Group size estimator

How many trainers do I need to invite?

The Estimator is already "trainers of this attacker needed to finish inside the timer", so this page does not invent a number: it reads it off the boss's own ranked counter list for three realistic parties and re-simulates each of them at every level from 20 to 50.

Raid bossTierIVsWeatherFriendshipDodgingShadow attackersMega attackersLegendary attackers

Invite 2 to be safe — 2 if everyone is prepared

At level 40, a party of Honedge's top six counters needs 1.42 trainers (round up: 2), and a mixed lobby of ranks 13-24 needs 1.70 (round up: 2). The raid timer is 300 seconds and one prepared trainer alone would take 6:31. No level in this range makes it soloable with a prepared party. A duo works from level 25.

Honedge · Tier 5

steelghost

Weak to

groundghostfiredark

Boss CP: 22,798
Boss HP: 15,000
Raid timer: 300s
Party used: 6

Trainers needed, by attacker level

Scroll sideways for the mixed-lobby column.

Trainers needed to beat Honedge at each attacker level
Attacker level	Six of the best counter	A prepared party	A mixed local group	Prepared solo time	Faints per timer
Level 20	2(1.78)	3(2.01)	3(2.39)	9:14	6.0
Level 25	2(1.55)	2(1.75)	3(2.07)	8:02	5.9
Level 30	2(1.35)	2(1.54)	2(1.86)	7:06	5.8
Level 35	2(1.29)	2(1.48)	2(1.78)	6:50	5.7
Level 40	2(1.23)	2(1.42)	2(1.70)	6:31	5.6
Level 45	2(1.20)	2(1.37)	2(1.64)	6:20	5.5
Level 50	2(1.14)	2(1.32)	2(1.58)	6:04	5.3

Whole trainers in bold, the raw estimator in brackets — 2.04 means two trainers is right on the line and three is comfortable.

Six of the best counter

Every trainer brings six copies of the single best counter — the theoretical floor.

2 trainers at level 40

Blacephalon1.23

A prepared party

Each trainer brings the boss's top six counters, powered up and correctly TM'd.

2 trainers at level 40

Blacephalon1.23
Necrozma (Dawn Wings)1.29
Reshiram1.41
Landorus (Therian)1.48
Chandelure1.54
Darkrai1.56

A mixed local group

Ranks 13-24: reasonable but unoptimised parties, which is what a public lobby usually is.

2 trainers at level 40

Darmanitan (Standard)1.65
Blaziken1.65
Ho-Oh1.68
Moltres1.70
Dragapult1.71
Volcanion1.71

The party these numbers assume

1. Blacephalon

Astonish + Mind Blown

2. Necrozma (Dawn Wings)

Psycho Cut + Moongeist Beam

3. Reshiram

Fire Fang + Fusion Flare

4. Landorus (Therian)

Mud Shot + Sandsear Storm

5. Chandelure

Fire Spin + Shadow Ball

6. Darkrai

Snarl + Foul Play

See the full ranked counter list for Honedge · check a real lobby (win chance, who brings what) · make a share card of the top six

How this is worked out

The boss is ranked once at level 40 with rankCached (the same memoised call /raids makes), then the three bands — rank 1, ranks 1-6, ranks 13-24 — are re-simulated at each attacker level with an 8-run Monte Carlo each. Holding the party fixed and moving only its level is deliberate: it answers "what if my party were level 20" rather than "what would a level-20 player's completely different party be", and it is about ten times cheaper than re-ranking every attacker seven times. The Estimator itself is Pokebattler's definition, time to win including rejoin time divided by the raid timer.