iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
[OVERVIEW]
Psychic
========
* Jirachi is an excellent defensive Pokemon for Psychic teams due to its Psychic / Steel typing being one of the best available.
* Thanks to its Steel typing, Jirachi provides Psychic teams with a solid set of resistances that includes Fairy and Steel, a Poison-type immunity, and a vital Bug-type neutrality, which Psychic generally lacks on defensive Pokemon.
* Base 100 stats across the board let Jirachi maintain an offensive presence while being an incredible asset for Psychic teams as a defensive pivot thanks to U-turn.
* Thanks to its Poison-type immunity, Jirachi is able to avoid Toxic, which makes it an incredibly effective defensive Pokemon on Psychic.
* Due to its rather vast movepool and expansive utility kit, which includes Healing Wish, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Toxic, and Wish, Jirachi can fill a multitude of roles on Psychic teams, including a Stealth Rock setter, status spreader, and strong pivot both defensively and offensively.
* Jirachi's ability, Serene Grace, turns it into a strong offensive threat thanks to the large number of its attack options that carry secondary effects; Heart Stamp and Iron Head are most notable due to their doubled flinch rate.
* In unison with its expansive movepool options and pivoting capabilities, Jirachi is a powerful Choice Scarf user for Psychic teams with the ability to knock out foes with repeated flinches while also threatening a Healing Wish to fully restore an ally.
* Unfortunately, Jirachi is susceptible to becoming setup bait for Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Gyarados, and Volcarona thanks to its attacks being relatively weak in power and generally not hitting them super effectively.
* Jirachi also faces huge competition for Psychic's Choice Scarf user from Victini thanks to the latter's incredibly powerful move options and ability to dismantle Bug-types like Volcarona and Steel-types like Mega Scizor with V-create and Blue Flare.
* Whereas Victini makes up for its average Attack stat in powerful moves, Jirachi comes up short in the damage department, only making up for it slightly with doubled secondary effects.
* Jirachi mostly relies on spamming Iron Head in order to get KOs, but this comes down to luck and doesn't work against teams with solid defensive Steel-resistant Pokemon or Pokemon that inflict passive damage on physical attackers such Ferrothorn and Rocky Helmet Skarmory.
* Jirachi is plagued by generally weak moves and being limited to four moveslots, which prevents it from taking on a multitude of threats to Psychic teams, especially physical walls such as Hippowdon and Rotom-W.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive (Psychic)
move 1: Iron Head
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 4: U-turn / Wish
item: Leftovers
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 176 SpD / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Iron Head is Jirachi's attack of choice, as it carries Steel-type STAB, has a doubled flinch rate thanks to Serene Grace, and is extremely spammable.
* Stealth Rock puts pressure on opposing teams, most notably Bug- and Flying-type teams, while also breaking Focus Sash and providing nice chip damage.
* Toxic is the better of Jirachi's two status options because of its ability to wear down opposing walls such as Mantine and Porygon2.
* Thunder Wave is another good status option that can be used to cut a foe's Speed in half, and when used with Iron Head can completely shut Pokemon down.
* U-turn is Jirachi's form of slow pivoting, which brings teammates in safely.
* Wish allows Jirachi to carry recovery beyond Leftovers and become a decent check or counter to some major threats in the metagame such as Magearna.
Set Details
========
* Full investment in HP allows Jirachi to have the highest possible mixed bulk.
* 80 EVs are placed in Jirachi's Speed stat in order for it to reach 256 Speed, allowing it to outspeed fully invested Adamant Diggersby.
* The rest of the EVs in Special Defense and a Careful nature maximize Jirachi's special tanking potential.
* Serene Grace allows Jirachi to make greater use of moves carrying secondary effects.
* Leftovers rounds out the set as a form of passive recovery that allows Jirachi to pivot more freely by giving it greater longevity.
Usage Tips
========
* Jirachi can work as lead on Psychic, as it can put immediate pressure on the opposing team with Stealth Rock and status while also providing momentum quickly with slow pivots via U-turn.
* This Jirachi set should be used as a switch-in to special attacks for Psychic teams, namely the many it is resistant or immune to.
* Jirachi can be used to tank physical attacks as well thanks to its maximum investment in HP and incredible defensive typing, but it will not be able to take these hits as easily.
* Take advantage of Jirachi's great utility options in setting up Stealth Rock, spreading status with Toxic or Thunder Wave, and healing itself and others via Wish support.
* Thanks to its Steel typing, access to Toxic and Thunder Wave, and ability to spam Iron Head, Jirachi can be used to shut down opposing walls and defensive Pokemon such as Chansey, Mega Venusaur, and Staraptor with few to no drawbacks.
* Jirachi is Psychic's most valuable defensive check to Bug-type threats such as Choice Scarf Heracross and Scolipede, so keeping it healthy to successfully manage these Pokemon is vital.
