How to Beat
Koraidon
VGC 2026
135 Attack. 135 Speed. Orichalcum Pulse automatically sets Sun. In Sun, Collision Course can OHKO nearly anything with a Fighting weakness. This guide explains how to systematically counter Koraidon at both the teambuilding and in-game levels.
Why Koraidon Is Dangerous: Four Threats
Orichalcum Pulse summons Sun on entry and passively boosts Koraidon's Attack by ×1.3. No action cost — just switch-in and the boost activates.
Collision Course deals ×1.3 when super-effective. Fighting is SE vs Normal, Ice, Rock, Steel, Dark — covering most meta attackers. In Sun, the combined multiplier is overwhelming.
Base 135 Speed outspeeds almost the entire meta without Tailwind support. Even in speed-control matchups, Koraidon remains one of the fastest threats on the field.
Sun doesn't just boost Koraidon — Flutter Mane's Flamethrower, Gouging Fire's attacks, Solar Beam charging is skipped. The entire team's damage output scales up in Sun weather.
Counter Strategy 1: Fairy-Types
Koraidon is Fighting/Dragon — Fairy resists Fighting moves (×0.5) and is fully immune to Dragon moves (Dragon Claw, Outrage). Fairy-type moves also deal ×2 to Fighting/Dragon Koraidon, making this the most direct type-coverage counter route.
Flutter Mane with Booster Energy outspeeds Koraidon (135 Spe) and OHKOs with Moonblast (Fairy ×2 vs Fighting/Dragon). Flutter Mane is also Ghost/Fairy — immune to Collision Course (Fighting), removing Koraidon's primary damage threat entirely.
Follow Me redirects Koraidon's attacks away from key partners while Togekiss chips with Moonblast. High bulk lets it take a Flare Blitz before retaliating. Excellent dual support + coverage role against Sun teams.
Prankster Encore locks Koraidon into a single move, severely limiting its attacking flexibility. Moonblast provides Fairy coverage. Fast enough with Prankster to act before Koraidon every turn.
Scream Tail is a bulky Fairy-type with Psychic-type dual typing, giving it two-way coverage pressure on Koraidon. High HP and Special Defense let it survive Fire coverage and pivot effectively against Sun cores.
Counter Strategy 2: Intimidate
Intimidate drops Koraidon's Attack from 135 to approximately 101 (×0.67). While Intimidate alone doesn't solve the Sun weather issue, a debuffed Collision Course fails to OHKO targets it otherwise would, buying your team survival windows to retaliate. Cycling Intimidate via Parting Shot keeps Koraidon's Attack suppressed throughout the game.
Intimidate drops + Fake Out locks Koraidon on turn 1. Parting Shot cycle re-triggers Intimidate on re-entry, keeping Koraidon's Attack suppressed all game. The most reliable Intimidate source in the meta.
Landorus-T brings Intimidate with Ground/Flying typing neutral to Collision Course. Wide Guard + Intimidate together can zero out Koraidon's spread threat on a critical turn.
Counter Strategy 3: Spread Pressure & Priority KO
Koraidon is neutral to Rock (Fighting/Dragon has no Rock resistance), and double-spread Rock Slide can flinch Koraidon off a critical turn. Combined with Fake Out on the other target, Rock Slide flinch fishing creates a near-zero-action turn for the opponent.
Calyrex-Shadow's Astral Barrage penetrates through the field as a Ghost-type spread move. Paired with Kyogre Heavy Rain or on its own, spread Ghost pressure forces Koraidon into very awkward positioning.
Incineroar Fake Out locks Koraidon while a partner lands a strong physical or Fairy hit. The standard turn-1 removal line in most matchups against Koraidon leads.
Ice is ×2 vs Koraidon (Fighting/Dragon). Ice Shard priority users are uncommon in the current meta, but Chien-Pao with Ice Shard can revenge-kill low-HP Koraidon through priority priority cutoff.
Counter Strategy 4: Weather War — Override the Sun
All of Koraidon's power comes from Sun. Override the Sun and Orichalcum Pulse's Attack boost goes offline, partner Fire moves weaken, and Solar Beam requires a charge turn. Weather war is the most fundamental approach — Heavy Rain, Sandstorm, and Snow all override Sun, with Heavy Rain (Kyogre) being the strongest and most reliable.
Kyogre's Primordial Sea summons Heavy Rain that permanently overrides Sun as long as Kyogre is on the field — immune to other weather setters (only another Kyogre/Groudon can override it). Spread Origin Pulse in Heavy Rain deals massive damage and shuts down every Fire move on the Koraidon team simultaneously. Rain vs Sun is the defining restricted matchup of VGC 2026.
Drizzle Rain overrides Orichalcum Pulse's Sun and weakens partner Fire moves. Non-restricted Rain setters are the backbone of Rain teams as a counter-strategy for Koraidon in restricted formats.
Snow weather overrides Sun. Blizzard hits 100% accuracy in Snow and Ice deals ×2 to Koraidon (Fighting/Dragon). Snow teams trade direct damage for weather override and Blizzard spread, though Heavy Rain remains more reliable for the weather war.
