[SET]
Scarf (Cresselia) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 196 HP / 16 Def / 64 SpA / 232 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Ice Beam / Moonblast / Calm Mind
- Trick
- Rest / Moonlight
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=============
Choice Scarf in combination with Trick allows for Cresselia to force passive Pokemon to use weak attacks or status moves while it heals with Rest. This allows Cresselia to defeat stall Cresselia, Tapu Koko, and Pressure stall Entei. Psychic defeats Urshifu-R, while Psyshock is better against Nihilego; both attacks help against Sawk. Ice Beam gives Cresselia a favorable matchup against Garchomp as well as most Landorus-T sets. Moonblast is an option to defeat no-bulk Urshifu-S, while Calm Mind provides a better matchup against Sylveon, especially when combined with Moonlight. Moonlight gives Cresselia more reliable recovery at the expense of being weaker against status moves and having less PP. This helps against certain Spectrier sets but gives up matchups against some stall foes like Chansey.
EVs
=============
64 Special Attack EVs are used to 2HKO 4 SpD EVs Haxorus. 232 Speed EVs allow Cresselia to outspeed Tapu Koko. 196 HP with 16 Def EVs combined with a Bold Nature allows Cresselia to take 2 Adamant Haxorus Outrages while maximizing its HP. If running Moonblast instead of Ice Beam, Cresselia should run 44 Special Attack EVs to still 2HKO Haxorus while OHKOing 4 SpD Urshifu-S, 232 Speed evs to outspeed Tapu Koko, and 232 HP EVs to still take 2 Adamant Haxorus Outrages.
Usage Tips
=============
Cresselia should generally use Trick to lock the opponent into a move, which, due to Cresselia's bulk combined with recovery from Rest or Moonlight, allows for Cresselia to stall out many attacks. However, Cresselia should be wary of using Trick against opposing Choice item Pokemon; instead, Cresselia should use an attack if it can KO the foe first, such as versus Naganadel and Urshifu-R. Additionally, versus weaker Choice Scarf + Trick Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Cresselia should use Trick first as if Scarf Tapu Fini uses an attack Cresselia can stall by using Rest, and if both use Trick, then this will reset the position. This should be repeated until Trick is out of PP; then, Rest should be used to win the resulting Struggle battle.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Choice Scarf Cresselia can run maximum Speed EVs with a Timid Nature, which allows Cresselia to defeat Pheromosa without running the risk of losing to Skitter Smack variants as well and improves the Sawk matchup. However, this is generally not advised, as it requires Cresselia to lose some bulk as well as run more Speed, which is generally inadvisable when Cresselia enters Struggle wars versus opposing Choice Scarf Trick + Rest users, as being slower allows for the slower Struggle.
[SET]
Defensive Kee (Cresselia) (F) @ Kee Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonlight
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power / Psyshock
- Reflect / Skill Swap
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=============
Kee Berry, maximum Defense EVs, and Reflect allows Cresselia to defeat most physical attackers, most notably Choice Band Galarian Darmanitan. Reflect also helps against Choice Band Haxorus Outrage, as its Unnerve ability means that Cresselia's Kee Berry does not get consumed. Calm Mind + Stored Power allows for Cresselia to break through Psychic-resistant foes such as Celesteela and Ferrothorn. Moonlight provides reliable recovery, allowing Cresselia to remain healthy while boosting up. Psyshock is an option to defeat Nihilego, but this loses reliability versus the aforementioned Steel-types. Skill Swap can be used to defeat Aromatisse as well as some Sylveon and Regidrago at the cost of reliability against many physical attackers.
EVs
=============
Maximum Defense EVs with a Bold Nature is used to provide Cresselia the best odds to defeat Choice Band Galarian Darmanitan.
Usage Tips
=============
Defensive Kee Berry Cresselia is straightforward to use. Versus physical attackers, Cresselia should generally use Reflect, followed up by boosting with Calm Mind and healing with Moonlight whenever low, and finally KOing with Stored Power. Versus special attackers, Cresselia should forgo using Reflect and instead start setting up immediately with Calm Mind. When facing Ferrothorn in particular, Cresselia should use Calm Mind first instead of Reflect, as Cresselia is not immediately threatened by Ferrothorn's attacks and should only use Reflect when Ferrothorn uses Swords Dance to minimize wasted Reflect turns. Finally, it is important to be aware that this Cresselia set in particular provides many opportunities for foes to critical hit through Cresselia's boosts or get powerful secondary effects, so one should be wary of this. This set is particularly vulnerable to Taunt Pokemon such as Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko due to the lack of Icy Wind, resulting in Cresselia's inability to outspeed the Taunt users and being forced to use a weak 20-Base Power Stored Power.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Cresselia can run a fast Kee Berry set that sacrifices reliability against physical attackers such as Galarian Darmanitan but gains a better matchup against common stall answers such as Taunt Tapu Fini. This allows Cresselia to outspeed Taunt, giving it the opportunity to boost with Calm Mind and eventually overpower Tapu Fini. Additionally, a Rocky Helmet set with Psychic is an option for Cresselia to punish physical attackers, most notably Power-Up Punch Metagross and Taunt Zeraora, allowing Cresselia to flip these matchups while retaining many other physical attackers and reducing chances to get critical hit.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mishlef.509647/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nunnbetter.501592/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/glitched.579035/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sunny004.197240/
Scarf (Cresselia) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 196 HP / 16 Def / 64 SpA / 232 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Ice Beam / Moonblast / Calm Mind
- Trick
- Rest / Moonlight
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=============
Choice Scarf in combination with Trick allows for Cresselia to force passive Pokemon to use weak attacks or status moves while it heals with Rest. This allows Cresselia to defeat stall Cresselia, Tapu Koko, and Pressure stall Entei. Psychic defeats Urshifu-R, while Psyshock is better against Nihilego; both attacks help against Sawk. Ice Beam gives Cresselia a favorable matchup against Garchomp as well as most Landorus-T sets. Moonblast is an option to defeat no-bulk Urshifu-S, while Calm Mind provides a better matchup against Sylveon, especially when combined with Moonlight. Moonlight gives Cresselia more reliable recovery at the expense of being weaker against status moves and having less PP. This helps against certain Spectrier sets but gives up matchups against some stall foes like Chansey.
