Cresselia and Darkrai arrive in Pokémon GO five-star raids on Monday, November 16 at 6:00 a.m. local time and stay until Tuesday, November 24 at 10:00 p.m. local time, according to Leek Duck’s event page, with a Raid Hour for both on Wednesday, November 18 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Cresselia is weak to Bug, Dark and Ghost attacks, while Darkrai is weak to Fighting, Bug and Fairy. Both can be Shiny. The counter tables below come from Pokebattler’s raid simulations, checked on November 8, 2026 at 23:27 UTC.
One caveat before you plan: the raids are eight days away and Niantic hasn’t published its own post for them yet, so the dates come from Leek Duck, who reports the schedule from Niantic’s November content update. The sims also use default boss stats and average over every moveset the bosses can roll, so the order of the counters below is solid but the exact faint counts will move once the raids go live.
Table of Contents
Quick answer
- Raid dates: Mon Nov 16, 6:00 a.m. to Tue Nov 24, 10:00 p.m. local time, both bosses in five-star raids.
- Raid Hour: Wed Nov 18, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. local time, featuring Cresselia and Darkrai.
- Cresselia weakness: Bug, Dark and Ghost (160% damage). Its Psychic typing resists Fighting and Psychic attacks.
- Darkrai weakness: Fighting, Bug and Fairy (160%). Dark resists Dark and Ghost, and Psychic attacks barely scratch it.
- Top Cresselia counters: Mega Houndoom, Mega Chandelure, Dawn Wings Necrozma, Mega Tyranitar. Budget: Kingambit, Tyranitar, Gholdengo, Hydreigon.
- Top Darkrai counters: Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Blaziken, Mega Lucario, Keldeo. Budget: Lucario, Blaziken, Conkeldurr, Togekiss.
- 100% IV catch CP: Cresselia 1,633 (2,041 weather boosted); Darkrai 2,136 (2,671 weather boosted).
- Shiny: yes for both. Leek Duck lists Shiny forms; no odds are published.
Cresselia and Darkrai share the five-star raids from Nov 16 to 24. AI-generated illustration
Cresselia and Darkrai raid schedule
Raid bosses change at 6:00 a.m. local time, so each time zone gets the bosses on its own clock. New Zealand starts first. The UTC column converts a few common zones (US clocks are already on standard time, New Zealand is on daylight time).
| What | Local time | Example times in UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Five-star raids start | Mon Nov 16, 6:00 a.m. | 17:00 UTC Nov 15 (Auckland), 06:00 UTC (London), 11:00 UTC (New York), 14:00 UTC (Los Angeles) |
| Cresselia and Darkrai Raid Hour | Wed Nov 18, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. | 05:00 UTC Nov 18 (Auckland), 18:00 UTC (London), 23:00 UTC (New York), 02:00 UTC Nov 19 (Los Angeles) |
| Raids end | Tue Nov 24, 10:00 p.m. | 09:00 UTC Nov 24 (Auckland), 22:00 UTC (London), 03:00 UTC Nov 25 (New York), 06:00 UTC Nov 25 (Los Angeles) |
Leek Duck lists both Pokémon for the whole window but doesn’t say whether they share the raid list or alternate by day, so check the in-game raid list on the morning of Nov 16. Mega Banette Mega Raids and Shadow Tornadus raids run at the same time, according to our Pokémon GO November 2026 events guide. Twilight Wishes starts at 10:00 a.m. on Nov 24, the last day of these raids. Each week’s full boss list, with the Raid Hours, is on our Pokémon GO raids this week page.
Cresselia weakness and moveset
Cresselia is a pure Psychic type, which gives it three weaknesses and two resistances, according to Pokémon GO Hub’s database.
| Attack type | Damage vs Cresselia |
|---|---|
| Bug, Dark, Ghost | 160% (super effective) |
| Fighting, Psychic | 62.5% (resisted) |
| Everything else | 100% |
The Pokémon GO wiki lists Confusion and Psycho Cut as its fast attacks and Moonblast, Future Sight and Aurora Beam as its charged attacks. That matters for your team: Dark types shrug off the Psychic moves (Dark is immune to Psychic, which Pokémon GO treats as 39.1% damage), but Moonblast is a Fairy attack and hits Dark types for super effective damage. Bring Dark and Ghost attackers with enough bulk to take a Moonblast or two, and you’ll see them near the top of the table.
