The Ultra Beast 5-star raid parade continues in Pokemon GO, and Buzzwole is taking center stage. In order to beat Buzzwole and stand a chance at catching one, you’ll need to know the best counters to bring to battle.
All Buzzwole Weaknesses & Type Effectiveness in Pokemon GO
Buzzwole’s type is pretty much what you’d expect from its buff bug appearance – dual Bug and Fighting type. Its moveset includes mostly Bug and Fighting-type moves, with the occasional Poison Fast Move to watch out for.
This interesting combo means your best bet for type effectiveness will be Flying, since Buzzwole is doubly weak to Flying moves. That said, it’s also going to be weak against Fairy, Fire, and Psychic-type moves, so you’re not going amiss there either. Since there aren’t too many hard hitters with just Flying-type moves, taking advantage of these other weaknesses will be a key part of the strategy for many trainers.
Given Buzzwole’s moveset in Raids, steer clear of Pokemon that are weak to Bug and Fighting moves. That includes Grass, Ice, Normal, Psychic, Steel, and especially Dark-type Pokemon which are weak to both types.
| Pokemon | Type | Vulnerable To | Strong Against | Resistant To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Buzzwole | Bug/Fighting | Fairy Fire Flying (2x) Psychic | Dark Grass Ice Normal Psychic Steel | Bug Dark Grass Ground Fighting |
The Best Buzzwole Counters in Pokemon GO
In order to beat Buzzwole in 5-star Raids, you will want to grab a team that’s got some powerful Pokemon with powerful attacks. As an Ultra Beast, Buzzwole is tough, so bring these recommended counters to the battlefield.
Shadow Pokemon and Mega Evolutions are always going to be more powerful in battle than their standard counterparts, so bring them into the fray if you can.
| Pokemon | Recommended Moveset |
|---|---|
 Rayquaza | Air Slash Dragon Ascent |
 Moltres | Wing Attack Sky Attack |
 Yveltal | Gust Oblivion Wing |
 Honchkrow | Peck Sky Attack |
 Staraptor | Gust Fly |
 Salamence | Fire Fang Fly |
 Incarnate Forme Enamorus | Fairy Wind Fly |
 Unfezant | Air Slash Sky Attack |
 Ho-Oh | Extrasensory Brave |
 Tornadus | Air Slash Hurricane |
If you’ve got some high-level trainers with ideal Buzzwole counters on their team, you should be able to take on Buzzwole with just 2 trainers. However, somewhere around 3-5 will be ideal to make the battle less of a slog. I haven’t seen anyone reporting managing a solo raid win against Buzzwole, but if you’ve got a truly powerful counter on your team it might be possible.
When you defeat Buzzwole and get a shot at catching it. You’ll see a spawn in the range of 1890 to 2470 CP. As of GO Fest 2024 in New York, Buzzwole can officially be Shiny in Pokemon GO, which means you may get a lucky surprise at the end of your hard-won 5-star Raid battle. Best of luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GOĀ is available to play now.
