The Crowned Sword Zacian has appeared as a Tier 5 legendary raid boss in Pokémon GO, and yes, it can be shiny! While you won’t catch the Crowned Sword form directly, you’ll snag the Hero of Many Battles form, which you can then transform into the Crowned Sword form. This guide breaks down everything you need to know to take it down efficiently.
Here’s the deal: Zacian is a pure Fairy type, so it’s boosted by Cloudy weather. Its counters are mostly strong Steel and Poison-type Pokémon. If you and your squad have high-level counters and the weather’s right, you might even trio it – but usually, 4-6 trainers is safer. Lower-level players may want to consider bringing a larger team.
Zacian Raid Counters
Want to blast Zacian down fast? Here’s the lineup of top counters based on damage per second and time to win. Shadows and Mega Evolutions make the list too, which is super handy.
| # | Attacker | Fast Move | Charge Move | DPS | Faints | Time to Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Primal Groudon | Mud Shot | Precipice Blades | 26.51 | 25 | 589s |
| 2. | Mega Y Charizard | Fire Spin | Blast Burn | 26.76 | 32 | 585s |
| 3. | Shadow Heatran | Fire Spin | Magma Storm | 24.87 | 30 | 630s |
| 4. | Mega Blaziken | Fire Spin | Blast Burn | 25.74 | 54 | 635s |
| 5. | Mega Garchomp | Mud Shot | Earth Power | 23.99 | 43 | 666s |
Zacian Stats, Moves, and Shiny Form
Here’s a quick snapshot of Crowned Sword Zacian’s stats:
- Max CP: 5629
- Attack: 332
- Defense: 240
- HP: 192
Zacian is weak to Poison and Steel types, making your choice of counters pretty straightforward.
Fast Moves
- Metal Claw and Quick Attack are no big deal for Steel counters, but watch out for Fire Fang which hits super effectively.
- Snarl charges energy quickly and hits Steel types like Metagross hard.
Charge Moves
- Play Rough deals solid Fairy-type damage but is resisted by Steel and Poison.
- Iron Head (which becomes Behemoth Blade in Crowned form) is slower and resisted by Steel, making it the easiest charge move to handle.
- Close Combat hits hard and charges fast, but can KO your Steel counters often.
- Wild Charge deals neutral damage and fires off frequently.
How to Get Crowned Sword Zacian
To transform your Zacian into the Crowned Sword form, it must know the Charged Attack Iron Head. Then, collect 1,000 Crowned Sword Energy and use it to evolve your Zacian.
| Pokémon | Requirement | Evolution Result |
|---|---|---|
| Zacian (knows Iron Head) | 1000× Crowned Sword Energy | Crowned Sword Zacian |
Once transformed, Zacian’s Iron Head moveset switches to Behemoth Blade, its signature Steel-type charge attack.
Final Thoughts
If you want the full scoop on Zacian’s PvP and PvE potential, check out these detailed analyses:
- Zacian in raid and Dynamax meta
- Zacian in PvP
What do you think about Zacian’s place in raids now? Do you have a favorite counter or a funny raid story?
