Community Note: Rebalancing in Raids and Trainer Battles

Trainers,

In our previous Community Note, we outlined some changes that came to Pokémon GO that affect your Pokémon’s effectiveness in battle. We have similar news to share today, detailing Raid Battle and move balance changes, and move set additions to the game, which you may have seen referred to in our most recent Sinnoh region update.

For the Raid Battle changes, the featured Pokémon will now have an HP increase to offset some of the damage increases made to the attacks of other Pokémon in the last year. We hope this will provide greater overall challenge as well as encourage Trainers to group up to win. When it comes to move balance changes and move set additions, we have been keeping an eye on how well some Pokémon are performing in battle compared to others. This means adjusting the power of some moves in Trainer Battles and giving Pokémon new moves that improve their success in matches.

Raid Battle Rework

• A previous change to the super effective damage multiplier has allowed single Trainers to win certain Raid Battles alone, even though this was not the original intent. The change will increase raid health for featured Pokémon in Tier 3, Tier 4, and Tier 5 Raid Battles.
• Trainers will receive increased Stardust for completing Raid Battles.

Trainer Battle Rework

The following Trainer Battle moves will receive damage changes:

• Fast Attacks:
  • Waterfall
  • Smackdown
  • Shadow Claw (Energy increase)
  • Razor Leaf
  • Confusion
  • Frost Breath
  • Ice Shard
• Charged Attacks:
  • Body Slam
  • Iron Head
  • Dazzling Gleam
  • Psyshock
• For standardization, the damage from Ice Beam will serve as the new baseline for Thunderbolt and Flamethrower.
• For standardization, the damage from Ice Punch, Fire Punch, and Thunder Punch will be set to the same level.

