Best moveset for Galarian Moltres in Pokemon GO

Pokemon GO's upcoming event will bring the highly anticipated Galarian forms of the original legendary bird trio originating from the Kanto region. One of the variants that has peaked the interest of players is the regional form for Moltres. Given its overhauled design, it is understandable for players to be drawn to having one.

Like every other regional variant in the franchise, Galarian Moltres strives to take a beloved fan-favorite Pokemon and revitalize it for the modern pallet. As many would agree, Galarian Moltres fits this standard tenfold with its new dark phoenix design and altered type combination as well.

With the reveal of every new Pokemon coming to Pokemon GO, a wave of trainers have begun to prepare for its usage in the game's competitive Battle League. However, before one can begin to make a strategy for its use, a layer of game knowledge is required. What do players need to know about the new Moltres?

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An analysis of Galarian Moltres in Pokemon GO

Galarian Moltres as it appears in Pokemon Sword and Shield (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Unlike the standard variant of Moltres, which is a Fire and Flying-type, Galarian Moltres is a Dark and Flying-type. Given the defensive utility provided by the Dark typing, this greatly improves the usefulness of Moltres as an overall Pokemon as the Fire and Flying-type is notoriously weak, defensively.

As far as its stats go, it also goes for a more defensive orientation. With its highest stat being its defense at 231, Galarian Moltres has the potential to be a great mid-tier tank under the right circumstances. It also sports an attack stat of 202 and a stamina stat of 207 in Pokemon GO.

With this in mind, Galarian Moltres would benefit greatly from a burst-damage build that prioritizes energy generation over raw damage. It works great for defensive Pokemon as it allows them to fire off charged attacks in rapid succession to take down the opponents team or, at the very least, bait a shield.

For potential movesets, Galarian Moltres has a surprising amount of variety. For coverage, it has access to the Rock-type charged attack, Ancient Power. However, this is as deep as the movepool goes in terms of coverage moves. It should be noted that there are a few different options for Dark and Flying moves.

While Galarian Moltres is still new to Pokemon GO, many players have started running it with Wing Attack and Payback. For players with the resources to unlock the second charged attack slot, running Brave Bird is a great way to amp up Moltres' damage output for battles where it can stick around for a long time.

In summary, Galarian Moltres serves as a nice alternative to the stagnant meta pool that Pokemon GO has. While this it may not be a crushing competitor, especially with better defensive choices in the meta, it provides a suitable niche to scratch an itch for players who want a bit of variety.

Galarian Moltres serves as a solid way to put out a consistent and sustainable source of Flying and Dark-type damage with the optional Rock-type move.