* If Jirachi has Wish, it can successfully combine it with Iron Head spamming as well as status moves to stall out opposing Pokemon such as Magearna; however, Wish also enables Jirachi to heal teammates.
* Jirachi is an amazing pivot option for Psychic teams, using U-turn to bring momentum to its team's side by taking attacks for the Pokemon it's pivoting into.
* Be wary of Pokemon that may carry super effective attacks, especially physical ones, as moves like Knock Off and Earthquake can usually take Jirachi out quickly.
* Make sure to switch out to an appropriate teammate when faced with most physical attackers, as the lack of investment in Jirachi's Defense stat can leave it fairly vulnerable to Pokemon such as Garchomp and Landorus-T.
Team Options
========
* Slowbro is an amazing teammate for Jirachi, as it carries a resistance to one of Jirachi's weaknesses in Fire, can check Water-types more easily, and most importantly provides a switch-in to physical attackers that can work with Jirachi in a pivot core thanks to Regenerator. Mega Slowbro provides even better physically defensive support in exchange for the loss of Regenerator, which could end up being a good reason to run Wish on Jirachi.
* Victini is Psychic's best physical wallbreaker, checking common threats to Jirachi such as Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor and providing an offensive check to Pokemon like Volcarona, Choice Scarf Heracross, and Choice Scarf Excadrill. It also acts as an offensive pivot thanks to U-turn, which can bring Jirachi in on threats to Victini such as Rock- and Water-types as well as defensive and utility Pokemon like Porygon2 and Klefki.
* Latios is one of Psychic's best special wallbreakers and is a good offensive check to Pokemon that threaten Jirachi, namely Garchomp, Heatran, and Nidoking. Latios can also provide support in the form of Defog for removing entry hazards and can benefit greatly from Jirachi's status spreading, pivoting, and Wish passing. Latios also has Levitate, which allows it to switch in on Ground-type attacks for Jirachi.
* Alakazam with Focus Sash and Counter can work well with Jirachi's slow pivoting as a check to physical sweepers. Jirachi can also keep Alakazam healthy via Wish, which can come in handy. Mega Alakazam works as a powerful sweeper that can get safe switches in thanks to Jirachi's U-turn and can easily take over the momentum of a match.
* Meloetta is Psychic's most solid check to Ghost-types because of its immunity. It can provide great support for Jirachi against Pokemon such as Chandelure, Gengar, and Mimikyu and greatly appreciates Wish support due to its lack of recovery.
* Mew can act as either a stallbreaker that can help Jirachi spread status with Will-O-Wisp or scout and remove the items of opposing Pokemon with Knock Off. Stallbreaker Mew also appreciates Stealth Rock support from Jirachi, which frees up its own moveslots for more pressing utility options in Defog and Taunt. Mewnium Z Mew can gain favorable matchups thanks to Jirachi's slow pivoting with U-turn, which can also lead to an easy use of Rock Polish or Nasty Plot for a sweep.
* Gothitelle is an excellent team option that can trap opposing Pokemon, crippling opposing walls and utility Pokemon such as Chansey, Mega Venusaur, and Zapdos, preventing these Pokemon from limiting Jirachi's hazard setting and status spreading.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf (Psychic)
move 1: Iron Head
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Ice Punch / Fire Punch
move 4: Healing Wish
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Iron Head is Jirachi's go-to STAB option, as it is highly spammable and carries a doubled flinch rate.
* U-turn provides Jirachi with a solid pivoting option in order to avoid having to deal with the plethora of Pokemon capable of walling it such as Heatran as well as Rocky Helmet users like Mandibuzz and Skarmory.
* Ice Punch is Jirachi's ideal coverage move for its ability to hit Dragon-, Flying-, Grass-, and Ground-types, namely Dragonite, Zapdos, Breloom, and Garchomp.
* Fire Punch is a coverage option that can be used to hit Bug-, Grass-, and Steel-types such as Scizor, Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela.
* Healing Wish is a great option for the last moveslot, as it can come in very handy for bringing teammates back to full health and removing status.
Set Details
========
* Maximum EVs in both Attack and Speed stats let Jirachi have the best possible damage output while being able to outspeed a large portion of the metagame.
* A Jolly nature ensures that Jirachi makes the most out of its base 100 Speed stat and ensures that it can't be outsped by Choice Scarf users such as Excadrill and Hydreigon.
* Choice Scarf lets Jirachi be a Psychic team's Speed control while also having the potential to outspeed and wear down or KO most of the unboosted metagame as well as many common +1 threats such as Z-Hypnosis Xurkitree and Landorus-T. Choice Scarf also lets Jirachi get off Healing Wish fairly safely in order to restore teammates that may be better-suited for the matchup or needed to secure a victory.
