http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/cresselia
I've added the TrickScarf set by Jumpman16. Also the support set evs have been modified due to Garchomps removal. The TrickScarf set has references to Shaymin-S, because I understand that it is not definitely uber yet.
[SET]
Name: Support
Move 1: Reflect
Move 2: Moonlight / Rest
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Thunder Wave / Charge Beam / Psychic
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Reflect and Thunder Wave are both problematic for most of Cresselia's counters. Reflect halves physical damage and essentially neuters the threat of Pursuit, while Thunder Wave paralyses speedy Pokemon such as Weavile and Houndoom. Cresselia is one of the few Pokemon who can directly take Salamence on, so Ice Beam is a standard attack. Even with Cresselia's inept offensive capabilities she is still able to OHKO 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence with Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage, while Salamence only has a small chance to 2HKO with a Life Orb boosted Outrage with Stealth Rock and Leftovers factored in. It also means Cresselia is pretty certain to OHKO Salamence that may have taken 20% damage, from two Life Orb attacks. Charge Beam is Cresselia's best option against Water-types, in particular Gyarados; and the potential Special Attack boost is always welcome. Psychic helps against Infernape and Heracross, but paralysing the former with Thunder Wave is usually enough to eliminate it as a threat.</p>
<p>It should be noted that sandstorm will especially ruin this Cresselia, cutting its Moonlight recovery to 25% per use. Thus, Rest is an option; although this should only be used when paired with a Cleric. Blissey is an excellent choice for this job to sponge the special attacks Cresselia cannot while Cresselia can take on the physical threats Blissey cannot, in particular Fighting-types.</p>
[SET]
Name: Sleep Talk
Move 1: Rest
Move 2: Sleep Talk
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Charge Beam / Thunder Wave / Psychic
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Calm
Evs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Rest and Sleep Talk Cresselia gains much more survivability, while playing slightly more offensive. Rest and Sleep Talk are very desirable for many reasons. First of all, Cresselia gets her full recovery during sandstorm, compared to her only gaining 25% recovery with Moonlight. Rest and Sleep Talk also help in a stall war, Cresselia can use Sleep Talk to help with PP issues, or it can just skip and cycle with Rest, slowly lowering the opponent's PP. Charge Beam works well with Rest and Sleep Talk, possibly grabbing a few Special Attack boosts along the way. However, Thunder Wave helps against fast sweepers and may allow Cresselia to eventually get a "free" turn when the opponent is fully paralyzed. However, Psychic allows Cresselia to deal with Infernape, but a bit of Special Attack is needed to OHKO it. However, in a metagame where sandstorm and Stealth Rock are dominant, Cresselia may be able to take advantage of this to KO Infernape.</p>
[SET]
Name: Calm Mind
Move 1: Calm Mind
Move 2: Psychic
Move 3: Moonlight
Move 4: Charge Beam / Ice Beam / Hidden Power Fighting
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Timid
Evs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A slightly more offensive play on Cresselia, turning into a bit of a sweeper, while still retaining her bulk. This Cresselia can cause problems for anybody using Adamant Heracross as a Cresselia killer, as the given EVs allow Cresselia to outrun Adamant Heracross, and OHKO it with a +1 Psychic. Moonlight allows Cresselia to take advantage of her superb defenses, allowing for HP gain and the potential for more Calm Minds. The secondary attack depends on your team. Charge Beam hits Gyarados and may get an extra boost, but Hidden Power Fighting will smash Tyranitar and Weavile, two threats who would otherwise cause problems. Ice Beam can be used for Dragonite and Salamence.</p>
<p>Signal Beam can hit Dark- and Psychic-types hard, easing prediction against Celebi, Tyranitar, and Weavile. However, it does far less to the latter two compared to Hidden Power Fighting, and has worse type coverage. Substitute may be used over Moonlight to avoid status, especially when one considers Cresselia can make 101 HP Substitutes unbreakable by a single Seismic Toss.</p>
