[Guide] Best raid counters, moves, and skillsets for Kangaskhan and Heracross in Pokemon GO

Aug 11, 2021

In the Ultra Unlock Part 2: Space for Pokemon GO, some regional Pokemon that only appear in specific regions are available in the 3-star raids. These are Kangaskhan and Heracross. In the wild, Kangaskhan only appears in Australia, and Heracross only appears in Central and South America.

Kangaskhan is a Normal-type Pokemon whose max CP at Lv. 40 is 2,586. As its CP isn’t that high, it’s mostly just a collectible to fill the Pokedex. To counter Kangaskhan in the 3-star raids, all you need to prepare is some strong Fighting-type Pokemon. The best choices are Lucario, Conkeldurr, and Machamp.

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Pokemon	Type	Fast Move	Charged Move
Lucario	Fighting	Counter	Aura Sphere
Conkeldurr	Fighting	Counter	Dynamic Punch
Machamp	Fighting	Counter	Dynamic Punch

There are many moves to choose from for Kangaskhan, but since it’s a Normal-type Pokemon, none of them are quite effective. The best choice would be choosing Mud Slap for its fast move, and Outrage for its charged move.

Heracross is a Bug/Fighting-type Pokemon. Its CP maxes out at 3,101 at Lv. 40. In the 3-star raids, filling your lineup with Flying-type Pokemon will be extra-effective against Heracross. Pokemon such as Yveltar, Ho-oh, or Rayquaza that learned Flying-type attacks will be very useful.

Pokemon	Type	Fast Move	Charged Move
Yveltar	Flying/Dark	Gust	Hurricane
Ho-oh	Flying/Fire	Incinerate	Brave Bird
Rayquaza	Flying/Dragon	Air Slash	Hurricane

As a Bug-type Pokemon, Heracross trails to Pisir or Scizor, and as a Fighting-type, it's worse than Breloom, Blaziken, or Machamp. However, Heracross has more stability as its defense stats are quite good. Heracross has the most HP among all Bug-type Pokemon. Among the Fighting-type Pokemon, Heracross is ranked 5th in HP and 4th in defense — the only Fighting-type Pokemon that is better-balanced than Heracross is Poliwrath.

Unfortunately, it's not that convenient to use Heracross as a Bug-type Pokemon. Bug-type Pokemon are mostly used against the Psychic-type, but as Heracross is also a Fighting-type, it's vulnerable to Psychic-type attacks. So the best moveset for Heracross is Fighting-type attacks — Counter and Close Combat.

So, the Ultra Unlock: Part 2 has been around for a while now. With Palkia’s ability to distort space, you would have been seeing Kangaskhan and Heracross in nearby gym raids. Have you caught’ em all?