Grimer’s Weaknesses in Pokémon GO
Grimer is a pure Poison-type in its standard (Kantonian) form, giving it exactly two type vulnerabilities in Pokémon GO: Ground and Psychic. Both deal 1.6× damage — the super-effective multiplier Niantic uses instead of the main-series 2×. Grimer resists Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Grass, and Poison moves, all landing at 0.625× reduced damage.
Before building your counter team, identify which form you’re facing:
- Kantonian Grimer (standard purple form): weak to Ground (1.6×) and Psychic (1.6×).
- Alolan Grimer (black-and-multicolor form): Psychic is effectively neutralized. Its Dark secondary type drops Psychic damage to just 0.63× in Pokémon GO. Only Ground delivers super-effective hits against this form. A full lineup of Psychic attackers against Alolan Grimer will significantly underperform.
Ground types deserve special attention here: they deal 1.6× super-effective damage to Grimer and take only 0.625× from Grimer’s Poison moves. A Ground attacker like Excadrill absorbs less damage while hitting harder — the most efficient possible matchup.
Grimer’s base stats in Pokémon GO: Attack 135, Defense 90, Stamina 190. Max CP tops at 1,553 at Level 50. It is not a defensive wall — your goal is maximum speed and minimum potions spent.
Counter data verified April 2026. Move availability may change with future Pokémon GO updates.
Top 10 Grimer Counters Ranked
Rankings apply to Kantonian Grimer. For Alolan Grimer, skip ranks 1–5 and use the Ground attackers at ranks 6–10 only — Psychic deals near-resisted damage to the Alolan form.
| Rank | Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Move | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shadow Mewtwo | Confusion | Psystrike | Highest DPS Psychic attacker in the game. Shadow bonus adds ~20% output. Psystrike is the strongest Psychic charged move available — obtain it with an Elite Charged TM. |
| 2 | Mega Alakazam | Confusion | Psychic | Pure Psychic STAB plus Mega bonus. Also raises your entire team’s Psychic attack damage by 30% while active, accelerating every attacker in the raid group. |
| 3 | Mewtwo | Confusion | Psystrike | Best non-shadow non-Mega Psychic attacker. Confusion delivers reliable fast-move pressure; Psystrike significantly outperforms the base Psychic charged move as a finisher. |
| 4 | Shadow Latios | Zen Headbutt | Luster Purge | Dragon/Psychic dual-type with strong raw stats amplified by shadow bonus. Luster Purge is Latios’s signature move and among the harder-hitting Psychic charged moves. |
| 5 | Mega Latios | Zen Headbutt | Luster Purge | Consistent Mega option with solid Psychic output and decent bulk. Good pick when shadow-form legendaries are not available. |
| 6 | Mega Garchomp | Mud Shot | Earth Power | Top Ground Mega. Mud Shot generates energy extremely fast; Earth Power converts it into heavy damage. Ground/Dragon typing means Grimer’s Poison moves hit at 0.625×. |
| 7 | Primal Groudon | Mud Shot | Precipice Blades | Precipice Blades is the highest-damage Ground charged move in Pokémon GO. Primal reversion amplifies total output further, placing Groudon at the very peak of Ground attackers. |
| 8 | Landorus (Therian Forme) | Mud Shot | Earth Power | Best Ground legendary without Mega energy or Primal reversion required. Mud Shot into Earth Power is the fastest-charging Ground combo currently available. |
| 9 | Shadow Excadrill | Mud-Slap | Drill Run | Ground/Steel dual typing resists Grimer’s Poison moves at 0.625×. Shadow bonus makes it competitive with lower-tier legendaries, and Drilbur is far more accessible than most top picks. |
| 10 | Rhyperior | Mud-Slap | Earthquake | High Stamina (base 251) absorbs chip damage across the fight. Mud-Slap generates consistent energy. The most accessible budget Ground pick with solid total damage output. |
Poison Type Effectiveness in Pokémon GO
In Pokémon GO, the super-effective multiplier is 1.6× — not the 2× of the mainline games. There are no true immunities in GO; type matchups that would deal zero damage in the main series instead deal 0.391× here. That 0.391× factor is exactly why Psychic “barely works” against Alolan Grimer despite technically landing.
