One of the three legendary birds of the original Pokemon games, the fire type Moltres is a part of a group of legendary Pokemon most known by fans. Not only for being iconic as one of the first legendary Pokemon but being featured frequently in Pokemon media like in movies and the anime and as important moments in games.
About Moltres
| First appearance in anime | In the Pokemon Original series episode ‘Island of the Giant Pokémon!’ |
| First appearance in game | Red and Blue |
| Region | Kanto |
| Evolution | None |
Moltres’s Base Stats
| HP | 90 |
| Attack | 100 |
| Defense | 90 |
| Sp. Attack | 125 |
| Sp. Defense | 85 |
| Speed | 90 |
Galarian Moltres
| HP | 90 |
| Attack | 85 |
| Defense | 90 |
| Sp. Attack | 100 |
| Sp. Defense | 125 |
| Speed | 90 |
Appearance
Moltres is a gigantic, golden feathered bird with flaming accents. These flames form a crest on its head as well as a layer on the lower edges of its wings and a tail. It has a long and pointed orange beak as well as similarly orange talons.
Behavior
Moltres is a solitary Pokemon and is rarely seen. It is usually found near active volcanoes as not only does the environment keep it solitary but it also can douse itself in magma to heal itself. Though, when Moltres is found by humans, it is known to help those lost near its mountainous habitat.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Moltres is a dual fire/flying type, making its type matchups rather interesting. It is immune to ground type moves and is strong against fighting, steel, fire, and fairy type moves as well as bug and grass type moves, taking half damage from the first four and quarter damage from the latter two. It's weak to water and electric type moves and takes double damage from them. And finally it's especially weak to rock type moves and will take quadruple damage from them.
Galarian Moltres is a dual dark/flying type giving it more interesting type matchups than its normal form. It's completely immune to both ground and psychic type moves and takes only half damage from ghost, grass, and dark type moves. It is weak to and takes double damage from rock, electric, ice, and fairy type moves.
Galarian Moltres
Galarian Moltres is the form of Moltres which appears in the Galar region. Galarian Moltres is found only in the Crown Tundra and looks very different to normal Moltres. Galarian Moltres has black feathers along with red markings on its face and down its chest. The flame plumage is also now a deep red color. Most notable though is that Galarian Moltres is a completely different type to normal Moltres. Galarian Moltres is no longer a fire type and is now a dual dark/flying type.
Shiny Moltres
Shiny Moltres is the rare, recolored version of Moltres. Shiny Moltres has few differences between itself and its normal form. A Shiny Moltres has bright pink feathers rather than its normal bright orange. Its flames stay the same color though a Shiny Moltres does have a smaller detail, its beak and talons are also a different color, now being a deeper pink.
Best Moveset for Moltres
Offensive: Moltres’ typing is both its strength and weakness. It gives it good coverage across many different types but is countered pretty intensely by its weaknesses. This makes it good for quickly dealing lots of super effective damage with a wide range of move types.
| Hurricane | Roost |
| Fire Blast | U-turn/Defog/Agility |
Defensive: Despite its weaknesses, Moltres can learn some effective stalling and supportive moves like Defog, Toxic, and Will-O-Wisp. This makes it able to act as a hard to take down support Pokemon.
| Roost | Flamethrower |
| Defog | Toxic/Will-O-Wisp/Roar |
How to Catch Moltres in Pokemon Go
Obtaining a Moltres in Pokemon Go is the same as most legendary Pokemon. It will randomly appear as a raid boss and once it is defeated the player will have an opportunity to capture it.
Explainer Video
Trivia
Moltres’ name could come from a combination of the word molten as well as the Spanish word ‘tres’ which means three, possibly a reference to the trio of legendary birds it was a part of.
Moltres is the flame Pokemon, the same category as Charmeleon, Charizard, Flareon, and Infernape.
Three Australian Beetles were named after the three legendary birds, one of which being Binburrum moltres, named after Moltres.
FAQs
What evolves into Moltres?
Moltres is a legendary Pokemon, meaning it, along with all other legendary Pokemon, has no evolution line.
How do you get Moltres?
Moltres is often found in mountainous areas in the games, the only exception is Pokemon Go where it appears as a raid boss.
Is Moltres a phoenix?
With its visual design and detail that it is born in and heals in magma, it's clear that Moltres as well as its Galarian form are based on the mythical bird Phoenix.
Conclusion
Moltres is an iconic legendary and is once again in the spotlight along with the other two legendary birds due to their new Galarian forms. Both the normal and Galarian forms are powerful and useful Pokemon and each have incredible strengths in battle when used right.
