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Community POTW #094

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Serebii

Serebii

And, as if by magic, the webmaster appeared...
Staff member
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Time for the next Pokémon, and with VGC shifting to the new ruleset which allows Legendary Pokémon, this week we, by sheer coincidence, have one of the more common used Pokémon in the GS Cup format

xerneas.png


It's Xerneas!

https://www.serebii.net/pokedex-sm/716.shtml

Go nuts
 
Mestorn

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
Xerneas. Signature Legendary of X and the king of setup sweepers. Seriously. Geomancy is a nightmare. Ultra Necrozma has nothing on a setup Xerneas (except Smart Strike...)

Jabberwocky
Xerneas
Item: Fairinium Z
Ability: Fairy Aura
-Geomancy
-Moonblast
-Thunder/Grass Knot/Hidden Power Fire/Focus Blast
-Aromatherapy/Defog/Ingrain
EVs: 252 SATK/252 SPD/4 HP
Nature: Modest (+SATK, -ATK) or (+SPE, -ATK)

Z-Geomancy is quite possibly the most terrifying move in the game. First turn is a +1 boost to all stats, followed up by a +2 Bonus to SATK, SDEF and SPE (for those keeping score at home, after two turns that is +1 in ATK, +1 in DEF, +3 in SATK, +3 in SDEF and +3 in SPE). The extra bulky provided by the first turn Geomancy gives Xerneas a bit more leeway in setting up, but please note if Xerneas is taunted during a Z-Geomancy, the +1 to all stats will go off, but then the Geomancy itself will fail. Moonblast is for delicious STAB + Fairy Aura boost. Thunder and Grass Knot both hit Kyogre, but Thunder gets Celesteela and Ho-oh while Grass Knot whacks Primal Groudon. Hidden Power Fire and Focus Blast are for Steel types, HP Fire being more reliable but weaker and getting Mega Scizor, while Focus Blast is stronger, but unreliable and gets Dialga. Last move is up to preference. Aromatherapy provides valuable cleric support while removing attempts to status Xerneas. Defog is great for entry hazard and screen removal and also combines well with Thunder and Focus Blast. Ingrain gives Xerneas reliable recovery and prevents it from being phazed out during Z-Geomancy.

EVs and Nature are standard sweeping fare, but can be mixed and matched for bulk.

Oberon, the Fairy King
Xerneas
Item: Fairinium Z
Ability: Fairy Aura
-Geomancy
-Moonblast
-Close Combat/Thunder/Grass Knot/Horn Leech
-Ingrain/Substitute/Night Slash
EVs: 248 HP/252 ATK/8 SDEF
Nature: Rash(+SATK, -SDEF)

Gimmick mixed set taking advantage of the fact that Xerneas is almost always special. Moonblast is the reason why this is the Mixed set, being Xerneas' lone Fairy STAB and at +3 plus Fairy Aura? Yeah still hits like a truck. Thunder and Grass Knot are suggestions from before, but Horn Leech is new, giving Xerneas another decent option with healing which is nice for the HP laiden ubers tier. Close Combat is the Steel KOer of Choice, combining accuracy and power, though the defenses drop is rather unfortunate. Ingrain is always an option for previously mentioned reasons, Substitute is great for blocking status and giving Xerneas an extra lease on life (works well with Horn Leech). Night Slash is the final decent physical option, getting Aegislash fairly hard (who otherwise walls this set).

Other Options
Flash Cannon -for KOing other Xerneas.
Power Herb -the original option for Geomancy and still an excellent one
 
Last edited:
Yellow De Viridian Grove

Yellow De Viridian Grove

Well-Known Member
Mestorn said:
Xerneas. Signature Legendary of X and the king of setup sweepers. Seriously. Geomancy is a nightmare. Ultra Necrozma has nothing on a setup Xerneas (except Smart Strike...)

Jabberwocky
Xerneas
Item: Fairinium Z
Ability: Fairy Aura
-Geomancy
-Moonblast
-Thunder/Grass Knot
-Hidden Power Fire/Focus Blast
-Aromatherapy/Defog/Ingrain
EVs: 252 SATK/252 SPD/4 HP
Nature: Modest (+SATK, -ATK) or (+SPE, -ATK)

Z-Geomancy is quite possibly the most terrifying move in the game. First turn is a +1 boost to all stats, followed up by a +2 Bonus to SATK, SDEF and SPE (for those keeping score at home, after two turns that is +1 in ATK, +1 in DEF, +3 in SATK, +3 in SDEF and +3 in SPE). The extra bulky provided by the first turn Geomancy gives Xerneas a bit more leeway in setting up, but please note if Xerneas is taunted during a Z-Geomancy, the +1 to all stats will go off, but then the Geomancy itself will fail. Moonblast is for delicious STAB + Fairy Aura boost. Thunder and Grass Knot both hit Kyogre, but Thunder gets Celesteela and Ho-oh while Grass Knot whacks Primal Groudon. Hidden Power Fire and Focus Blast are for Steel types, HP Fire being more reliable but weaker and getting Mega Scizor, while Focus Blast is stronger, but unreliable and gets Dialga. Last move is up to preference. Aromatherapy provides valuable cleric support while removing attempts to status Xerneas. Defog is great for entry hazard and screen removal and also combines well with Thunder and Focus Blast. Ingrain gives Xerneas reliable recovery and prevents it from being phazed out during Z-Geomancy.

