Gigantamax Cinderace Pokémon GO counters weaknesses and raid battle tips

Gigantamax Cinderace has burst onto the Pokémon GO scene as a fiery new 6-star Max Battle boss, packing explosive power with its signature G-Max Fireball move and lightning-fast 0.5 second Tackle. But beneath its blazing offense lies a glassy defense, making it vulnerable to well-planned counters. To topple this soccer-playing fire-type giant, trainers must harness the strengths of Ground, Rock, and Water-type Pokémon like Gigantamax Kingler and Dynamax Inteleon, while mastering dodges and strategic switches. Ready your team and max out your moves-defeating Gigantamax Cinderace is a fiery challenge that rewards the prepared.

Below we list Gigantamax Cinderace’s best counters and weaknesses in Pokémon Go, as well as general battle tips for the big bunny.

Gigantamax Cinderace weaknesses

Gigantamax Cinderace, being a pure Fire-type Pokémon, has clear weaknesses to Ground-, Rock-, and Water-type moves, making these the most effective types to use against it in battles. It resists Bug, Fairy, Fire, Grass, Ice, and Steel-type attacks, so those are less effective choices. Trainers should focus on exploiting its vulnerabilities with strong Ground, Rock, or Water-type Pokémon and moves to maximize damage and improve their chances of victory in Max Battles.

Cinderace is a pure fire-type, so you can use ground-, rock-, or water-type moves to take it down effectively.

That said, it’ll be resistant against bug-, steel-, fire-, grass-, ice-, and fairy-type moves, so don’t use those unless they’re just fast moves to help charge the max meter.

Gigantamax Cinderace best counters

The best counters to Gigantamax Cinderace in Pokémon GO are primarily Water, Ground, and Rock-type Pokémon, exploiting its Fire-type weaknesses. Top choices include Gigantamax Kingler with Metal Claw and G-Max Foam Burst, Dynamax Inteleon using Water Gun and Max Geyser, Excadrill with Mud-Slap and Max Quake, and Rapid Strike Urshifu with Waterfall and Max Geyser. Gigantamax Blastoise is also highly effective, especially when equipped with Water Gun and G-Max Cannonade. For defense and soaking damage, Blissey, Chansey, and Lapras are recommended, while Gigantamax Gengar can be useful against Cinderace’s Focus Blast move. These counters maximize damage output and survivability during the Max Battle phase, making them the best options to defeat Gigantamax Cinderace efficiently.

Try to bring at least one of these attackers:

• Gigantamax Kingler with Metal Claw (G-Max Foam Burst)
• Dynamax Inteleon with Water Gun (Max Geyser)
• Dynamax Excadrill with Mud Shot (Max Quake)
• Gigantamax/Dynamax Blastoise with Water Gun (G-Max Cannonade/Max Geyser)

The only thing really iffy about the above is Inteleon. If you don’t already have a Dynamax Inteleon, do not bother building one now (unless you’re sitting on tons of Sobble Candy), as Gigantamax Inteleon will be showing up literally next.

For defenders/tanks, bring one or two of the following:

• Dynamax Blissey with Pound
• Dynamax Zapdos with Thunder Shock
• Dynamax/Gigantamax Blastoise with Water Gun
• Dynamax/Gigantamax Charizard with Dragon Breath

These guys’ job is just to soak up the damage from Cinderace while generating as much energy as possible with their fast attacks.

These counters are pretty straightforward, though note that the Zapdos is kind of just there to withstand the damage if the Cinderace you’re going against knows Focus Blast, as that could possibly give your Blissey a tough time.

Consider just bringing the strongest Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon you have. If you have a maxed out Gigantamax Gengar and your Dynamax Excadrill isn’t leveled (and you don’t have the means to power it up), just bring your Gengar.

General Gigantamax Cinderace tips

Gigantamax Cinderace is a pure Fire-type Pokémon, making it especially vulnerable to Ground, Rock, and Water-type moves. When preparing to face it, prioritize using strong Water and Ground-type attackers such as Gigantamax Kingler, Dynamax Excadrill, and Gigantamax Blastoise to exploit these weaknesses effectively. Due to its fast 0.5-second Tackle move that builds energy quickly, it is crucial to focus on dodging and switching strategically during battle to mitigate its powerful G-Max Fireball attacks. A well-balanced team should include attackers with quick fast moves to charge Max Moves rapidly, as well as defenders and healers like Blastoise or Blissey to sustain through its offensive pressure. Coordinated team roles-attackers, defenders, and healers-are essential, especially in larger groups of up to 40 trainers, to overcome this challenging Max Battle 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 Cinderace 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 soccer bunny.
• 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.
• All of that 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.
• There’s no shiny Cinderace this time around! Scorbunny’s shiny has not been added to the game yet (and it likely won’t be until it gets its own Community Day), so if you’re looking to shiny hunt Gigantamax Cinderace. you’ll have to wait until next time.

