Xatu [QC 3/3]

[Ubiquitous]

It's XATU!

Status: Copyediting
[QC 3/3] (Oglemi) (PK Gaming) (Snunch)
[GP 0/2] () ()
[OVERVIEW]

• Before Gen V, Xatu was viewed as a subpar Pokemon
• However, it received the ability Magic Bounce from the Dream World, which reflects any non - damaging move back at the user, including Taunt and any entry hazards
• This addition makes Xatu viable in UU as the only Magic Bounce Pokemon
• With heavy investment, Xatu can be very bulky on one side of the spectrum
• Xatu's support movepool is fairly diverse, containing Reflect, Light Screen, Wish and FeatherDance

[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Night Shade
move 2: Toxic / U-turn
move 3: Roost
move 4: Reflect / Light Screen
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Bounce
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

• This set aims to sponge physical attacks whilst providing some team support, and stopping entry hazards going up
• Night Shade and Toxic both deal consistent damage for Xatu, stopping him from being setup bait
• U-turn can be used to scout the opponent's primary Xatu switch-in and provides you with some offensive momentum
• Roost is an absolute must, giving Xatu reliable recovery whist ridding itself of its weaknesses to Rock, Ice and Electric moves for a turn
• Reflect beefs up Xatu's Defense even further, but Light Screen can be used to cover the side with less investment. Both provide the team with some extra protection

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Teammates who dislike entry hazards appreciate Xatu keeping them at bay
• Teammates who can handle Pursuit users are also very welcome
• The EVs maximize physical bulk due to the number of dangerous physical attackers in the metagame, but can be tailored to be Specially Defensive with a set of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD and a Careful nature
• Psychic is an option over Night Shade for Xatu's damaging attack; however coming off Xatu's uninvested Special Attack it is inferior to Night Shade; should you choose to use it you should use a Bold Nature
• You could adjust the set to use both Reflect and Light Screen - in this case make the hold item Light Clay and replace Night Shade for the second screen.
• FeatherDance is another very useful move; and unlike Reflect, it's changes can be stacked, and it forces more switches.
  

[SET]
name: Wish Support
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect
move 3: Night Shade
move 4: Toxic / U-turn
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Bounce
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

• This set aims to scout common Choice user's attacks (such as Heracross and Bisharp) and act accordingly
• Xatu's low HP stat means its Wishes are rather small; however the support provided by Magic Bounce makes him a viable user
• Protect allows him to scout moves and let him recover health from Wish reliably
• Night Shade is once again there for consistent damage
• Toxic is also good for stalling, but Xatu's relatively low speed let him U-turn effectively and pass Wishes to a teammate who can get in unscathed

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Once again EVs are maximized towards Physical bulk; this can be adapted to a Specially Defensive spread listed in the Support set
• Dented sweepers and Walls who lack reliable recovery love Wishes being passed to them
• As always, Pokemon who hate entry hazards enjoy the deterrent of Xatu

[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Roost
move 4: Toxic / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Bounce
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

• Whilst it seems like Xatu is outclassed as a Calm Mind user, Magic Bounce makes it viable
• Due to the inability to phaze or status Xatu, many opponents will have difficulty stopping it from setting up multiple Calm Minds
• Provides team support without the need to boost, setting it apart from Sigilyph
• Psychic is recommended as your STAB move, as Chansey cannot do anything to Xatu and you can eventually beat her with many CMs under your belt; however if you wish to hit her and other special walls hard without boosting Psyshock is there
• The last moveslot depends on how you want to play this Xatu; Toxic is more useful early game as Xatu's counters will still be present; however later in the game Hidden Power [Fighting]'s coverage is much more useful once you have grabbed a few CMs

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• EVs are geared towards max Physical bulk so that Xatu can act as a supporter early on but have enough bulk to set up multiple Calm Minds
• You should be aiming to set up on walls with limited offensive capabilities
• As always, teammates who dislike entry hazards will welcome the support provided by Xatu

[Other Options]

• A choice set with or without magic bounce could be used - without it, Xatu has access to Heat Wave, Trick and Signal Beam. However this is mainly outclassed by Azelf, Celebi and Alakazam.
• Thunder Wave support

[Checks and Counters]

• Dark types are immune to your STAB Psychic, Steels resist it and are immune to Toxic. This means that unless you run Night Shade, there is nothing you can do to things like Bisharp and Drapion and they can use the switch to set up
• Generally the best counters to Xatu are those that take little damage from an uninvested Psychic, don't mind Toxic and can hit back very hard

Originally posted sets

Hide

[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: FeatherDance
move 2: Roost
move 3: Psychic / U-turn
move 4: Toxic / Night Shade
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Bounce
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

