Gigantamax Charizard looms large as one of Pokémon GO’s most daunting Max Battle bosses, combining fiery offense with sky-high defenses that demand expert strategy and teamwork. As a Fire- and Flying-type powerhouse, it boasts critical weaknesses to Rock-, Electric-, and Water-type moves, but few counters match its sheer scale and power. Whether you’re rallying a squad of 10 to 40 trainers or fine-tuning your lineup with top-tier attackers, tanks, and healers, mastering Charizard’s vulnerabilities and move patterns is the key to victory in this epic raid challenge.
Even still, Gigantamax Charizard can be tough to beat – and it doesn’t have nearly the amount of good new counters that its fellow starters now have. That being said, you’ll want to be as prepared as possible before attempting this fight.
Below, we list Gigantamax Charizard’s weaknesses and best counters in Pokémon Go, as well as general tips for taking it down.
Gigantamax Charizard weakness
Gigantamax Charizard, a Fire and Flying-type Pokémon in Pokémon GO, has notable weaknesses to Rock-, Electric-, and Water-type moves. Among these, Rock-type attacks are especially effective, dealing double damage, but the availability of Dynamax Pokémon with Rock moves is limited. Therefore, Water-type Pokémon often serve as the best counters, as they can resist many of Charizard’s powerful Fire and Flying attacks. Trainers are advised to avoid using Bug, Fairy, Grass, Fighting, Fire, Ground, and Steel-type moves against Gigantamax Charizard, as it resists these types, making them less effective in battle. Due to its high CP and strength, defeating Gigantamax Charizard typically requires a coordinated team effort of 10 or more players using these type advantages.
Being fire- and flying-type, Charizard has a few weaknesses: rock-, water-, and electric-type moves. Unfortunately, there’s still not really any rock-type Pokémon to take advantage of Charizard’s extra vulnerability to the typing, but there are lots of water- and electric-types you can use.
Charizard is resistant against a lot of different move types: fighting-, bug-, steel-, fire-, grass-, and fairy-types. That being said, don’t bring those move types unless you’re using them to build up the max gauge quickly.
Gigantamax Charizard best counters
Gigantamax Charizard is a challenging Tier 6 Max Battle boss in Pokémon GO, requiring a coordinated team of 10 to 40 trainers to defeat. As a Fire- and Flying-type, it is especially weak to Rock-, Water-, and Electric-type moves, making Pokémon with these move types the best counters. Top recommended counters include Dynamax Blastoise, Dynamax Inteleon, and Dynamax Gengar, which can exploit Charizard’s weaknesses effectively. Players should also prepare with high-level counters, boosted Max Moves, and a strategy that includes shielding and healing to maximize their chances of success against this formidable opponent.
For your damage-dealing Pokémon, you should try to bring at least one of the following:
- Gigantamax Kingler with Bubble
- Gigantamax Toxtricity with Spark
- Dynamax Inteleon with Water Gun
- Dynamax Zapdos with Thunder Shock
- Dynamax Kingler with Bubble
For tanks, you should try to bring one or two of the following with the Max Guard ability:
- Gigantamax Charizard with Dragon Breath
- Dynamax Charizard with Dragon Breath
- Dynamax Blastoise with Bite
- Gigantamax Blastoise with Bite
Even if you don’t have these powered up, consider just bringing the strongest Dynamax Pokémon you have. If you have a maxed out Dynamax Gengar and your Dynamax Zapdos isn’t leveled (and you don’t have the means to power it up), just bring your Gengar.
General Gigantamax Charizard tips
Gigantamax Charizard is a challenging Fire/Flying-type raid boss in Pokémon Go, requiring careful preparation and teamwork to defeat. It is particularly vulnerable to Rock-, Water-, and Electric-type moves, so bringing strong counters with these types is crucial. Since it resists many other types such as Fighting, Bug, Steel, and Grass, avoid using those to maximize damage output. Coordinated groups of 10 to 40 trainers are recommended, with roles divided among attackers, defenders, and healers to manage the battle effectively. Leveling up counters and using boosted Max Moves will significantly improve your chances of success against this formidable opponent.
If you’ve been struggling in Max Battles, here’s some general tips to survive – and make sure you’re an asset to your team. Gigantamax battles involve way more strategy than the usual rampant tapping that you do in raids, so make sure to know what you’re doing before jumping in.
- Make sure you have enough players. High-efficiency groups with maxed out investments can take down the Charizard with fewer people, but practically, if you don’t have hundreds of spare candy and even more Stardust laying around, this isn’t going to be an option for you. Make sure you have as many people as possible to ensure that you get your fiery lizard.
- Don’t sleep on Max Spirit and Max Guard. Teams work best when there’s a variety of moves, not just maxed-out attacks. Each player should bring Pokémon with the defensive and healing moves unlocked as well. Max Guard will focus single-target damage towards you and reduce the damage taken; Max Spirit will heal the whole party. These moves are really important to make sure your damage-dealers can keep dishing.
