Articuno is one of the three legendary birds from the first generation of Pokémon, and you can capture it for a limited time in Pokémon Go. You can usually find it available during special events or in five-star raids. The five-star raids require you and several friends to take it down and capture it. You want to ensure you catch one and teach it an optimal moveset to get the most out of it while battling players or in other raids. In this guide, we’re going to cover the best moveset to teach Articuno in Pokémon Go.

Best Articuno moveset

Articuno is an Ice and Flying-type Pokémon. It’s weak to Electric, Fire, and Steel-type attacks and incredibly vulnerable to Rock-type moves. Therefore, you want to use it against Ground, Bug, and Grass-type Pokémon. It has a maximum CP of 3,051, an attack of 192, a defense of 236, and a stamina of 207.

These are all of the moves Articuno can learn:

Fast moves

  • Frost Breath (Ice-type) – 7 damage and 2.5 energy per turn (3.5 damage per turn) 2 turnsIce Shard (Ice-type) – 9 damage and 3.3 energy per turn (3 damage per turn) 3 turns

Charge moves

  • Ancient Power (Rock-type) – 45 damage and 45 energy (10% chance to increase the attack and defense by two ranks)Blizzard Ice-type) – 140 damage and 75 energyHurricane (Flying-type) – 110 and 65 energyIce Beam (Ice-type) – 90 damage and 55 energyIcy Wind (Ice-type) – 60 damage and 45 energy (100% chance to lower the opponent’s attack by one rank)

The best choice you have for Articuno’s fast moves is Ice Shard. Frost Breath doesn’t come close to it, so it’s better to avoid it. Ice Shard does slightly less damage than Frost Breath, but it provides more energy every turn, making it the superior option.

For your charged moves, you have a few more options. The best one is Hurricane, although many won’t have an Articuno with that attack as it is a legacy move. You’re good to go if you can willingly use an Elite Charge TM. For the second move, Icy Wind will be your next option. Some players use Blizzard if they want to supplement a lower energy attack for one that does massive damage, but we don’t recommend this option.

The best moveset to teach Articuno is the fast move Ice Shard and the charged moves Hurricane and Icy Wind.