• This set is designed to prevent entry hazards going up on your side of the field whilst walling physical attackers
• FeatherDance is very important, as it increases your physical durability notably and forces switches
• Psychic is a reliable STAB move, whilst Reflect can be used for team support
• Toxic or Night Shade can be used to deal reliable damage to most opponents
• EVs give Xatu a odd HP number allowing him to switch into stealth rock 4 times and survive whilst maximizing physical bulk

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Teammates who dislike Spikes and Stealth Rock appreciate Xatu keeping them at bay
• Team members who can handle Dark types are good teammates for Xatu, like Hitmontop
• Xatu must take care around Pursuit users
  

[SET]
name: Dual Screens
move 1: Reflect
move 2: Light Screen
move 3: Roost
move 4: U-turn / Psychic
item: Light Clay
nature: Impish / Bold
ability: Magic Bounce
evs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 156 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

• Sets up Reflect and Light Screen for team members
• EVs give roughly even defenses and four stealth rock switch-ins, can be adjusted to be more physically or more specially defensive
• Roost is, as always, reliable recovery
• Xatu's relatively slow U-turn can be used to get a teammate in for free after screens have been set up
• Light clay is essential to boost the duration of the screens
• Bold used with Psychic, Impish used with U-turn

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

• Teammates should make the most out of enhanced defenses
• Therefore setup sweepers are the best partners to this set, especially ones that can become very threatening after just one or two boosts
• Good examples of these are Nasty Plot Mew / Celebi and Offensive Calm Mind Suicune and Raikou, as well as Swords Dancers like Scyther

 

[ParaChomp]

I would slash Psychic with Night Shade and Reflect. On the Dual Screen set make Impish the primary option and then slash Bold (just so U-turn has a bit more power). Overall, good analysis.

 

[Ubiquitous]

Mmkay thanks, changes made.

 

[abhicherath]

uh-huh... maybe slash U-turn somewhere on the physical tank set?

 

[Ubiquitous]

uh-huh... maybe slash U-turn somewhere on the physical tank set?

Alright then. Change made

 

[Limewire]

To make the physical wall set look a bit nicer, I would remove Night Slash and Reflect from the third moveslot- imo, Reflect isn't worth it if Xatu isn't carrying Light Clay, and FeatherDance already makes it annoying to take down with physical attacks.

Everything else looks very good!

 

[Ubiquitous]

Yeah, I thought it was getting a bit of slash-itis. Removed, thanks!

 

[Chou Toshio]

Remove the Dream World section-- this section is only for Pokemon who don't have their dream world abilities yet.

Then, mention "resistances" in the OP. Better typing for setting up/walling key threats is almost as important to Xatu's niche over Espeon as Roost is.

 

[Ubiquitous]

Done.

 

[Oglemi]

OK talked on IRC, here's what the main sets should look like:

[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Night Shade
move 2: Toxic / U-turn
move 3: Roost
move 4: Reflect / Light Screen
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Bounce
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Bold / 4 SpD

tbh dual screens can just be mentioned in the AC of that set. FeatherDance serves little to no purpose, as Reflect highly outclasses it in every way. Psychic can just go in AC imo.

[SET]
name: Wish Support
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect
move 3: Night Shade
move 4: Toxic / U-turn
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Bounce
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

The idea behind this set is to scout common Choice user's attacks (Heracross/Bisharp/etc.) and act accordingly. While Xatu's Wishes might be pretty piddly compared to Chansey's, Xatu makes up for it with sheer utility (and any health gained is a plus).

Keep your other two sets in the OP in hide tags just in case the other QCers disagree, but I talked it over on IRC and we all seemed to agree that these were the two sets Xatu should be running and they are the perks Xatu has over Espeon.

 

[Ubiquitous]

Ok done. When I tested, FeatherDance was very effective due to the ability to accumulate, which Reflect cannot, so mentioned it in AC of the Support. Also tweaked the nature to Impish rather than Bold, since you're using U-turn but not Psychic.

 

[Oglemi]

Implemented the sets so

QC 1/3

 

[PK Gaming]

QC APPROVED (2/3)

 

[JockeMS]

Get that purple cat-thingy out of there!

What I meant was, remove all mentions of Espeon.

 

[Ubiquitous]

Sorry for the long break, I went on an unannounced holiday for two weeks. Have removed all mentions of Espeon.
Also, one more QC check please!

 

[Snunch]

name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Roost
move 4: Toxic / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Bounce
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Effective set. Without the ability to phaze or status Xatu, many teams struggle to prevent it from setting up Calm Minds, and those that carry counters are still heavily inconvenienced by magic bounce. Faces competition from Sigliyph, but the difference is that Xatu doesnt have to boost in order to be an effective team supporter and therefore fills different niches than Sigilyph.

Add that set and this is QC APPROVED 3/3

 

[Ubiquitous]

Calm Mind set has been added. I will write this up at some point.