- Remember to swap to super effective moves when it’s time to Dynamax. For Dynamax Pokémon, their max moves are determined by whatever type their fast move is. This means if you have a Darmanitan with Fire Fang, it will know Max Flare. A Gengar with Lick will know Max Phantasm. Take advantage of this and make sure to swap to a Pokémon that will deal super effective damage to your target before Dynamaxing, if you can.
- Focus on your fast moves. You want to spam your fast moves to build up that Dynamax meter and often times, using your charge move is actually a DPS loss when compared to the damage you could be doing with your max move will be. Spam those attacks!
- Level up a few ’mons, but you don’t have to go too hard. Depending on your group size, you absolutely do not need to max out all your Dynamax Pokémon to level 40-50. While this will make it easier on the rest of your group, if this isn’t an investment you can make, you don’t have to stress about it. Power things up as high as you can afford to, but don’t fret if you don’t have a maxed out Pokémon.
- That all being said, make sure to come as prepared as you can be. This is a team effort and there’s a chance that a full group of four can still fail. Do not just bring your unleveled Dynamax Wooloo expecting a free ride to a powerful Pokémon. (After all, if everyone does that, then you certainly won’t clear the battle.) Again, you don’t have to completely max out your Pokémon, but it will be better for everyone involved if you bring something helpful to the table.
- Keep your eye out for a shiny Charizard! If you clear the raid, there is a chance that the Charizard you catch will be shiny – which also means it’ll be a guaranteed catch. Use a Pinap Berry to score extra candy if you get lucky enough to find a sparkly Charizard.
How can I exploit Gigantamax Charizard’s double weakness to rock attacks in Pokémon Go
To exploit Gigantamax Charizard’s double weakness to Rock-type attacks in Pokémon GO, focus on using Rock-type moves that deal double super effective damage due to Charizard’s Fire/Flying typing. However, a key limitation is that no current Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon can use Rock-type Fast moves or Max Rockfall moves, which restricts your options for Rock-type Max Moves in the battle.
Given this, the best approach is to bring strong Rock-type Pokémon with powerful Rock-type charge moves such as Rock Slide, Stone Edge, or Rock Wrecker to maximize damage output. Moves like Smack Down or Rock Throw as fast moves are also effective to build energy quickly. Some recommended Rock-type attackers include Pokémon that can learn these moves and have high CP and stats.
Since Rock Max Moves are unavailable, supplement your team with Water- and Electric-type Pokémon that can exploit Charizard’s other weaknesses, using Max Geyser or Max Lightning moves for additional super effective damage. Coordinating a team with a mix of Rock attackers for raw damage and Water/Electric types for Max Moves is ideal.
In battle, bring a squad of 10 to 40 players split into roles: attackers focusing on Rock, Water, and Electric moves; tanks to absorb hits; and healers to sustain the team. Use shields wisely to block Charizard’s powerful charged attacks, and consider rerolling Charizard’s move set if it proves too difficult.
In summary:
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Use Rock-type Pokémon with strong Rock charge moves (Rock Slide, Stone Edge).
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Supplement with Water- and Electric-types for Max Moves.
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Coordinate a balanced team with attackers, tanks, and healers.
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Use shields strategically and consider move rerolls.
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Prepare for a large raid group to ensure victory.
This strategy leverages Charizard’s double Rock weakness despite the lack of Rock Max Moves, maximizing damage output while maintaining team survivability.
How can I maximize my Rock-type moves to exploit Charizard’s double weakness in GO
To maximize your Rock-type moves against Gigantamax Charizard in Pokémon GO and fully exploit its double weakness, follow these key strategies:
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Choose top Rock-type attackers with strong Rock fast and charge moves such as Tyranitar (Smack Down + Stone Edge), Golem (Rock Throw + Stone Edge), and Omastar (Rock Throw + Rock Slide). These Pokémon combine high attack stats with moves that hit Charizard for 4x damage due to its Fire/Flying typing.
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Prioritize fast moves like Smack Down or Rock Throw to quickly generate energy for devastating charge moves. Smack Down is often preferred for its faster energy gain and better damage output against Charizard.
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Use powerful Rock-type charge moves such as Stone Edge, Rock Slide, and Rock Wrecker to maximize burst damage. Stone Edge is a staple for many counters due to its high power and critical hit chance.
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Coordinate your team to include multiple Rock-type attackers so the combined damage overwhelms Charizard’s defenses. Two or more trainers with level 35+ Pokémon using these moves can reliably take down Gigantamax Charizard.
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Supplement Rock attackers with Water- and Electric-type Pokémon to cover Charizard’s other weaknesses and add additional super effective damage, especially since no Gigantamax Pokémon currently use Rock Max Moves.
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Optimize weather conditions such as partly cloudy or windy weather, which boost Rock-type move damage, further enhancing your counters’ effectiveness.
By focusing on these Rock-type Pokémon and moves, you exploit Charizard’s 4x Rock weakness to deal rapid, heavy damage and secure victory in raids.