[SET]
name: Trick
move 1: Trick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Moonlight
move 4: Reflect / Psychic
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 114 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Scarf and Trick allow Cresselia to suprise so common switch-ins that expect a weak attack. However, smart opponents may see the lack of Leftovers recovery on Cresselia and realize that she is running Choice Scarf, so be careful. Ice Beam is the standard attack as Cresselia easily counters Salamence decently enough, being able to come in on any of its moves and threaten an OHKO with Stealth Rock down, while Salamence cannot OHKO back. With this set, she is also able to counter Choice Band Salamence, which the standard set cannot do, due to Cresselia being able to outspeed Salamence, courtesy of the Choice Scarf.</p>
<p>When Cresselia is done with its Choice Scarf, it can Trick it onto a Pokémon that could otherwise set up on it, like opposing Calm Mind Cresselia, CurseLax, or Calm Mind Suicune, crippling them for the rest of the match. It also means Cresselia can laugh at Rotom-A, who may want to Trick Cresselia itself, expecting it to be the standard tank. Cresselia however, must avoid Shadow Ball.</p>
<p>Reflect allows Cresselia to protect itself against the Pursuiters that commonly come in on her, such as Choice Band Tyranitar and Heracross. If they are not a problem, feel free to run Psychic over Reflect for greater coverage and STAB. Moonlight can be used before and after Tricking Choice Scarf, as it is helpful to stall out Outrages. Charge Beam is an option in the last moveslot to deter Gyarados from switching in, although it is most notable for providing a good combination with Ice Beam, as well as offering the chance to increase Special Attack.</p>
<p>The EVs allow Cresselia to outspeed positive speed natured base 110s, most notably Gengar, who she has a very slight chance to KO with Psychic after Stealth Rock damage. However, Gengar is commonly Scarfed and will outspeed Cresselia and hit her with Shadow Ball. However, Gengar cannot OHKO, as a Timid Gengar's Shadow Ball will top at 61% damage against Cresselia.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Besides the attacks already mentioned, Cresselia also learns Grass Knot and Shadow Ball, although neither is especially inviting when compared to its other options, especially when Hidden Power Fighting does more to Tyranitar. Hidden Power Fire allows Cresselia to combat any Scizor that dares switch in. Sunny Day makes Moonlight much more effective, and can be used once you have eliminated Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and Abomasnow. It does however, limit Cresselia's moveset, but is worth considering if you also have a Fire-type to primarily benefit from it. Light Screen can be used over Reflect should your desire some extra protection from special attackers. Recycle is an option over Sleep Talk, especially when paired with Chesto Berry. Psycho Shift can work with a Flame Orb to cripple Tyranitar and Scizor switch-ins, but it's a risky strategy. Toxic is a fine choice on something this bulky, as you can use Protect in conjunction with Toxic to scout Heracross's Choice Banded or Choice Scarfed moves and switch to an appropriate counter. Additionally, Toxic in tandem with Reflect can whittle down even a Choice Banded Tyranitar.</p>
<p>Special mention goes to Lunar Dance, Cresselia's signature move. If you're willing to sacrifice Cresselia, you can revitalize a stricken team mate with it.</p>
[EVs]
<p>There are a lot of ways to manage EVs on Cresselia. Here are a few EV spreads to consider.</p>
<p>Bold, 252 HP / 252 Defense / 4 Special Attack. This guarantees Ice Beam will OHKO a 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence after Stealth Rock damage, or two turns of Life Orb recoil, and focuses on taking physical hits.</p>
<p>Calm, 252 HP / 200 Defense / 56 Special Defense. This provides Cresselia with optimized defenses, allowing it to take hits from both sides of the attacking spectrum.</p>
<p>Timid, 96 HP / 252 Special Attack / 160 Speed. This hits 270 Speed, allowing Cresselia to outspeed Adamant Heracross and KO it with Psychic after a Calm Mind. If wanted, 196 Speed will allow Cresselia to outspeed Adamant Lucario, who sits at 279 Speed.</p>
