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Hundo Hunter
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PR · EVENT · PRIORITY GUIDE
JUNE 9 → 15

Candela event — what to raid and what to catch

Full counter charts for all 5 raid bosses + catch priority ranking across all 11 event spawns. Mega Evolve strategy for max candy/XL/XP. Medal grind plan + Friendship Friday tactics.

EVENT OVERVIEW
Need event timing, wild spawns, Go Pass rewards?
The main Candela event page has the full overview, raid rotation, Field Research, and Go Pass tiers.
Event overview →
RAID PRIORITIES — RANKED
5 raid bosses · ranked by ROI
Reshiram + Zekrom are the highest priorities (Kyurem fusion + meta). Shadow Dialga has unique mechanics. Mega Audino + Mega Lopunny are optional.
RE
PRIORITY 1 · 5★ · Day 1 only · Fire / Dragon
Reshiram
The #9 Fire attacker AND fusion material for White Kyurem.
2+ trainers
WHY RAID
Reshiram fuses with Kyurem to produce White Kyurem — the #1 Ice attacker in the game and rank 6 in Master League. Reshiram itself is #9 Fire with Fire Fang + Fusion Flare. Shadow Reshiram (eventual) will be top-3 Fire. White Kyurem also gets the Ice Burn adventure effect — +50% catch rate and slows the catch circle.
STRATEGY
Tip: keep a low-IV non-shiny Reshiram specifically for the Kyurem fusion. Fusion uses the Kyurem's IVs + shiny status, so don't burn your perfect one on the fusion.
ZE
PRIORITY 2 · 5★ · Day 2 → 7 · Electric / Dragon
Zekrom
The #12 Electric attacker AND fusion material for Black Kyurem.
2+ trainers
WHY RAID
Zekrom fuses with Kyurem to produce Black Kyurem — the #2 Ice attacker, rank 10 Master League, with the Freeze Shock adventure effect (+25% catch rate + freezes the encounter for easier throws). Shadow Zekrom (eventual) becomes the #1 Electric attacker in the game.
DI
PRIORITY 3 · 5★ Shadow · Full event · Steel / Dragon
Shadow Dialga
Enrages at 60% HP. Use Purified Gems or bring numbers.
4-5 trainers OR 2-3 with 8 Purified Gems
WHY RAID
Shadow Dialga is #9 Dragon (Dragon Breath + Draco Meteor) and #7 Steel (Metal Claw + Iron Head). Ranked 37 in Master League. Its candy fuels Origin Dialga's Roar of Time adventure effect — extends Incense, Star Pieces, and Lucky Eggs by ~40%, a top-tier QoL boost for grinding.
TOP COUNTERS
STRATEGY
Purified Gems: Shadow Dialga enrages at ~60% HP (attack + defense buff) and de-rages at ~15%. The middle window is brutal. 8 Gems pooled across the team subdues the rage — max 5 per trainer per raid. Earn Gems from Team GO Rocket fights (Grunts, Leaders, Giovanni) and Shadow Raids. Shadow Shards auto-combine into 1 Gem per 4.
AU
PRIORITY 4 · Mega · Day 1 only · Normal / Fairy
Mega Audino
No meta value — but the #1 Stardust-per-catch boss in the game.
2+ trainers
WHY RAID
Audino gives 2,100 Stardust per catch — the highest of any Pokémon. With Star Piece active (1.5×) + Mega Normal/Fairy-type bonus + Best Buddy boost it stacks to ~7,000 dust per catch. Not worth raiding for power, but if you need dust + want shinies/Pokédex, here's your chance.
BUDGET COUNTERS
LO
PRIORITY 5 · Mega · Day 2 → 7 · Normal / Fighting
Mega Lopunny
The #1 Normal Mega — useful Mega energy for catching boosts.
Soloable at L40 with best counters
WHY RAID
Mega Lopunny is the #1 Normal-type Mega. Solid Fighting attacker (mid-tier overall, top-5 for Fighting Megas). The main use case is the Mega energy itself: Normal-type catching boost applies to dozens of common spawns. Also a popular Mega for Community Day farming runs. Lopunny line has light PvP relevance.
STRATEGY
Lopunny is Normal/Fighting — Psychic moves hit the Fighting half super-effective, Fairy hits Fighting too, and Fighting hits Normal. Mega Mewtwo Y, Crowned Sword Zacian, Mega Rayquaza, and Mega Gardevoir all destroy it.
CATCH PRIORITIES — EVENT SPAWNS
What to pinap, what to skip
Charmander is the only must-pinap of the event. Scyther and Mankey follow. The rest are dex completion + shiny hunting.
TOP TIER
Charmander

Mega Charizard Y is the #1 Fire attacker in the game with Fire Spin + Blast Burn. Gmax Charizard is the #2 Max Battle Fire attacker. Always pinap event Charmander — they're shiny-eligible and the candy compounds across two top-tier endgame Megas.

