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Community POTW #155

Serebii

Serebii

And, as if by magic, the webmaster appeared...
Staff member
Admin
Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and this week we go to Kalos

716.png


It's Xerneas!

www.serebii.net

Xerneas #716 - Serebii.net Pokédex

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

KyogreThunder

Call of Fate
Xerneas
Modest nature/Timid nature
Ability: Fairy Aura
@Power Herb
EVs: 252 SpAtk/252 Speed/4 HP
-Moonblast
-Geomancy
-Thunder/Thunderbolt
-Psyshock
Xerneas
Jolly nature
Ability: Fairy Aura
@Life Orb/Choice Band
EVs: 252 Attack/252 Speed/4 HP
-Play Rough
-Close Combat
-Megahorn
-Horn Leech/Night Slash
 
Mestorn

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
The almighty Deer God, Xerneas has been a terror since its introduction thanks to the sheer potency of Geomancy. 2 Quiver Dances at once would turn many Pokémon unmanageable, let alone one as excellent as Xerneas. Base 131 Special Attack with the excellent Fairy STAB getting another boost is threatening even both the Geomancy boost, and +22 base 99 Speed outruns the entire unboosted metagame except Regieleki with little investment. 126/95/98 defenses are already above average before the +2 to Special Defense. All these factors means that Xerneas can decide entire battles after a Single Geomancy.

However, Geomancy has severe restrictions in its use. You are more or less forced to run Power Herb, costing an item slot. Additionally due to the vanilla two turn charge, if the Power Herb gets Knocked Off, Xerneas gets forced out or Hazed, then Xerneas does not have much left -it lacks the reliable recovery to get a second shot at a Geomancy and its power and speed while good fall short of many faster threats.

Them's Fighting Herds!
Xerneas
Ability: Fairy Aura
Item Attached: Power Herb
-Geomancy
-Moonblast/Dazzling Gleam
-Protect
-Substitute
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SATK / 252 SPE
Nature: Modest (+SATK, -ATK)

What's that? Xerneas only has one strategy in doubles? Them's Fighting Herds! Xerneas' game plan is in theory simple in doubles. Use Geomancy, sweep with Fairy STAB, Moonblast for more power, Dazzling Gleam for Spread. However, it is far from that simple. Steel types are everywhere in VGC, especially Zacian Crowned which eats alive even Dynamaxed Xerneas. So Xerneas requires intense support in order for its win condition to go through. Substitute helps with that, guarding against predicted switches into Zacian or other Steel types, protecting against predicted Spores and Sleep Powders that can ruin a sweep and when combined with Protect, keeps Xerneas alive long enough for it to exercise its win condition.

Due to the heavy Anti Steel support needed, Xerneas fits naturally on Sun teams. Not only is Groudon a fantastic partner due to the Fairy-Ground combo, it enables dangerous Sun sweepers that Zacian and other Steel types want nothing to do with lest they get melted or grounded. Xerneas in turn is a potent win condition that doesn't need the sun up to function and matches well against many Dragon types that resist the Fire/Grass offense Sun teams employ.

Other Options
Hyper Beam -Dynamax for a massive Max Strike that provides additional speed control.
Thunder -Kyogre ruining your Sun friends weather? Show Kyogre that is a grave mistake.
 
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Divine Retribution

Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
Xerneas is a terrifying wincon in Singles, with fantastic coverage, reasonably good bulk, and plenty of power thanks to its high Sp. Atk, Fairy Aura, and access to Geomancy. Getting +2 Speed, Sp. Atk, and Sp. Def in a single turn can almost instantly end games once key opponents are weakened even slightly, and Xerneas has forced the metagame to adapt around it, with many more Pokemon running phasing moves like Whirlwind or Roar, or moves such as Thunder Wave to cripple it. Xerneas is one of the main reasons (along with Kyogre and Zygarde) that Shedinja occasionally sees use in Ubers as it's one of the few Pokemon who can shut down almost any Xerneas set.

Xerneas is mostly a one-trick pony but not completely. Geomancy is so strong that that's what it will be using the majority of the time, but it does have a couple other tricks up its sleeve. It can viably run a Scarf set, and a defensive RestTalk set occasionally emerges on bulkier teams that need a more reliable switch-in to the likes of Marshadow and Zygarde. These sets both come with the rather significant opportunity cost of not using Geomancy Xerneas, so neither one is very common. Being heavily reliant on Geomancy also has its drawbacks as Mestorn mentioned; being forced out, phased, or losing its Power Herb to Knock Off can be serious problems for Xerneas and cut its hopes of sweeping short, as it will likely struggle to use a full two-turn Geomancy against most teams (especially ones that already managed to phase it once).


xerneas.gif

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Modest - Fairy Aura
168 Defense, 252 Sp. Atk, 88 Speed
-Moonblast
-Geomancy
-Thunder / Thunderbolt
-Substitute / Aromatherapy / Ingrain / Psyshock / Focus Blast

This is Xerneas's simplest and most common set. Once opposing checks such as Ho-Oh, Necrozma-DM, and Ferrothorn have been weakened or dealt with, Xerneas can come in, set up a Geomancy, and clean up the opposing team. Moonblast is your strongest STAB; it gets a free 1.33x boost from Fairy Aura (slightly better than a Life Orb boost) so even without a boosting item it does serious damage, especially after a Geomancy. Thunder hits key targets like Ho-Oh, Kyogre, and deals at least neutral damage to Necrozma-DM. Thunderbolt is an option if you prefer reliability, but requires significantly more chip on opposing threats to KO them than Thunder does.

The last slot is usually used to deal with specific checks to Xerneas. Substitute and Aromatherapy both prevent status moves from cutting Xerneas's sweep short; Substitute can also offer a buffer against dangerous priority users and block a single hit from an opponent like Necrozma-DM, while Aromatherapy cures status for your entire team, letting Xerneas bring some team support to the table. Ingrain specifically counters phasing moves like Roar and Whirlwind. The extra recovery is nice, but somewhat beside the point compared to stopping the user from being forcibly switched out. It does mean committing to a sweep, however, so you should avoid using it if a Pokemon that checks Xerneas is still healthy in the back. Psyshock is Xerneas's deadliest weapon against Blissey (and Chansey), while Focus Blast is its strongest option for Ferrothorn and Heatran.​
 
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