Shadow Tornadus (Incarnate Forme) returns to five-star Shadow Raids on a window that runs Monday, November 16 at 6:00 a.m. to Tuesday, December 1 at 10:00 p.m. local time, according to Leek Duck’s event page, which says it appears “every weekend” inside that window. It is a pure Flying type, so Electric, Ice and Rock attacks are super effective against it. The counter tables below come from Pokebattler’s raid simulations, checked at 03:10 UTC on November 9, 2026.
Two caveats before you plan. Niantic hasn’t published its own post for these raids yet, so the dates come from Leek Duck, who reports them from Niantic’s November content update. And Pokebattler’s Shadow Tornadus entry runs on default boss stats and averages over every moveset the boss can roll, so the order of the counters is solid while the exact faint counts will shift once the raids are live.
Table of Contents
Quick answer
- Raid window: Mon Nov 16, 6:00 a.m. to Tue Dec 1, 10:00 p.m. local time. Leek Duck says “every weekend”, which in this window means Sat-Sun Nov 21-22 and Nov 28-29 (our reading; check the in-game raid list).
- Shadow Tornadus weakness: Electric, Ice and Rock (160% damage). Bug, Fighting and Grass are resisted (62.5%), Ground barely scratches it (39.1%).
- Top counters: Mega Manectric, Mega Raichu Y, Mega Mewtwo Y, Mega Raichu X, White Kyurem. Budget: Glimmora, Magnezone, Rhyperior, Rampardos, Electivire.
- Catch CP: 1,911 at level 20 with perfect IVs, 2,389 with a Windy weather boost (level 25).
- Shiny: possible. The Pokémon GO wiki dates Shiny Shadow Tornadus to November 4, 2026; no odds are published.
- Purification: 20,000 Stardust and 20 Candy, per the wiki’s purification list.
Shadow Tornadus returns to five-star Shadow Raids from Nov 16 to Dec 1. AI-generated illustration
Shadow Tornadus raid dates and times
Raid bosses change at 6:00 a.m. local time, so each time zone gets the boss on its own clock and New Zealand starts first. The table converts the window edges for a few common zones; US clocks are on standard time and New Zealand is on daylight time.
| What | Local time | Example times in UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Window opens | 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) |
| Weekend days (our reading of “every weekend”) | Sat Nov 21 and Sun Nov 22; Sat Nov 28 and Sun Nov 29 | Each local day starts at 6:00 a.m. in your zone |
| Window closes | Tue Dec 1, 10:00 p.m. | 09:00 UTC Dec 1 (Auckland), 22:00 UTC (London), 03:00 UTC Dec 2 (New York), 06:00 UTC Dec 2 (Los Angeles) |
This is the second Shadow Tornadus run of the month: it was in Shadow Raids on the weekend of November 7-8, as we covered in the Pokémon GO raids this week post. The bosses sharing the window are Cresselia and Darkrai in five-star raids and Mega Banette in Mega Raids, so see our Cresselia and Darkrai raid counters for the main raid list and our Pokémon GO November 2026 events guide for the full month. From November 25 the other bosses are Deoxys and Mega Metagross, per that same guide.
Shadow Tornadus weakness and moveset
Tornadus is a Flying type, so it takes extra damage from three types and resists three more, according to Pokémon GO Hub’s database.
| Attack type | Damage vs Tornadus |
|---|---|
| Electric, Ice, Rock | 160% (super effective) |
| Bug, Fighting, Grass | 62.5% (resisted) |
| Ground | 39.1% (immune in the main series) |
| Everything else | 100% |
It also has the Shadow penalty. The Pokémon GO wiki says a Shadow Pokémon’s Attack is multiplied by 1.2 and its Defense by 0.833, which works out to roughly 20% more damage taken and 20% more damage dealt. That is why Shadow bosses feel fragile and hit hard at the same time.
The Incarnate Forme’s movepool is Bite and Air Slash as fast attacks, and Dark Pulse, Grass Knot, Hurricane and Hyper Beam as charged attacks, per the wiki’s Tornadus page and GO Hub. Niantic doesn’t list which set the Shadow boss uses, so assume any of them. The type chart gives you the useful part: Air Slash and Hurricane hit Fighting, Bug and Grass for super effective damage, Grass Knot hits Rock, Ground and Water, and Bite and Dark Pulse hit Ghost and Psychic. Rock attackers do hit hard, but they are exposed to Grass Knot, which is a likely reason Rampardos faints so often in the sim below. Electric-Steel Magnezone resists Flying attacks twice over and Grass attacks once, by the type chart.
Best Shadow Tornadus counters
This table follows Pokebattler’s overall ranking for level 40 attackers, no weather, and the boss’s random moveset, with Mega, Shadow and Legendary attackers all allowed. 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, and our Super Max Mega Level guide covers how to unlock it.