HIGH TIER
ScytherMankey

Mega Scizor is the #5 Bug attacker with Fury Cutter + X-Scissor. Mankey evolves to Annihilape — PvP rank 40 Great League, 17 Ultra, 58 Master (relevant in all three leagues). Both are Community Day candidates with stronger move pools eventually.

PVP TIER
HonedgeFletchling

Honedge evolves to Aegislash — Great League rank 19. Fletchling evolves to Talonflame — Great League rank 29 + Ultra League rank 40. Both are stable PvP picks with no obvious deprecation in the meta.

MID TIER
Machop

Regular Machamp is the #35 Fighting attacker (Counter + Dynamic Punch). Shadow Machamp jumps to #16 — worth banking candy. Gmax Machamp is the #1 Max Battle Fighting attacker — long-term hold.

SKIP TIER
Hisuian GrowlithePonyta (non-costume)FlareonScraggyRockruffSlugmaMagcargo

No meta relevance. Only catch for Pokédex completion or shiny hunting. The Costume Candela's Ponyta from the Go Pass is the exception — that's a unique one-week opportunity.

MEGA EVOLVE STRATEGY
Which Mega should you have active?
Best pick: Mega Blaziken

Fire+Fighting typing covers ten event Pokémon — Charmander, Mankey, Hisuian Growlithe, Machop, Ponyta, Flareon, Slugma, Magcargo, Scraggy, AND Reshiram (raid catches). One Mega evolution = candy/XL/XP boost on nearly the entire spawn list.

Day 2-7 alternative: Electric-type Mega

Once Zekrom takes over 5★ raids, Mega Manectric or Mega Ampharos boosts your Electric raid catches. Mega Ampharos doubles as a Dragon-type boost — useful for Reshiram + Zekrom + Shadow Dialga raids alike.

Max Mega Level matters

Mega evolve a Pokémon at the MAX Mega Level (3 stars) to maximize candy + Candy XL chance + XP per catch. Worth holding your highest-level Mega for the event rather than rotating through low-level ones.

TOOLS THAT HELP YOU EXECUTE
LIVE
Active raids →
Current bosses with counter recommendations from your vault.
MATCHUPS
Type counter chart →
Per-type effectiveness. Find your strongest matchups by type.
RANKINGS
Attacker tier list →
S/A/B/C/D/F per type — see if your bench has anything stronger.
NEXT EVENT
GO Fest 2026 power-up →
Many of the same Pokémon carry into GO Fest July 11-12.
CALC
Stardust calculator →
Cost to power up with Lucky + Best Buddy discounts. Plan before you spend.
MAX
Max Electabuzz guide →
Counter chart + team-building for the event Max Battle.
FAQ
Reshiram or Zekrom first?
Reshiram only spawns on day 1 — raid it as much as you can on June 9. Zekrom runs day 2 through day 7. So technically you have no choice on day 1, but the urgency makes Reshiram the more time-critical investment. Both are equal meta priority for Kyurem fusion.
How many Purified Gems do I need for Shadow Dialga?
8 across the raid party (5 max per trainer per raid). With 8 Gems used in the right window (right before it enrages at ~60% HP), 2-3 trainers can clear it. Without Gems you'll need 4-5 trainers. Bank Shadow Shards from Team Rocket fights — 4 Shards auto-combine into 1 Gem.
Is Mega Audino worth raiding?
Only for Stardust farming or shinies. Audino gives 2,100 dust per catch — the highest of any Pokémon. With Star Piece (×1.5), Mega Fairy/Normal type bonus (×1.33), and Best Buddy boost, you can hit ~7,000 dust per catch. For pure raid value, skip it.
Can I solo Mega Lopunny?
Yes — soloable at Level 40 with the best counters listed above. Mega Mewtwo Y, Mega Rayquaza, or Crowned Sword Zacian all handle it cleanly. Bring 6 ready in case of dodging mistakes. Lopunny is Normal/Fighting so Psychic + Fairy moves shred it.
What about the medal grind during Candela?
Best medals to push: Rising Star (5★ raids if you have none done), Battle Legend (Reshiram/Zekrom/Shadow Dialga 5★ raid wins), Champion (any other raid wins), Raid Expert (any raid wins), Pokémon Ranger (Field Research tasks). The Costume Ponyta encounter from Field Research also progresses Ranger.
Which catch boost should I trigger?
Mega Blaziken (Fire+Fighting) is the best one-Mega catch-all — it covers ~10 of the 11 event spawns. If you're chasing only Reshiram catches on day 1, switch to a Dragon Mega (Salamence, Latias) for the Dragon-type boost. For Zekrom on days 2-7, an Electric Mega (Manectric, Ampharos) is ideal.