Best Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO (October 2026)
Find the best Shadow Pokémon for raids in Pokémon GO and decide which ones are worth powering up. Compare recommended movesets, damage output and survival, then adjust level, weather and Party Power to match your team. Shadow Pokémon deal more damage but take more damage too, so this ranking accounts for both their damage bonus and reduced durability.
Simulation settings
Extreme↓
Zen Headbutt 
Crush Grip *
Dragon Tail 
Fly 
Fire Fang 
Fury Cutter 
Meteor Mash *
Aura Sphere 
Volt Switch 
Snarl 
Waterfall 
Mud Shot 
Shadow Ball 
Rock Wrecker *
Avalanche 
Frenzy Plant *
Poison Jab 
How are Shadow Pokémon ranked?
This list uses the same simulation as our overall attackers ranking, filtered to Shadow Pokémon. We choose each Pokémon’s highest-eDPS moveset at level 50 with perfect IVs, including its Shadow attack bonus and Defense penalty. Only available Shadow forms appear by default. Change the settings to include unavailable forms or exclude legacy moves. The default opponent is a neutral dummy boss; average raid boss weaknesses can be enabled. Tiers compare the Shadow Pokémon in this list and update with the settings.
Tiers group attackers by similar scores, emphasizing differences near the top. We use eight groups, labelled SS, S, A, B, C, D, E and F, when there are enough distinct scores; otherwise, fewer tiers are used. Group sizes are determined by the scores, not fixed rank cutoffs. Tiers update with the simulation settings and stay the same when you sort or change pages.
Average raid boss weaknesses
Scores attackers against the configured T4+ raid boss pool, including Mega, Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. Outgoing damage reflects how effective each move type is against the bosses; incoming damage reflects the attacker’s resistances to their moves. Per-type rankings use bosses weak to that type. Types without super-effective matchups use the full pool. Unavailable Pokémon are excluded from the boss pool.
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.
Time to return after a team of six faints. Applies to eDPS and estimated battle time.
What do DPS, TDO and eDPS mean?
- DPS: Damage per second while attacking with the listed moveset. Higher DPS means dealing damage faster under the selected settings.
- TDO: Estimated total damage dealt before fainting, using the selected target model and attacker level.
- Score (eDPS): Effective damage per second. It adjusts DPS for time lost to fainting and rejoining with a team of six copies of the same Pokémon. This is the default ranking score; higher is better.
Click a column heading to sort the table. Each row keeps the moveset selected for the highest eDPS, even when you sort by DPS or TDO.
How should I use these rankings for raids?
Use this table to compare damage and survival under the same conditions. In a specific raid, the boss’s types and moves can change the best choice. See our raid attacker rankings for performance across raid boss matchups, or best attackers by type to build around a boss’s weaknesses.