* Serene Grace doubles the secondary effect chance of Jirachi's moves, turning it into an effective Choice Scarf user and giving it the potential to sweep by spamming Iron Head.
Usage Tips
========
* Choice Scarf Jirachi works well as a lead option thanks to its role as an offensive pivot with U-turn, giving Psychic teams momentum and favorable switches quickly.
* Jirachi can be exceedingly proficient as a revenge killer and cleaner thanks to Serene Grace-boosted Iron Head carrying a high flinch rate and therefore being very spammable.
*Jirachi's coverage options in Ice Punch and Fire Punch can be helpful in managing opposing Pokemon, but being locked into them can easily lead to being in unfavorable matchups, so be aware of what Pokemon the opponent has remaining.
* Jirachi's Steel / Psychic typing allows it to switch into various attacks without much danger, giving it an opportunity to gain momentum by forcing switches and pivoting out into appropriate teammates.
* Healing Wish can be used to heal teammates back to full health and remove status. It's extremely effective on Choice Scarf Jirachi, as even if Jirachi itself becomes rendered unusable in a matchup, it can still serve as a game-changing support option.
Team Options
========
* Thanks to Jirachi running Choice Scarf, Victini can be given a Choice Band instead to further its physical wallbreaking capabilities and turning it into a massive threat in any matchup. Victini also acts as a great response to Pokemon that Jirachi struggles with such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Volcarona.
* Latios works as an excellent special wallbreaker to form a great offensive core on Psychic with Jirachi. It also has access to Defog, which could help Jirachi avoid damage from entry hazards, especially if it wants to make use of Healing Wish at low health.
* Alakazam works as a good check to physical sweepers thanks to the combination of Focus Sash and Counter, eliminating threats to Jirachi such as Mega Sharpedo and Mega Charizard X. Mega Alakazam acts as a great special sweeper that can benefit greatly from Jirachi's pressuring opponents into switches and pivoting out with U-turn.
* Deoxys-S is an amazing suicide lead with which to set up entry hazards for Choice Scarf Jirachi to be able to pressure opposing teams immensely with both Iron Head and U-turn pivoting.
* Meloetta works as both a special wallbreaker and a check to Ghost-type threats for Jirachi. It also is able to force Choice items onto opposing defensive Pokemon like Chansey and Clefable thanks to Trick, crippling them and making it easier for Jirachi to break them down.
* Mew's stallbreaker set can support Jirachi through removing the items of opposing Pokemon with Knock Off, especially Choice Scarf users, and by crippling physical threats with Will-O-Wisp. Offensive Mew with Mewnium Z can benefit greatly from Jirachi's pivoting potential with U-turn and its Healing Wish, allowing it to set up and sweep.
* Celebi can work well as a utility option with Stealth Rock to help Jirachi with much needed chip damage. Utility Celebi can also act as a nice switch-in to Ground-type attacks as well as neutral damage.
* Gothitelle aids in shutting down opposing walls by crippling them by trapping, making it much easier for Jirachi to sweep opposing teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Psychic
--------
* Protect is an option that can use on specially defensive Jirachi to get safe healing with Wish, stall opposing statused Pokemon, and scout for attacks; however, this takes up a moveslot that could be better used for a solid attack option, entry hazards, or a slow pivoting move.
* Heart Stamp is a decent secondary STAB move that can be used on Choice Scarf Jirachi to have two sources of 60% flinch rates, although this does lower Jirachi's overall coverage and it is completely dependent on flinches because it is a very weak move.
* Trick can be used over Healing Wish on Choice Scarf Jirachi to cripple opposing defensive Pokemon and walls, but it doesn't carry the same magnitude of utility benefits that Healing Wish does.
* Colbur Berry works on specially defensive Jirachi as a way of checking Dark-types, allowing it to take Crunch from Mega Sharpedo and Dark Pulse from Greninja while being able to cripple them with Thunder Wave and Toxic in return. The downside to this is losing the passive recovery of Leftovers, meaning Wish is needed in order to recover HP or Jirachi will be worn down much more easily.
Checks and Counters
===================
Psychic
--------
**Fire-types**: Not only do all Fire-types beat Jirachi offensively, they don't mind taking any of its attacks and can easily KO it in return.
**Heatran**: Heatran completely walls all of Jirachi's viable attacks and forces Jirachi out in every situation.
**Steel-types**: If Jirachi isn't carrying Fire Punch, it can't break any Steel-types and can be completely shut down by the type's defensive Pokemon such as Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. At most, Jirachi can paralyze these Pokemon with Thunder Wave, but it's ultimately a fruitless effort.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Excadrill and Seismitoad threaten both Jirachi sets thanks to their super effective STAB coverage. Most of these Pokemon don't mind Toxic besides Hippowdon and can easily manage either Fire Punch or Ice Punch with whatever Pokemon carries a Water / Ground typing on the team.