How can I maximize my damage against Gigantamax Cinderace in raids

To maximize your damage against Gigantamax Cinderace in Pokémon GO raids, focus on exploiting its weaknesses and using strategic team compositions.

Here’s how to do it:

• Exploit Weaknesses: Being a pure Fire-type, Cinderace is weak to Ground, Rock, and Water-type moves. Use these types of attacks to deal significant damage.

• Top Attackers: Some of the best attackers to include in your lineup are Gigantamax Kingler with Metal Claw, Dynamax Inteleon using Water Gun, and Dynamax Excadrill with Mud Shot. Other strong choices include Rapid Strike Urshifu, Kingler, and Gigantamax Blastoise.

• Defenders/Tanks: Consider including Dynamax Blissey with Pound, Dynamax Zapdos with Thunder Shock, or Dynamax/Gigantamax Blastoise with Water Gun to absorb damage and generate energy. Be cautious of Cinderace’s Focus Blast, which can be problematic for Blissey; in that case, Gengar may be a better choice.

• Strategic Dodging: Watch for the three lines above your Pokémon’s head, which indicate an incoming targeted attack that you can dodge.

• Fast Moves: Use fast moves with a short attack time (0.5 seconds) to quickly build up the max meter.

• Team Composition: A recommended team includes Dynamax Blissey, Dynamax Charizard, and Gigantamax Kingler. Avoid Cinderace with Focus Blast for best results.

• Weather Boost: Take advantage of weather boosts that benefit your counters. For example, rainy weather will boost Water-type attacks, increasing their effectiveness.

• Don’t Waste Max Particles: Note that the 800 Max Particles required to participate in the Max Battle are only consumed if you successfully defeat Cinderace.

• Dynamax/Gigantamax Wisely: If you have a strong Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon, don’t hesitate to use it. A fully developed Gigantamax Gengar can be a better choice if your Dynamax Excadrill is not leveled up. Remember that Dynamax Pokémon’s max attack is determined by the type of their fast attack, while Gigantamax Pokémon have a set move.

• Relobby When Necessary: If Cinderace has Focus Blast, consider relobbying to optimize your team composition.

• G-Max Moves: Gigantamax Blastoise with its G-Max water move is key.

What are the best move sets to maximize damage on Gigantamax Cinderace

The best movesets to maximize damage on Gigantamax Cinderace in Pokémon GO focus on exploiting its Fire typing and maximizing DPS with fast energy generation and powerful charged moves.

Gigantamax Cinderace’s own moveset:

• Fast Move: Fire Spin

• Max Move: G-Max Fireball (signature move with high damage output)
  This combination yields about 24.85 DPS and 372.6 total damage output, making it the optimal offensive moveset for Cinderace itself.

Best attacking movesets to counter Gigantamax Cinderace:

Additional notes:

• For Cinderace in PvP or Gym offense (non-Gigantamax), the best moveset is Fire Spin + Flamethrower, maximizing DPS and energy gain.

• In Dynamax battles, Cinderace’s Tackle fast move (0.5s) is key for quick max energy build, paired with Fire-type charged moves like Flamethrower or Max Flare.

• In Pokémon Scarlet/Violet competitive play, Cinderace’s best moves include Pyro Ball (signature Fire STAB), High Jump Kick (Fighting coverage), Iron Head (Steel coverage), and U-Turn (pivoting), with the ability Libero to change typing based on the move used.

In summary, to maximize damage against Gigantamax Cinderace in raids, use Ground, Rock, or Water-type Pokémon with fast energy-generating moves like Metal Claw, Water Gun, or Mud Shot, combined with powerful charged moves such as Crabhammer, Hydro Pump, or Drill Run. Gigantamax Kingler with Metal Claw and Crabhammer stands out as the top counter.