Groudon: How to beat and catch the Legendary Ground-type in Pokémon Go

Groudon, the Legendary Ground Pokémon of Gen 3, is now available in Pokémon Go Raids. Here's how to beat 'em and catch 'em!

Pokémon Go Gen 3 is here and with it comes Groudon, first of the Legendary Weather Trio and first Legendary of Gen 3 period to be released for Pokémon Go. It's available to catch from December 15, 2017 to January 15, 2018. All you have to do is beat the Tier 5 Raid Boss, catch it, and bring it home!

How to beat all the Legendary Raid Bosses in Pokémon Go.

What is Groudon in Pokémon Go?

Groudon is one of the Legendary Weather Trio of Pokémon Generation 3. It's a Ground-type Pokémon and, since it has elite stats it takes Rhydon's place as best pure ground attacker in the game. Also, since Groundon has a primal evolution in the future — where it gains Ground- and Fire-type — it only gets better with time.

Here's the official description from Pokémon:

Groudon is said to be the personification of the land itself. Legends tell of its many clashes against Kyogre, as each sought to gain the power of nature.

And Bulbepedia:

Groudon is a massive, bipedal, dinosaur-like creature covered in red, segmented plates of thick skin that act as armor. It has a gray underside and large white spikes that run along the sides of its head, body, and tail. It has four claws on each hand, four dozer-like blades on the end of its large tail, and three claws on each foot with grey markings under its feet. It also has blue stripes inside the seams of its armor plating which can only be seen when Groudon is glowing with power.

As Primal Groudon, its appearance is similar to Groudon, but larger in size. Its skin color changes from dark red to deep crimson with its underside, spikes, and teeth turning black. The blades on its tail are more separated from one another. The Ω symbol is now shown on its arms. Its eyes, the inside of its mouth, and the now-enlarged openings between its armor plating glow bright yellow, and its irises are now red. The energy that fills Primal Groudon pours forth as magma, and it burns with such an extreme temperature that its body is always shimmering with the haze of its heat.[1] In the anime, Primal Groudon is said to create new land with every step it takes.

How do you beat the Legendary Groudon Raid Boss in Pokémon Go?

Since Groudon is an Ground-type Pokémon — the Ground-type Pokémon, potentially — it's double resistant to Electric, and resistant to Rock and Poison. It has no double weaknesses, but is weak against Grass, Ice, and Water. But since it can learn Solar Beam, it can cover those weaknesses with devastating aplomb.

So, double water moves are amoung your best options, and that means Gyarados — thanks to its newfound ability to learn Waterfall + Hydro Pump — and Vaporeon. You can also fight Solar Beam with Solar Beam, especially Exeggutor or even Sceptile or Venusaur with double grass moves.

If you want to go all-in on Ice, then Articuno or Lapras are decent choices as well.

For Solar Beam Groudon especially, Dragonite is again a great generalist who can both survive and cause damage. Likewise Ho-Oh and even another Groudon, if they have Solar Beam of their own.

How do you catch the Legendary Groudon Raid Boss in Pokémon Go?

Legendary Raid Bosses are really hard to catch and Groudon is no exception. It stands relatively far away, so make sure you throw far enough to hit it. It also has a longer than expected attack animation, so don' throw too early. The two do cancel out, though, so if you throw abouy 3/4 of the way through the attack animation, and you throw far enough, it should hit just as Groundon becomes catchable again.

Luckily, Groudon doesn't move around as much as some other Legendaries, so you don't have to worry about sneaky backflips, backups, or waste balls on Nanab Berry throws.

Still, you won't catch everyone you face but, there are some things you can do to maximize your chances.

1. ABC. Always be curving. Once you can nail Curve Ball every time, you'll get a 1.7x bonus every time.
2. Max out your medals. Some are easier to get than others but once you get them, it's an automatic 1.1x to 1.3x bonus to your catch.
3. Play patient. Raid bosses defend better than normal Pokémon, so wait until 3/4 of the way through their attack animation and then make your catch. You should hit just as the ring appears.
4. Consistency counts. Aim for the smallest throw bonus you can nail every time. If that's Nice, it's nice. If that's Great or Excellent, even nicer. But better the bonus you get then one you miss, and every extra 1.3 to 2x counts.
5. Nanab over nothing. If you have a hard time even hitting the Raid Boss, use a Nanab. Some chance is better than no chance.
6. Go Golden: If you have Golden Razz Berries, and the Raid Boss you're trying to catch is either your first or the higher stats (IV) you've encountered, lay them on. Their 2.5x modifiers are the best in the game.
7. Keep hitting. Your chance to catch with any one Premier Ball is low but your chance to catch with multiple Premier Ball hits over multiple Raids becomes close to a statistical sure thing. So never give up!

What's the catch rate for Groudon?

Groudon, like the Legendary Beasts and the Bird Leaders, has a base catch rate of 2%. From there, you have the following modifiers:

• Curve Premiere Ball: x1.7
• Curve Premiere Ball with Razz Berry: x2.55

• Curve Premiere Ball with Golden Razz Berry: x4.25

• Nice throw: 1x to 1.3x

• Great throw: 1.3 to 1.7x

• Excellent throw: 1.7 to 2x.

• Bronze Ruin Maniac (Ground) medal: 1.1x

• Silver Ruin Maniac (Ground) medal: 1.2x
• Gold Ruin Maniac (Ground) medal: 1.3x

Add up all those bonuses, apply them over the course of 6-14 ball throws, and most people should be able to catch Groudon somewhere between half the time (if you use regular Razz Berry and do everything else optimally) and 75% of the time (if you use Golden Razz Berry and do everything else optimally). (Of course, odds being odds, some people might catch many in a row, others might see several run away.)

What if you really want to catch Groudon?

To maximize your chances to catch Groudon, get as many Premiere Balls as you can (Team Bonus, Damage Bonus, Gym Control), and use Golden Razz Berry every time you throw. If you can hit Great/Excellent throws, can get the Curve Ball bonus every time, you'll have the best chance possible to catch Groudon.

If you're running low on Golden Razz, try using regular Razz for the first half of your throws, then switch to Golden Razz for the second half. It'll still hurt your chances but not by as much.

What if you really want Groudon candy?

If you've already got your ideal Groudon and all you want now is candy, use Pinap Berry. Your chance to catch will be much lower but if you do catch, you'll get double the candy.

If you have some Rare Candy or you also want to catch some more Groudon, you can try the first half of your throws with Pinap and then switch to Golden Razz for the last half.

What's the best moveset for Groudon?

With some Legendary Pokémon, the best moveset is clear. With others, there's disagreement or multiple options. Groudon is the latter. For me, here's the deal: If you don't have an army of high power Rhydon, or you want the best Ground-type attacker in the game, let Groudon be Groudon and go for double Ground-type with Mud Shot and Earthquake. Yes, it's not Mud Slap and Precipice Blades, which would be amazing, but it's good enough to send Electric-types screaming.

If you already have your Ground army and just want more Solar Beam supremes, then Dragon Tail Solar Beam is a potent combo. (Though, sadly, you still can't put Legendary Pokémon in Gyms.)

Your tips on catching Groudon?

There are a bunch of other tips floating out there, including setting your target size before throwing, alternating Nanab Berry, and more. It all comes down to math, though. You have a 2% base chance of catching Groudon and every bonus and ball increases that chance. You throw, Pokémon Go generates a random number, and if that number is less than your modified catch rate, you get Groudon.

If you've found anything else that works better for you, though, let me know!