Shadow Pokémon ranked by effective DPS (eDPS), with survivability (TDO) and the best moveset for each.
Shadow Pokémon deal 20% more damage than their regular counterparts, but also take 20% more damage. Our rankings account for this trade-off, including the time lost when Pokémon faint and rejoin battle.
Shadow Regigigas
Shadow Mewtwo
Shadow Salamence
Shadow Metagross
Shadow ReshiramOur rankings help you find the best Pokémon to use in raids. We compare attackers based on how much damage they deal, how long they survive, and how well they perform against different raid bosses. These rankings are designed for raids, not PvP battles.
We use three main measurements:
Higher scores generally mean better raid performance, but the best attacker can still depend on which raid boss you’re fighting.
To keep comparisons fair, every Pokémon is tested under the same conditions:
You can adjust these settings in the ranking table to see how Pokémon perform under different battle conditions. The highlighted picks and introductory recommendations use the default settings.
The dummy boss uses neutral effectiveness (1.0×) for every move, with incoming damage based on Defense alone. This can favor attackers whose moves the raid pool resists, or whose weaknesses make them take more damage in raids. The dummy has a fixed 25,000 HP, regardless of raid tier.
This list includes Shadow forms and excludes Mega and Primal forms. Unreleased attackers are excluded by default; legacy moves are included. Each Pokémon starts with its highest-scoring moveset.
The % of best column shows how close each Pokémon comes to the strongest attacker in the current ranking.
These percentages use the same battle settings and eligible Pokémon pool. Searching or filtering the table by text won’t change them, but changing battle settings can.
Remember that 100% doesn’t mean a Pokémon is guaranteed to win a raid. It simply represents the strongest performance under the selected conditions.
You don’t always need a Legendary, Shadow, or Mega Pokémon to build a strong raid team.
Use the table’s filters and settings to find alternatives that match the Pokémon and resources you have available.
Where available, we also highlight:
These alternatives can help you decide which Pokémon are worth investing in, although they aren’t necessarily easy to obtain or power up.
Shadow Pokémon are scored with both their damage bonus and Defense penalty included. We compare their eligible movesets under the same settings, so a high score reflects damage and survival together. You can check the listed moves and change the conditions above; the strongest Shadow for one boss may not be the strongest against another.
These answers are based on our default Level 40 rankings, which use effective DPS (eDPS) to compare Shadow Pokémon. You can customize the ranking table, but the answers below describe the default settings.
Shadow Regigigas tops our Shadow Pokémon rankings, with 20.24 eDPS, 22.59 DPS, and 464.7 TDO.
Its highest-performing moveset is Zen Headbutt and Crush Grip *, a legacy Charged Attack.
However, the highest-ranked Shadow Pokémon isn’t necessarily the best choice for every raid. A boss’s weaknesses and moveset can make other Shadow attackers much more effective.
For raids, Shadow Regigigas performs best with Zen Headbutt as its Fast Attack and Crush Grip * as its Charged Attack under our default settings.
Crush Grip * is a legacy move, so you may need an Elite Charged TM or a special event to obtain it.
Shadow Pokémon deal 20% more damage, but also take 20% more damage from incoming attacks.
This makes them especially powerful in raids, where dealing damage quickly is often more important than surviving longer. However, their reduced durability means they can faint faster than their regular counterparts.
Our rankings account for both the extra damage and reduced survivability, helping you compare their overall raid performance.
For raids, keeping a strong Shadow Pokémon unpurified is often the better choice. Its 20% damage bonus can make it significantly more powerful than the regular version, even with imperfect IVs.
Purifying a Pokémon increases each IV by 2, up to a maximum of 15, and reduces the Stardust and Candy needed for future power-ups. However, purification permanently removes the Shadow damage bonus.
Before purifying a valuable Shadow Pokémon, consider whether you would benefit more from its extra damage or the advantages of its purified form.
You can remove Frustration using a regular Charged TM during special events that allow it, such as Team GO Rocket takeover events.
Once removed, Frustration won’t return when your Shadow Pokémon evolves. An Elite Charged TM cannot bypass the event restriction.
You can also unlock a second Charged Attack without removing Frustration, although this costs additional Stardust and Candy.
If you want a Shadow Pokémon to learn an event-exclusive Charged Attack through evolution, make sure to remove Frustration first. Unlocking a second move does not bypass this requirement.
