Solgaleo is back in Pokémon GO 5-star raids from February 16 through February 21, 2026, and it's one of the more important Legendary Pokémon to farm right now. Not because Solgaleo itself is a dominant raid attacker — it isn't — but because it's half of the recipe for Dusk Mane Necrozma, one of the strongest PvE Pokémon in the game. If you missed its previous appearance in July 2025, this is your window.
Quick answer: Solgaleo is a Psychic/Steel type weak to Fire, Ground, Ghost, and Dark. Your best counters are Mega Charizard Y (Fire Spin / Blast Burn), Mega Blaziken (Fire Spin / Blast Burn), Primal Groudon (Mud Shot / Precipice Blades), Dawn Wings Necrozma (Shadow Claw / Moongeist Beam), and Blacephalon (Astonish / Mind Blown). You need a minimum of 2 trainers with top-tier counters, though 3–5 is the comfortable range.
Solgaleo Stats and Raid CP
Solgaleo has a max CP of 4570, with an attack stat of 255, defense of 191, and stamina of 264. As a raid boss, it sits at 47,461 CP with 15,000 HP. After you defeat it, the catch encounter CP falls within a specific range depending on weather conditions.
| Condition | CP Range | Level |
|---|---|---|
| No weather boost | 2219 – 2310 | 20 |
| Windy or Snow boost | 2774 – 2887 | 25 |
| Research encounter | 1732 – 1810 | 15 |
A 100% IV Solgaleo from raids lands at exactly 2310 CP without weather boost, or 2887 CP with Windy or Snow weather active. If you see either of those numbers on the catch screen, you've got a perfect one.
Solgaleo Weaknesses and Resistances
The Psychic/Steel typing gives Solgaleo four exploitable weaknesses, all at 1.6× effectiveness in Pokémon GO: Fire, Ground, Ghost, and Dark. Fire-type attackers dominate the counter list because many of the game's strongest Fire Pokémon carry Community Day exclusive moves like Blast Burn.
On the defensive side, Solgaleo resists a massive ten types. Poison and Psychic moves deal heavily reduced damage (roughly 39% of normal), while Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Rock, and Steel are all reduced to about 63%. Avoid bringing anything from those categories.
Best Solgaleo Raid Counters
Fire types make up the bulk of the top counters, but strong Ghost, Dark, and Ground attackers fill important roles too — especially if you lack Community Day move access on your Fire starters. The ranking below uses a combined DPS and total damage output score without Party Power or weather bonuses applied.
| # | Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Move | TTW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mega Charizard Y | Fire Spin | Blast Burn* | 445s |
| 2 | Mega Blaziken | Fire Spin | Blast Burn* | 434s |
| 3 | Blacephalon | Astonish | Mind Blown* | 436s |
| 4 | Primal Groudon | Mud Shot | Precipice Blades* | 456s |
| 5 | Dawn Wings Necrozma | Shadow Claw | Moongeist Beam | 450s |
| 6 | Mega Gengar | Lick* | Shadow Ball | 451s |
| 7 | Shadow Chandelure | Fire Spin | Shadow Ball | 473s |
| 8 | Shadow Heatran | Fire Spin | Magma Storm* | 490s |
| 9 | Mega Garchomp | Mud Shot | Earth Power* | 499s |
| 10 | Shadow Hydreigon | Bite | Brutal Swing* | 504s |
| 11 | Reshiram | Fire Fang | Fusion Flare* | 515s |
| 12 | Mega Charizard X | Fire Spin | Blast Burn* | 515s |
| 13 | Mega Tyranitar | Bite | Brutal Swing | 509s |
| 14 | Shadow Moltres | Fire Spin | Overheat | 509s |
| 15 | Shadow Darmanitan | Fire Fang | Overheat | 498s |
Moves marked with an asterisk (*) are legacy or event-exclusive. Blast Burn requires a Community Day Elite TM if you missed the original event window. Mega Charizard Y offers the best balance of raw DPS and survivability, fainting only about 12 times across the fight. Blacephalon hits harder per second but goes down 21 times, so you'll burn through more revives.
