[Overview]
Cresselia is one of the most defensively bulky Pokemon available and thanks to its wide array of support moves, Cresselia can find its way onto almost any kind of team. Levitate makes Cresselia even more flexible, allowing its partner to use Earthquake with no fear. The downsides to Cresselia are the weaknesses to Dark- and Ghost-type attacks in particular, as well as the fact it can often become a 'sitting duck' due to limited offensive power.
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[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Icy Wind
move 3: Light Screen / Reflect
move 4: Helping Hand / Protect
item: Sitrus Berry / Leftovers
nature: Bold / Calm
ability: Levitate
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Most of the time, Cresselia should be used to support the other Pokémon on your team due to its lack of attacking power. However, attacking moves are often required due to their secondary effect or for fear of the opponent using Taunt. Doing small damage with Icy Wind while lowering both of your opponent's Pokémon's Speed is incredibly useful. It allows you to break a Focus Sash or Sturdy ability while potentially giving your partner the chance to out-speed the opposition if it couldn't do so previously. Psychic provides a STAB attacking option and is handy for dealing good damage to many potential Fighting-type leads such as Infernape, Hitmontop, Hariyama, and Toxicroak,</p>
<p>Light Screen and Reflect are always useful to stiffen up the defenses of your team, which can sometimes be the difference between fainting or surviving. To make Cresselia exceptionally bulky in both defensive stats, it's usually a good idea to invest the majority of your EVs in one defense stat and use the opposite screen. However, if you find your team more susceptible to one category of attacks more than the other, use whichever screen supports you the most. Helping Hand allows Cresselia to boost the power of your partner Pokémon's attack, which is very useful due to Cresselia's limited offences. This is especially beneficial on moves such as Earthquake which hit both opposing Pokémon while Cresselia avoids damage due to the Levitate ability.</p>
<p>Sitrus Berry provides a nice one-time recovery when your HP reaches below 50%. However, while Leftovers is often not the best choice in double battles, due to the prevalence of weather conditions such as Sandstorm and Hail the option of negating the end of turn damage is greatly appreciated (as well as constant recovery if there is no damaging weather condition in play).</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to Cresselia's mammoth 120/120/130 defenses, your EV distribution is generally down to your own personal preference. Going for near enough maximum HP is usually best, while you're free to split defenses or favour one over the other. Powerful hits from Pokémon that Cresselia fears such as Tyranitar and Metagross usually mean specialising in Defense is the better option. However, Chandelure can also pack a heavy punch with Shadow Ball and may convince you to use more Special Defense EVs.</p>
<p>Using both screens in favour of Helping Hand or Protect is another option and despite some VGC battles being over in a few turns, Light Clay can prove useful, allowing your screens to stay in play longer.
team options / specific counters
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[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Protect
item: Lum Berry / Mental Herb
nature: Relaxed
ability: Levitate
evs: 252 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
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[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
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team options / specific counters
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[Other Options]
<p>Rest, Moonlight, Lunar Dance, Thunder Wave, Hidden Power, Calm Mind, Psycho Shift, Safeguard, Shadow Ball, Charge Beam</p>
[Checks and Counters]
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[Dream World]
<p>Cresselia does not have access to another ability via Dream World.</p>