How to defeat and catch the legendary Moltres in Pokémon Go

Moltres is the latest legendary Pokémon available in Pokémon Go, but players will only have a few more days to catch it; it can be found until Aug. 7. To make sure you nab one for your Pokédex, The Pokémon Company — and fellow players — have wrangled up some solid tips on how to take Moltres down.

How do I find Moltres?

Moltres is only available during legendary Raid Battles, which happen periodically each day. These run on an unpredictable schedule, so stay vigilant as to which gyms nearby have Raid Battle timers ticking down. One of these could be the legendary fight you’re looking for.

How do I fight Moltres?

You’ll need to use a Raid Battle pass to gain access to the battle against Moltres. You can team up with a party of up to 20 players for this, and it’s best to recruit as many other trainers as possible. Moltres isn’t going to go down easy, especially if you’re not a top-level player.

Which Pokémon should I use?

Moltres is a fire and flying-type Pokémon. Its weaknesses are electric, water and rock-type attacks, so prioritize building a team with Pokémon who have those in their arsenal.

A popular choice for most players is Golem, which is strong, defensive and a top-tier rock-type Pokémon. The Pokémon Company’s Moltres guide also suggests having Sudowoodo and the dual-type Magcargo in your party to fill out the rock-type selection.

If you want a water Pokémon to use, Vaporeon is a good fit. Also recommended: Omastar, who can also learn rock-type moves for an extra bonus.

If you’re really into Pokémon Go granularities, a spreadsheet from The Silph Road redditor ADD_ikt has a long, long list of all the best monsters to use.

Once I defeat it, how do I catch it?

In terms of winning the fight, just hang in there and optimize your items and Pokémon squad. After that, use those Golden Razz Berries you just won and start throwing some curveballs. There’s an example below of just how you want to aim that special Premier ball to capture Moltres easily.

Hopefully you now have a Moltres, which means that’s one legendary Pokémon down, and three to go. If you didn’t catch Articuno already, you missed your chance. Zapdos is on its way, though, and Lugia is still available.