Best Cresselia raid counters
This table follows Pokebattler’s overall ranking for level 40 attackers, no weather, and the boss’s random moveset. Moves marked “legacy” are listed as elite moves in PvPoke’s open game master, which usually means an Elite TM. Moves with a “+” are the extra Charged Attack that Megas eligible for Super Max Mega Level can use while Mega Evolved, according to Pokémon GO’s Halloween Part II post; the table gives the fallback if yours isn’t there yet. Our Super Max Mega Level guide covers how to unlock it.
| # | Counter | Fast attack | Charged attack | Type hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mega Houndoom | Snarl | Dark Pulse+ (Super Max), else Foul Play | Dark |
| 2 | Mega Chandelure | Hex | Ominous Wind+ (Super Max), else Shadow Ball | Ghost |
| 3 | Dawn Wings Necrozma | Shadow Claw | Moongeist Beam | Ghost |
| 4 | Mega Tyranitar | Bite | Brutal Swing | Dark |
| 5 | Mega Beedrill | Bug Bite | Fell Stinger+ (Super Max), else X-Scissor | Bug |
| 6 | Mega Mewtwo Y | Psycho Cut | Shadow Ball (legacy) | Ghost |
| 7 | Mega Gengar | Lick | Shadow Ball | Ghost |
| 8 | Shadow Darkrai | Snarl | Foul Play | Dark |
| 9 | Mega Absol | Snarl | Brutal Swing (legacy) | Dark |
| 10 | Mega Mewtwo X | Psycho Cut | Shadow Ball (legacy) | Ghost |
| 11 | Mega Greninja | Feint Attack | Brutal Swing | Dark |
| 12 | Shadow Tyranitar | Bite | Brutal Swing | Dark |
The pattern is simple: Dark and Ghost Megas fill the top, then Shadow Dark types. Super Max helps but isn’t required: by Pokebattler’s numbers, Mega Chandelure with Shadow Ball would still sit around 9th, and Mega Houndoom with Foul Play around 13th.
Budget Cresselia counters (no Megas, Shadows or Legendaries)
| Counter | Fast attack | Charged attack | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingambit | Snarl | Foul Play | Best non-legendary pick, fewest faints of the top five |
| Tyranitar | Bite | Brutal Swing | Strong and widely owned |
| Gholdengo | Hex | Shadow Ball | Ghost option, fewer faints than Chandelure |
| Hydreigon | Bite | Brutal Swing (legacy) | High damage, faints often |
| Chandelure | Hex | Shadow Ball | Fast and fragile |
| Incineroar | Snarl | Darkest Lariat | Dark option with solid bulk |
| Absol | Snarl | Brutal Swing (legacy) | Glass cannon |
| Weavile | Snarl | Foul Play | Frail, needs a full team behind it |
Darkrai weakness and moveset
Darkrai is a pure Dark type, so it takes extra damage from Fighting, Bug and Fairy attacks and resists Dark and Ghost, per GO Hub.
| Attack type | Damage vs Darkrai |
|---|---|
| Fighting, Bug, Fairy | 160% (super effective) |
| Dark, Ghost | 62.5% (resisted) |
| Psychic | 39.1% (immune in the main series) |
| Everything else | 100% |
Its fast attacks are Feint Attack, Snarl and Sucker Punch, and its charged attacks Dark Pulse, Focus Blast, Foul Play and Shadow Ball, according to the Pokémon GO wiki, which says Sucker Punch and Foul Play were added in the September 8, 2026 attack update. Fighting types take reduced damage from its Dark moves, which is why they dominate the list, but Focus Blast is a Fighting attack, so Fighting-Steel types such as Lucario are the ones to watch.