<p>Generally, you should be focusing on Cresselia's HP and defenses. Speed EVs aren't required unless you're running a Calm Mind or Choice Scarf set.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Being a primarily defensive Pokémon, Cresselia's lack of a reliable recovery move is somewhat of a let down, paired by the fact that it is weak to Pursuit and lacks many important resistances (although the Fighting and Ground resistance are welcome). Still, Cresselia has massive defenses that even Lugia would be proud of and while its attacking power is rather weak, Cresselia's decent movepool allows it to function as a great counter for many of the more potent attacking threats in OU, such as Salamence, Gyarados and Infernape. Cresselia is very tough to take down, making it a solid addition to most OU teams.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Tyranitar, Heracross, Weavile, Scizor, and Houndoom do lots of damage with their STAB Dark and Bug moves, often much more than Cresselia can handle. Metagross is virtually immune to all of Cresselia's attacks. All of them can use Pursuit too, and while Cresselia's durability is enormous, it can be (almost) knocked out by a Pursuit from Tyranitar or Weavile if she tries to switch out. Thunder Wave and Reflect really help out against a lot of these, however.</p>
<p>Blissey just shrugs off Cresselia's attacks, but a Cresselia vs. Blissey match usually descends into a stall fest unless one of them is carrying Calm Mind or Charge Beam. Rest Cresselia will win in the end, though, while Moonlight Cresselia is easily stalled out of PP if a Sandstorm is active. Snorlax will easily take Cresselia's attacks and can just Curse up and finish Cresselia off with its STAB attack or Crunch. Jirachi can come in and set up Calm Minds against Cresselia as long as it doesn’t switch into a status move. Curse Swampert can come in, only fearing the rare Grass Knot, and can set up against Cresselia.</p>
<p>Generally, you'll find that Cresselia relies a lot on status, Calm Mind or a super effective move to really stop things that can set up. Without Charge Beam, Dragon Dance + Taunt Gyarados is going to set up on it with ease. Swords Dance or Nasty Plot Infernape can outdamage those Cresselia without Psychic, Thunder Wave or Toxic.</p>
I've added the TrickScarf set by Jumpman16. Also the support set evs have been modified due to Garchomps removal. The TrickScarf set has references to Shaymin-S, because I understand that it is not definitely uber yet.
[SET]
Name: Support
Move 1: Reflect
Move 2: Moonlight / Rest
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Thunder Wave / Charge Beam / Psychic
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Reflect and Thunder Wave are both problematic for most of Cresselia's counters. Reflect halves physical damage and essentially neuters the threat of Pursuit, while Thunder Wave paralyses speedy Pokemon such as Weavile and Houndoom. Cresselia is one of the few Pokemon who can directly take Salamence on, so Ice Beam is a standard attack. Even with Cresselia's inept offensive capabilities she is still able to OHKO 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence with Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage, while Salamence only has a small chance to 2HKO with a Life Orb boosted Outrage with Stealth Rock and Leftovers factored in. It also means Cresselia is pretty certain to OHKO Salamence that may have taken 20% damage, from two Life Orb attacks. Charge Beam is Cresselia's best option against Water-types, in particular Gyarados; and the potential Special Attack boost is always welcome. Psychic helps against Infernape and Heracross, but paralysing the former with Thunder Wave is usually enough to eliminate it as a threat.</p>
<p>It should be noted that sandstorm will especially ruin this Cresselia, cutting its Moonlight recovery to 25% per use. Thus, Rest is an option; although this should only be used when paired with a Cleric. Blissey is an excellent choice for this job to sponge the special attacks Cresselia cannot while Cresselia can take on the physical threats Blissey cannot, in particular Fighting-types.</p>
[SET]
Name: Sleep Talk
Move 1: Rest
Move 2: Sleep Talk
Move 3: Ice Beam
Move 4: Charge Beam / Thunder Wave / Psychic
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Calm
