Cresselia
Feb 26 2015
Typing: Psychic
Base Stats: HP: 120 / Attack: 70 / Defense: 120 / Sp. Atk: 75 / Sp. Def: 130 / Speed: 85
Immune: Ground moves (Levitate)
Resist: Fighting (x1/2), Psychic (x1/2)
Weak: Bug (x2), Ghost (x2), Dark (x2) ,
Style: Attack
Variant: Special Attacker
Ability: Levitate - Grants immunity to Ground type moves as well as Spikes and Toxic Spikes
Notable Moves:
[SPOILER]
Psychic
Moonblast
Moonlight
Safeguard
Psycho Shift
Psyshock
Calm Mind
Toxic
Hidden Power (RIP HP Fighting :,c)
Sunny Day
Ice Beam
Protect
Light Screen
Rain Dance
Shadow Ball
Reflect
Rest
Energy Ball
Thunder Wave
Psych Up
Swagger
Sleep Talk
Substitute
Trick Room
Gravity
Helping Hand
Icy Wind
Magic Coat
Skill Swap[/SPOILER]
OVERVIEW
If there is a Pokemon that has been consistent in nearly every year in the VGC format, it's definitely Cresseila. Blessed with a nearly 120/120/130 overall defenses, this Space Duck isn't going down anytime soon. Over the years, Cresselia is often considered among the best Speed Control Pokemon in the game with access to three: Thunder Wave, Icy Wind, and Trick Room. Though her low base 75 Special Attack is considerably poor compared to the likes of other special attackers, Cresselia can still be an offensive threat and with proper investment, heck an invested Cresselia can beat a Landorus-T or even Mega Salamence with just one Ice Beam. One of the many attributes I love about Cresselia is how adaptive it's movesets can be to fit any style of team archetypes whether its' bulky offense or trick room. Of course, Cresselia has a rather shallow movepool, its one many few Pokemon that can stick around for awhile and dictate the battlefield to it team's favor if given the opportunity . This build showcased here takes a rather unique spin to Cresselia by turning this Space Duck into an bulky tank while still maintaining an supportive role.
DuckHunt Cresselia @Rocky Helmet/Safety Goggles/Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: HP 228 / Def 116 / SpA 116 / SpD 4 / Spe 44 (6 leftover evs)
Nature: Bold
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
- Icy Wind / Ice Beam
- Psyshock / Psychic / Moonblast
The Build
This set is a deviation from the traditional defensive Cresselias that most of you all who have seen in previous VGC years. Initially when I was team building my first VGC 2015 team, I wanted to take advantage of Cresselia naturally high defenses to support the team as long as possible. I have tried some interesting moves such as Skill Swap, Thunder Wave, Helping Help, and Screens (Reflect and Light Screen), yet I felt that Cresselia was always a sitting duck with little to no offensive presence (which it literally was during practice sessions). Then I realized that most VGC teams tend to have a "surprise" Pokemon up their sleeves and knowing Cresselia has a titanic defenses (120/120/130), I thought that maybe I can build around Cresselia herself instead of it being a supporting cast member.
First off, Calm Mind is one of the best setup moves in the entire game as it boost both the special stats by one stage (x1.5). Usually whenever Cresselia and with a Screener such as Rotom-W since I tend to either go with Calm Mind and either Reflect/Light Screen from my specially to stack Cresselia's overall bulk through the roof. Its astonishing how many special hit Cresselia can take after these boost while it can begin picking off pokemon with its boosted attacks. Keep in mind however, Calm Mind is best "saved" whenever Cresselia has the chance to setup considering the opponent might start doubling up on the space duck. Moonlight was added just because I needed a move that can give Cresselia longevity whenever I'm setting up at least two Calm Minds. Honestly, Moonlight itself is Cresselia's saving grace as it can just throw off my opponent momentum completely off guard and either continue setting up or attacking with either the combination of Icy Wind, Psyshock, Moonblast, etc. In addition, I can use Moonlight in conjunction of Rocky Helmet just to wear down any physical attackers like Mega Kangaskhan, Landorus-T, Mega Salamence, Mega Metagross, Mega Swampert, Bisharp, etc. Sometimes I do alternate items between Rocky Helmet, Safety Goggles, or even Colbur Berry just to give Cress more setup opportunities. Icy Wind is a very annoying speed control attack which drops the both opposing pokemon's speed by one stage. This move alongside Moonlight has been clutch in so many situation its not even funny. Best example of this move being clutch both during a semi-final and finals match against Abruptfury and Dunsel. In all of these matches, Cresselia used Icy Wind at the most critical junction of the battle and it effectively shifted the battle all to my favor. After the speed drops, my opponent's Pokemon were slow enough for either my own Pokemon (Landorus-T, Mega Kang, or Heatran at the time) effectively pick them off. I'll link the battle codes of those matches in the description. During that tourney, I wanted to try out Moonblast as a semi alternate attack to at least hit Bisharp. In the end, Psyshock was main attacking move that made Cresselia go "mixed" and hit AV users harder.
Keep in mind, player need to address whether Cresselia can either go for Icy Wind drops or setup with Cali Mind at the right moment instead of blindly going for one repeatedly. Remember even with the special stat boosts from Calm Mind, Cresselia won't 1HKO opposing Pokemon because of its low special attack stat. Most of the time, Cresselia is essentially doing chip damage against my opponent for my other Pokemon to effectively knock them out. Lately I switch Icy Wind for Ice Beam since there are situations where I cannot hit a Pokemon like Landorus-T because I risk giving say Bisharp or Milotic a Defiant/Competitive boost. Don't expect Cresselia to "sweep" in a VGC battle because there are pokemon capable of walling this set like Aegislash, Bisharp, Hydreigon, Snarl users, or etc, which is why I have Pokemon like Heatran, Terrakion, Mega Kangaskhan, Sylveon, Mega Charizard Y, Landorus-T, and etc just to help her out. I did mention that Cresselia can work best when given screen support such as from Rotom-W or Raikou as it make her into a formidable wall/tank. Yes it requires setup and turns, but this can ensure Cresselia can get off Calm Minds or an transform her into an offensive tank.
Offensive Calculations:
[SPOILER]
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