Dynamax Moltres Counters and Battle Tips for Pokemon GO

Dynamax Moltres has arrived in Pokémon GO’s Max Battles, bringing a fiery challenge that demands sharp strategy and the right counters. As a formidable Fire and Flying-type Legendary, it boasts a rare combination of strengths and vulnerabilities, with Rock, Water, and Electric moves dealing the most damage. But with no Rock-type Dynamax Pokémon available, trainers must rely on powerful Water and Electric-type Gigantamax and Dynamax Pokémon like Gigantamax Blastoise, Kingler, and Toxtricity to turn the tide. Ready your team, master the Max Meter, and prepare for an epic showdown against this blazing avian boss from February 3 to 10, 2025.

Below, we list out some general Max Battle tips and counters for Dynamax Moltres in Pokémon Go.

Dynamax Moltres weakness

Dynamax Moltres, a Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon, has key weaknesses to Rock-, Water-, and Electric-type moves in Pokémon GO. Notably, Rock-type attacks deal the most damage at 256%, while Water and Electric moves also hit super-effectively. However, there are currently no Dynamax Pokémon with Rock-type max moves available, making Water and Electric-type Dynamax counters like Gigantamax Kingler, Gigantamax Toxtricity, Dynamax Inteleon, and Dynamax Zapdos the best choices to exploit Moltres’s vulnerabilities. Players should focus on these types of moves to efficiently counter Dynamax Moltres in Max Battles.

Moltres is fire- and flying-type, so it only has two weaknesses to exploit: rock-, water-, and electric-type moves. Just like with its siblings Articuno and Zapdos, the problem is that there aren’t any Dynamax Pokémon that have rock-type Dynamax moves (as of this writing).

There are actually quite a few water-type Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon, so you should have a pretty decent spread to use for this.

Dynamax Moltres best counters

The best counters for Dynamax Moltres in Pokémon GO focus on exploiting its weaknesses to Rock, Water, and Electric-type moves. Since there are no Rock-type Dynamax Pokémon available, trainers should prioritize Water and Electric-type Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon such as Gigantamax Kingler with Bubble, Gigantamax Blastoise with Water Gun, Gigantamax Toxtricity with Spark, Dynamax Inteleon with Water Gun, and Dynamax Zapdos with Thunder Shock. Machamp and Zapdos are also strong choices due to their access to Rock-type moves like Rock Slide and Ancient Power, which deal the most damage to Moltres despite the lack of Rock-type Dynamax options. These counters combine high offensive power with type advantages to effectively challenge Dynamax Moltres in Max Battles.

With the above in mind, there are a few counters to bring to Moltres. We recommend the following to focus on offensive moves:

GigantamaxKingler with Bubble
Gigantamax/Dynamax Blastoise with Water Gun
Gigantamax Toxtricity with Spark
Dynamax Inteleon with Water Gun
Dynamax Zapdos with Thunder Shock

Moltres doesn’t have complex movesets like its siblings, so you don’t have to worry too much about conflicting typing. The only concern here would be using Zapdos if Moltres has Ancient Power, which can hurt it quite a bit.

As for defense, you should bring the following with Max Guard and Max Spirit:

Gigantamax/Dynamax Blastoise with Water Gun
Metagross with Zen Headbutt
Excadrill with Metal Claw

These Pokémon are just meant to tank hits from Moltres, while they quickly charge up the max meter with their fast moves. Blastoise is preferred, but Excadrill and Metagross can both hold their weight.

Even if you don’t have these powered up, consider just bringing the strongest Dynamax Pokémon you have. If you have a maxed out Dynamax Gengar and your Dynamax Sobble isn’t evolved to Inteleon (and you don’t have the means to power it up), just bring your Gengar.

General Max Battle tips

In Max Battles against Dynamax Moltres in Pokémon GO, it is crucial to focus on using only Fast moves initially to quickly charge your Max Meter, as Charged attacks are slower and less efficient for this purpose. Dodging incoming attacks is simple: when you see three white lines above your Pokémon’s head, swipe left or right to avoid damage. Collect bonus pink Max Meter charge icons when they appear to speed up the process. Once your Max Meter is full, you have a brief window to choose which Pokémon to Dynamax, allowing you to unleash powerful Max moves for three turns. After the Dynamax phase, you can switch Pokémon without cooldown, enabling strategic team management. Remember to coordinate with your team, prioritize counters with Water, Electric, or Rock-type moves against Moltres, and use Pokémon capable of Dynamax or Gigantamax to maximize your chances of victory.

