Solgaleo vs. Lunala: Which Legend to Choose

Solgaleo in Raids

Solgaleo is a Psychic/Steel-type Pokemon with a 255 base Atk stat. Its movepool includes Zen Headbutt, Fire Spin, Iron Head, Psychic Fangs, Flamethrower, and Solar Beam. 

Zen Headbutt means Solgaleo is dead on arrival as a Psychic-type raid attacker. The lack of a Steel-type Fast Move, such as Metal Claw, also means Solgaleo won’t be doing anything as a Steel-type either. The Fire-type attacks are cute, but even with a more ideal Fire-type Charge Move, such as Overheat, Solgaleo would still fail to stand out, performing roughly as well as Blast Burn Charizard and Typhlosion.

Even if Solgaleo got Metal Claw, it would still underperform compared to Metagross. Metagross has 2 higher base Atk and the almighty Meteor Mash. To overcome the meta monster, Solgeleo would need both Metal Claw and its signature attack, Sunsteel Strike. Until that day comes, Solgaleo is bad for Raids, but interesting for PvP.

Solgaleo in PvP

Ultra League

Solgaleo has a respectable enough performance in the Ultra League, where it could be worth considering for fun/spice. Solgaleo fills the anti-Charm + anti-Poison role, while pressuring other Steel-types with Fire Spin and managing some Fighting-types well. Solgaleo ultimately fails as a meta option though, as it can’t threaten Giratina, Galarian Stunfisk, Trevenant, Tapu Fini, and many of the Dark-types that have a hold on the Ultra League meta. 

Master League

Solgaleo clocks into the Master League with 1000 stat product over Metagross and Melmetal. While Solgaleo lacks the Charge Move pressure the other Steel-types have, it can make up for it with its unique Fire-type coverage, debuffer role, and higher bulk. Compared to Metagross (both being consistent Zacian counters), both Pokemon can be bait dependent, but Meteor Mash really hurts where Psychic Fangs, Iron Head, and Flamethrower are pretty weak.

Overall, for both Ultra League and Master League, Solgaleo would really appreciate different Charge Move options and a Fire Spin buff. In both formats, either Crunch or Flame Charge would bring a lot to the table. Crunch would make Solgaleo feel less awkward against Psychic and Ghost-type opponents, where Flame Charge would give Solgaleo a unique ramp-up/trapper playstyle to synergize with its more dominant matchups. Of course, Solgaleo’s want for a 2nd Charge Move does set the stage for the future Sunsteel Strike.

Lunala in Raids

Lunala is a Psychic/Ghost-type Pokemon with a 255 base Atk stat. Its movepool includes Confusion, Air Slash, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Moonblast, and Future Sight.

As a Psychic-type, Lunala is pretty solid as a non-Shadow and non-Mewtwo Pokemon. Unfortunately for it, Mewtwo dominates the Psychic-type role. Lunala could stand out as a premium raid anchor (high bulk option to prevent relobbying) against Psychic weak Raid Bosses that use Bug, Poison, Normal, and/or Fighting-type attacks, but in most cases, just consistently blasting the boss with Psystrike would probably be better.

As a Ghost-type, if Lunala got Hex or Shadow Claw, it could be one of the best Ghost-type raid attackers. With Hex, Lunala would have a higher DPS and slightly lower TDO than Shadow Force Giratina Origin Forme. Hex Lunala wouldn’t change the face of Ghost-type raid attackers, but would be a nice addition. Hex would also give Lunala more potential to compete with Blacephalon (the Ghost/Fire-type Ultra Beast slated to arrive in the near future) in the Ghost-type role in the future, with the addition of its signature attack Moongeist Beam.

Finally, as a Flying-type, if Lunala got Fly or Sky Attack, it could be a solid B list Flying-type raid attacker, performing roughly as well as Hurricane Rayquaza. This Lunala wouldn’t be anything close to Moltres in performance, but the lack of Elite TM requirement, unique resistances, and role-compression would be beneficial.

Lunala in PvP

Ultra League

In PvP in general, Lunala is heavily limited by Confusion and its expensive Charge Moves. In the Ultra League specifically, Lunala’s double weakness to Dark and Ghost-type attacks suggests it’ll have a tough time functioning even as a spice pick in this Giratina dominated meta. If you dare to use it, Lunala shares a similar role to Cresselia, trading in bulk and speed for Poison resistance, neutral Bug damage, and Shadow Ball. Lunala will perform worse against most things, but Escavaliar and Nidoqueen won’t appreciate the different resistances. 

Master League

In the Master League, Lunala’s doubled up Ghost and Dark-type weaknesses don’t sting as much as they do in the Ultra League. Anything with Ghost or Dark-type attacks would also have to be wary of Lunala’s own Shadow Ball and Moonblast. Of course, that would be the case if Lunala could reach those Charge Moves in a timely manner.

