Gigantamax Kingler counters and battle tips for Pokemon Go

Gigantamax Kingler, the colossal king crab of Pokémon GO, emerges as a formidable Water-type raid boss that demands precision and strategy to defeat. With its massive claws and powerful G-Max Foam Burst, this Max Battle titan is especially vulnerable to Electric and Grass-type moves, making the right counters essential for victory. Whether you’re a seasoned trainer or gearing up for your first Max Battle, mastering Kingler’s weaknesses and employing the best counters like Gigantamax Venusaur, Toxtricity, and Zapdos will be key to claiming victory and capturing this rare giant crustacean.

Below, we list out some general Gigantamax Max Battle tips and counters for Gigantamax Kingler in Pokémon Go.

Gigantamax Kingler weakness

Gigantamax Kingler, as a Water-type Pokémon, has clear weaknesses to Electric- and Grass-type moves. These vulnerabilities make Electric and Grass attackers the most effective counters in battle, allowing trainers to exploit these weaknesses for maximum damage. Avoid using Steel, Fire, Water, or Ice-type moves offensively against it, as Kingler resists those types. Utilizing Pokémon with strong Electric or Grass moves, such as Gigantamax Venusaur, Rillaboom, Zapdos, or Raikou, can significantly improve your chances of defeating Gigantamax Kingler in raids and Max Battles.

We’ll want to utilize Gigantamax Kingler’s weaknesses: grass-, and electric-type moves. At this point, there’s a nice spread of Pokémon that you can use against it.

Kingler resists steel-, fire-, water-, and ice-type moves, so we don’t recommend using those offensively, with the exception of using fast moves to build up the max gauge.

Gigantamax Kingler best counters

The best counters to Gigantamax Kingler in Pokémon Go focus on exploiting its weaknesses to Grass- and Electric-type attacks. Top recommended Pokémon include Gigantamax Venusaur and Gigantamax Rillaboom, which provide strong Grass-type moves, as well as Electric-type counters like Zapdos and Raikou. Venusaur and Ivysaur are particularly effective due to their part-Poison typing, which helps mitigate Kingler’s Bug-type move X-Scissor. Trainers should avoid using Steel, Fire, Water, and Ice-type moves since Kingler resists these. Additionally, considering movesets that maximize same-type attack bonus (STAB) can significantly improve damage output during the Max Battle.

With the above in mind, there’s quite a few counters to bring to Kingler. We recommend the following to focus on offensive moves:

Gigantamax/Dynamax Venusaur with Vine Whip
Gigantamax/Dynamax Toxtricity with Spark
Dynamax Zapdos with Thundershock
Dynamax Rillaboom with Razor Leaf

Kingler can possibly use X-Scissor, which will deal increased damage against Rillaboom, so we recommend using the other counters, if possible.

If you want to be an ally to your team, you can bring the following Pokémon with Max Guard and/or Max Spirit to help our defensively:

Gigantamax Lapras with Water Gun
Gigantamax/Dynamax Blastoise with Bite
Gigantamax/Dynamax Venusaur with Vine Whip

These moves will allow you to build up the max gauge quickly; they resist most of, if not all of, Kingler’s possible moves. (Yes, Venusaur can dish out some good DPS while also serving as a tank.)

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 Venusaur isn’t leveled (and you don’t have the means to power it up), just bring your Gengar.

General Gigantamax Kingler tips

When facing Gigantamax Kingler in Pokémon GO, it’s crucial to assemble a well-coordinated team of counters that exploit its Water-type weaknesses, primarily Electric and Grass-type Pokémon. Recommended counters include Gigantamax Toxtricity with Spark, Gigantamax Venusaur with Vine Whip, Dynamax Zapdos with Thunder Shock, and Dynamax Rillaboom with Razor Leaf. Be mindful that Kingler may use the Bug-type move X-Scissor, which can heavily damage Grass-type counters like Rillaboom, so balancing your team is key. Additionally, utilizing Max Guard and Max Spirit abilities on defenders and healers can significantly improve survivability during the intense Max Battle. Fast moves are preferable to quickly build the Max Meter, and dodging Kingler’s powerful single-target charged moves by swiping at the warning is essential to reduce damage taken. Coordinating with a group of 15-20 players, ideally divided into attackers, defenders, and healers, will increase your chances of success against this challenging Tier 6 Max Battle boss.

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 Kingler 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 foamy-bearded king crab.
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 and Max Spirit will heal the whole party, so 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 Cryogonal with Frost Breath, it will know Max Hailstorm. 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 Kingler! If you clear the raid, there is a chance that the Kingler 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 Kingler.

How can I best exploit Gigantamax Kingler’s weaknesses in battle

To best exploit Gigantamax Kingler’s weaknesses in battle, focus on using Electric- and Grass-type moves, as Kingler is a Water-type Pokémon vulnerable to these types. Key strategies include:

Select strong Electric-type attackers like Gigantamax Toxtricity (with Spark), Dynamax Zapdos (with Thunder Shock), and Raikou to deal heavy damage quickly.
Use powerful Grass-type counters such as Gigantamax Venusaur (with Vine Whip), Rillaboom (with Razor Leaf), Roserade (with Solar Beam), and Lurantis (with Leaf Blade) to maximize effectiveness.
Be mindful that Kingler may use X-Scissor, a Bug-type move that can threaten Grass-types like Rillaboom, so balance your team accordingly.
Utilize Gigantamax or Dynamax Pokémon with the correct fast moves to ensure their Max Moves are super effective against Kingler.
For defensive support, consider Pokémon with Max Guard or Max Spirit like Gigantamax Lapras or Blissey to protect your damage dealers while charging your Max gauge.
Avoid using Steel, Fire, Water, or Ice-type moves offensively, as Kingler resists these types.
Assemble a well-rounded team with a mix of attackers and defenders and, if possible, coordinate with multiple trainers to overcome Kingler’s high attack power and durability.

By carefully selecting counters that exploit Kingler’s Electric and Grass weaknesses and balancing offense with defense, you can efficiently bring down Gigantamax Kingler in Max Battles.

What are the most effective Electric and Grass moves to use against Kingler

The most effective Electric and Grass moves to use against Gigantamax Kingler in Pokémon GO are:

Electric Moves:

Spark (fast move) used by Gigantamax Toxtricity
Thundershock (fast move) used by Dynamax Zapdos
Discharge and Thunder (charge moves) are also strong Electric options to consider for high damage output.

Grass Moves:

Vine Whip (fast move) used by Gigantamax Venusaur, which is preferred for quick energy gain
Razor Leaf (fast move) used by Dynamax Rillaboom
Solar Beam (charge move) used by Roserade for powerful Grass-type damage.

These moves exploit Kingler’s Water typing weakness, dealing 25% more damage, and are recommended to maximize your damage efficiency in battle. Avoid using Steel, Fire, Water, or Ice moves offensively as Kingler resists them.