Evs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Rest and Sleep Talk Cresselia gains much more survivability, while playing slightly more offensive. Rest and Sleep Talk are very desirable for many reasons. First of all, Cresselia gets her full recovery during sandstorm, compared to her only gaining 25% recovery with Moonlight. Rest and Sleep Talk also help in a stall war, Cresselia can use Sleep Talk to help with PP issues, or it can just skip and cycle with Rest, slowly lowering the opponent's PP. Charge Beam works well with Rest and Sleep Talk, possibly grabbing a few Special Attack boosts along the way. However, Thunder Wave helps against fast sweepers and may allow Cresselia to eventually get a "free" turn when the opponent is fully paralyzed. However, Psychic allows Cresselia to deal with Infernape, but a bit of Special Attack is needed to OHKO it. However, in a metagame where sandstorm and Stealth Rock are dominant, Cresselia may be able to take advantage of this to KO Infernape.</p>
[SET]
Name: Calm Mind
Move 1: Calm Mind
Move 2: Psychic
Move 3: Moonlight
Move 4: Charge Beam / Ice Beam / Hidden Power Fighting
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Timid
Evs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A slightly more offensive play on Cresselia, turning into a bit of a sweeper, while still retaining her bulk. This Cresselia can cause problems for anybody using Adamant Heracross as a Cresselia killer, as the given EVs allow Cresselia to outrun Adamant Heracross, and OHKO it with a +1 Psychic. Moonlight allows Cresselia to take advantage of her superb defenses, allowing for HP gain and the potential for more Calm Minds. The secondary attack depends on your team. Charge Beam hits Gyarados and may get an extra boost, but Hidden Power Fighting will smash Tyranitar and Weavile, two threats who would otherwise cause problems. Ice Beam can be used for Dragonite and Salamence.</p>
<p>Signal Beam can hit Dark- and Psychic-types hard, easing prediction against Celebi, Tyranitar, and Weavile. However, it does far less to the latter two compared to Hidden Power Fighting, and has worse type coverage. Substitute may be used over Moonlight to avoid status, especially when one considers Cresselia can make 101 HP Substitutes unbreakable by a single Seismic Toss.</p>
[SET]
name: Trick
move 1: Trick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Moonlight
move 4: Reflect / Psychic
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 114 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Scarf and Trick allow Cresselia to suprise so common switch-ins that expect a weak attack. However, smart opponents may see the lack of Leftovers recovery on Cresselia and realize that she is running Choice Scarf, so be careful. Ice Beam is the standard attack as Cresselia easily counters Salamence decently enough, being able to come in on any of its moves and threaten an OHKO with Stealth Rock down, while Salamence cannot OHKO back. With this set, she is also able to counter Choice Band Salamence, which the standard set cannot do, due to Cresselia being able to outspeed Salamence, courtesy of the Choice Scarf.</p>
<p>When Cresselia is done with its Choice Scarf, it can Trick it onto a Pokémon that could otherwise set up on it, like opposing Calm Mind Cresselia, CurseLax, or Calm Mind Suicune, crippling them for the rest of the match. It also means Cresselia can laugh at Rotom-A, who may want to Trick Cresselia itself, expecting it to be the standard tank. Cresselia however, must avoid Shadow Ball.</p>
<p>Reflect allows Cresselia to protect itself against the Pursuiters that commonly come in on her, such as Choice Band Tyranitar and Heracross. If they are not a problem, feel free to run Psychic over Reflect for greater coverage and STAB. Moonlight can be used before and after Tricking Choice Scarf, as it is helpful to stall out Outrages. Charge Beam is an option in the last moveslot to deter Gyarados from switching in, although it is most notable for providing a good combination with Ice Beam, as well as offering the chance to increase Special Attack.</p>