Yes! Many Shadow Pokémon perform well in GO Battle League, but they aren’t always better than their regular counterparts.
The extra damage can help secure knockouts and pressure opponents into using shields. However, reduced durability can make certain matchups more difficult.
These rankings focus on raid performance, not PvP. For Trainer Battles, check our Great League, Ultra League, and Master League rankings.
No. Shadow Pokémon cannot Mega Evolve.
If you purify a Shadow Pokémon that has an eligible Mega Evolution, you can Mega Evolve it once you meet the usual requirements. However, purification permanently removes its Shadow damage bonus.
When possible, it’s worth keeping separate Pokémon for Shadow and Mega Evolution roles.
Often, yes! A Shadow Pokémon with low IVs can deal more damage than a perfect 15/15/15 regular Pokémon of the same species, provided they’re at the same level and use the same moves.
That’s because the 20% Shadow damage bonus can outweigh the difference in IVs.
However, Shadow Pokémon also faint faster and cost more resources to power up. The better investment depends on the Pokémon, its moveset, and the raids you plan to use it in.
Shadow Salamence is our highest-ranked Shadow attacker when legacy moves are excluded, using Dragon Tail and Fly.
With 18.31 eDPS, it reaches 90.4% of Shadow Regigigas’s performance under the default battle settings.
This alternative ranking recalculates every Pokémon’s best moveset without legacy attacks, making it useful when you don’t have access to event-exclusive moves.
Keep in mind that some Shadow Pokémon may still need Frustration removed before they can use their recommended Charged Attack.
We compare each Shadow Pokémon’s stats and available movesets, accounting for its increased damage and reduced durability.
Our default settings use:
Each Pokémon appears once with its highest-eDPS moveset. You can change the Movesets per Pokémon setting to display its top 3 or 5 combinations, each with its own performance scores.
Only available Shadow Pokémon are included by default. You can also include unreleased forms, exclude legacy moves, or adjust battle conditions to explore different scenarios.
Remember that some recommended movesets require removing Frustration or obtaining legacy moves before they can be used in battle.
We use three measurements to evaluate Shadow Pokémon in raids:
A Pokémon with high DPS hits hard, while one with high TDO can contribute more damage before fainting. eDPS helps balance both factors using a theoretical team of six identical Pokémon.
You can sort the table by DPS, TDO, or eDPS to compare different aspects of performance. Sorting changes the order of results, but recommended movesets are still selected by eDPS.
By default, we use a Dummy boss with neutral type effectiveness (1.0×). This lets you compare Shadow Pokémon without giving any attacker an advantage based on the opponent’s weaknesses. Incoming damage is estimated using each attacker’s Defense.
Switching to Average raid boss weaknesses compares attackers against a pool of Tier 4 and higher raid bosses, including Mega, Legendary, and Mythical Pokémon.
This accounts for how effective their attacks are against those bosses and how well they resist incoming damage.
Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB) applies in both modes.
Shadow Pokémon are grouped into eight possible tiers, from SS (the strongest) to F (the weakest).
Pokémon with similar performance receive similar tiers, making it easier to identify the strongest options without comparing every individual score.
Tiers are based on performance differences rather than fixed positions in the table. They update when you change battle settings, but remain consistent when you sort the table or switch pages.
Tier boundaries are calculated using each Pokémon’s best moveset. Displaying additional movesets doesn’t change those boundaries, although each alternative receives its own tier based on its eDPS.
Use this tier list to identify strong Shadow attackers and compare their damage output, survivability, and recommended movesets.
Type matchups are still important. A lower-ranked Shadow Pokémon with super-effective attacks can outperform a higher-ranked one against a specific raid boss.
For more practical recommendations, explore our Most Useful Raid Attackers or Best Attackers by Type rankings.
Remember that the default rankings use a neutral opponent, so they measure general attacking performance rather than effectiveness against one particular raid boss.
Some Shadow Pokémon perform best with legacy moves that aren’t available through regular TMs.
These moves are marked with an asterisk (*) in the ranking table. Depending on the attack, you may need an Elite TM, a special event, or another method to obtain it.
Not every legacy move is available through Elite TMs, so check your Pokémon’s available moves before investing resources.
If you don’t have access to legacy moves, disable them in the table settings to see the best alternatives.
Learn more about how Elite TMs work.
