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Pokémon Go Mega Altaria counters, weaknesses and moveset explained

How to defeat the mega evolved Dragon/Fairy-type Pokémon.

Nic Bunce avatar
Guide by Nic Bunce Contributor
Published on

Mega Altaria is the mega evolved form of Altaria, and a rarity in Pokémon Go as one of the few Mega Fairy-type Pokémon in the game.

Altaria has long been a popular Pokémon in Pokémon Go, thanks to its prowess in Go Battle League. If you’re still looking to build an Altaria to try in Great League, where it is bit of a demon, now is your chance to do so!

Like all Mega Evolutions, Mega Altaria can’t be directly caught in Pokémon Go. Instead, you need to keep defeating it in Mega Raids until you’ve collected enough Mega Altaria Energy for its temporary evolution. Thanks to the summer 2022 Mega Raid rebalance, this can now be done in one Mega Raid if you defeat it quickly enough!

Below you’ll find Mega Altaria’s counters and weaknesses to help you succeed in Pokémon Go – just remember you need to have an Altaria in your Pokémon storage to perform its Mega Evolution.

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Mega Altaria counters and weaknesses in Pokémon Go

The fastest way to collect Mega Altaria energy is to defeat one in a Mega Raid. Below you’ll find the counters and weaknesses for Mega Altaria to help you achieve this:

  • Mega Altaria types – Dragon and Fairy
  • Mega Altaria is weak against – Fairy, Ice, Steel and Poison
  • Mega Altaria is resistant to – Bug, Dark, Dragon, Electric, Fighting, Fire, Grass and Water
  • Mega Altaria Mega counters – Mega Gardevoir with Charm and Dazzling Gleam or Mega Gengar with Lick and Sludge Bomb are your two best options here. However, if you don’t have those, Mega Beedrill (double Poison) is decent, Mega Scizor or Aggron (double Steel) will do the job, and Mega Glalie (double Ice) is your last choice if you don’t have anything else.
  • Mega Altaria non-Mega counters – Metagross, Zacian, Nihilego, Galarian Darmanitan, Kyurem or Dialga will do the trick nicely.
    • Mega Gardevoir, Metagross and Zacian are your top three counters
  • Number of players to beat Mega Altaria – As with most Mega Pokémon, three players at level 40 is totally reasonable, and five players at level 30 should be fine, as long as you bring the right Pokémon to the battle!
  • Tactics – There are many ways to take down Mega Altaria, but a team of Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash is the quickest way to go. Zacian would want to run Metal Claw and Play Rough. Nihilego is Poison Jab and Sludge Bomb; Galarian Darmanitan runs Ice Fang and Avalanche; Kyurem wants Steel Wing and Glaciate; and Dialga works best with Metal Claw and Iron head.

Mega Altaria CP in Pokémon Go

Below you’ll find the CP levels for battling for Mega Altaria and, if defeated, catching an Altaria after the fight in Pokémon Go:

  • Mega Altaria Raid CP – 34,320 CP
  • CP range for catching Altaria – 1727 – 2907 CP
  • Weather (Rainy/Windy) when being caught – 2159 – 2259 CP

The World of Wonders season has come to Pokémon Go, which has brought Rediscover Kanto and Sustainability Week, along with the World of Wonders quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

Best Mega Altaria moveset in Pokémon Go

Mega Altaria can use a variety of Fast and Charged moves in Pokémon Go. The best Mega Altaria moves would be the combination of Dragon Breath (Fast) and Dazzling Gleam (Charged) in raids, but if you’re going to run Altaria in Great League, you’d instead be looking at Dragon Breath (Fast), Sky Attack (Charged) and Moonblast (Legacy Charged).

Mega Altaria.

Here are the Fast and Charged moves Mega Altaria can use in Pokémon Go:

Fast Moves:

  • Peck (Flying)
  • Dragon Breath (Dragon)

Charged Moves:

  • Sky Attack (Flying)
  • Dazzling Gleam (Fairy)
  • Dragon Pulse (Dragon)

Legacy Charged Moves:

  • Moonblast (Fairy)

Everything we know about Altaria

The Humming Pokémon Altaria (we definitely thought it was the Cloud Pokémon, but there you go) is one of the original Dragon/Fairy-type Pokémon, hailing back to Gen 3 grassy routes around the Hoenn region. It evolves from the Cotton Bird Pokémon Swablu.

Altaria is one of the few original Pokémon that changes type with every stage of evolution, from Normal to Dragon, and then Flying to Fairy. (Image via pokemongolive.com)

These two Pokémon have a bit of an odd design. You’d be forgiven for thinking its wings were made of cloud, but the official Pokédex refers to them as 'cotton-like' — that is, until it Mega Evolves... It also implies an amusing, albeit somewhat basic level of common sense/personal hygiene at the lowest evolution level.

  • Swablu: 'It constantly grooms its cotton-like wings. It takes a shower to clean itself if it becomes dirty.'
  • Altaria: 'If it bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wings, then hum.'
  • Mega Altaria: 'Altaria dances and wheels through the sky among billowing, cotton-like clouds. By singing melodies in its crystal-clear voice, this Pokémon makes its listeners experience dreamy wonderment.'

It’s always good to see a Mega Pokémon that comes with (and shares) positive vibes! If you want a Pokémon that truly brings dreamy wonderment, however, you should seek out a shiny Mega Altaria, which has a beautiful golden sheen in place of the sky blue.

Finally, if you don’t have an Altaria registerd to your Pokédex, this is a great chance to get one, as evolving a Swablu into an Altaria in Pokémon Go requires a whopping 400 Swablu Candy.

Good luck defeating Mega Altaria in Pokémon Go!

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