When looking at villains throughout the Pokemon series, one of the most memorable are Team Galactic. They have a striking aesthetic, great battle music, and their grand plan is one of the more sinister ones. While they absolutely don't match the greatness of Team Plasma, N, and Ghetsis, Team Galactic are still great in their own ways.
This greatness is held squarely on the shoulders of Cyrus. Platinum may be the game where he really shone, but Diamond and Pearl (and now the remakes BDSP) still showcased him as a formidable adversary. However, his battles in the original games didn't quite match his bold ideals. He isn't a pushover, but he's not that much more challenging than his admins. Still, Cyrus is a formidable foe, and it's important to make sure players have the best Pokemon when they battle Galactic Leader Cyrus.
An Overview Of Cyrus's Team
In the final battle with Cyrus, his team consists of Pokemon that hit fast and hit hard. However, the movesets on his Pokemon aren't entirely optimal for. He leans heavily into subpar coverage moves across the board. Additionally, his team has only a few supportive moves. Crobat brings Tailwind, but that's it. Honchkrow can also clear hazards with Defog, which is annoying as it is his lead.
Cyrus's team has a few crippling weaknesses, the first of which is the Rock-type. Even the mighty Gyarados is afraid of taking a Rock Slide to the face. This also makes Stealth Rocks incredibly valuable against him despite the fact that Honchkrow can clear them. His team also has a glaring weakness to electricity, and only Gyarados has coverage for it. With all this in mind, here are some great options to consider independent of game or starter selection.
8 Pelipper, The Drizzle Bird Of Legend
Cyrus's team struggles to break down water Pokemon. While his team isn't weak to Water moves, few of his Pokemon can really bring out good damage against a bulky Water-type. Empoleon, for example, will make this fight a joke. The Turtwig and Chimchar fans will have a somewhat more difficult time, and will certainly appreciate some support from their Water-type teammates. There aren't many bad options, but Pelipper is one of the best.
Pelipper used to be a joke Pokemon, but the Drizzle ability is now a staple for it. It's a great jack-of-all-trades, packing solid bulk and a reasonable Special Attack stat. Drizzle doesn't serve too much of a purpose in this battle, aside from just making Pelipper hit harder. It has great typing and a movepool that can cleanly sweep Cyrus's team.
7 Floatzel, A Flexible Fighter
Floatzel is one of BDSP's best Water-types. This Pokemon's pre-evolution, Buizel, can be found outside of Floroma Town and is a great inclusion. Its stats are fantastic, packing great Attack and Speed that can match Cyrus's fast-moving team. It also has decent HP, giving it the ability to take a couple of hits.
Against Cyrus, Floatzel's movepool is its biggest adversary. While its STAB move Waterfall is a great choice, it also learns Ice Fang, which easily takes down Cyrus's first two Pokemon. Against Weavile, a swift Brick Break should do the trick even with the berry. Gyarados is a bit trickier, but Floatzel can actually learn Rock Tomb for those inclined.
6 Luxray, An Intimidating Presence
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Despite its cool looks, Luxray is an unremarkable Pokemon. Despite a stellar Attack stat, it has a shallow movepool aside from learning the elemental Fang attacks. It learns Wild Charge, sure, but that's not until level 80. However, considering BDSP has a rather limited Pokdex, Luxray has a few tricks to make it worth it.
Luxray's best contribution is in its Electric typing. Aside from Gyarados's Earthquake and Weavile's Dig, Luxray doesn't have much to fear. Honchkrow and Crobat are pushovers when faced with even a meager Spark. Gyarados's crippling 4x Electric weakness makes it an easy target, and Intimidate can cut its attack down to size. It will need support when it comes Weavile, but since that Pokemon is rather frail, Luxray is a great choice.
5 Azumarill, A Huge Powerhouse
Azumarill has been a staple of higher tiers of play since Gen 6, and the tools it brings back to Sinnoh make it a fantastic option for any battle. Casual players won't be able to exploit its biggest strengths, but its good typing and fantastic moves are good enough to put it over the top.
Azumarill doesn't bring Belly Drum in casual play, but its Attack stat with Huge Power can still be strong enough to break down Cyrus's frail team. It packs Play Rough and Aqua Tail, which can easily break down his entire team. Gyarados, as always, will be the biggest threat, and Azumarill does struggle to completely sweep. Despite that, Gyarados's moveset actually doesn't threaten Azumarill, and a couple of Play Roughs should do the trick.
4 Steelix, Destructive Iron Jaws
Cyrus's limited Pokemon and movepools prevent him from cracking defensive walls and specific types of Pokemon. Both of those weaknesses are exploited by the Steel-type titan, Steelix. By either evolving an Onix or catching one fresh from Iron Island, Steelix can help make Cyrus's battle a breeze.
Steelix packs a perfect moveset that handles all of Cyrus's Pokemon. This moveset is, of course, just Stone Edge and Rock Slide. Every single one of Cyrus's Pokemon is weak to Rock-type attacks. The player's Steelix doesn't even have to fear Gyarados's powerful attacks, with its 200 base defense. It can even set up Stealth Rocks, which is the icing on the cake.
3 Gyarados, The Furious Fish
Cyrus's toughest Pokemon is a Gyarados, packing a great moveset that covers plenty of Pokemon. So, what's the best way to match up against it? Why, by bringing one's own. Gyarados is an easy-to-find Pokemon, and it learns a whole collection of great moves. It has the best traits of Floatzel and Pelipper, plus it brings Intimidate to the table, helping to cut down Cyrus's physical attackers.
Gyarados's strengths are pretty self-explanatory. It boasts powerful attacking moves like Waterfall, Ice Fang, and even Iron Tail to take down all of Cyrus's Pokemon. The biggest match is, of course, Cyrus's Gyarados. The player's Gyarados can bring either Thrash, Stone Edge, or even Thunderbolt to make the sweep complete.
2 Magnezone, Real Shock And Awe
While Magnemite is exclusive to the Grand Underground, it's worth picking up just to get the serious punch of Magnezone's electric power. Magnezone has some solid physical bulk, but more importantly, it has one of the best special attacking stats in the game. That much power makes the fight a breeze.
Three of Cyrus's Pokemon are ruined by Magnezone's powerful Thunderbolts, while Flash Cannon gives players a solution to the Weavile problem. However, both Weavile and Gyarados have Ground-type attacks that can easily shatter Magnezone despite its bulk. It's worthwhile to get either a berry or a Focus Sash to let Magnezone live one of those attacks.
1 Togekiss, A Most Egg-cellent Choice
Togepi can be found in the Grand Underground, which is a great find. Although it starts as a weak baby, Togetic is a great start, and Togekiss is just an incredible Pokemon. It has bulk, it has great secondary Flying-typing to go with its Fairy-typing, it has incredible Special Attack, and it has an ocean of moves to learn.
Cyrus stands no chance against Togekiss. Honchkrow gets blasted by a Fairy-type attack of choice, while Crobat gets slammed by a Psychic. Gyarados gets shaken up by two Shock Waves. Since Weavile doesn't have any Ice-type attacks, Togekiss has nothing to fear as well. It's a perfect choice, even with the effort to get it.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are available on the Nintendo Switch.