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Pokemon Go Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie raid guide: Best counters, weaknesses and moves

Here are some tips to help you catch Pokemon Go's legendary lake guardians before they leave the game again on Oct. 1.

Kevin Knezevic Former staff writer
Kevin has been covering video games and tech since 2010, with a particular focus on Nintendo and Pokemon. Squirtle is the best starter and nothing will convince him otherwise.
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Kevin Knezevic
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Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie are appearing in raid battles again until Oct. 1.

 Niantic

Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie are leaving  Pokemon Go  again very soon. The legendary lake guardians are appearing in five-star raids until Oct. 1, giving you only a few more days to catch them. Your best chance to get the lake guardians will come tonight, Sept. 29, during Pokemon Go's weekly Raid Hour event. Legendary raids will occur more frequently from 6-7 p.m. local time, which means you'll have more chances to battle and catch the lake guardians during that hour.

Each of the three legendary Pokemon is exclusive to specific regions, so which one you encounter in raids will depend on your location. You can see which regions each Pokemon is appearing in below:

  • Azelf -- Americas and Greenland.
  • Mesprit -- Europe, Middle East, Africa and India.
  • Uxie -- Asia-Pacific.

If you're hoping to add the lake guardians to your collection, here are some tips to help you beat and catch Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie before they leave the game later this week.

Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie weaknesses

Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie are all pure psychic-type Pokemon, so they all share the same weaknesses to bug, dark and ghost. That means the same counters will be effective regardless of which of the three legendaries you're battling.

Any Pokemon with a type advantage will be helpful against Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie, but some monsters will last longer in battle than others. Bug Pokemon that are also part steel, such as Scizor, Escavalier and Genesect, are great choices, as they resist the legendaries' psychic-type moves and dish out super-effective damage. The same holds true for dark-type Pokemon like Darkrai.

Best Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie counters

Here are some recommended Pokemon and moves to use when battling the lake guardians:

Bug

  • Mega Beedrill: Bug Bite, X-Scissor.
  • Pinsir: Bug Bite, X-Scissor.
  • Scizor: Fury Cutter, X-Scissor.
  • Escavalier: Bug Bite, Megahorn.
  • Genesect: Fury Cutter, X-Scissor.

Dark

  • Houndoom: Snarl, Crunch.
  • Tyranitar: Bite, Crunch.
  • Absol: Snarl, Dark Pulse.
  • Weavile: Snarl, Avalanche.
  • Darkrai: Snarl, Dark Pulse.
  • Zoroark: Snarl, Foul Play.

Ghost

  • Gengar: Lick, Shadow Ball.
  • Banette: Hex, Shadow Ball.
  • Origin Forme Giratina: Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball.
  • Chandelure: Hex, Shadow Ball.

Best moves for Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie

Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie aren't the strongest legendaries, but they can still pack a punch against poison- and fighting-type Pokemon, making them effective counters against those kinds of monsters.

All three lake guardians have access to the same two Fast Attacks, Confusion and Extrasensory, but their Charged Attacks can vary. To double down on their type advantage, you can teach them the psychic-type Charged Attack Future Sight. If you'd like wider type coverage, however, Uxie can learn Thunder, Mesprit can learn Blizzard and Azelf can learn Fire Blast. Keep these tips in mind and you should have no trouble catching the legendaries.