Shadow Incarnate Landorus Guide — Best Counters, Is It Worth Purifying? (2026)

The Abundance Pokémon is back and it's very, very angry. 🌪️ Shadow Incarnate Forme Landorus returns during Steeled Resolve: Taken Over (April 30 – May 4, 2026) as a Shadow Legendary encounter via Giovanni. Here's your complete guide counters, moveset, the Purify debate, and everything in between.

📅 When & How to Get It

Shadow Landorus is not found in raids you get it by defeating Giovanni, the Team GO Rocket Boss.

Event window: April 30, 12:00 AM – May 4, 8:00 PM local time

How to find Giovanni:

1. Defeat 6 Rocket Grunts to collect Mysterious Components
2. Combine them to craft a Rocket Radar
3. Equip it and find a Rocket Leader (Arlo, Cliff, or Sierra)
4. Defeat the Leader to receive a Super Rocket Radar
5. Equip the Super Rocket Radar and locate Giovanni
6. Defeat Giovanni to rescue Shadow Incarnate Landorus 🎉

“

💡 During Taken Over, Rocket Grunts appear more frequently at PokéStops and in balloons grinding Mysterious Components is faster than usual. Start early on April 30!

🌩️ What Type Is Shadow Incarnate Landorus?

Shadow Incarnate Landorus is a Ground / Flying-type Legendary the same dual typing as regular Landorus. Here's its type chart:

• 🧊 Double weak to: Ice (4× effective its biggest vulnerability by far)
• 💧 Weak to: Water
• ✅ Resists: Bug, Electric, Fighting, Poison
• ✅ Double resists: Ground

The Ice double weakness is massive. Almost every top Counter exploits it bring Ice-types and you'll breeze through Giovanni's Landorus.

⚔️ Best Counters for Giovanni's Shadow Landorus

Giovanni uses Shadow Landorus as his final Pokémon. You'll need to get through his first two Pokémon before reaching it, so bring tanky attackers that can sustain a full battle. Here are the best picks for the Landorus fight:

💡 Best budget pick: Mamoswine with Powder Snow + Avalanche widely available, cheap to power up, absolutely destroys Landorus. If you have one powered up, bring it.

💡 Best overall: Galarian Darmanitan or Baxcalibur both hit like absolute trucks and resist nothing Landorus throws. Pure Ice-type damage heaven.

“

⚠️ Avoid: Ground, Electric, Bug, Fighting, and Poison-type moves they all deal reduced damage. Don't bring Raikou, Machamp, or anything Ground-type into this fight!

📊 Shadow Landorus Stats -

Hundo CP values after the Giovanni battle :

Shadow Pokémon have a minimum IV floor of 6/6/6 slightly lower than regular raid catches but the Shadow bonus more than compensates in battle performance.

🤔 Shadow or Purified — The Big Question

This is the question every trainer asks, and the answer depends on what you want to use Landorus for. Let's break it down properly:

Keep It Shadow 😈

Shadow Incarnate Landorus as a Ground-type attacker:

• Ranks A+ Tier (around #16) among all Ground-type attackers genuinely strong
• With the Shadow bonus (+20% damage), it overtakes several non-shadow Ground-types
• Best moveset: Mud Shot + Earth Power boosted in Sunny weather
• Access to Sandsear Storm pushes it above Garchomp and Excadrill in Ground DPS
• Excellent pick against Rock, Steel, Electric, Poison, and Fire-type raid bosses

Shadow Landorus in PvP (Ultra League):

• Has real niche use beats Togekiss, Steel-types, and Fairy-types reliably
• The Shadow damage boost is especially punishing for opponents in PvP
• Best PvP moveset: Mud Shot + Earth Power + Rock Slide

Verdict for Shadow: If you have a high-IV Shadow Landorus, keep it Shadow. The damage bonus in both raids and PvP is too good to throw away.

Purify It ✨

Purifying gives you:

• +2 to all IVs — a 13/13/13 becomes a 15/15/15 (hundo!)
• The Return move (typically ignored, but decent in PvP)
• Slightly cheaper to power up and evolve

When to Purify:

• If you want a budget hundo for your Pokédex a 13/13/13 Shadow becomes a perfect 100% IV after purification
• If you specifically want it for Great or Ultra League PvP where Shadow Pokémon aren't always optimal
• If you have multiple Shadow Landorus and one has very low IVs Purify that one, keep your best IV one Shadow

“

💡 Our recommendation: Keep Shadow if your IVs are 10/10/10 or higher. Only purify if you have a very high IV Shadow you want as a perfect hundo, or if you have spare Shadow Landorus to experiment with.

🏆 Best Moveset for Shadow Incarnate Landorus

For PvE Raids (Ground attacker):

• Fast: Mud Shot
• Charge: Earth Power (primary) + Sandsear Storm (secondary)

For PvP Ultra League:

• Fast: Mud Shot
• Charge: Earth Power + Rock Slide

Rock Slide provides excellent coverage in PvP it hits Flying, Bug, Ice, and Fire types that would otherwise wall Landorus. A great two-move combination for the Ultra League meta.

✅ Quick Checklist

• Build Rocket Radar before April 30 defeat 6 Grunts now
• Use Ice-type counters Mamoswine, Galarian Darmanitan, Baxcalibur
• Defeat Giovanni's first two Pokémon efficiently before Landorus appears
• Check CP after the encounter 1,897–2,050 CP = no boost, 2,372–2,563 = weather boosted
• Use a Charged TM to swap Frustration if you're keeping it Shadow (during Taken Over window!)
• Check IVs before deciding whether to Purify

Go rescue that legendary Genie good luck, trainer 🌪️