If you’ve been struggling in Max Battles, here are some general tips to survive – and make sure you’re an asset to your team. While Gigantamax Battles are tough, a Legendary Max Battle shouldn’t be as tough as that. You can slack a little, but you should still heed our advice:

Make sure you have enough players. High-efficiency players with maxed out investments will likely be able to solo Moltres, but this isn’t going to be realistic for most people. Try to go at it with three other players for the highest chance of winning. Note that unlike Gigantamax Pokémon, the Dynamax Legendary Pokémon have a max party size of four (rather than 40).
Don’t sleep on Max Spirit and Max Guard. Teams work best when there’s a variety of moves, not just maxed-out attacks. Each player should bring Pokémon with the defensive and healing moves unlocked as well. Max Guard will focus single-target damage towards you and reduce the damage taken and Max Spirit will heal the whole party, so these moves are really important to make sure your damage-dealers can keep dishing.
Remember to swap to super effective moves when it’s time to Dynamax. For Dynamax Pokémon, their max moves are determined by whatever type their fast move is. This means if you have a Cryogonal with Frost Breath, it will know Max Hailstorm. A Gengar with Lick will know Max Phantasm. Take advantage of this and make sure to swap to a Pokémon that will deal super effective damage to your target before Dynamaxing, if you can.
Focus on your fast moves. You want to spam your fast moves to build up that Dynamax meter and often times, using your charge move is actually a DPS loss when compared to the damage you could be doing with your max move will be. Spam those attacks!
Level up a few ’mons, but you don’t have to go too hard. Depending on your group size, you absolutely do not need to max out all your Dynamax Pokémon to level 40-50. While this will make it easier on the rest of your group, if this isn’t an investment you can make, you don’t have to stress about it. Power things up as high as you can afford to, but don’t fret if you don’t have a maxed out Pokémon.
That all being said, make sure to come as prepared as you can be. This is a team effort and there’s a chance that a full group of four can still fail. Do not just bring your unleveled Dynamax Wooloo expecting a free ride to a powerful Pokémon. (After all, if everyone does that, then you certainly won’t clear the battle.) Again, you don’t have to completely max out your Pokémon, but it will be better for everyone involved if you bring something helpful to the table.
Keep your eye out for a shiny Moltres! If you clear the raid, there is a chance that the Moltres you catch will be shiny – which also means it’ll be a guaranteed catch. Use a Pinap Berry to score extra candy if you get lucky enough to find a sparkly Moltres.

How can I exploit Moltres’s weaknesses to win the battle quickly

To quickly win the battle against Dynamax Moltres in Pokémon GO, focus on exploiting its key weaknesses: Rock-, Water-, and Electric-type moves. Moltres has a double weakness to Rock-type attacks, making Rock moves the most effective, dealing about 56% more damage, while Water and Electric moves deal around 25% more damage each.

Battle tips to exploit these weaknesses:

Use Rock-type Pokémon with powerful Rock moves such as Rampardos, Rhyperior, or Tyranitar to maximize damage output.
Include Water and Electric-type Pokémon like Gigantamax Blastoise, Kingler, or Toxtricity if you lack strong Rock counters.
Ensure your Pokémon’s Combat Power (CP) is equal or higher than Moltres’s CP (up to 3272) to maintain a damage advantage.
Leverage Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) by using Pokémon whose type matches their moves, increasing damage by 25%.
Beware of Moltres’s charged moves, which include Fire, Rock, and Flying types; choose counters resistant to these or able to survive their hits.
Coordinate with teammates to keep pressure and reduce Moltres’s health efficiently, especially in Max Battles where teamwork is crucial.

By assembling a team focused on these weaknesses and using optimal movesets, you can defeat Dynamax Moltres swiftly and with fewer resources.

What are the most effective moves to exploit Moltres’s double-weakness to Rock attacks

The most effective moves to exploit Dynamax Moltres’s double weakness to Rock-type attacks in Pokémon GO are Rock Throw and Rock Slide. These moves benefit greatly from Moltres’s double vulnerability, dealing about 256% damage. Rock Throw is a fast move with good damage per second (DPS), while Rock Slide is a charged move that hits multiple targets, making it ideal for raid battles.

Top Rock-type Pokémon with these moves include:

Tyranitar (regular or Shadow) with Rock Throw and Rock Slide
Rampardos with Rock Throw and Stone Edge
Rhyperior (regular or Shadow) with Smack Down or Rock Throw and Rock Wrecker or Stone Edge
Terrakion with Smack Down and Rock Slide

Using these movesets maximizes damage output against Moltres, leveraging its double weakness to Rock attacks and the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) for significant advantage in battle.