Nihilego is coming back to Pokemon Go Gyms near you for a rotation in five-star raid battles. This Ultra Beast is the headliner of Pokemon Go’s new “Astral Eclipse” event. We don’t know much about this new event other than the headlining raid bosses.

Nihilego raid schedule

Nihilego will appear as the only five-star raid boss in Pokemon Go starting at 10 AM local time on November 23, 2022 and will remain available to battle until the same time on December 1. Raids do not generally follow a set schedule, and Nihilego raids will appear randomly at Gyms around the world during this time period, but you will receive a notification from the game when a raid is about to begin nearby. Like the recent Guzzlord raids, Nihilego raids will be signified by an Ultra Wormhole appearing on top of a Gym instead of a typical raid egg.

Your best chance to find Nihilego raids is during the Raid Hours in which the Parasite Pokemon will be featured. Every Wednesday from 6 PM to 7 PM local time, the majority of Gyms host five-star raids for Trainers to work together to take down. Nihilego will be the featured raid boss in the raid hours on November 23 and 30, 2022. As with all raids, you’ll need your free daily Raid Pass or a Premium Battle Pass to join a raid in person, or a Remote Raid Pass to join a raid remotely.

Can I catch a shiny Nihilego?

Despite having debuted earlier this year, Nihilego’s shiny is still not yet released. Since this is its first full rotation in raids, we can hope that next time it comes around we’ll be able to get a shiny golden jellyfish.

Nihilego weaknesses and counters

Nihilego is a Poison and Rock-type Pokemon. This means it takes super effective damage from Psychic, Water, and Steel-type attacks. It also means that it will take double super effective damage from Ground-type attacks, so these should be your first choices. Some recommended Ground types include Landorus, Excadrill, Garchomp, and Groudon. If you don’t have strong Ground-type counters, these are some other recommended Pokemon to use against Nihilego raids:

• Steel: Mega Scizor, Metagross, Genesect, Dialga
• Water: Mega Blastoise, Kyogre, Swampert
• Psychic: Mega Alakazam, Mewtwo, Espeon, Alakazam, Hoopa Unbound

A Mega Tip: A Mega Evolved Pokemon boosts the damage of all Pokemon in the raid by 10%, and the damage of all Pokemon using attacks that share a type with the Mega Evolved Pokemon by 30%. Coordinate those Megas with your raid group for added damage. Note that while Mega Steelix will boost the damage of fellow Ground types in the raid, its defensively oriented stats mean it likely won’t output enough damage of its own to be worth using. Mega Alakazam, Blastoise, or Scizor would be ideal Megas to use in Nihilego raids.

Don’t be afraid of the shadows: Shadow Pokemon deal 20% more damage than their non-shadow counterparts, so the shadow versions of any of the suggested Pokemon that have them can help you win.

Nihilego’s double weakness to Ground-type attacks means that it should be relatively easy to take down even with small groups who focus on using Fairy Pokemon.

Types to avoid

Nihilego’s Poison and Rock type attacks will hit hard against Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, and Fire-type Pokemon. Also keep in mind that Nihilego resists Normal, Flying, Bug, Fire, and Fairy-type attacks and is double resistant to Poison-type moves. Avoid these types of Pokemon.

Usefulness

Is Nihilego worth raiding for more than a Pokedex entry? When it first released during the Global Go Fest event, Nihilego wasn’t worth much consideration due to its lackluster fast move selection. The Season of Light breathed new life into Nihilego by giving it access to Poison Jab, a great Poison-type fast move. Nihilego is the top Poison-type raid attacker, and although that typing isn’t used that often in raids, it could be worth having a good Nihilego or two for your anti-Grass and Fairy roster.

Nihilego also has a niche in Master League PvP. Although its double weakness to Ground and inability to threaten Steel-types hold it back against large portions of the meta, it is one of the hardest counters out there to Zacian, one of the most dominant Pokemon in the Master League. That use might not be worth it to many players to invest the resources in building a level 50 Nihilego, but others might enjoy going Zacian hunting with it.