Community POTW #117

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and this week we return to Galar!

This week we are focusing on the Legendary Pokémon, Eternatus

Eternatus #890 - Serebii.net Pokédex

Eternatus Pokémon Serebii.net Pokédex providing all details on moves, stats, abilities, evolution data and locations for Pokémon Sword & Shield

www.serebii.net

 

[XaelOstigian]

Can anyone imagine how OP Eternatus would have been had it kept its Gigantamax form's stats?

 

[Mestorn]

Doesn't anyone feel like the plot of Sword and Shield feels like Final Fantasy 7's in Rose (hah!) colored glasses? With Macro Cosmos as the power company that runs everything, draining energy from the land itself. Well, that would make Eternatus the Jenova equivalent, being an alien that arrived on the planet millennia ago that the power company is obsessed with. And Eternatus sort of lives up to the hype.

Even disregarding the purposely overpowered Eternamax Form that should never see competitive play (you need that kind of defense to stand up to a 4v1 including Zacian Crowned), base 145 Special Attack and 130 Speed is incredibly potent. Most formats that allow legends tend to be a bit on the slower side, as many of the best legends top out around 90-95 Speed, so 130 Speed is amazing. Base 145 Special Attack and a moveset just wide enough to abuse it can turn Eternatus into an amazing sweeper/revenge killer. But its really Eternatus' other traits that push it over the top. Base 140 HP is absolutely titanic, with passable 95 defenses, Poison/Dragon typing that prevents Eternatus from being stuffed by Xerneas and other Fairies and access to Recover and Cosmic power makes Eternatus more bulky than Giratina Alter, with great offense even uninvested. Poison is unfortunate given the Psychic laden legendaries running around, but Eternatus is a huge threat that must be planned for lest it stuff your entire team.

Alien Miasma
Eternatus
Ability: Pressure
Item: Leftovers
-Toxic
-Recover
-Venoshock/Dynamax Cannon
-Mystic Fire
Nature: Bold (+DEF, -ATK)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 DEF / 4 SPE

Eternatus is one of the few Pokémon that retained Toxic after the TM was evicted and can use that to great effect here, taking advantage of its Titanic bulk to repeated switch in and badly Poison the target. Recover keeps Eternatus healthy over a long game and enabling it to take repeated hits. Venoshock and Dynamax Cannon are your STABs of choice. Venoshock eviscerates Fairies like Xerneas as well as synergizing well with Toxic, enabling Eternatus to hit hard even without investment, while Dynamax Cannon immediately pressures the many Dragons running around and punishes Dynamaxing to break through Eternatus. Mystic Fire rounds out the set, hitting Steel types Immune to Toxic and indirectly increasing Eternatus' Special Bulk.

Pressure synergizes incredibly well with this set, given the high number of low PP Signature moves that Legendaries are saddled with. Max HP and Defense to make Eternatus as bulky as possible -Mystic Fire will patch up the Special Defense.

 

[Divine Retribution]

Eternatus is a surprisingly versatile Pokemon, having the stats and movepool to pull off both offensive and supportive sets very effectively. While its movepool isn't huge, it has key support moves such as Recover, Toxic, and Toxic Spikes, while having amazing offensive coverage with its STABs and Flamethrower. In formats that allow Dynamax, its signature move Dynamax Cannon deals double damage to Dynamaxed opponents, essentially negating their HP boost. In addition to having a very well-tuned movepool, it has an interesting stat spread; incredibly high HP, Sp. Atk, and Speed, along with passable defenses. This unique stat spread lets Eternatus run potent offensive sets that are still reasonably bulky, or bulky spreads that still pack a decent punch and naturally outspeed some of the slower legendaries it might find itself facing.

Here's one fun little set that I've used before.

Eternatus @ Power Herb
Timid - Pressure
252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed, 4 Sp. Def
-Dynamax Cannon
-Sludge Bomb / Sludge Wave
-Flamethrower
-Meteor Beam

For the most part, this is a simple offensive set. Dynamax Cannon is a strong, reliable Dragon STAB with no drawbacks, unlike alternatives like Draco Meteor. Sludge Bomb or Sludge Wave are your secondary STABs that hit Fairies like Xerneas, Arceus-Fairy, and Clefable. They are pretty much interchangable; Sludge Wave has a slightly higher base power but significantly lower Poison chance. I find the higher Poison chance on Sludge Bomb can be useful for wearing down bulkier opponents, keeping Lugia's Multiscale broken, and forcing Heal Bell-less Blissey to switch out, and the difference is only 5 base power, so I usually carry it. Flamethrower rounds out your coverage, hitting Steels like Necrozma-DM, Scizor, and Zamazenta hard. Finally, the last slot is where this set stands out; Power Herb Meteor Beam not only lets you demolish Ho-Oh and Yveltal, as well as Lugia once its Multiscale is broken, it also boosts your Sp. Atk and lets you potentially clean up with Eternatus later in the game.

This set lacks recovery, and appreciates both teammates who can keep hazards off the field with Defog or Rapid Spin, as well as teammates who can pass him Wishes, although the latter isn't strictly necessary on offensive teams who can't afford a momentum sink like Blissey. Besides that, Eternatus is actually very self-sufficient, and you should pick teammates who appreciate his ability to wear down various walls, or ones who can switch in on the powerful Ice, Ground, Psychic, and Dragon moves that might come his way.
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