Move Set Additions

• 024 Arbok: Dragon Tail - This addition provides Arbok with a hard-hitting Fast Attack that should help it stand out among Poison-type Pokémon.
• 036 Clefable: Meteor Mash - This addition provides Clefable with a powerful Steel-type Charged Attack to help deal with other Fairy-type Pokémon. Making Clefable stronger should also make Dragon-type Pokémon less overpowering.
• 038 Ninetales: Psyshock - This addition provides more type coverage for Ninetales, giving it more overall versatility.
• 038 Alolan Ninetales: Psyshock - This addition provides more type coverage for Alolan Ninetales, especially in match-ups with Poison-type Pokémon.
• 040 Wigglytuff: Ice Beam - This addition makes Dragon-type Pokémon less overpowering, providing an effective counter with strong attack potential.
• 065 Alakazam: Fire Punch - This addition provides Alakazam with a relatively fast Charged Attack that adds additional coverage.
• 068 Machamp: Rock Slide - Adding Rock Slide into Machamp’s moveset allows for additional coverage against Flying-type Pokémon.
• 089 Muk: Thunder Punch - Thunder Punch may allow Muk to apply more early Protect Shield pressure and counter Water-type Pokémon that currently dominate the Great League, like Azumarill.
• 089 Alolan Muk: Snarl - With a better Dark-type Fast Attack, Alolan Muk should be able to compete with Giratina and other Ghost-type Pokémon.
• 110 Weezing: Thunderbolt - This move allows for additional type coverage for Weezing, and helps it stand out among other Poison-type Pokémon.
• 121 Starmie: Thunder, Ice Beam - While Starmie doesn’t have access to the strong signature moves that are reserved for Pokémon such as Blastoise, these moves make up for it with better type coverage.
• 124 Jynx: Focus Blast - This Ice- and Psychic-type Pokémon will benefit greatly from this Fighting-type move, countering a broader amount of Pokémon and protecting against its weaknesses.
• 141 Kabutops: Waterfall - Kabutops lacks a Water-type Fast Attack and has had an uncharacteristic amount of difficulty with Flying-type Pokémon. Waterfall will help on both accounts.
• 142 Aerodactyl: Rock Slide - Aerodactyl is strong overall, but it currently lacks a powerful Rock-type Charged Attack. Adding Rock Slide should fix this and is a natural fit for the Pokémon.
• 143 Snorlax: Outrage - While Snorlax in general is a powerful Pokémon with lots of utility, this addition gives Trainers an incentive to have many Snorlax, each with a specialized purpose.
• 181 Ampharos: Power Gem - Power Gem is a relatively rare Rock-type move that is not currently utilized by most Electric-type Pokémon. This natural fit for Ampharos makes it especially powerful in matchups where it is already strong.
• 217 Ursaring: Shadow Claw - This Ghost-type Fast Attack will provide the Normal-type Ursaring an advantage in the Ultra League, where Ghost-type Pokémon like Giratina frequently make an appearance.
• 226 Mantine: Bullet Seed - The Grass-type Fast Attack Bullet Seed will help Mantine win the matchup against other Water-type Pokémon.
• 229 Houndoom: Flamethrower - Flamethrower is a relatively fast Charged Attack that helps solidify Houndoom as a strong Dark- and Fire-type Pokémon.
• 232 Donphan: Mud-Slap - Donphan currently lacks a Ground-type Fast Attack, so Mud-Slap will fit it nicely.
• 241 Miltank: Thunderbolt, Ice Beam - Thunderbolt and Ice Beam should help Miltank’s type coverage in the Great League against bulky Water-type Pokémon like Azumarill and quick Dragon-type Pokémon like Altaria.
• 243 Raikou: Shadow Ball - Raikou currently only has Electric-type Charged Attacks, so it will receive additional coverage against Pokémon frequently seen in the Ultra and Master Leagues.
• 244 Entei: Iron Head - Entei has previously lacked a Charged Attack to help it deal with Rock-type Pokémon. Plus, Steel-type moves are not commonly represented on Fire-type Pokémon outside of Heatran, so Entei will have an advantage.
• 245 Suicune: Ice Beam - This powerful move will help Suicune compete with the Dragon-type Pokémon commonly seen in the Ultra and Master Leagues.
• 250 Ho-Oh: Hidden Power - Ho-Oh has previously been limited to its Psychic- and Steel-type Fast Attacks. Hidden Power gives players a chance to use Flying- and Fire-type Fast Attacks, which are more in line with the Pokémon’s strengths.
• 272 Ludicolo: Ice Beam - Adding an Ice-type Charged Attack will help Ludicolo compete with the Dragon-type Pokémon commonly seen in the Ultra and Master Leagues.
• 358 Chimecho: Psyshock - This powerful Psychic-type Charged Attack will make Chimecho a more potent and competitive Pokémon against many other types of Pokémon.
• 373 Salamence: Bite - Bite is a devastating Dark-type Fast Attack for Salamence, which will capitalize on strength to differentiate it from other Dragon-type Pokémon, like Dragonite.
• 405 Luxray: Hidden Power - The Normal-type Fast Attack Hidden Power will give Luxray additional coverage against Pokémon that are normally resistant to its predominantly Electric- and Dark-type move set.
• 407 Roserade: Grass Knot - Grass Knot is a fairly fast Grass-type Charged Attack that should allow Roserade to capitalize on its relative speed and apply early pressure during battle.
• 430 Honchkrow: Sky Attack - With the addition of a stronger Flying-type Charged Attack, Honchkrow will likely become a more interesting choice to include in the Great or Ultra League for its Flying- and Dark-type strengths.
• 452 Drapion: Bite - Bite will give Drapion a strong Dark-type Fast Attack that will allow for early and unrelenting pressure throughout battle.
• 467 Magmortar: Psychic - With the addition of Psychic, Magmortar will have unique strengths compared to other powerful Fire-type Pokémon.
• 468 Togekiss: Flamethrower - Togekiss is already known for its strength against popular Dragon-type Pokémon, and now it will be better suited against Steel-type Pokémon as well with the inclusion of the Fire-type Charged Attack Flamethrower.
• 474 Porygon-Z: Blizzard - The Ice-type Charged Attack Blizzard will give Porygon-Z a potent counter for Dragon-type Pokémon. This natural fit will help it stand up against Pokémon popular in the Great and Ultra Leagues.

We are excited to see the teams you build with these changes, Trainers. Stay tuned as we will be sharing more updates like these in the future. Good luck on the battlefield!
—The Pokémon GO Team