| Attacking Type | Damage Multiplier vs Poison | What To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Ground | 1.6× (Super Effective) | Best attacking type. Works against both Kantonian and Alolan Grimer. |
| Psychic | 1.6× vs Kantonian / ~0.63× vs Alolan | Use against Kantonian only. Alolan’s Dark type near-cancels Psychic (1.6 × 0.391 = 0.63). |
| Normal, Fire, Water, Electric, Ice, Dragon, Dark, Rock, Flying, Steel | 1.0× (Neutral) | No advantage. Only use if you have no Ground or Psychic option. |
| Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Grass, Poison | 0.625× (Resisted) | Actively avoid. Grimer absorbs these and your DPS drops sharply. |
The Psychic note against Alolan Grimer deserves emphasis: 0.63× is not very effective, not neutral. Every Psychic slot in your party becomes wasted damage when facing the Alolan form.
Budget and Free-to-Play Counters
Shadow Mewtwo and Mega Alakazam finish Grimer raids in under 30 seconds, but you do not need them. Every Pokémon below is obtainable without legendary raids or paid Mega Energy:
| Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Move | Why It’s Accessible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excadrill | Mud-Slap | Drill Run | Drilbur spawns regularly. Ground/Steel dual typing resists Grimer’s Poison moves and deals super-effective Ground damage simultaneously. No legendary required. |
| Espeon | Confusion | Psychic | Evolve any Eevee by walking 10 km as your buddy and evolving during daytime. Pure Psychic STAB makes it one of the easiest Psychic counters to obtain at any stage of the game. |
| Alakazam | Confusion | Psychic | Abra is a frequent spawn. Non-Mega Alakazam still delivers strong Psychic DPS. Use Future Sight if you lack the Psychic TM. |
| Swampert | Mud Shot | Earthquake | Mudkip Community Day events have made Swampert widely available. Mud Shot generates 8.7 energy per turn — one of the fastest-charging fast moves available, enabling rapid charged move spam. |
| Mamoswine | Mud-Slap | High Horsepower | Swinub is a frequent winter spawn and common egg hatch. Ice/Ground typing gives Ground STAB for super-effective hits on Grimer. A solid all-around budget option. |
Ground types consistently outperform Psychic types for free-to-play players in this matchup. Mud-Slap and Mud Shot generate energy efficiently, letting you fire charged moves faster against Grimer’s low HP pool. Excadrill in particular is worth powering up: Ground/Steel is a broadly useful typing that delivers in dozens of matchups beyond this one.
Raid Strategy
Grimer is a Tier 1 raid boss — the lowest difficulty tier in the game. Any single Level 20+ attacker with a super-effective moveset defeats it solo with Pokémon to spare. You do not need a full party of six.
Practical notes for Grimer raids:
- Weather boosts: Sunny weather amplifies Ground moves; Windy weather amplifies Psychic moves. Raiding in boosted weather noticeably shortens an already fast fight.
- Shadow vs standard: Shadow Pokémon deal 20% more damage and take 20% more hits. Against Grimer’s minimal HP pool, the fight ends before the extra incoming damage matters. Shadow picks always clear fastest.
- Mega Energy: Grimer is a poor target for Mega Energy investment. Save Mega activations for Tier 3–5 raids where the team-wide attack boost provides real value. Against Tier 1 Grimer, any non-Mega strong attacker finishes in seconds.
- Shiny hunting: Shiny Grimer can appear from raids. Shiny odds are unchanged by IV. Catch every encounter when shiny hunting — never skip a low-IV Grimer.
For Shadow Grimer from Team GO Rocket encounters, the same counter priority applies — Ground and Psychic at 1.6×. See the Shadow Raid guide for how shadow catches differ from standard raids, and the Rocket Grunt guide to identify which grunts use Grimer lineups.
PvP Strategy: Countering Grimer in Trainer Battles
PvP and raids prioritize different things. In Go Battle League and Trainer Battles, raw DPS matters far less than energy generation speed — how fast you reach your first charged move determines whether you apply shield pressure before your opponent does.