How Many Trainers You Need
The absolute minimum is 2 trainers with maxed-out Level 50 counters, best friend bonus, and Mega boost active. That's a tight fight with very little room for error. A group of 3–5 high-level trainers is the practical sweet spot, and 6 or more makes it comfortable for players with less optimized teams. Organize your raid parties ahead of time so you're not scrambling in the lobby — pre-set teams save valuable seconds, especially if your first team faints and you need to rejump.
Solgaleo Moveset as a Raid Boss
Solgaleo can use Zen Headbutt (Psychic) or Fire Spin (Fire) as its fast move, and its charged move pool includes Psychic Fangs (Psychic), Iron Head (Steel), Flamethrower (Fire), and Solar Beam (Grass). Solar Beam is the most dangerous for Ground-type counters like Primal Groudon and Mega Garchomp, since it deals super effective damage. If you see your Ground types dropping unusually fast, that's likely the moveset you're facing.
How to Get Solgaleo Outside of Raids
Raids are the fastest route, but there are other paths. You can evolve Cosmoem into Solgaleo during daytime hours using 100 Cosmog Candy. Cosmoem itself evolves from Cosmog for 25 candy. The only way to obtain Cosmog is through the "Cosmic Companion" Special Research questline.
There's also a small chance of encountering Solgaleo through GO Battle League rewards once you hit Rank 20, since the Legendary raid pool is included in GBL encounter rewards. The odds are low, and the pool is shared with other available Legendaries, so don't count on this method.
The Solgaleo Raid Hour falls on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM local time, with increased Solgaleo spawns at gyms. That's your best opportunity to chain multiple raids efficiently.
Fusing Solgaleo with Necrozma for Dusk Mane
The main reason to stockpile Solgaleo is the Necrozma fusion mechanic. Fusing a Solgaleo with a Necrozma creates Dusk Mane Necrozma, which is a top-tier raid attacker and one of the strongest Pokémon in the entire game for PvE content.
The fusion requires 1,000 Solar Fusion Energy, 30 Cosmog Candy, 30 Necrozma Candy, plus one Solgaleo and one Necrozma. Solar Fusion Energy drops from Dusk Mane Necrozma raids at a minimum of 80 per raid, so you'll need at least 10–13 of those raids to hit the threshold. Dusk Mane Necrozma raids are not currently active, so grab your Solgaleo now and save it for when those raids return.
One critical detail: the fused Dusk Mane Necrozma inherits its stats from the Necrozma, not the Solgaleo. This means you should fuse your best-IV Necrozma with your worst Solgaleo, preserving any high-IV Solgaleo for standalone use in Master League PvP. The fusion also grants the legacy move Sunsteel Strike, which has an Adventure Effect that attracts daytime Pokémon spawns for 10 minutes when activated with 3,000 Stardust and 3 Necrozma Candy.
Solgaleo in the PvP and PvE Meta
On its own, Solgaleo is a middling attacker. It ranks around the top 70 for both Steel-type and Psychic-type raid damage, well behind Dusk Mane Necrozma, Mega Metagross, and Crowned Sword Zacian. It cannot be placed in gyms as a defender since it's a Legendary.
In PvP, Solgaleo is viable in Master League with a top-31 ranking, though it faces stiff competition from Metagross, Zacian, and Dialga. It's essentially unusable in Ultra League — its stats compress poorly under the 2500 CP cap.
Shiny Solgaleo Availability
Shiny Solgaleo has not been released in Pokémon GO. There is no chance of encountering a shiny variant from raids, research, or evolution at this time. Solgaleo also cannot Dynamax in the current game.
Catching Tips
Solgaleo has a base catch rate of just 2%, which is standard for Legendary raid bosses. Use Golden Razz Berries on every throw and aim for excellent curveball throws to maximize your odds. The circle is moderately sized, so consistent great throws are realistic with practice. If it flees after all Premier Balls, that's just bad luck — there's no guaranteed catch mechanic for raid Legendaries.
Getting at least a few Solgaleo before February 21 is worth the effort, even if you don't plan to use it directly. The Necrozma fusion alone makes it one of the more strategically important Legendaries to have in your storage, and raiding Solgaleo also drops Cosmog Candy, which you'll need for powering up Lunala or completing future evolutions.