Pokemon GO Shadow Hydreigon And Shadow Tyranitar Raid Meta Analysis: Everything You Need to Know

With the arrival of Pokemon GO Psychic Spectacular event, we had a lineup shakeup for the Team GO Rocket leaders. While leaders Sierra and Arlo had a new species at the front of their line, it was Cliff's Larvitar who had the spotlight all to itself. However, when we take the attention away from the leaders, we have another popular species that was locked in with the grunts in the form of shadow Deino.

While the shadow form of both of these part-dark-type Pokemon is a rare collection, they serve more purposes than that. As of now, Tyranitar has been hailed as one of the best dark/rock-type species to power up in the game. With the addition of Brutal Swing, the pseudo-legendary has been a viable option for dark-type raid parties as well.

However, with the arrival of Shadow Deino, everything changes. The Dark/Ghost-type species is another great option for dark-type raid parties due to its DPS, move coverage, and unique typing. Join us as we delve deeper into our Pokemon GO Shadow Hydreigon and Shadow Tyranitar Raid Meta analysis.

Pokemon GO Shadow Hydreigon And Shadow Tyranitar Raid Meta Analysis: The Move Set Versatility

Shadow Tyranitar is a rock/dark-type species in Pokemon GO. Due to his dual typing of rock and dark, this pseudo-legendary is 4x weak against fighting-type moves. His other weaknesses are against Fairy, Ground, Grass, Bug, Steel, and Water-type moves. It has 27.83 DPS with Bite and Brutal Swing and a 365.4 total damage output. Please note that these moves are boosted by foggy weather.

Similar to Tyranitar, Hydreigon is a pseudo-legendary Pokemon. However, it is a dark/dragon-type species in the game. Due to such dual typing, it is 4x weak against fairy-type species. Its other weaknesses are bug, dragon, ice, and fighting-type moves. Shadow Hydreigon boasts a 28.8 DPS and 500.6 TDO.

When it comes to move set versatility, both of these species have the coverage. However, Tyranitar has better charge move coverage than Hydreigon. On the other hand, Hydreigon has fewer weaknesses compared to Tyranitar. However, it is weak to its own typing.

Why Go After Shadow Hydreigon And Shadow Tyranitar?

While there are legendary species always leading the charts for best attackers on their specific type, when it comes to best dark-type attackers in Pokemon GO, the 2nd and 3rd spots are taken by Shadow Tyranitar and Shadow Hydreigon. The 1st place goes to Mega Tyranitar, of course.

Here are some of the reasons why trainers should consider shadow Hydreigon and shadow Tyranitar in the game:

• With the 251 attack stat for Tyranitar and the 256 attack stat for Hydreigon, both of these pseudo-legendaries promise a high DPS. Moreover, their TDOs are 576 and 500.4, respectively (with Bite and Brutal Swing).
• While Tyranitar is comparatively a bulky option in raids, Hydreigon has less bulk than the rock/dark-type. However, that certainly doesn't mean that it is a glass cannon. Even though the bulk is supposedly reduced due to these species being in their shadow-form, during raids, a party of six can hold out on their own. Moreover, when you look at other dark-type options, you will notice that these are far superior choices.
• Since both of these pseudo-legendaries can learn Bite as their fast move, they are favored with the party play feature. Unlike Snarl, Bite is a dark-type fast move that inflicts more damage.
• Due to both of these species' dark typing, they are a superior choice for dealing with psychic-type Pokemon. Why? Most of the top picks of ghost-type species have a dual-typing with poison, which is weak to psychic moves. Moreover, Ghost-type species are prone to being glass cannons. Take Gengar, for example! Instead of ghost-type species, the dark-type is the preferred choice for psychic raid bosses for this reason.

Pokemon GO Shadow Hydreigon And Shadow Tyranitar Raid Meta Analysis: Which Is Better?

As of now, Shadow Hydreigon just overtakes both Shadow Tyranitar and Mega Tyranitar in the game. With Bite and Brutal Swing, Shadow Hydreigon boasts a 28.8 DPS and 500.6 TDO. On the other hand, Shadow Tyrantiar may boast a superior 576 TDO, but it has a lower DPS with 27.83.

When it comes to coverage, Tyranitar may have the superiority based on the charged moves. However, it has quite a few weaknesses. On the other hand, Hydreigon has fewer weaknesses. While it has unfavorable matches against its own typing too, the dragon-typing and dragon moves can help in raid battles against the likes of Mewtwo, Zapdos, Moltress, and others.

When it comes to bulk, Shadow Tyranitar wins the battle against Shadow Hydreigon. Also, when you look at how they rank on their sub-type species list, you will see that Shadow Tyranitar is a great rock-type species. On the other hand, Shadow Hydreigon is on the lower ranks of best dragon-type attackers.

If you consider the cost of resources, building a Shadow Heidreigon costs way more resources and time. While the pseudo-legendary has high DPS, in raid battles, damage is not everything! Building a Shadow Tyranitar covers you for both dark and rock-type party of six. On the other hand, a Shadow Heidreigon can cover you for only a dark-type party of six, since it is weak to dragon-type moves.

If it is specifically for raid, you should also consider whether you would want a shadow Tyranitar or a mega Tyranitar. Having a level 50 shadow Tyranitar can be of help during custom GBL formats, too. On the other hand, a Mega Tyranitar has better stats than a shadow Tyranitar, especially during raids. Please note that shadow Pokemon cannot be mega-evolved in the game as of now.

Following the psychic spectacular event, there hasn't been any shadow event in the game. As a result, these two species are available from the grunt and the go rocket leader, Cliff. Before another shake-up comes in the game, go out and grind for these two Pokemon to get your hands on some good IVs.

That being said, if you have the resources and can build both of these pseudo-legendaries, you should certainly do that. Check out our beginner's guide to power up Pokemon at low cost to save resources.