Cursola Guide

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Kara Phillips-Ashman

Kara is a certified gaming pro, at least where to soft and comfy games out there are concerned, and with hundreds of hours in Animal Crossing, Pokemon, Stardew Valley and her all-time-favorite Harvest Moon, she knows what makes a game an engaging, wholesome experience.

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Cursola was introduced to the Pokemon franchise within Generation Eight and was announced as a regional variant since it evolves from Galarian Corsola. Its name is a play on words to its haunting appearance, and it’s said to represent the decaying coral of polluted waters.

Galarian Corsola is the only regional variant of the originally pink Pokemon, and Cursola is the only evolution. Before Generation Eight, Corsola did not evolve.

Cursola and Galarian Corsola are both locked to being exclusive Pokemon in Pokemon Shield. Making it almost impossible to gain access to them in Pokemon Sword unless you’re lucky enough to receive one through trade. Of all the regional exclusives for Pokemon Sword and Shield, Cursola is one of my favorites.

Even though it’s not the most powerful Pokemon, it looks the part. As a ghost-type fanatic, I love what they’ve done with the design and premise of this Pokemon and was more than happy to add it to my collection when I picked up Shield.

Bottom Line Up Front

Cursola is an incredibly haunting addition to all ghost-like Pokemon. It’s been said to absorb the spirit energy from other living creatures.

At night, groups of Cursola have reportedly gathered to outstretch their branches into the sky. Many trainers have assumed this is supposedly a release of the spirit energy they have absorbed over time. Pretty scary stuff, huh!

However, outside of its appearance, this Pokemon has many features that regard it as more than meets the eye. Even though it’s haunting, it’s pretty charming and makes it a valuable addition to your Pokedex. Be warned, though, that anyone who touches the ectoplasm of this Pokemon is said to stiffen for unknown reasons.

Here are some general facts about Cursola before we dive into more detail within this guide:

• Generation: Eight
• Pokedex Number: 864
• Type: Ghost
• Catch Rate: 30 (8.8%)
• Gender Ratio: 25% Male and 75% Female
• Evolves from: Glarian Corsola starting at level 38
• Base Friendship: 50

Cursola’s Appearance

Like its pre-evolution and previous regional form, Cursola is a coral-like Pokemon. However, it isn’t as pink and cheerful as you may remember Corsola. Instead, Cursola is pale, white, and transparent – taking the form of a ghost-like figure seeping out of a cracked shell.

In the center of Cursola’s bulbous head is a white core, said to be this Pokemon’s ‘Spirit Core.’ It remains sheathed in ectoplasm for protection, and it remains unknown what this core does or is at least capable of. The ectoplasm separates from the core towards the front of the Pokemon, revealing a face.

Cursola’s facial features consist of two small red eyes with white pupils and a frowning v-shaped mouth. Despite its simple facial expression, this Pokemon constantly appears to be miserable.

Towards the top of Cursola’s face are two half-circle-shaped notches taken out of the ectoplasm, which look like eyes from a distance. Paired with the opening, which exposes the front of the Pokemon, these three features can look like a screaming expression – potentially referencing the spirits this Pokemon has consumed.

Cursola is covered in branches to represent the coral element of the Pokemon. However, two branches below the face serve as arms. Towards the top of the Pokemon are several outstretching branches which split apart when it attacks. These branches look similar to those found on Galarian Corsola and standard Corsola.

The back of the Pokemon also features several branches which seem like spines rather than any sort of limb. Additionally, a single branch in the center of Cursola’s head looks like a horn. Cursola’s entire ‘body’ flows out of a cracked shell, which is supposedly the remnants of its Corsola form. The spirits it consumed became so overpowering that the ectoplasm broke its previous body, creating its ghostly figure.

Pokedex Entries for Cursola

Due to being a regional form and only being introduced to the Pokemon franchise later on, the only Pokedex entries for Cursola come from Sword and Shield. Despite being a Shield-exclusive Pokemon, the Dex entry for Sword is far more detailed – while the Dex entrance for Shield acts as more of a warning than anything else.

Both Pokedex entries reference the mysterious nature of this Pokemon and hint toward a hidden and stronger power which Cursola doesn’t usually show. Unfortunately, the “core spirit” of Cursola isn’t spoken about outside of the Pokedex – which is a shame as I’m a fanatic for ghost Pokemon and would love to understand more about it.

