When Gigantamax Rillaboom thunders into Pokémon Go, trainers face a colossal challenge: this drumming giant boasts devastating Grass-type attacks and a towering presence, but its weaknesses to Fire, Flying, Ice, Bug, and Poison moves give savvy battlers a fighting chance. Whether you’re assembling a strike team of fiery attackers like Gigantamax Charizard or strategizing with tanky defenders such as Corviknight and Blissey, knowing how to exploit Rillaboom’s vulnerabilities is the key to toppling this Max Raid boss and claiming victory.
Below we list Gigantamax Rillaboom’s best counters and weaknesses in Pokémon Go, as well as general battle tips for the big guy.
Gigantamax Rillaboom weakness
Gigantamax Rillaboom is a pure Grass-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go, which makes it especially vulnerable to several attack types. Its primary weaknesses are Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, and Poison-type moves, all of which deal super-effective damage against it. Trainers should avoid using Pokémon with Electric, Grass, Ground, or Water-type attacks, as Rillaboom resists these move types and will take reduced damage from them. Leveraging its weaknesses is key to overcoming this formidable Max Raid boss.
Rillaboom is a pure grass-type, so it has a ton of weaknesses: flying-, poison-, bug-, fire-, and ice-type moves.
That being said, it’ll be resistant against ground-, water-, grass-, and electric-type moves, so don’t use those unless they’re just fast moves to help charge the max meter.
Gigantamax Rillaboom best counters
When facing Gigantamax Rillaboom in Pokémon Go, the most effective counters are Pokémon with strong Fire- and Flying-type moves, as Rillaboom is a pure Grass-type and is especially vulnerable to these attack types. Gigantamax Charizard stands out as the top attacker, particularly when equipped with Fire Spin or Dragon Breath and the G-Max Wildfire move. Other excellent choices include Darmanitan with Fire Fang or Incinerate, Moltres with Fire Spin or Wing Attack, and Cinderace with Fire Spin, all leveraging their Fire- or Flying-type moves to exploit Rillaboom’s weaknesses. Additional powerful options are Zacian (Crowned Sword), Zamazenta (Crowned Shield), Articuno, and Entei, provided they have moves that align with Rillaboom’s vulnerabilities. For maximum effectiveness, ensure your team is composed of high-level attackers with boosted Max Moves, and coordinate with a large group of trainers to secure victory against this formidable Max Battle boss.
Try to bring at least one of these attackers:
- Gigantamax Charizard with Fire Spin or Dragon Breath (G-Max Wildfire)
- Dynamax Darmanitan with Fire Fang (Max Flare)
- Dynamax Moltres with Wind Attack (Max Airstream)
- Dynamax Cinderace with Fire Spin (Max Flare)
You don’t really have to care about your Gigantamax Charizard’s fast move unless you’re using it to build the meter as a pinch hitter. Hopefully you have enough other players that it won’t come to that, but Dragon Breath is just a faster attack than its other options, which is why we have it listed above.
This is all to say that, yes, bring a strong fire-type and Rillaboom should go down.
For defenders/tanks, bring one or two of the following:
- Dynamax Blissey with Pound
- Dynamax Corviknight with Sand Attack
- Dynamax Butterfree with Bug Bite
- Dynamax/Gigantamax Venusaur with Vine Whip
These guys’ job is just to soak up the damage from Rillaboom while generating as much energy as possible with their fast attacks.
I hesitated putting Corviknight on this list because Dynamax Rookidee made its debut just this week and Corviknight has a Gigantamax form – so to me, Dynamax Corviknight isn’t worth investing in unless you have a ton of Rookidee Candy sitting around. It resists Rillaboom’s attacks well, so I did include it, but keep that in mind.
Butterfree is a funny one, but it does heavily resist Rillaboom’s grass-type moves, so. go nuts with it, if that’s what you got. As usual Blissey is way to go, but if you still don’t have one, these alternatives should work.
Consider just bringing the strongest Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon you have. If you have a maxed out Gigantamax Gengar and your Dynamax Darmanitan isn’t leveled (and you don’t have the means to power it up), just bring your Gengar.
General Gigantamax Rillaboom tips
When facing Gigantamax Rillaboom in Pokémon Go, preparation and teamwork are crucial due to its high difficulty as a Tier 6 Max Battle. Rillaboom is a pure Grass-type Pokémon, making it particularly vulnerable to Fire, Flying, Bug, Ice, and Poison-type moves, while it resists Electric, Ground, Water, and Grass attacks. Ensure your team is built with high-level counters-especially strong Fire- and Flying-types like Gigantamax Charizard, Moltres, and Darmanitan-to maximize damage output. Coordination is essential: groups of 10 to 40 players are recommended, and roles should be balanced with attackers, defenders, and healers to survive Rillaboom’s powerful Grass-type moves. Don’t forget to communicate with your squad, use shielding and healing moves strategically, and swap to your most effective counters when it’s time to Dynamax or launch Max Moves for a decisive victory.
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 Rillaboom 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 drummer gorilla.
- 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 Rillaboom this time around! Grookey’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 Rillaboom. you’ll have to wait until next time.
How can I exploit Rillaboom’s Grass weakness in battles
To exploit Rillaboom’s Grass weakness in battles, focus on using Pokémon and moves of the following types: Fire, Flying, Ice, Bug, and Poison. These types deal super-effective damage against Rillaboom, making them your best options for quickly wearing down its HP.
Recommended Strategies:
-
Use strong Fire-type attackers such as Gigantamax Charizard (with Fire Spin and G-M Wildfire), Darmanitan (Fire Fang/Incinerate), Moltres (Fire Spin), Cinderace (Fire Spin), and Entei (Fire Fang/Fire Spin).
-
Flying-types like Moltres (Wing Attack), Unfezant (Air Slash), and Zapdos (Thunder Shock) also perform well, as they both resist Grass moves and hit hard in return.
-
Bug and Poison types can be effective, but Fire and Flying types are generally preferred due to their higher damage output and better resistance to Rillaboom’s attacks.
-
Avoid using Ground, Water, Electric, or Grass types, since Rillaboom resists these moves and will take less damage from them.
Battle Tips:
-
Coordinate with your team to stack multiple Fire or Flying-type attackers for maximum efficiency, especially in Max Raid battles where Rillaboom’s HP is high.
-
Be mindful of Rillaboom’s occasional Ground-type move (Earth Power), which can threaten some of your counters, so consider bringing a tanky Pokémon or one that resists Ground as backup.
-
Use quick-charging moves to build up energy for your most powerful attacks, and watch for warning indicators to dodge Rillaboom’s single-target charged moves.
By leveraging these type advantages and team strategies, you’ll maximize your chances of defeating Gigantamax Rillaboom efficiently.
What specific fire-type moves are most effective against Rillaboom
The most effective Fire-type moves against Rillaboom in Pokémon Go are:
-
Fire Spin (Fast Move)
-
Fire Fang (Fast Move)
-
G-Max Wildfire (Charged Move, exclusive to Gigantamax Charizard)
-
Max Flare (Charged Move, available to Dynamax Darmanitan and Cinderace)
Using these moves with strong Fire-type Pokémon like Gigantamax Charizard, Dynamax Darmanitan, Moltres, or Cinderace will maximize your damage output and exploit Rillaboom’s Grass-type weakness. Fire Spin and Fire Fang quickly build energy for powerful charged moves, while G-Max Wildfire and Max Flare deliver heavy, super-effective hits that can quickly wear down Rillaboom.