Type: Dark / Flying
Base Stats: 90 HP/ 85 Attack / 90 Defence/ 100 Sp. Atk. / 125 Sp. Def. / 90 Speed
Abilities: Berserk
Notable Moves:
Acrobatics
Agility
Air Slash
Ancient Power
Brave Bird
Fiery Wrath
Foul Play
Hex
Hurricane
Hyper Voice
Memento
Nasty Plot
Shadow Ball
Sucker Punch
Tailwind
Taunt
Tera Blast
U-turn
New Moves Gained in Gen 9:
Acrobatics
Aerial Ace
Helping Hand
Rain Dance
Sandstorm
Sunny Day
Tailwind
Tera Blast
Thief
Pros:
- Unique signature move in Fiery Wrath which is a a straight upgrade over Dark Pulse with the only drawback being a loss of 8pp
-Unique Ability (Only shared with the Dexited Drampa) in Berserk which allows Moltres-Galar to gain extra power for free.
- Very well rounded natural bulk combined with a relatively unique typing (only shared with Honchcrow, Iron Jugulius and Bombirdier) which could allow Moltres-Galar to check relevant meta threats such as Gholdengo, Meowscarada, Dragapult and Zoroark-Hisui
- A very Strong stab combination which allows Moltres-Galar To hit everything in the tier bar Kingambit
- Useful utility moves and boosting options such as Nasty Plot, Agility, Taunt and U-turn.
- A speed tier relevant enough to outpace many meta relevant threats such as Great Tusk, Gholdengo, Rotom Wash, Baxcalibur and Ceruledge
Cons:
- Almost non existent coverage without utilising Terra could stop Moltres-Galar from conquering relevant checks such as Kingambit
-Underwhelming attacking stats leaves Moltres-Galar reliant on utilising boosting options to deal damage, which unaware pokemon could easily take advantage of
- A reliance on Hurricane for damage can lead to Moltres-Galar being unreliable, especially versus Sun teams which have become prominent in the meta.
- No longevity options outside of Rest can lead to Moltres-Galar being quickly worn down if it has to aggressively switch into threats such as Gholdengo constantly
- A speed tier which while useful for out speeding the slower meta-game, crumbles quickly versus faster threatening opponents.
Terra Potential:
Terra can be utilised on either one of Moltres-Galar's stabs in order to increase their power, if taking this route Terra Dark would be preferred due to the Spam ability of Fiery Wrath
Terra Fire Could be utilised alongside Tera Blast in order to help Moltres-Galar break past checks such as Kingambit while Also offering a potent resistant to Fairy moves such as Iron Valiant's Moonblast
Terra Fighting Could additionally be utilised alongside Tera Blast in order to help Moltres-Galar surprise and conquer checks such as Kingambit and Ting-lu.
Terra Steel Additionally could be utilised to give Moltres-Galar a resistance to Fairy moves, Notably Iron Valiant's moonblast while also turning all of Moltres-Galar's previous weakness into neutral hits.
Potential Sets:
Double Dance:
Moltres-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots/Weakness Policy
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Steel/Fire/Fighting
Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Agility/Taunt/Tera Blast
- Fiery Wrath
- Hurricane/Air Slash
This Set allows for Moltres-Galar to use its natural bulk to find opportunities to set up upon pokemon that are threatened by Moltres-Galar's speed tier and unique typing which outpaces relevant meta game threats such as Gholdengo and Great Tusk, Combined with its bulk and lack of 4x Weaknesses it is likely that Moltres-Galar will be able to proc Berserk, combined with a potential weakness policy this could theoretically create a +5 Sp. Atk. monster in a single turn. Boots are Likely to be preferred however due to a rocks weakness. Taunt can be utilised over Agility in order to prevent both Phasing and Hazard boost removal attempts, such as Ting-lu's whirlwind and Toxapex's Haze. Tera Blast can also be utilised in addition to Tera Fighting/Fire to allow Moltres-Galar to surprise and break past the overwhelming Kingambit.
Taunt + 3 Attacks:
Moltres-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots/Weakness Policy
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Fighting/Fire
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Tera Blast
- Fiery Wrath
- Hurricane/Air Slash
Due to the Strength of Moltres-Galar's Bulk and the unique typing, it could instead take on a role which rather than boosting directly, relies on indirect boosts from its Ability and optionally Weakness Policy, Taunt forces threats to attack Moltres-Galar directly, Compared to the double dance set, this potential set would see a superior match-up versus more slower paced teams, Tera Fire allows for Moltres-Galar to have an option to break past potential checks such as Corviknight and Kingambit, while also giving it a resistance to powerful fairy moves. If utilised in conjunction with a weakness policy, it gives a weakness to low damage water moves such as Alomomola's whirlpool.
Verdict: Moltres-Galar can directly be compared to Iron Jugulis as they will likely compete for a slot on teams, both are relatively specially oriented offensive Dark Flying Types, However there are some unique differences, Moltres-Galar has a much superior defensive profile attributed to the massive Sp. Def. stat of 125, while Iron Jugulis has a superior Sp. Atk. stat and speed stat, with 122 and 108 compared to Moltres-Galar's 100 and 90. Iron Jugulius has much superior coverage to Moltres-Galar with powerful options such as Flamethrower and Earth power which Moltres-Galar can only envy. However what will likely be Moltres-Galar's saving grace is the fact that Iron Jugulis does not have access to any relevant boosting moves, Iron jugulis can only utilise Work up and Quark Drive + Booster energy to increase its stats. Moltres-Galar will likely be used as in a similar capacity to Iron Jugulis, with the main tradeoff being Boosting moves compared to Coverage and initially superior stats.
It is likely that Moltres-Galar will be able to carve out a Niche in the OU metagame.