The Ultra Beast Nihilego is a tough Raid boss for any Pokemon GO player, so you’ll need to be well-prepared to stand a chance of beating it.
As a Tier 5 Raid boss, we suggest you take on Nihilego as part of a team of at least six Pokemon trainers. This will ensure you have more than enough time to win the battle.
Additionally, you’ll need to know Nihilego’s weaknesses and the best Pokemon to exploit them!
Nihilego Type
Nihilego is a Poison/Rock-type Ultra Beast. This dual typing means it has plenty of weaknesses and resistances you have to consider before battling it.

Nihilego Weaknesses & Resistances
Weaknesses | Resistances |
Ground (Double Weakness) | Bug |
Psychic | Fairy |
Steel | Fire |
Water | Flying |
Normal | |
Poison (Double Resistance) |
Nihilego has a double weakness to Ground-type attacks, meaning they do 256% damage to it. Therefore, you’ll want to choose the most powerful Ground-type Pokemon to maximize your damage output!
Additionally, Psychic, Steel, and Water-type attacks will do 160% damage.
All of the types that Nihilego resists will deal 63% damage to it apart from Poison. Due to its double Poison resistance, Poison-type attacks deal just 39.1% damage.

Best Pokemon to Counter Nihilego in Raids
The best counters to use in Nihilego Raids are powerful Ground-type Pokemon like Groudon, Excadrill, Garchomp, and Landorus. This is because they exploit Nihilego’s double weakness to Ground.
We also suggest you use either Primal Groudon or Mega Swampert if possible. Both of these Pokemon are very good against Nihilego, and they boost the attack for your other Ground-types!
These are our top 10 Pokemon to use against Nihilego:
Pokemon | Image | Fast Attack | Charged Attack |
---|---|---|---|
Primal Groudon | ![]() | Mud Shot | Precipice Blades |
Mega Swampert | ![]() | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
Groudon | ![]() | Mud Shot | Precipice Blades |
Therian Forme Landorus | ![]() | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
Excadrill | ![]() | Mud-Slap | Drill Run |
Garchomp | ![]() | Mud Shot | Earth Power |
Mamoswine | ![]() | Mud-Slap | High Horsepower |
Rhyperior | ![]() | Mud-Slap | Earthquake |
Landorus | ![]() | Mud Shot | Earth Power |
Golurk | ![]() | Mud-Slap | Earth Power |

When is Nihilego in Pokemon GO Raids?
Nihilego is returning to Tier 5 Pokemon GO Raids from June 15 – 29, 2023.
This gives players two whole weeks to catch the brand-new shiny version of this Ultra Beast for the first time!