Pokemon Go Cresselia counters, weaknesses, moveset, and how to beat them

Pokemon Go Cresselia counters
(Image credit: Niantic)

You'll need these Pokemon Go Cresselia counters, weaknesses, and movesets if you want another shot at catching the Legendary Pokemon Cresselia. It's arriving as Gen 4 remakes are set to release in Pokemon Go. Cresselia has always been a staple of the Sinnoh region because of its bulky stats making it the perfect support or wall to wear down opponents whether it’s in the mainline video games or in Pokemon Go. With that in mind, trainers will want to take advantage of Cresselia returning to Raids from Tuesday, November 16 at 10 a.m. local time to Wednesday, December 1 at the same time.

That gives trainers two weeks to catch as many of the Psychic-type Legendary as possible and to help with that we’ve created this handy guide that teaches players everything they need to know about Cresselia including what moves to look out for and which Pokemon to bring into battle against it.

Pokemon Go Cresselia counters

Pokemon Go Cresselia counters

(Image credit: Niantic)

Cresselia is a pure Psychic-type making it weak to Dark, Ghost and Bug-type attacks. Luckily for Pokemon Go trainers, there are plenty of Mega Pokemon of these types that can help take down Cresselia.

Mega Gengar and Mega Beedrill immediately come to mind. Both are powerful Ghost and Bug types, respectively, and can help power up other Pokemon of the same type in your party and other trainers’ party. However, both Megas are weak to Psychic-type attacks, but we’ll get into what to look out for in the next section. 

Trainers are better off using one of the many Mega Pokemon that are Dark-type like Gyarados, Houndoom and the newly added Absol. Not only will they have attacks that are super effective against Cresselia, but they’ll resist the Legendary’s Psychic moves.

Here are some of the best counters and the best moves to use against Cresselia.

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Cresselia counters
PokemonMoveset (Fast/Charged)
Mega Gyarados Bite and Crunch
Mega Absol Snarl and Dark Pulse
Mega Houndoom Shadow Claw and Shadow Punch
Mega Beedrill Infestation and X-Scissor
Tyranitar Snarl and Dark Pulse
DarkraiBug Bite/Bug Buzz
Hydreigon Bite and Dark Pulse
Giratina Shadow Claw and Shadow Sneak/Ominous Wind
Genesect Genesect

Pokemon Go Cresselia moveset

Pokemon Go Cresselia counters

(Image credit: Niantic)

Cresselia’s moveset in Pokemon Go isn’t as varied as trainers may believe. It’s a pure Psychic-type so it has plenty of Psychic-type attacks to use especially in its Fast Attack move pool.

Psycho Cut and Confusion are Cresselia’s options for Fast Attacks. Both moves are Psychic-type and will do plenty of damage to Fighting and Poison types. That’s why Mega Gengar and Mega Beedrill may not be the best options, but if you don’t have any other Mega option they will do plenty of damage before being taken out.

As for Cresselia’s Charged Attacks, the Legendary has a bit more variety. Future Sight is the only Psychic-type Charged Attack it has, but the other two options could give Dark types problems. Aurora Beam is a relatively weak Ice-type move, but its Moonblast that could give trainers trouble.

The Fairy-type move will be super effective against Dark types and four times effective against Hyrdreigon. Check out the recommended team screen before selecting your Pokemon, if it recommends non-Dark types then Cresselia likely has Moonblast as an attack. Luckily, Mega Houndoom’s Fire typing will make Moonblast neutral so consider it as a top choice.

Here’s the complete list of Fast and Charged Attacks that Cresselia can know in Pokemon Go Raids.

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Cresselia moveset
Fast MovesCharged Moves
Psycho CutAurora Beam
ConfusionMoonblast
Row 2 - Cell 0 Future Sight

How to get shiny Cresselia in Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go shiny Cresselia

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As is the case with every legendary Pokemon in raids (provided the shiny version is in the game), each catch opportunity has a 1/20 chance of being a shiny Cresselia. These odds are massively increased from the usual 1/450 chance of a standard wild Pokemon being shiny. If you do encounter a shiny Cresselia, make sure you use a Pinap Berry! A shiny legendary has a 100% catch rate (as long as you don't miss with every ball), so you don't need to use a Razz Berry. Instead you can maximise those candy gains.

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Phillip Martinez

I'm currently a GamesRadar guide contributor with a specialty in everything Pokemon GO. If you've wanted to know the best way to take down a Rayquaza, there's a good chance you read one of my guides. I previously have written for IBT Media, Newsweek and Screen Rant. I'm a huge fighting game fan and everything Pokemon, but I've grown to love RPGs.