The best moveset for Shadow Cresselia in Pokémon Go

What moves should you teach Shadow Cresselia in Pokémon Go?

Cresselia in Pokemon Go, a creature with a moon-shaped head on a pink and silver background.
Image via the Pokemon Company, remix by Dot Esports

When Legendary Pokémon receive a shadow form in Pokémon Go, you’ll want to go out of your way to catch. The shadow version of Cresselia is here, and we have its best moveset.

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Catching Shadow Cresselia will be difficult. You’ll have a limited time to do it by challenging Giovanni to a battle while working through the Adventure Week: Taken Over Special Research ticket. After you reach the end, you should have a Shadow Cresselia in your collection, and you’ll want to make sure it learns the best attacks possible in Pokémon Go.

Shadow Cresselia’s best moveset in Pokémon Go

Giovanni in a dark, gloomy area with several Pokemon surrounding him.
Giovanni returns with Shadow Cresselia. Image via Niantic

Shadow Cresselia can learn the same attacks as its standard form, which are some of the best moves in Pokémon Go. You want to teach Shadow Cresselia to use the fast move Psycho Cut and then the charged moves Grass Knot and Moonblast. Unfortunately, teaching it all of these attacks will take time, and you’ll need to wait for an opportunity to remove the charged move Frustration from its moveset.

Shadow Cresselia can learn only two fast moves: Confusion and Psycho Cut. Psycho Cut is a better attack compared to Confusion because its faster and generates more energy every time you use it. Confusion hits harder, but it’s slower and provides less energy each turn than Psycho Cut. You want Shadow Cresselia to build up its energy quickly to unleash its charged moves, making Psycho Cut the winner.

Next, there are multiple charged moves to pick through for Shadow Cresselia. These are all the charged moves Shadow Cresselia can learn in Pokémon Go.

  • Aurora Beam (Ice-type)
  • Frustration (Normal-type)
  • Future Sight (Psychic-type)
  • Grass Knot (Grass-type)
  • Moonblast (Fairy-type)

Grass Knot and Moonblast are the best choices of these five options. Aurora Beam is decent as an Ice-type attack, but it’s unsuitable for Cresselia, and you’re better off avoiding it. The same goes for Future Sight, which is a heavy-hitting attack, but Moonblast is slightly better as there’s a chance to debuff an enemy, whereas Future Sight is purely damage. Again, you’ll have to wait to unlearn Frustration on Shadow Cresselia to make the most of this moveset. Still, Moonblast would be an excellent first choice, followed by swapping out Frustration for Grass Knot.

Is Shadow Cresselia good in Pokémon Go?

Should you be using Shadow Cresselia over the standard version of this Pokémon? Unfortunately, no. Like other Shadow Pokémon, Shadow Cresselia’s attack power goes up by 20 percent, but its defense goes down by 20 percent. Given how much more defensive power Cresselia has in its stats, this is not a good switch, and you’re better off sticking with the standard version of this Legendary Pokémon.

If you catch Shadow Cresselia after defeating Giovanni, it might be a good idea to purify it. We normally recommend you avoid doing that in Pokémon Go. However, for anyone who doesn’t already have a good Cresselia on their team, this would be a great way to secure one to use in the Great League.

Author
Image of Zack Palm
Zack Palm
Zack Palm has been writing about video games for the past five years. He spends his free time trying to learn about a new board, reading high-fantasy series, or working on his latest DnD character.