In Ruby & Sapphire, Moltres is a Legendary Pokemon rated B-Tier. At 580 BST, it hits hard. It excels as a pivot. Hiddenpowergrass with Leftovers is the standard set.

What is Moltres weak to?

In Ruby & Sapphire, Moltres's biggest threats include Golem (Rock), Gyarados (Water), and Raikou (Electric), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Golem is the most dangerous since Rock moves deal 4x damage.

What is the best ability for Moltres?

Pressure is the go-to ability for Moltres. It increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one. Its hidden ability Flame Body can work in specific setups.

What role does Moltres play in battle?

Moltres is a mixed attacker with base 100 Attack and 125 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 90 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. Fits the pivot role.

What are the best moves for Moltres?

For Ruby & Sapphire, the core moveset is Hiddenpowergrass, Will O Wisp, Flamethrower, and Roar. Hiddenpowergrass leads at 21% usage. Flamethrower provides reliable STAB damage.

Moltres - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Mixed

Pivot

BTier

90Speed · Above Avg

Stats & Training

Everything pushes toward special damage here. Moltres's Sp. Atk does the work, Sp. Def pays the price. But you're still getting 3 Sp. Atk EVs per KO. Near-impossible to catch, on a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

Pseudo

HP90

Attack100

Defense90

Sp. Atk125

Sp. Def85

Speed90

Total580

Details

Catch Rate

Legendary3 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height2.0 m

Weight60.0 kg

Base XP290

Abilities

PressureTop Pick

Increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one.

Flame BodyHANot in game

Has a 30% chance of burning attacking Pokémon on contact.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpA+3SpDSpe

Strong Special Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

MOLTRES is a legendary bird POKéMON that has the ability to control fire. If this POKéMON is injured, it is said to dip its body in the molten magma of a volcano to burn and heal itself.

Moltres Weakness

Type-wise, Moltres takes extra damage from Rock, Water, and Electric. Watch out for Rock attacks, those deal 4x damage. Ground moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. The Fire/Flying typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. With 90 HP and balanced defenses, Moltres can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.

Moltres Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
4x (Critical)	Rock
2x (Weak)	Water, Electric
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Fighting, Steel
0.25x (Resist)	Grass, Bug
0x (Immune)	Ground

Type ChartGood

3Weak

5Resist

1Immune

Score+2

Gen III Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move

4xCritical

2xWeak

½xResist

¼xResist

0xImmune

STAB (5)

Grass Ice Bug Steel Fighting

How to Beat Moltres in Ruby & Sapphire (Best Counters)

In Ruby & Sapphire, Forretress's Explosion hits Moltres for 56-66%. Steelix deals 56-66% with Explosion.

SkarmoryResists Flying, wears down with Toxic, sturdy guarantees survival SteelFlying	A
Recommended Build AbilityKeeneye ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves SpikesHazard RoarUtility ToxicUtility ProtectPriority View Skarmory builds →
ForretressSturdy guarantees survival, walls physical sets BugSteel	B
Recommended Build AbilitySturdy ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves SpikesHazard Rapid Spin Explosion Earthquake Damage vs Moltres Rapid Spin 12-14% Explosion 56-66% View Forretress builds →
SteelixResists Flying, wears down with Toxic, threatens with Rock Slide SteelGround	B
Recommended Build AbilityRockhead ItemLeftovers NatureImpish Moves EarthquakeSTAB RoarUtility Explosion ToxicUtility Damage vs Moltres Explosion 56-66% View Steelix builds →
Glalie Ice	C
Recommended Build AbilityInnerfocus ItemSalacberry NatureTimid Moves SpikesHazard Explosion Ice Beam TauntUtility Damage vs Moltres Explosion 46-54% Ice Beam 29-34% View Glalie builds →
BanetteThreatens with Thunder Wave Ghost	C
Recommended Build AbilityInsomnia ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves Hidden Power Fighting Shadow Ball Will O Wisp Knock Off Damage vs Moltres Shadow Ball 45-53% Knock Off 13-15% View Banette builds →

Ruby & Sapphire Evolution

No breeding, no evolution. Moltres is a Fire/Flying legendary with 580 base stat total that you obtain once and build around. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

No Evolution

#146MoltresDoes not evolve

Breeding

Unavailable

Undiscovered egg group

Ruby & Sapphire Moltres Best Moveset

This build takes hits and hits back. Leftovers provides passive recovery each turn, Pressure supports the gameplan, and max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs mean Moltres doesn't crumble to chip damage. Plus utility options backing it up.

Best Build

Highly recommended

Support

Ability

Pressure

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Best Nature for Moltres

Timid+SPE

Moltres best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed

EVs

SpA

SpD

Spe

Support Moveset

Hidden Power Grass
Will O WispSTAB
FlamethrowerSTAB
RoarSLOW -6Utility

Recommended Teammates

SkarmoryGood

TyranitarGood

GengarGood

Moves

Most of Moltres's flexibility comes from TMs. Same-type output runs through Sky Attack and Overheat, but Normal and Fighting and the rest of the TM pool push it from predictable to genuinely threatening.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Ember

—4010025Fire

Lv 1

Wing Attack

—6010035Flying

Lv 13

Fire Spin

—357015Fire

Lv 25

Agility

D——30Psychic

Lv 37

Endure+4

D——10Normal

Lv 49

Flamethrower

S9510015Fire

Lv 61

Safeguard

D——25Normal

Lv 73

Heat Wave

—1009010Fire

Lv 85

Sky Attack

—140905Flying

TM Moves

TM40

Aerial Ace

C60—20Flying

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM42

Facade

C7010020Normal

TM38

Fire Blast

B120855Fire

TM35

Flamethrower

S9510015Fire

HM02

Fly

—709515Flying

TM21

Frustration

——10020Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TM50

Overheat

B140905Fire

TM17

Protect+4

B——10Normal

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM05

Roar-6

A——20Normal

HM06

Rock Smash

—2010015Fighting

TM20

Safeguard

D——25Normal

TM37

Sandstorm

———10Rock

TM43

Secret Power

—7010020Normal

TM47

Steel Wing

C709025Steel

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Moltres doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Moltres can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Moltres in Ruby & Sapphire

Moltres can't be caught in Ruby & Sapphire. Bring it over from Red, Yellow, or Let's Go Pikachu instead. The encounter info below covers the source games.

Moltres is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Special encounter in:

FireRedSpecial encounter · Mt. Ember

Then trade to Ruby & Sapphire.

Also found in:

Red Yellow Platinum HeartGold X Ultra Sun

Moltres Guide

In Ruby & Sapphire, Moltres is a Legendary Pokemon rated B-Tier. At 580 BST, it hits hard. It excels as a pivot. Hiddenpowergrass with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Ruby & Sapphire, Moltres's biggest threats include Golem (Rock), Gyarados (Water), and Raikou (Electric), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Golem is the most dangerous since Rock moves deal 4x damage.
Pressure is the go-to ability for Moltres. It increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one. Its hidden ability Flame Body can work in specific setups.
Moltres is a mixed attacker with base 100 Attack and 125 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 90 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. Fits the pivot role.
For Ruby & Sapphire, the core moveset is Hiddenpowergrass, Will O Wisp, Flamethrower, and Roar. Hiddenpowergrass leads at 21% usage. Flamethrower provides reliable STAB damage.

Game Availability

Since Red & Blue, Moltres has appeared in 20 games. Legendary Pokemon like Moltres are usually found through story events or special post-game areas rather than random encounters.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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