<p>The EVs allow Cresselia to outspeed positive speed natured base 110s, most notably Gengar, who she has a very slight chance to KO with Psychic after Stealth Rock damage. However, Gengar is commonly Scarfed and will outspeed Cresselia and hit her with Shadow Ball. However, Gengar cannot OHKO, as a Timid Gengar's Shadow Ball will top at 61% damage against Cresselia.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Besides the attacks already mentioned, Cresselia also learns Grass Knot and Shadow Ball, although neither is especially inviting when compared to its other options, especially when Hidden Power Fighting does more to Tyranitar. Hidden Power Fire allows Cresselia to combat any Scizor that dares switch in. Sunny Day makes Moonlight much more effective, and can be used once you have eliminated Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and Abomasnow. It does however, limit Cresselia's moveset, but is worth considering if you also have a Fire-type to primarily benefit from it. Light Screen can be used over Reflect should your desire some extra protection from special attackers. Recycle is an option over Sleep Talk, especially when paired with Chesto Berry. Psycho Shift can work with a Flame Orb to cripple Tyranitar and Scizor switch-ins, but it's a risky strategy. Toxic is a fine choice on something this bulky, as you can use Protect in conjunction with Toxic to scout Heracross's Choice Banded or Choice Scarfed moves and switch to an appropriate counter. Additionally, Toxic in tandem with Reflect can whittle down even a Choice Banded Tyranitar.</p>
<p>Special mention goes to Lunar Dance, Cresselia's signature move. If you're willing to sacrifice Cresselia, you can revitalize a stricken team mate with it.</p>
[EVs]
<p>There are a lot of ways to manage EVs on Cresselia. Here are a few EV spreads to consider.</p>
<p>Bold, 252 HP / 252 Defense / 4 Special Attack. This guarantees Ice Beam will OHKO a 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence after Stealth Rock damage, or two turns of Life Orb recoil, and focuses on taking physical hits.</p>
<p>Calm, 252 HP / 200 Defense / 56 Special Defense. This provides Cresselia with optimized defenses, allowing it to take hits from both sides of the attacking spectrum.</p>
<p>Timid, 96 HP / 252 Special Attack / 160 Speed. This hits 270 Speed, allowing Cresselia to outspeed Adamant Heracross and KO it with Psychic after a Calm Mind. If wanted, 196 Speed will allow Cresselia to outspeed Adamant Lucario, who sits at 279 Speed.</p>
<p>Generally, you should be focusing on Cresselia's HP and defenses. Speed EVs aren't required unless you're running a Calm Mind or Choice Scarf set.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Being a primarily defensive Pokémon, Cresselia's lack of a reliable recovery move is somewhat of a let down, paired by the fact that it is weak to Pursuit and lacks many important resistances (although the Fighting and Ground resistance are welcome). Still, Cresselia has massive defenses that even Lugia would be proud of and while its attacking power is rather weak, Cresselia's decent movepool allows it to function as a great counter for many of the more potent attacking threats in OU, such as Salamence, Gyarados and Infernape. Cresselia is very tough to take down, making it a solid addition to most OU teams.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Tyranitar, Heracross, Weavile, Scizor, and Houndoom do lots of damage with their STAB Dark and Bug moves, often much more than Cresselia can handle. Metagross is virtually immune to all of Cresselia's attacks. All of them can use Pursuit too, and while Cresselia's durability is enormous, it can be (almost) knocked out by a Pursuit from Tyranitar or Weavile if she tries to switch out. Thunder Wave and Reflect really help out against a lot of these, however.</p>
<p>Blissey just shrugs off Cresselia's attacks, but a Cresselia vs. Blissey match usually descends into a stall fest unless one of them is carrying Calm Mind or Charge Beam. Rest Cresselia will win in the end, though, while Moonlight Cresselia is easily stalled out of PP if a Sandstorm is active. Snorlax will easily take Cresselia's attacks and can just Curse up and finish Cresselia off with its STAB attack or Crunch. Jirachi can come in and set up Calm Minds against Cresselia as long as it doesn’t switch into a status move. Curse Swampert can come in, only fearing the rare Grass Knot, and can set up against Cresselia.</p>
<p>Generally, you'll find that Cresselia relies a lot on status, Calm Mind or a super effective move to really stop things that can set up. Without Charge Beam, Dragon Dance + Taunt Gyarados is going to set up on it with ease. Swords Dance or Nasty Plot Infernape can outdamage those Cresselia without Psychic, Thunder Wave or Toxic.</p>