EVs
=============
64 Special Attack EVs are used to 2HKO 4 SpD EVs Haxorus. 232 Speed EVs allow Cresselia to outspeed Tapu Koko. 196 HP with 16 Def EVs combined with a Bold Nature allows Cresselia to take 2 Adamant Haxorus Outrages while maximizing its HP. If running Moonblast instead of Ice Beam, Cresselia should run 44 Special Attack EVs to still 2HKO Haxorus while OHKOing 4 SpD Urshifu-S, 232 Speed evs to outspeed Tapu Koko, and 232 HP EVs to still take 2 Adamant Haxorus Outrages.
Usage Tips
=============
Cresselia should generally use Trick to lock the opponent into a move, which, due to Cresselia's bulk combined with recovery from Rest or Moonlight, allows for Cresselia to stall out many attacks. However, Cresselia should be wary of using Trick against opposing Choice item Pokemon; instead, Cresselia should use an attack if it can KO the foe first, such as versus Naganadel and Urshifu-R. Additionally, versus weaker Choice Scarf + Trick Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Cresselia should use Trick first as if Scarf Tapu Fini uses an attack Cresselia can stall by using Rest, and if both use Trick, then this will reset the position. This should be repeated until Trick is out of PP; then, Rest should be used to win the resulting Struggle battle.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Choice Scarf Cresselia can run maximum Speed EVs with a Timid Nature, which allows Cresselia to defeat Pheromosa without running the risk of losing to Skitter Smack variants as well and improves the Sawk matchup. However, this is generally not advised, as it requires Cresselia to lose some bulk as well as run more Speed, which is generally inadvisable when Cresselia enters Struggle wars versus opposing Choice Scarf Trick + Rest users, as being slower allows for the slower Struggle.
[SET]
Defensive Kee (Cresselia) (F) @ Kee Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonlight
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power / Psyshock
- Reflect / Skill Swap
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=============
Kee Berry, maximum Defense EVs, and Reflect allows Cresselia to defeat most physical attackers, most notably Choice Band Galarian Darmanitan. Reflect also helps against Choice Band Haxorus Outrage, as its Unnerve ability means that Cresselia's Kee Berry does not get consumed. Calm Mind + Stored Power allows for Cresselia to break through Psychic-resistant foes such as Celesteela and Ferrothorn. Moonlight provides reliable recovery, allowing Cresselia to remain healthy while boosting up. Psyshock is an option to defeat Nihilego, but this loses reliability versus the aforementioned Steel-types. Skill Swap can be used to defeat Aromatisse as well as some Sylveon and Regidrago at the cost of reliability against many physical attackers.
EVs
=============
Maximum Defense EVs with a Bold Nature is used to provide Cresselia the best odds to defeat Choice Band Galarian Darmanitan.
Usage Tips
=============
Defensive Kee Berry Cresselia is straightforward to use. Versus physical attackers, Cresselia should generally use Reflect, followed up by boosting with Calm Mind and healing with Moonlight whenever low, and finally KOing with Stored Power. Versus special attackers, Cresselia should forgo using Reflect and instead start setting up immediately with Calm Mind. When facing Ferrothorn in particular, Cresselia should use Calm Mind first instead of Reflect, as Cresselia is not immediately threatened by Ferrothorn's attacks and should only use Reflect when Ferrothorn uses Swords Dance to minimize wasted Reflect turns. Finally, it is important to be aware that this Cresselia set in particular provides many opportunities for foes to critical hit through Cresselia's boosts or get powerful secondary effects, so one should be wary of this. This set is particularly vulnerable to Taunt Pokemon such as Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko due to the lack of Icy Wind, resulting in Cresselia's inability to outspeed the Taunt users and being forced to use a weak 20-Base Power Stored Power.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Cresselia can run a fast Kee Berry set that sacrifices reliability against physical attackers such as Galarian Darmanitan but gains a better matchup against common stall answers such as Taunt Tapu Fini. This allows Cresselia to outspeed Taunt, giving it the opportunity to boost with Calm Mind and eventually overpower Tapu Fini. Additionally, a Rocky Helmet set with Psychic is an option for Cresselia to punish physical attackers, most notably Power-Up Punch Metagross and Taunt Zeraora, allowing Cresselia to flip these matchups while retaining many other physical attackers and reducing chances to get critical hit.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mishlef.509647/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/nunnbetter.501592/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/glitched.579035/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sunny004.197240/
Last edited: