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As part of the Holiday celebrations in Pokémon GO, a seasonal Holiday Stantler will be available as a 3-Star Raid boss this month. This festive form variation sees Stantler adorned with jingle bells, something you won’t find on any regular Stantler, so it’s worth getting your hands on before they disappear on December 23.

Unlike the more challenging 5-Star Raids, you should be able to take on a Stantler 3-Star Raid solo, provided you take a powerful enough team. In this guide, we’ll break down the best counters for taking on Stantler and whether it’s possible to get your hands on a special Shiny Holiday Stantler.

Best Counters for Stantler in Pokémon GO

Stantler is a Normal-type Pokémon, so it only has one real weakness in Fighting-type Pokémon. While that does narrow down the pool of super-effective powered Pokémon, there is a decent amount of effective Fighting-type Pokémon currently in the game. There’s also a couple of powerful Psychic-type Pokémon that can learn Fighting-type moves, so these could be worth including for balance.

Machamp is the obvious choice for your leading Pokémon when taking on a Stantler Raid Boss. This first-generation favourite still packs a punch, and if you have a Shadow Machamp, you really will do some damage and should make light work of this Raid Boss. Lucario, Conkeldurr and Hariyama are also good alternative Fighting-types if you don’t have a Machamp or need some reliable backup going into battle.

Best Movesets to Beat Stantler

Fighting Counters

Machamp – Counter / Dynamic Punch
Shadow Machamp – Counter / Dynamic Punch
Lucario – Counter / Aura Sphere
Conkledurr – Counter / Dynamic Punch
Hariyama – Counter Dynamic Punch

Alternative Counters

Shadow Mewtwo – Confusion / Psystrike
Mega Lopunny – Low Kick / Focus Blast
Shadow Alakazam – Counter / Focus Blast

Can Stantler be Shiny in Pokémon GO?

This special Holiday Stantler can appear as Shiny in the world of Pokémon GO. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee of encountering a Shiny Stantler, and the odds of finding one are around the same as ever, with one in 500 odds of bumping into a Shiny. Still, if you visit enough 3-Star Raid Bosses, you might be able to get your hands on your own super-special Shiny Holiday Stantler.

For more on Pokémon GO, see our guide for the upcoming Cubchoo Spotlight Hour to get your own little polar bear Pokémon before the end of the month. Or, if you’re after some festive freebies, see our list of all the Pokémon GO promo codes for this December.

Pokémon GO is available now on Android and iOS.

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