It’s been almost a full year since Altered Forme Giratina first sat atop raid gyms in Pokemon GO. Many of us are sat around waiting for that eventual Pokemon Diamond / Pearl / Platinum remake, so with the launch of Pokemon Sword and Shield on the horizon, Niantic has given us a slight Gen IV reprieve by bringing Altered Forme Giratina back into five-star raids for the next month. Though the Mewtwo Raid Hour didn’t exactly go to plan, there’s a Giratina Raid hour due, too!
Battling Altered Forme Giratina in Pokemon GO is much like any raid: a struggle in which you either need a whack-ton of players, or some fantastic Giratina counters. Many of us now have more Giratina counters than ever before — thanks to the now-defunct Rayquaza raid and its prevalence on Ice-type Pokemon like Mamoswine and Glaceon. However, being a dual Ghost / Dragon-type means Giratina will take some massive damage from certain recently returned (and buffed) Pokemon.
Altered Forme Giratina Raid Times – Pokemon GO
Not to be mistaken for Origin Form Giratina, Altered Forme Giratina (a.k.a. OG Tina) will phase its shadowy ass into five-star raids from Monday, Sept. 23 all the way to Oct. 17. That’s almost a full month of spookiness leading right into the Halloween period! At that point, we expect a certain other ghostly apparition to appear in its place.
To hype up its return even further, Giratina Raid Hour is set to take place on Wednesday, Sept. 25, kicking things off with a bang. Unless some big glitch occurs (again), Giratina Raid Hour will take place between 18:00-19:00 local time. Unlike the three-hour raid days seen with returning legendaries like the Bird trio, Giratina Raid Hour doesn’t appear to hand out free raid passes or even guarantee a raid at all. It’s merely an hour of “increase number of five-star raids.”
Shiny Giratina Rates – Pokemon GO
As with most returning legendary showcases, the reemergence of altered Form Giratina brings Shiny Giratina into Pokemon GO. Legendary raids are far more generous when it comes to shiny rates. After all, with the amount of time and effort that goes into knocking one of these beasts down, it’s nice to have a greater chance at a trophy reward.
This means the odds of finding a Shiny Giratina are around 1:20, just like other legendary five-star raids.
Altered Forme Giratina – Why You Need It On Your Team
Unlike other Pokemon found at the end of their respective Pokedex, Altered Forme Giratina is a bit of a wet fish in PVE. At least it is for the time being. That said, it’s an absolute machine in higher PVP leagues for those interested in competitive play.
Altered Forme Giratina suffers from some niggling stats and not-so-great moves. It’s fairly unique typing makes it counter those who share its types, but sees it get absolutely pounded by Dark-type attackers — of which there are many. It’ll have a fun time battling itself and a couple other glass cannon Ghosts like Gengar. Other than that, though, Altered Forme Giratina is nothing to rush out to build a team with.
It makes up for its lack of ATK with both high STA and DEF. Altered Forme Giratina is clearly built to defend. That makes it one of the meta choices for both Ultra and Master League PVP.
Giratina Weakness and Counters – Pokemon GO
Not much has changed since Giratina last appeared in Pokemon GO. The arrival on Gen V doesn’t affect it much at the minute, but players who participated in the recent Rayquaza / Mewtwo raid revivals should have many of the best counters already on hand.
You won’t hit any massive 4x weakness like with Rayquaza, but toppling Altered Forme Giratina is still fairly easy with even small groups. Being a Ghost / Dragon-type Pokemon means there aren’t any specific resistances afforded by the combo to watch out for. Whereas there are certainly more weaknesses allowed instead.
Ice, Dragon, Dark, Ghost, and Fairy all serve a purpose here! Make the following Pokemon your prime picks:
- Rayquaza (Dragon Tail / Outrage)
- Dragonite (Dragon Tail + Draco Meteor)
- Salamence (Dragon Tail + Draco Meteor)
- Garchomp (Dragon Tail / Outrage)
- Mewtwo (Psycho Cut / Shadow Ball)
- Gengar (Shadow Claw / Shadow Ball)
- Mamoswine (Powder Snow / Avalanche)
- Tyranitar (Bite / Crunch)
- Latias (Dragon Breath / Dragon Claw)
- Latios (Dragon Breath / Dragon Claw)
If it isn’t painfully obvious from the list above, fully evolved or legendary Dragon-type Pokemon are the go-to strategy here. Hydreigon, other Giratina, and even something like Banette or Glaceon can fit the bill. The aim is to bombard Giratina with super effective moves from strong attackers and bulky defenders. Any decently high-tier Pokemon with same-type attack bonus (STAB) on the right types of moves can earn a place in this battle. Honchkrow and Houndoom also spring to mind.
Altered Forme Giratina Raid Suggested Group Size
Even with the stat rebalance, it’s possible for two well-equipped players to topple Altered Forme Giratina together. The tactic of using dragons against dragons means even the weather won’t really play a major role — outside of a duo/trio attempt. It all depends on whether Giratina comes packing Dragon Claw as its charged move or not.
With Dragon Claw, Giratina can and will melt your counter dragons. Without it, there’s not a whole lot to worry about! Four to six Level 25 players with Rayquaza and the counters used to get it should make a fairly easy battle. At Level 30, these same counters should easily push a trio to victory. If you’re raiding in Foggy weather of all things, Ghost will start to out-perform Dragon.
Altered Forme Giratina Perfect IV CP – Pokemon Go
When you reach the catch screen on your Altered Forme Giratina raid, you’ll want to pay close attention to its final CP value. This will tell you of its IV and stat range. That way you know whether to toss your phone into the nearby canal if you blow it against a high CP beast…
Giratina perfect CP values are as follows:
- 1931 (no weather boost)
- 2414 (weather boost)
Altered Forme Giratina Catch Rates – Pokemon GO
Once the battle is over and done with, catching Altered Forme Giratina is your next challenge. With a base capture rate of two percent, you’re going to want all the catch rate bonuses you can get.
Remember to use a Golden Razz Berry and time your curveball throws as its attack animation ends. This should let you land more balls, giving you a better overall chance of a capture. Ghost / Dragon medals will work wonders here, but the general rarity of these Pokemon types will mean only those who played during some very specific events will have the best chance of catching this ghastly behemoth.
