Pokemon Go Cresselia Raid Guide - How to Catch, Best Counters

Now that Giratina has come and gone, it's time for Pokemon Go players to battle something a bit more...fabulous. Enter Cresselia: the Lunar Pokemon. This boat of a Pokemon was renowned in the main series games as a defensive stalwart of high-level play. While Pokemon Go has made strides towards making tankier Pokemon more useful, legendary tanks don't see much use (looking at you, Regis.) While Cresselia won't be overly useful until legendaries can be put in gyms, you'll still get tons of items for doing the raids, and what's better than raiding with your friends? Here's all you need to know about Cresselia: 

Cresselia Raid Basics

Cresselia spawns at 30849 CP and is a Psychic-type, meaning it will receive a Weather Boost under Windy conditions. Its catchable CP is 1555 – 1663 CP under normal weather conditions and 1944 – 2041 CP under Windy conditions. Here are the moves you'll see Cresselia use: 

Fast Moves	Charge Moves
Psycho Cut	Moonblast
Confusion	Aurora Beam
	Future Sight

Confusion and Future Sight is the only moveset worth looking for, but it's not like Cresselia is a useful attacker anyway. If anything, you're looking forward to Aurora Beam, since it's the only move that doesn't hit one of Cresselia's best raid counters for super effective damage. What are Cresselia's best counters? Glad you asked. 

Cresselia Best Raid Counters

Mewtwo

Shadow Ball Mewtwo is the top Cresselia counter when factoring in damage and survivability. Even Mewtwos without Shadow Ball can be effective against Cresselia, but ones with Shadow Ball will do the most damage. 

Tyranitar

You get the gist by now, right? Bite/Crunch Tyranitar is the best non-legendary counter to all Psychic-type Pokemon, and using it against Cresselia is no different. Watch out for Moonblast as it preys on Tyranitar's Dark typing. 

Gengar

Legacy Moveset Gengar is the glass cannon option - it will die quickly due to its Psychic-type weakness, but will deal more damage than its peers. 

Houndoom

The Gen II and Dark-type events no doubt gave Trainers a bunch of Houndooms to add to their box, either through evolving Houndours or battling them in raids. Use Snarl/Foul Play as its moves for the best damage.

Weavile 

One of the newest and most powerful Dark-type attackers in the game, Weavile, makes a great Cresselia counter. Faint Attack and Foul Play are the moves you'll want to use. It is a bit squishy, so be careful, and watch out for Moonblast! 

Any Bug, Dark, and Ghost-type Attackers

As always, just play to Cresselia's weaknesses if you want to bring it down. Scizor, Pinsir, Honchkrow, Absol, and Sharpedo are among the best of the rest if you lack the above Pokemon. 

Weather

Cresselia and its Psychic moves are boosted under Windy conditions. Snowy conditions will boost Aurora Beam, but even with the boost it shouldn't hit too hard. Cloudy conditions will boost Moonblast, so keep your Tyranitars away if the clouds are out. Rainy (Bug) and Foggy (Dark/Ghost) are the best conditions for dealing damage to Cresselia. 

How Many Players Do I Need?

3-5 players with optimal counters under ideal conditions should be all you need. As always, though, the more the merrier! Especially if folks are bringing Tyranitars, Gengars, and other optimal counters. 

Best of luck in your Cresselia raids, Trainers! If you haven't gotten your hands on Dark-type attackers like Honchkrow and Weavile, then check out our guide on how to evolve your Murkrows and Sneasels to add these valuable Pokemon to your team!