Here are the Pokedex entries for both Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield:

Pokemon Sword: Its shell is overflowing with its heightened otherworldy energy. The ectoplasm serves as protection for this Pokemon’s Core Spirit.

Pokemon Shield: Be cautious of the ectoplasmic body surrounding its soul. You’ll become stiff as stone if you touch it.

Cursola’s Abilities and Hidden Ability

As most Pokemon tend to, Cursola has two abilities. Due to the type of the Pokemon, both of its abilities hint toward its ghostly nature. Its unique hidden ability is also entirely exclusive for this Pokemon, so as of generation eight, it remains the only Pokemon with Perish Body as a hidden ability.

Here are both of Cursola’s abilities and their effects activated in battle. They link directly to Cursola’s base stats, which makes them essential to remember before bringing Cursola out in action:

Weak Armour – In Generations Five and Six, Weak Armour decreases the defense of a Pokemon by one and, in turn, increases the speed. Additionally, Weak Armour activates every time the Pokemon is hit with a multi-strike move rather than activating once at the beginning of the hit. However, in Generation Seven onwards, this ability will increase the speed of a Pokemon by two rather than one.

Perish Body – Perish Body was introduced in Generation Eight and declared Cursola’s signature and exclusive ability. When Cursola is hit with a contact move, the attacker and Cursola will faint within three turns. However, this move can be countered if the attack has either Protective Pads or Long Reach.

Cursola’s Base Stats

I’ll admit it from the get-go, Cursola doesn’t have fantastic base stats. As much as I love the design and premise of this Pokemon, it isn’t mighty by any stretch of the imagination. Its most substantial stat is its special attack, which comes up pretty high and can make this a powerful Pokemon for short bursts in battle. Unfortunately, however, its special abilities make its defense pretty weak.

Cursola’s base stats are as follows:

• HP: 60
• Attack: 95
• Defense: 50
• Sp. Attack: 145
• Sp. Def: 130
• Speed: 30

Despite its speed being its weakest stat, Cursola’s abilities also help increase that. However, in terms of battle, it’s a reasonably weak Pokemon. For a second evolution, it has incredibly low HP, and I think I would only apply it to battle if I needed to use its abilities rather than its moves.

Sure, it’s fantastic for quick jabs here and there, and it makes a fine buffer if you need to use a turn to revive some Pokemon. Outside of that, it’s not the strongest and would do you no benefits during a gym battle. I don’t doubt it would be fine during trainer clashes on your route to the next town, but I wouldn’t take it to face the elite four.

Moves Cursola Will and Can Learn

As any Pokemon would, Cursola learns various moves as it levels up. Considering it’ll likely be level thirty-eight when you meet it, there are still several moves to learn. If you find a lower-level Cursola, the beginning portion of the following list will help you.

The majority of moves Cursola learns by default are of ghost type. However, it also learns one grass and two rock moves and finishes with a psychic move.

As strong as the majority of ghost-type moves are, having a lot of them equipped to one Pokemon during a battle puts you at serious risk if you come up against a Pokemon that ghost moves don’t affect. I’ve been in that position before!

Here is the list of moves that Cursola learns as it levels up:

• Perish Song – Level One
• Tackle – Level One
• Harden – Level One
• Astonish – Level One
• Disable – Level One
• Spite – Level Fifteen
• Ancient Power – Level Twenty
• Hex – Level Twenty-Five
• Curse  – Level Thirty
• Strength Sap – Level Thirty-Five
• Power Gem – Level Forty
• Night Shade – Level Forty-Five
• Grudge – Level Fifty
• Mirror Coat – Level Fifty-Five

However, if you want to enhance Cursola’s power when adding it to your party, there are several moves it can be taught via TM  and TR. As beneficial as some of the abovementioned moves can be, sometimes you need a little extra power to progress through games.