Compared to Mewtwo and Giratina, Lunala stands out with its higher stat product and resistances, enabling it to more consistently overcome Togekiss, Xerneas, and Zacian. Moonblast also gives Lunala more potential to overcome Dark and Dragon-type threats, provided it’s actually able to reach it in time.

Overall, like Solgaleo, Lunala would really appreciate a slight movepool adjustment. Adding Psycho Cut, Hex, Fly, Sky Attack, and/or Psyshock would do wonders for Lunala’s speed. Even though the Charge Moves wouldn’t improve Lunala’s Shadow Ball/Moonblast speed directly, they would be enough to make Lunala feel more consistent. Of course, Shadow Claw would be the best adjustment of all, but it could easily make Lunala overpowered in the current Master League meta (significantly better than Zacian and Dialga). As exciting as that is, with no reasonable way to farm XL Candy for it or re-roll IVs, it could leave the majority of the playerbase out of the fun.

If you’re interested in using Solgaleo and/or Lunala in the Master League, the IVs of your one and only Cosmeom may hold it back as either evolution. Of course, Cosmog XL Candy will hold you back even more. The XL issue is remedied by it appearing in Raids in the future, which consequently trivializes the IV situation. But who knows, Pokemon GO may limit us to 1-2 Cosmog ever.

Either way, if you’re looking at using Solgaleo, its important IV checks are: 15 Atk for Landorus Incarnate (1-0, 1-1, and 2-2 shield scenario flips), 12 Def for Excadrill (2-2), 13 HP for Togekiss (0-1), and roughly 14-15 HP (depending on your Def) for Dialga (1-1). This suggests that a 10/12/13 Solgaleo is functional, 10/12/15 or 10/13/14 is notably better, and 15/12/15 or 15/13/14 is roughly as good as it gets.

Lunala’s important IV checks are: 15 Atk for Ho-Oh (2-1 farm down), 11 Atk for Snorlax (2-1), 13 Def for Yveltal (2-1), and 14 HP for Groudon (0-0). It’s important to note that at least 15 Def and 15 HP are required to win the Excadrill 1-1 shield scenario. This suggests that a 11/13/14 Lunala is functional, 15/13/14 or 11/15/15 is notably better, but you really want the 15/15/15. It’s worth noting that a 14/14/13 Lunala can match the 15/15/15’s performance if Best Buddied. 

Below are the majority of Solgaleo and Lunala’s Master League Breakpoints, with their more relevant Breakpoints bolded for emphasis.

Solgaleo Breakpoints:

• 15 Atk - Landorus-I (1-0, 1-1, 2-2), Mewtwo (0-1 vs FB)
• 11 Atk - Landorus-T, Kyogre
• 15 Def - Kyogre
• 12 Def - Excadrill (2-2)
• 14-15 HP - Dialga (1-1)
• 13 HP - Togekiss (0-1)
• Atk/Def/HP - Lugia (2-2)

Lunala Breakpoints:

• 15 Atk - Ho-Oh (2-1 farm down), Giratina-A
• 14 Atk - Landorus-I
• 12 Atk - Garchomp
• 11 Atk - Snorlax (2-1)
• 15 Def - Kyogre, Giratina-O
• 14 Def - Mamoswine, Snorlax
• 13 Def - Yveltal (2-1)
• 11 Def - Xerneas (0-1), Giratina-A
• 14 HP - Groudon (0-0)
• Bulk - Ho-Oh (1-1), Excadrill (1-1), Zacian (1-2)

Please keep in mind that even if you do have the 15/15/15 Cosmeom ready to go, Solgaleo and Lunala are still mediocre picks for the Master League. To add, there is no reasonable way to get enough XL Candy to power either up for the Master League right now either. If you are thinking of XL Rare Candying and walking out a limited Pokemon, consider Zarude (10/13/10 min) or Meloetta (10/13/12 min) before these mons.

While it is exciting to finally be able to evolve our friend Cosmog all the way to its final form, Solgaleo and Lunala both feel half-finished. Solgaleo could be an interesting anti-Fairy option for PvP, but lacks any semblance of Fast Move and/or Charge Move pressure. Lunala could be a solid Ghost or Flying-type raid attacker, but lacks a Ghost-type Fast Move and Flying-type Charge Move- either of which would boost its consistency in PvP as well. 

As it stands, it's relatively inconsequential which one you pick to evolve. Solgaleo is the best for Master League, but we have no IV control or way to easily get its XL Candy. Lunala has some niche Raid potential, but nothing truly noteworthy. Hopefully their movepools receive a slight adjustment before release, so they can be more interesting for Raids and PvP rather than relatively mediocre dex fillers.