| # | Counter | Fast attack | Charged attack | Type hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mega Manectric | Thunder Fang | Discharge+ (Super Max), else Wild Charge | Electric |
| 2 | Mega Raichu Y | Thunder Shock | Zap Cannon+ (Super Max), else Wild Charge | Electric |
| 3 | Mega Mewtwo Y | Psycho Cut | Future Sight+ (Super Max), else Thunderbolt | Psychic or Electric |
| 4 | Mega Raichu X | Thunder Shock | Volt Tackle+ (Super Max), else Wild Charge | Electric |
| 5 | White Kyurem | Ice Fang | Ice Burn | Ice |
| 6 | Shadow Zekrom | Charge Beam | Fusion Bolt (legacy) | Electric |
| 7 | Black Kyurem | Dragon Tail | Freeze Shock | Ice or Electric |
| 8 | Mega Diancie | Rock Throw | Rock Slide | Rock |
| 9 | Mega Tyranitar | Smack Down (legacy) | Stone Edge | Rock |
| 10 | Mega Mewtwo X | Psycho Cut | Thunderbolt | Electric |
| 11 | Shadow Rampardos | Smack Down | Rock Slide | Rock |
| 12 | Shadow Raikou | Thunder Shock | Wild Charge | Electric |
Super Max matters most for the top of the list. Without it, Mega Raichu Y with Wild Charge would still sit near the top of Pokebattler’s list (third), Mega Mewtwo Y with Thunderbolt fourth, but Mega Manectric with Wild Charge drops to about 20th and Mega Raichu X to about 25th. The pattern is simple: Electric Megas first, then the Kyurems and the Rock attackers. Pokebattler’s own estimate, averaged over its top six attackers, is about 3 trainers for this boss.
Electric, Ice and Rock attacks are super effective against Flying types. AI-generated illustration
Budget Shadow Tornadus counters (no Megas, Shadows or Legendaries)
| Counter | Fast attack | Charged attack | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glimmora | Rock Throw | Meteor Beam | Top non-legendary pick in the sim |
| Magnezone | Spark | Wild Charge | Double-resists Flying attacks; the sturdy pick |
| Rhyperior | Smack Down | Rock Wrecker (legacy) | Strong, but the best move needs an Elite TM |
| Rampardos | Smack Down | Rock Slide | High damage, faints often |
| Electivire | Thunder Shock | Wild Charge | Easy Electric option, faints often |
| Tyrantrum | Rock Throw | Meteor Beam | Rock option with decent bulk |
| Baxcalibur | Ice Fang | Avalanche | Ice option; its Dragon typing resists Grass Knot |
| Tyranitar | Smack Down (legacy) | Stone Edge | Common and sturdy |
Pokebattler estimates about 4 trainers for the budget team, against about 3 with the top counters, so a mixed lobby of Megas and regular attackers should be enough in a full raid.
How Shadow Raids work: enraged boss and Purified Gems
Shadow Raids are five-star raids with a Shadow boss. According to the wiki’s Raid Battle page, once the boss loses about a third of its HP it becomes “enraged”: it gains roughly an 81% Attack boost and a 200% Defense boost and slowly regains HP, until it falls to about 15% HP and is “subdued”. Enraged is when the Purified Gem option appears. The Purified Gem page says 8 Gems used across the whole lobby subdue the boss early, each trainer can use at most 5 Gems, and a Gem is not refunded if the raid fails. Four Shadow Shards make one Gem, and Shards drop from Team GO Rocket and from Shadow Raids.
So the order is: damage it hard to the enraged point, then have the lobby use Gems together, then finish it while subdued. Skipping the Gems means fighting the boss at its tripled Defense for longer.
Catch CP, Shiny and Shadow vs Purified
Raid bosses are caught at level 20, or level 25 in boosting weather. Per GO Hub’s CP chart, a 100% IV Tornadus is 1,911 CP, or 2,389 when boosted. Flying is boosted by Windy weather, so a windy day gives you a higher-CP catch; on the other side, Rain boosts Electric, Snow boosts Ice and Partly Cloudy boosts Rock, according to the wiki’s Weather page, so weather can help your counters too.
The wiki lists Shadow Tornadus’s Shiny release as November 4, 2026, so a Shiny Shadow is possible; Niantic hasn’t published the odds. Shadow Pokémon are harder to catch than normal ones because they attack more often, and a Nanab Berry helps, according to the wiki.
Once caught, you have a choice. A Shadow Pokémon always knows Frustration as its Charged Attack and costs 20% more to power up. Purifying costs 20,000 Stardust and 20 Candy, raises its level to at least 25, adds 2 to each IV, removes the Attack and Defense changes, and swaps Frustration for Return, per the wiki’s purification pages. GO Hub doesn’t rank Tornadus as a raid attacker, so this is mainly a collection decision: purifying removes the Shadow Attack bonus and Defense penalty, and a Shadow keeps its aura.
Tips for the weekends
- Bring Electric first, Ice and Rock second. Mega Raichu Y and Mega Mewtwo Y rank high even without Super Max.
- Plan for the enraged phase. Save Purified Gems for when the boss turns enraged and use them with the lobby, not on your own.
- Check the weather on the raid screen. A Windy boss has more CP and more bite; Rain, Snow and Partly Cloudy boost your counters.
- Don’t over-rely on Rock attackers. Grass Knot is a possible boss move, and the Pokebattler faint numbers for Rampardos and Rhyperior are among the highest in the budget list.
- Raiding other bosses too? Our Regidrago Max Battle counters cover the Dynamax boss.
FAQ
When is Shadow Tornadus in Pokémon GO raids?
The window is November 16 at 6:00 a.m. to December 1 at 10:00 p.m. local time, and Leek Duck says it appears every weekend within it.
What is Shadow Tornadus weak to?
Electric, Ice and Rock attacks, each doing 160% damage.
Can Shadow Tornadus be Shiny?
Yes. The Pokémon GO wiki dates the Shiny Shadow release to November 4, 2026. The odds haven’t been published.
How many players do I need for a Shadow Tornadus raid?
Pokebattler estimates about 3 trainers with top counters and about 4 with a budget team, using default boss stats, so treat it as a guide only.
Sources: Leek Duck (checked 03:09 UTC, Nov 9), Pokebattler (checked 03:10 UTC, Nov 9), Pokémon GO Hub (03:10 UTC), Pokémon GO wiki (03:11 UTC), Pokémon GO, PvPoke game master.
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Featured image: AI-generated illustration
