not lv 40. should i power up my raid attackers?
So ive noticed while doing some of the dialga raids that i really dont have the bulk to back up the "supreme" counters. Im not level 40 yet, but should I put some power behind them? currently im lv 35
Answers
If you aren't getting Dynamic Punch on Machamp, it's not worth it. Close Combat isn't viable, as it causes Machamp's DPS to drop like a rock, to the point where it then gets totally outclassed by Dynamic Punch Hariyama completely, and generally becomes pointless using over Pokémon like Breloom, Blaziken and even Lucario.
You can definitely start powering up the pokemon that will ultimately make a part of your team. It's silly to power up something that will likely get outclassed (although almost everyone makes that mistake!) but it's even more silly to NOT power up stuff that will be your strongest attackers for a long time to come.
For Dialga currently: Any high IV Machamp with Counter/Dynamic Punch should be powered up. Your highest IV Machamp should be TM'd to Counter/DP (fully prioritize all your charge TMs to this. Do PvP this week daily because you can get TMs there this week!). You will definitely want a team of 4 - 6 Machamp (you can lead with a glassy Breloom, possibly use a second Breloom, or have a tank-counter as your 6th slot)
You can also power up your best Groudon with rare candy - again it should have Mud Shot / Earthquake.
After those two, you can choose to power up your best C/DP Breloom but that's personal choice. I do have a level 40 96% Lucky Breloom with that moveset, and a level 34ish Breloom with the same moveset as well and both see lots of use.
I don't suggest powering up, but you should also use: C/DP Hariyama and MS/EQ Rhyperior and MS/B Mamoswine against Dialga above using Close Combat Machamps.
For general use:
Feel free to power up your best copy of any supreme counters / best of types in general. Rayquaza, Kyogre, MM Metagross, Tyranitar, Mewtwo, legacy Gengar, etc... are all perfectly good investments (and aside from Tyranitar it's very unlikely you'll get a new better version of any of these before you hit 38). To a lesser extent Moltres/Raikou/Rampardos/Mamoswine/Dragonite are good options to power up as well if you're going to use them (the former two being "less" worth the rare candy and the latter 3 being more likely to get a better version of before you hit 38 [and not being as necessary as Tyranitar generally is]).
Fighting types are an absolute top priority in general though. And Machamp does really need some levels behind it to get solid use as surviving a charge attack can make a night-and-day difference between being a top counter and a poor glass counter.
If you have a lot of Machop candy, then you can also just evolve high level cloudy-weather boosted Machops. Check a breakpoint calculator. Even with mediocre IVs, a level 35 Machop could still be useful filler if you are short on fighting types.
If you have friends you can trade with, then you should trade those level 30+ Machops to try for luckies, which will have minimum 12/12/12 IVs and cost less stardust to power up.
Lv 35 trainer is fine when you are not trying to duo Dialga.
My fellow trainer in my area in their early lv 30 can 4 man Dialga in cloudy weather.
I dont know what is your candy, TM, or stardusts situation, but try atleast have six Machamp with some Breelom and Hariyama for backup. Six Machamp with all fighting move is fine if you prefer to use max revive.
Easier to get high level Machop and Hariyama during this event, minimal to no stardust needed provided you have enough candy.
After you get 6 battle ready/ 1 squad Machamp, you can refine it if you want, looking for the best moveset (C/DP), better IV, trade for Lucky, etc
You can use your previous Machamp squad to your 2nd battle party if you want
Again, if you are not trying to duo it, that should be strong enough...
