise watermega Water Gun / Hydro Cannon	Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+14 more movesets	51%	37.5%	3.01	14:14	30.9	0%	3,941	18.4	486
24	Landorus (Therian) groundflying Mud Shot / Sandsear Storm	Mud Shot / Sandsear Storm+9 more movesets	51%	37.3%	3.02	14:17	28.1	0%	3,922	18.3	642
25	Shadow Mamoswine icegroundshadow Mud-Slap / Avalanche	Mud-Slap / Avalanche+11 more movesets	49%	37.1%	3.04	14:23	43.1	0%	3,328	18.6	347
26	Mega Rayquaza dragonflyingmega Dragon Tail / Dragon Ascent	Dragon Tail / Dragon Ascent+11 more movesets	51%	37.0%	3.05	14:24	25.7	0%	5,713	18.1	706
27	Shadow Garchomp dragongroundshadow Mud Shot / Earth Power	Mud Shot / Earth Power+13 more movesets	49%	37.0%	3.05	14:25	37.8	0%	3,962	18.4	415
28	Mega Staraptor fightingflyingmega Sand Attack / Brave Bird+	Sand Attack / Brave Bird++19 more movesets	51%	37.0%	3.05	14:26	26.6	0%	3,979	18.1	671
29	Shadow Latios dragonpsychicshadow Zen Headbutt / Psychic	Zen Headbutt / Psychic+9 more movesets	48%	36.9%	3.06	14:26	44.4	0%	3,812	18.6	338
30	Shadow Swampert watergroundshadow Water Gun / Hydro Cannon	Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+11 more movesets	49%	36.7%	3.08	14:32	39.3	0%	2,974	18.3	376

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%.

Known weak spots.

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 2.1 s (50 Monte Carlo runs each, seed 1). Same boss on pokebattler.com. The same ranking as JSON: /api/raids/rank.