Is Tornadus’ introduction to Pokemon Go worth being excited about?

The first of the three Forces of Nature is coming to Pokemon Go Raid Battles. Tornadus will be the featured Raid Boss for the majority of February.

The Cyclone Pokemon will be available from Tuesday, February 4, 1pm PST (4pm EST/9pm GMT) to Tuesday, February 25, 1pm PST (4pm EST/9pm GMT). Tornadus will be the fourth Gen 5 legend to be added to the mobile game, following Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion.

With so many legends from across the first generations already in the mobile game, though, is the pure flying-type worth getting excited about?

Tornadus stats

Legendary species by their very nature normally equate to a powerful Pokemon. However, with well over 20 legends already in Pokemon Go, some are going to be more powerful than others.

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Unfortunately, according to the stats, Tornadus is one of the weaker ones. If we take a few legends that have already been introduced as an example – Moltres, Regigigas, Darkrai and more recently Terrakion and Virizion – all of these are more powerful on paper.

Tornadus’ stats are as follows:

• Attack 266 – 27 of 688
• Defence 164 – 224 of 688
• Stamina 188 – 197 of 688

Counters and weakness

As Tornadus is exclusively a flying-type, knowing its weaknesses is relatively easy. It is weak against electric, rock and ice-type attacks.

Given its own attacks are also weak against electric and rock-types, these are the two you should focus on. Another thing to note is there are 9 dual rock and ground-types too, which flying-types are naturally resistant to. These primarily include Golem and Rhyperior.

Rampardos

Arguably the best Tornadus counter is the pure rock-type Rampardos. The Head Butt Pokemon has the sixth best attack stats in Pokemon Go, making it great in Raid Battles. Make sure it has rock-type moves, though – Smack Down and Rock Slide are best.

Magnezone

While Magnezone’s stats don’t make it seem a particularly great counter to Torandus, it’s actually one of the best. Magnezone is both an electric and steel-type, meaning flying-type attacks won’t be effective against it.

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Unlike a lot of other species of a certain type, the Magnet Area Pokemon’s moveset is almost exclusively made up of electric attacks. This means you can be confident your moves will deal that coveted 160% damage.

Others

Electivire is another excellent counter due to its decent attacking stats and the fact it has only electric and ice-type Charge Moves. Other counters to take into consideration could be the following:

• Zapdos
• Raikou
• Luxray
• Terrakion

Tornadus might not add a huge amount to your team in terms of competitiveness but it is another legend to add to your Pokedex. It’s also one of the easier legendary Pokemon to take down due to its simple typing and weak defense stats.

Mewtwo and Regigigas are the other legends available in Raid Battles, with Tornadus replacing Heatran.