Pokemon Go: Why you must get Altered Forme Giratina – Raid guide

Paul Cotton

Giratina Altered Forme is returning to Pokemon Go’s Raid Battles and here’s why you absolutely must get it while you can.

Its ‘Altered Forme’ is the form it takes while outside of its home, the Distortion World. When it is there, it takes up its ‘Origin Forme’ with the main difference between the two is that it doesn’t need legs in Gen 4’s “alternate dimension”.

When can you find Altered Forme Giratina in Raid Battles?

Both forms are super powerful, and you should look to get both of them in your Pokemon Go team whenever they are available. In the meantime though, Altered Forme Giratina is available now until Tuesday, May 12, 1pm PDT.

In addition to a week’s worth of five-star Raid Battles to try and get your hands on the Renegade Pokemon, there will also be a special Raid Hour. This will take place on Wednesday, May 6, at 6pm local time and last for one hour.

Raids featuring Altered Forme Giratina will be happening more frequently during this time. This may be the best time to find other trainers trying to take down Giratina’s altered form as the community usually pull together during these Raid Hours. This is the best way to avoid the infuriating wait for other trainers to join a Raid.

Counters

Being a dual dragon and ghost-type, Giratina is weak to these types also. It is also weak to dark, fairy and ice-type attacks.

Dragon-type moves including Dragon Breath and Dragon Tail (for the Fast Moves) and Draco Meteor and Outrage (Charge Moves) are what you should be looking for. The Fast Moves deal good damage, combined with good energy generation. Draco Meteor and Outrage are both very hard-hitting although the former is usually the better option.

The Pokemon that have a combination of these moves are Dialga, Dragonite, Garchomp, Palkia, Rayquaza, and Salamence. All of these have excellent attack stats, too, which is vital for success in Raid Battles.

Another excellent option is Darkrai, which you may have picked as the Mythical Pokemon was featured in five-star Raids the previous week. If you are using the dark-type Snarl and Shadow Ball are the best combination of moves. However, Feint Attack and Dark Pulse are also super effective.

If you avoid fairy types, you’re likely to win battles with Altered Forme Giratina in GO Battle Ultra League…

Why is Giratina so important to have?

In the opinion of many Pokemon Go trainers, Altered Forme Giratina is the absolute best Pokemon to use in GO Battle Ultra League. It has fantastic bulk, an important requirement for PvP, and great moves to compliment them.

Those include two great Fast Move options – Dragon Breath and Shadow Claw. The former does 4 DPT and 3 EPT, while Shadow Claw, arguably the better of the two, does 3 DPT and 4 EPT. The latter’s superior energy generation allows you to spam Giratina’s fast charging Charge Moves even more.

Dragon Claw is a must have Charge Move. It only requires 35 energy, equal lowest of all moves in Pokemon Go, and does a respectable 50 damage, too. Shadow Sneak is another option to maintain some diversity of type if using Dragon Breath but this isn’t as efficient. Ancient Power is its final Charge Move but this recently received a nerf.

Finally, Giratina-A’s type doesn’t disappoint either. Its dual dragon and ghost typing makes it very strong against traditional types and among them is double resistance to fighting and normal attacks.

However, dark and fairy types (especially the latter) are a nightmare. Giratina’s attacks are weak against both of them and to compound the weakness, their attacks are also strong. So, avoid them at all costs.


Overall though, Giratina is an incredibly valuable asset in Pokemon Go. If you are to be successful in GO Battle’s Ultra League, then you must have Altered Forme Giratina in your team.