Mega Gyarados Raid Trio Guide

Mega Manectric leads the charge as the highest DPS Mega option for this raid. It deals very high damage and boosts the extremely useful Electric Type while on the field, making it the prime candidate if you don't intend to sync up teams with your raid group.

Mega Venusaur is the tankiest Mega Evolution option, and sports good damage as well. In particular, its ability to resist Water Type moves can be very valuable, so it's generally a great Mega Evolution to bring in most situations.

The main claim-to-fame for Mega Venusaur is that it buffs Kartana while on the field. With a single Mega Venusaur and 2-3 Kartana fighting at the same time, Mega Gyarados' HP is going to drop very quickly.

When the team is bringing Electric Types, Mega Ampharos is the semi-risky tank option for this raid. Its Dragon typing allows it to resist Mega Gyarados' most powerful attacks, but it also becomes weak to its Dragon Type moves. On the bright side, Mega Gyarados' Dragon Type arsenal isn't extremely dangerous outside of Outrage, so it can pay off to pick Mega Ampharos.

Mega Lopunny is a great choice if your raid group is heavily invested in Fighting Type attackers and/or the weather is Cloudy. Outside of these situations, it's a bit mediocre.

Mega Lopunny has the advantage of boosting Terrakion while on the field, which is a contender for the title of "best Pokemon in this raid". However, this boost is less universal than what Mega Manectric grants, as Terrakion's performance is a bit more tied to Mega Gyarados' moveset.

The glassy bug option, Mega Beedrill is great if players intend to front-load Bug Types when it's raining, as this setup can lead to nice damage output early on. That aside, it's a fairly mediocre choice.

The tanky bug option, Mega Scizor is definitely an option for this raid. However, in most situations it tends to be nothing more than a worse Mega Venusaur.

Kartana is an absolute monster. A great moveset, great typing, and huge Attack stat all come together to make for Mega Gyarados' worst nightmare. This is a universal pick that will perform especially well against Dragon and Water Type movesets.

Terrakion is pretty comparable to Kartana in terms of overall performance thanks to the absurdly powerful Sacred Sword, but it's also a bit more polarizing in this raid. If you're facing a Dark Type moveset, then Terrakion will excel, but its weakness to Water means that it can also be a risky pick. It's good regardless of the circumstance, but it definitely has a preference as to when it should be used.

Xurkitree has DPS fairly close to Kartana and Terrakion, but it also tends to drop a lot faster. Still, it's a great choice for any team, especially when you consider the fact that Mega Manectric is likely to be pretty common.

Despite having a better moveset, Shadow Electivire is basically the same as Xurkitree for the most part, so all of the above points apply here as well.

A great option, but generally a bit weaker than Shadow Electivire/Xurkitree.

While weaker than Terrakion now, Shadow Machamp has the advantage of not being weak to Water Type attacks, keeping it relevant overall.

Shadow Zapdos is a capable Pokemon, with solid overall performance. However, it is noticeably weaker than the above Electric Types. It's not bad, just a bit outclassed.

Shadow Magnezone has solid overall performance, with its main claim to fame being its ability to resist Dragon Type moves.

Lucario has the advantage of resisting both Dark and Dragon Type movesets, making it a very solid choice for most Mega Gyarados raids, both literally and figuratively. 

Shadow Gardevoir is a great choice for Dragon Type movesets thanks to its double-resistance. However, it's middling damage output and frail base bulk makes it risky against other movesets.

Shadow Venusaur is a great goldilocks pick for Mega Gyarados, with solid bulk, a Water Type resistance, and decent DPS all keeping it relevant.

Zekrom is a power-house Legendary Pokemon, but it's become a bit devalued as of late. Don't let that fool you, though, as it can still come in and do some hefty damage while resisting Water Type moves.

One of the stronger Grass Types in overall terms, Shadow Tangrowth is another workhorse for this raid, able to keep up the DPS while staying on the field for a decent amount of time.

Basically Shadow Venusaur without the Water Type resistance.

Strong and resistant to Dark Type moves, Conkeldurr is a solid Pokemon for this raid overall.

One of the great standards among Electric Types, Electivire is a solid overall pick here.

It resists Dragon Type moves, and that's... about all that's worth mentioning here. Shadow Scizor isn't the worst pick, but it's also not the best.

Take Electivire, trade a little DPS for a little TDO, and VIOLA! You've got Raikou.

Sceptile barely makes it into this section due to its decent damage-output combined with its general obtainability in the past. it's an okay pick.

Pheromosa packs a DPS similar to many of the top counters, but it's a bit of a "blink and you'll miss it" case, as it's very frail. It resists Dark Type moves, but they'll still mutilate the poor bug.

Powerful but frail, Thundurus is a fairly decent overall pick.

Shadow Pinsir really only shows up on this list due to the fact that we have two decent Bug Type Mega Evolutions and a distinct lack of Bugs to recommend. It's okay, but not great.

Zarude is the single tankiest thing for this raid that we currently have in the game. It resist everything not Dragon Type and has DPS that's still fairly acceptable. If you need more TDO in your raid, then slot Zarude in the back.

Tapu Bulu has the distinction of resisting every single move that Mega Gyarados can throw out, making it a very bulky option. However, its DPS is a bit on the low end, so it's probably best to not invest in one just for this raid.

Togekiss has high bulk and a double-resistance to Dragon Type movesets, making it a great anchor against Outrage. However, its DPS is also pretty low.