When facing Grimer in PvP, expect this kit:
- Fast moves: Poison Jab (high damage per turn, STAB) or Mud-Slap (slower DPT but 8.7 energy per turn for charged move spam)
- Charged moves: Sludge Bomb (80 damage, 50 energy) as the primary threat; Mud Bomb (55 damage, 40 energy) as a faster shield-bait option
Grimer fits Great League at Level 40 (max CP 1,374 — below the 1,500 cap without XL Candy). Its Defense of 90 is below average, meaning it collapses quickly once you land a charged move. The priority in PvP is getting to your charged move first.
Best Great League counters to Grimer:
| Pokémon | Fast Move | Why It Beats Grimer |
|---|---|---|
| Galarian Stunfisk | Mud Shot | Ground/Steel resists every move in Grimer’s standard kit at 0.625×. Mud Shot generates 8.7 EPT, reaching Rock Slide and Earthquake quickly. One of the cleanest wins in this matchup. |
| Swampert | Mud Shot | Same energy generation advantage. Water/Ground means both Earthquake and Hydro Cannon are options. Resists Poison moves. A Great League staple that handles Grimer cleanly. |
| Excadrill | Mud-Slap | Ground/Steel double resistance to Poison moves; Drill Run applies immediate pressure. Wins the matchup cleanly under shield-even conditions at comparable power levels. |
| Medicham | Psycho Cut | Psycho Cut generates energy at 8.7 EPT — fast enough to reach Dynamic Punch before Grimer charges Sludge Bomb. Ice Punch baits shields; Power-Up Punch snowballs the HP lead. |
Shield management: Grimer’s Sludge Bomb costs 50 energy to charge, which takes time. Don’t burn a shield on Mud Bomb (40 energy, 55 damage) — tank it and save shields for the Sludge Bomb. If Grimer is running Poison Jab, your Ground and Steel types take it at 0.625×, meaning you’re building your energy bar faster relative to incoming damage. That gap compounds quickly.
For competitive players in the Championship Series and Cup formats, Galarian Stunfisk and Swampert are already core GL meta picks — they handle Grimer without costing you any team flexibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Alolan Grimer have different weaknesses than regular Grimer?
Yes, and the difference is large enough to change your entire counter lineup. Kantonian Grimer takes 1.6× from both Ground and Psychic. Alolan Grimer’s Dark secondary type reduces Psychic to roughly 0.63× in Pokémon GO — what is a full immunity in the main series becomes a near-immunity here (1.6 × 0.391 = 0.63). Ground moves remain 1.6× effective on the Alolan form. Deploy a full team of Mewtwos against Alolan Grimer and the fight runs more than twice as long as it should. Switch to Ground: Excadrill, Landorus, Groudon, or Swampert all finish the job efficiently.
Can you solo a Grimer raid?
Easily. Grimer is a Tier 1 raid boss — the lightest tier in the game. Any Level 20+ attacker with a super-effective moveset defeats it solo within the time limit. The practical question is how fast you want to clear it, which affects how many post-raid Premier Balls you have time to throw. Shadow Mewtwo with Confusion + Psystrike achieves the fastest clear, but a Level 25 Espeon with Confusion + Psychic finishes in well under 90 seconds. Don’t over-invest resources on a Tier 1 target.
What moves does Grimer use in PvP, and how do I play around them?
Grimer’s strongest PvP setup is Poison Jab fast with Sludge Bomb and Mud Bomb as charged moves. Poison Jab chips away with consistent STAB damage each turn; Mud Bomb (40 energy) fires early to bait a shield; Sludge Bomb (50 energy) is the actual threat you’re protecting against. The counter: use Ground or Steel types that resist Poison Jab at 0.625×. The reduced chip damage means your energy bar climbs faster relative to incoming damage, letting you fire a charged move before Grimer reaches Sludge Bomb. Galarian Stunfisk and Excadrill both resist every move in Grimer’s standard kit and win the matchup cleanly under shield-even conditions.
Sources
- Pokémon GO Type Chart: Strengths and Weaknesses — Dexerto
- Type Effectiveness in Battle — Niantic Help Center (niantic.helpshift.com/hc/en/6-pokemon-go/faq/2132-type-effectiveness-in-battle/)
- Grimer (Pokémon GO): Best Movesets, Counters and CP — pokemon.gameinfo.io
- Grimer Raid Counters — Pokébattler
- Grimer — Bulbapedia
- Pokémon GO: Grimer Weakness and Best Counters — Game Rant