Fighting types fill almost the whole Darkrai counter list. AI-generated illustration
Best Darkrai raid counters
| # | Counter | Fast attack | Charged attack | Type hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mega Mewtwo X | Counter | Dynamic Punch+ (Super Max), else Focus Blast | Fighting |
| 2 | Mega Blaziken | Counter | Aura Sphere | Fighting |
| 3 | Mega Lucario | Force Palm | Aura Sphere | Fighting |
| 4 | Keldeo (Ordinary) | Low Kick | Secret Sword | Fighting |
| 5 | Mega Falinks | Counter | Brick Break+ (Super Max), else Superpower | Fighting |
| 6 | Mega Beedrill | Infestation | Fell Stinger+ (Super Max), else X-Scissor | Bug |
| 7 | Mega Gallade | Low Kick | Sacred Sword | Fighting |
| 8 | Mega Heracross | Counter | Megahorn | Bug |
| 9 | Shadow Blaziken | Counter | Aura Sphere | Fighting |
| 10 | Mega Mewtwo Y | Counter | Focus Blast | Fighting |
Fighting attackers fill almost the entire list, so one well-built Fighting team covers Darkrai. Mega Blaziken and Mega Lucario don’t need Super Max to rank this high.
Budget Darkrai counters (no Megas, Shadows or Legendaries)
| Counter | Fast attack | Charged attack | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucario | Force Palm | Aura Sphere | Best non-legendary pick; many faints |
| Blaziken | Counter | Aura Sphere | Strong, widely owned |
| Conkeldurr | Force Palm | Dynamic Punch | Fewest faints of the top three |
| Togekiss | Charm | Aura Sphere (legacy) | Fairy pick that also resists Dark |
| Gallade | Low Kick | Sacred Sword | Hard hitter, faints often |
| Machamp | Counter | Dynamic Punch | Common and sturdy |
| Hisuian Decidueye | Magical Leaf | Aura Sphere | Grass-Fighting, solid filler |
| Hariyama | Force Palm | Dynamic Punch | Budget Fighting option |
How to catch Cresselia and Darkrai: CP and Shiny
Raid bosses are caught at level 20, or level 25 when the weather boosts them. Per GO Hub’s CP chart, a 100% IV Cresselia is 1,633 CP, or 2,041 boosted, and a 100% IV Darkrai is 2,136 CP, or 2,671 boosted. The wiki’s Dark type page lists Fog as Darkrai’s boosting weather. Leek Duck lists Shiny forms for both bosses; the odds aren’t published.
Neither is a top raid attacker in its own right, according to GO Hub’s analysis, so these are mainly raids to catch and collect, not to build a team around. Darkrai’s Shadow form is a much better attacker, as the Cresselia table above shows. Pokebattler’s raid list tags both bosses as Limited Remote Raids, meaning Remote Raid Passes are capped; Niantic hasn’t published the exact limit for these dates.
Raid tips for both bosses
- Bring one type per boss: Dark and Ghost attackers against Cresselia, Fighting attackers against Darkrai. Keep the Dark attackers healthy against Cresselia’s Moonblast.
- Check the weather on the raid screen: a boosted boss has more CP, and weather-boosted attackers hit harder.
- Raid Hour is the busiest time to find a lobby: Nov 18, 6 to 7 p.m. local. The week’s other bosses are on our raids this week page and the Max Battle rotation is on our Max Battle schedule.
- Raiding Regidrago too? Our Regidrago Max Battle counters guide covers the Dynamax boss, and the Crowned Zacian and Zamazenta counters guide covers the Nov 9-13 raids.
FAQ
When are Cresselia and Darkrai in Pokémon GO raids?
From Monday, November 16 at 6:00 a.m. local time to Tuesday, November 24 at 10:00 p.m. local time, with a Raid Hour on Wednesday, November 18 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
What is Cresselia weak to in Pokémon GO?
Bug, Dark and Ghost attacks, each doing 160% damage.
What is Darkrai weak to in Pokémon GO?
Fighting, Bug and Fairy attacks, each doing 160% damage.
Can Cresselia and Darkrai be Shiny?
Yes, Leek Duck lists Shiny forms for both. The odds haven’t been published.
Sources: Leek Duck (checked 23:24 UTC, Nov 8), Pokebattler (checked 23:27 UTC, Nov 8), Pokémon GO, Pokémon GO Hub, Pokémon GO wiki, PvPoke game master.
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Featured image: AI-generated illustration
