Trainers who’ve captured Zacian in Pokemon GO will want to give it a strong moveset to dish out the most damage and cover weaknesses. Zacian is the game mascot for Pokemon Sword as well as one of the new Legendary Pokemon to debut in the Galar region.
As of now, Pokemon cannot hold items in Pokemon GO, leaving Zacian to remain in its Hero of Many Battles form. This makes it a pure Fairy Type with weakness to Poison and Steel. If it was given the Rusted Sword in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, it would take on its Crowned Sword form and become Fairy/Steel Type. While Zacian's Crowned Form comes packing with Behemoth Blade, the Warrior Pokemon is still a powerful addition even without the Rusted Sword.
Capturing Zacian
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Zacian first arrived in Pokemon GO alongside Zamazenta in the Ultra Unlock Part 3: Sword and Shield event back in August 2021. It appeared in 5-star raid battles, meaning players needed to bring strong Poison or Steel Types with one or two STAB (same-type attack bonus) moves to capture this legendary beast.
Trainers should not waste their time Shiny Hunting in Pokemon GO because Zacian is currently Shiny Locked.
Zacian’s Movepool and Best Moveset
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Without Sword and Shield's Rusted Sword, Zacian only gains STAB from Fairy-Type moves. Here is a list of moves that Zacian can learn in Pokemon GO:
Quick Moves | Type | Damage | DPS |
Quick Attack | Normal | 8 | 10 |
Metal Claw | Steel | 8 | 11.4 |
Fire Fang | Fire | 12 | 13.3 |
Snarl | Dark | 12 | 10.9 |
Charged Moves | Type | Damage | DPS |
Iron Head | Steel | 60 | 31.6 |
Play Rough | Fairy | 90 | 37.2 |
Close Combat | Fighting | 100 | 43.5 |
Wild Charge | Electric | 90 | 34.6 |
For PVP and Gym battles, Zacian's best moves are the following:
Move | DPS |
Snarl | 10.9 |
Play Rough | 37.2 |
In its Hero of Many Battles form, Zacian cannot gain any STAB from Iron Head or Metal Claw because it lacks Steel typing. Even compared to its other Quick and Charged Moves, both Steel moves deal lower damage. This makes them not as useful unless players want more Type Coverage in Zacian's moveset. Snarl may have a lower DPS than Metal Claw, but it deals more damage at a solid 12 in contrast to Metal Claw's 8.
Players looking to cover Zacian's weaknesses can save Fire Fang and Close Combat for Steel Types, but they will still need to be cautious of Poison Types.
Pokemon GO is available now on mobile devices.