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Pokemon Go Genesect Raid Guide: Best Counters, Weaknesses and Moveset

Here are some tips to help you catch the mythical Pokemon before it leaves raids.

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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Genesect is back in five-star raids until Aug. 18.

 Niantic

Genesect is back in Pokemon Go for a limited time. The mythical bug Pokemon will appear in five-star raid battles until Aug. 18, and the time around, each one you face will be equipped with a Chill Drive -- your first chance to capture this form in Pokemon Go. Here are some tips to help you beat and catch Genesect before it leaves the game again.

Genesect weaknesses

Much like Scizor, Genesect is a bug- and steel-type Pokemon, which means it only has one weakness: fire. Since both bug and steel are susceptible to it, however, Genesect takes quadruple damage from fire-type attacks, so you'll want to stack your team with strong fire-type Pokemon when challenging it.

Best Genesect counters

Any fully evolved or legendary fire-type Pokemon will be helpful in battle against Genesect, especially if they know fire-type Fast and Charged Attacks. If you're looking for recommendations, here are a few good Pokemon to use when challenging Genesect:

Fire

  • Mega Charizard X/Y: Fire Spin, Blast Burn
  • Arcanine: Fire Fang, Flamethrower
  • Moltres: Fire Spin, Overheat
  • Mega Houndoom: Fire Fang, Flamethrower
  • Entei: Fire Fang, Overheat
  • Magmortar: Fire Spin, Fire Punch
  • Heatran: Fire Spin, Flamethrower
  • Darmanitan: Fire Fang, Overheat
  • Chandelure: Fire Spin, Overheat
  • Reshiram: Fire Fang, Overheat

Best moves for Genesect

Genesect is one of the strongest mythical Pokemon in the game, and if you want to leverage that offensive strength, the best moves to teach it are Metal Claw and Magnet Bomb. Alternatively, you can replace the former attack with Fury Cutter to take advantage of Genesect's bug typing and make it a more effective counter against psychic Pokemon. 

Genesect's Techno Blast is also a viable Charged Attack. Thanks to the Chill Drive, the move will deal ice-type damage, making it effective against grass, flying and dragon Pokemon.

Genesect's return coincides with Pokemon Go's Bug Out event, which is underway until Aug. 16. This year's event has introduced several new bug Pokemon to the game, including Grubbin, Mega Scizor and shiny Venipede. You can see everything else that's happening this month in our August events roundup.