EVs and Nature are standard sweeping fare, but can be mixed and matched for bulk.

Oberon, the Fairy King
Xerneas
Item: Fairinium Z
Ability: Fairy Aura
-Geomancy
-Moonblast
-Thunder/Grass Knot/Horn Leech
-Close Combat
-Ingrain/Substitute/Night Slash
EVs: 248 HP/252 ATK/8 SDEF
Nature: Rash(+SATK, -SDEF)

Gimmick mixed set taking advantage of the fact that Xerneas is almost always special. Moonblast is the reason why this is the Mixed set, being Xerneas' lone Fairy STAB and at +3 plus Fairy Aura? Yeah still hits like a truck. Thunder and Grass Knot are suggestions from before, but Horn Leech is new, giving Xerneas another decent option with healing which is nice for the HP laiden ubers tier. Close Combat is the Steel KOer of Choice, combining accuracy and power, though the defenses drop is rather unfortunate. Ingrain is always an option for previously mentioned reasons, Substitute is great for blocking status and giving Xerneas an extra lease on life (works well with Horn Leech). Night Slash is the final decent physical option, getting Aegislash fairly hard (who otherwise walls this set).

Other Options
Flash Cannon -for KOing other Xerneas.
Power Herb -the original option for Geomancy and still an excellent one
Click to expand...
Unless I'm missing something, both sets have 5 moves on them.
 
Sceptile Leaf Blade

Sceptile Leaf Blade

Nighttime Guardian
Mestorn said:
Flash Cannon -for KOing other Xerneas.
Click to expand...

Moonblast hits Xerneas harder than Flash Cannon does. There isn't much reason to run Flash Cannon on Xerneas, there isn't really all that much that it covers aside from Diancie (banned in VGC19) and Nihilego. Steel doesn't really give great coverage together with Fairy, both are resisted by Steel and Fire types.


Anyway, Xerneas is a bit of a one-trick pony. It does Geomancy setup sweeping, and it does it very well. Geomancy Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam with Fairy Aura hits incredibly hard, nothing is immune, and Xerneas has very good bulk. But its reliance on Geomancy also makes it predictable. It usually needs a turn of setup before it becomes an offensive presence, as other forms of sweeping like Choice Specs are better done by other pokémon like Mega Rayquaza, and if it runs Geomancy it usually runs Power Herb, not an item that boosts its power. Geomancy is also problematic as it means Xerneas can usually only set up once. If it is forced out one way or another it can't set up later again, it has used its Fairium Z (in the case of Z-Geomancy) or Power Herb. It is also vulnerable to Whimsicott, which can Prankster Encore it into Geomancy, forcing it to repeat it after it has already consumed the Power Herb, keeping it stuck without a way of doing anything for two turns before Xerneas can even switch. If it is up against bulky Trick Room setters it can't do anything, it doesn't have the power to threaten them without Geomancy and it needs time to set up Geomancy, allowing the opponent to get Trick Room up. And although Geomancy boosts its special bulk, it stays somewhat vulnerable on the physical side to hard-hitting attacks like Alolan Marowak's Flare Blitz, Stakataka's Gyro Ball, Belly Drum Snorlax's Return, Dusk Mane Necrozma's Sunsteel Strike, and so on. Ho-Oh can often switch in on its Geomancy turn, take a hit if Xerneas lacks Thunderbolt, and then Whirlwind it out (bulky variants of Ho-Oh also survive +2 Thunderbolt). Lugia can do similar things, having the same special bulk as Ho-Oh but replacing its fairy resistance with Multiscale.

With all that said and done, Geomancy Xerneas can set up in two ways. Z-Geomancy and Power Herb Geomancy. Z-Geomancy takes an extra turn and is therefore extra vulnerable during set up (especially to the aforementioned Whirlwind), but also gives you an extra boost. Fairium Z also gives Xerneas a way of being an offensive threat before setting up Geomancy if the situation requires it, by going for a powerful Twinkle Tackle instead, although that route doesn't really leave a great opportunity for sweeping afterwards.
 
Mestorn

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
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