Cursola can be taught the following moves via TM:

• Pin Missile
• Hyper Beam
• Giga Impact
• Dig
• Screech
• Light Screen
• Reflect
• Safeguard
• Self-Destruct
• Rest
• Rock Slide
• Snore
• Protect
• Icy Wind
• Giga Drain
• Attract
• Sandstorm
• Rain Dance
• Sunny Day
• Hail
• Whirlpool
• Will-O-Wisp
• Facade
• Revenge
• Rock-Tomb
• Icicle Spear
• Rock Blast
• Brine
• Round
• Hex
• Bulldoze
• Stomping Tantrum

Several moves can be taught via TR as opposed to TM as well:

• Body Slam
• Hydro Pump
• Surf
• Ice Beam
• Blizzard
• Earthquake
• Psychic
• Amnesia
• Leech Life
• Substitute
• Endure
• Sleep Talk
• Shadow Ball
• Iron Defense
• Calm Mind
• Power Gem
• Earth Power
• Stone Edge
• Stealth Rock
• Scald
• Throat Chop
• Liquidation

There is a wide variety of moves here that aren’t exclusively ghost-type moves, which can be incredibly beneficial to Cursola since it doesn’t have the most robust stats to begin with.

Once again, as much as I love this Pokemon, it’s not strong enough to keep in your party unless you bulk it out with some of these moves. With such a wide variety, I’d recommend making sure you have at least one ice and one ground type move equipped to your Pokemon since they are move types a lot of Pokemon are vulnerable to.

Cursola’s Type and Weaknesses Explored

Due to being a ghost-type Pokemon, Cursola is open to many vulnerabilities. Ghost-type Pokemon are only super effective against fellow ghost-types and psychics. This obviously makes Cursola super vulnerable to ghost attacks. However, luckily for my fellow ghost fanatics, most Pokemon types commonly affect ghost pokemon rather than doing excessive damage.

Cursola’s type is damaged normally by the following Pokemon types:

• Flying
• Ground
• Rock
• Steel
• Fire
• Water
• Grass
• Electric
• Psychic
• Ice
• Dragon
• Fairy

As I’ve already mentioned, Cursola has a few weaknesses. So if you have Cursola out in battle, as soon as you know there’s a threat coming through either a ghost type or a dark type, it’s time to retreat as quick as you can!

Cursola is incredibly weak against the following Pokemon types:

• Ghost
• Dark

However, its ghostly behaviors come with a few benefits too. Cursola is immune to a few types and is capable of resisting the moves of a handful as well. It’s always a gamble with ghosts since you never know which Pokemon could knock you out straight away, but sometimes it’s a gamble you just have to take.

I’ve had ghost types in my party since my first experience with the Pokemon franchise, and only on a few occasions have they let me down in battle!

Cursola is immune to the following Pokemon types:

• Normal
• Fighting

Additionally, Cursola is capable of resisting the moves of the following types:

• Bug
• Poison

Where to Find Cursola

It’s important to remember that Cursola, and its pre-evolution Galarian Corsola, are both Pokemon Shield exclusive Pokemon. Therefore, if you are searching to complete your Pokedex in Pokemon Sword, the only way you’ll be able to get this Pokemon is via trading. However, this specter can be found in several locations in Pokemon Shield.

There are four locations in Pokemon Shield where Galarian Corsola can be found. Rather than encountering Cursola immediately, the best way to add this Pokemon to your collection is via evolution. Cursola doesn’t spawn in the wild, but it can occasionally be found through max raid battles in the Watchtower Ruins.

To find Galarian Corsola, three locations are the hotspot in Pokemon Shield. It can be located in the Wild Area at Giants Mirror, South Lake Miloch, and the Stony Wilderness. However, it will only spawn during overcast weather. So as soon as there is cloud cover, race to find this little ball of coral!

Should You Add Cursola to Your Party?

You may question whether Cursola is an excellent addition to your party – to which I say yes and no. While it may be weaker in terms of base stats, its hidden ability and massive opportunity for learning different moves make it a pretty excellent beast for battle. If you need something to hit hard and give you a break to heal some Pokemon, then you should consider Cursola.

But, if you stick to having all ghost-type moves, I’d leave this beautiful Pokemon in the PC. As I said, its stats aren’t worthy unless you’re willing to put time into creating the perfect Cursola build. I’m still working on making mine perfect, but I can say that it’s getting there! Plus, with it being a game-exclusive Pokemon to shield, it’s almost bragging rights to pull it out in battle.

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