Best Koraidon Counters
Intimidate halves Attack + Fake Out locks turn 1; Parting Shot cycles Intimidate to keep Koraidon suppressed all game
Fire-type from Sun-boosted coverage hits super-effectively; doesn't resolve the Sun weather itself
Moonblast ×2 + Booster Energy outspeeds + Ghost-type full immunity to Collision Course — the most complete single Koraidon counter
Steel-type moves hit Flutter Mane ×2; watch for partner Steel coverage on the Koraidon team
Heavy Rain overrides and replaces Sun entirely; Origin Pulse spread damage; fundamentally removes Koraidon's weather advantage
Must be on-field to override Sun; if Koraidon gets a free turn first it still threatens major damage
Follow Me redirects Koraidon's attacks + Moonblast ×2; high bulk survives a hit and threatens back with Fairy coverage
Needs Koraidon to be weakened first to guarantee KO; base 80 Speed is slower than Koraidon
Moonblast provides Fairy ×2 damage; enormous bulk is extremely difficult for Koraidon to OHKO; Lunar Dance / Skill Swap support utility
Slow speed; not enough damage output to quickly KO Koraidon — needs prior chip damage
Koraidon's Tera Types: What to Expect
Removes Flying weakness (previously ×2) and gains Fire-type boost in Sun. Keeps Psychic ×2 and Ice ×2 weaknesses (though type remapping changes some interactions). Psychic moves remain effective.
Removes Dragon, Fairy, and Psychic weaknesses — major defensive remapping. To beat Tera Normal Koraidon, use Fighting ×2 (Normal is Fighting-weak), but note that Fighting moves now hit ×2 instead of neutral. Moonblast loses ×2 effectiveness.
Boosts Fighting STAB output (Collision Course hits even harder) at the cost of type defensive reshuffling. Fairy still hits ×2, Psychic still ×2 — your Fairy counters remain reliable.
Removes Psychic and Fighting weaknesses but gains Ice ×2 and Rock ×2. Counter Tera Flying Koraidon with Rock Slide spread or Ice-type moves.
FAQ
Koraidon is dangerous because Orichalcum Pulse auto-summons Sun on entry and passively boosts its Attack by ×1.3. In Sun, Collision Course gets an additional ×1.3 when super-effective. Base 135 Attack × Sun × Collision Course multiplier lets Koraidon OHKO almost anything with a Fighting-type weakness. Base 135 Speed means it outspeeds most of the meta, and Sun boosts partner Fire moves — making Koraidon a team-wide amplifier.
Yes. Koraidon is Fighting/Dragon — Fairy resists Fighting (×0.5) and is fully immune to Dragon moves. Fairy moves hit Koraidon ×2. Flutter Mane with Booster Energy outspeeds and OHKOs with Moonblast. Togekiss Follow Me redirects attacks and deals Fairy coverage. Whimsicott Prankster Encore limits Koraidon's move selection.
Yes. Kyogre's Primordial Sea summons Heavy Rain that permanently overrides Orichalcum Pulse's Sun, removing the Attack boost and weakening all partner Fire moves. Spread Origin Pulse maintains field presence. Rain vs Sun is one of the most important restricted-level matchups in VGC 2026.
Koraidon most commonly Teras to Fire (removes Flying weakness, gains Fire boost in Sun) or Normal (removes Dragon/Fairy/Psychic weaknesses). If Tera Fire: Psychic ×2 and Ice ×2 still work. If Tera Normal: Fighting ×2 still lands but Moonblast loses ×2. Build with multiple damage angles so at least one remains effective regardless of Tera choice.
Teambuilding Checklist: 3 Musts vs Koraidon
Include at least one Fairy-type attacker (Flutter Mane, Togekiss, Whimsicott) to ensure ×2 coverage on Koraidon and immunity to Dragon-type coverage moves.
Prepare a weather counter plan — Heavy Rain (Kyogre or Pelipper) is the most reliable root solution, overriding Sun and disabling the Orichalcum Pulse Attack boost.
Bring at least one Intimidate user (Incineroar, Landorus-T) to keep Koraidon's Attack suppressed and create survival windows for your team to strike back.
Usage Rate & Meta Data
Koraidon appears in nearly 30% of Regulation I teams, making it the most-used restricted Pokémon in the format — every team needs a dedicated answer built in.
Key Damage Calculations
Fairy hits Fighting/Dragon Koraidon for ×2. 252 SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast OHKOs Koraidon reliably with no investment required on Koraidon's side — the most direct damage counter available.
Kyogre's Primordial Sea immediately overrides Orichalcum Pulse on switch-in — the Attack boost goes offline and all Fire moves weaken simultaneously. Heavy Rain Origin Pulse also delivers consistent spread damage to the entire opposing field.
Intimidate drops Koraidon's effective Attack from 135 to roughly 90, giving Incineroar enough bulk to survive Sacred Fire and immediately Parting Shot out — triggering a second Intimidate on re-entry and keeping Koraidon suppressed for multiple turns.