**Dark-types**: Offensive Dark-types like Bisharp and Mega Sharpedo can easily KO Jirachi, while Rocky Helmet Mandibuzz can shut its Choice Scarf variant down. Mega Gyarados can easily set up on specially defensive Jirachi by utilizing either Substitute or Taunt.
**Ghost-types**: Pokemon such as Chandelure, Alolan Marowak, and Doublade can beat either of Jirachi's sets fairly easily with their super effective STAB moves, while Jirachi can only hit Doublade for decent damage if it's carrying Fire Punch.
**Water-types**: Thanks to resisting its main STAB attack, Water-types such as Toxapex, Seismitoad, and Greninja generally don't mind taking hits from Jirachi while crippling, KOing, or 2HKOing it in return. Greninja does, however, need to watch out for U-turn from Choice Scarf Jirachi.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Specially defensive Jirachi can struggle with managing powerful physical threats such Buzzwole and Victini, as it generally can't take a hit from these Pokemon.
**Walls**: Walls such as Slowbro and Mega Venusaur generally don't care about anything that Jirachi does to them, although Slowbro does need to watch out for Toxic.
**Trapping**: Pokemon that can trap via Pursuit or an ability such as Alolan Muk and Dugtrio can completely immobilize and break Jirachi, especially if it happens to KO a trapping Pokemon's teammates the turn before. However, Jirachi can avoid these situations by utilizing U-turn before these Pokemon switch in.
**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can be faster than Choice Scarf Jirachi can be extremely problematic, as they can usually KO it; these Pokemon include +1 Mega Sharpedo and Choice Scarf Garchomp.
Psychic
========
* Jirachi is an excellent defensive Pokemon for Psychic teams due to its Psychic / Steel typing being one of the best available.
* Thanks to its Steel typing, Jirachi provides Psychic teams with a solid set of resistances that includes Fairy and Steel, a Poison-type immunity, and a vital Bug-type neutrality, which Psychic generally lacks on defensive Pokemon.
* Base 100 stats across the board let Jirachi maintain an offensive presence while being an incredible asset for Psychic teams as a defensive pivot thanks to U-turn.
* Thanks to its Poison-type immunity, Jirachi is able to avoid Toxic, which makes it an incredibly effective defensive Pokemon on Psychic.
* Due to its rather vast movepool and expansive utility kit, which includes Healing Wish, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Toxic, and Wish, Jirachi can fill a multitude of roles on Psychic teams, including a Stealth Rock setter, status spreader, and strong pivot both defensively and offensively.
* Jirachi's ability, Serene Grace, turns it into a strong offensive threat thanks to the large number of its attack options that carry secondary effects; Heart Stamp and Iron Head are most notable due to their doubled flinch rate.
* In unison with its expansive movepool options and pivoting capabilities, Jirachi is a powerful Choice Scarf user for Psychic teams with the ability to knock out foes with repeated flinches while also threatening a Healing Wish to fully restore an ally.
* Unfortunately, Jirachi is susceptible to becoming setup bait for Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Gyarados, and Volcarona thanks to its attacks being relatively weak in power and generally not hitting them super effectively.
* Jirachi also faces huge competition for Psychic's Choice Scarf user from Victini thanks to the latter's incredibly powerful move options and ability to dismantle Bug-types like Volcarona and Steel-types like Mega Scizor with V-create and Blue Flare.
* Whereas Victini makes up for its average Attack stat in powerful moves, Jirachi comes up short in the damage department, only making up for it slightly with doubled secondary effects.
* Jirachi mostly relies on spamming Iron Head in order to get KOs, but this comes down to luck and doesn't work against teams with solid defensive Steel-resistant Pokemon or Pokemon that inflict passive damage on physical attackers such Ferrothorn and Rocky Helmet Skarmory.
* Jirachi is plagued by generally weak moves and being limited to four moveslots, which prevents it from taking on a multitude of threats to Psychic teams, especially physical walls such as Hippowdon and Rotom-W.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive (Psychic)
move 1: Iron Head
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 4: U-turn / Wish
item: Leftovers
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 176 SpD / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Iron Head is Jirachi's attack of choice, as it carries Steel-type STAB, has a doubled flinch rate thanks to Serene Grace, and is extremely spammable.
* Stealth Rock puts pressure on opposing teams, most notably Bug- and Flying-type teams, while also breaking Focus Sash and providing nice chip damage.
* Toxic is the better of Jirachi's two status options because of its ability to wear down opposing walls such as Mantine and Porygon2.
* Thunder Wave is another good status option that can be used to cut a foe's Speed in half, and when used with Iron Head can completely shut Pokemon down.
* U-turn is Jirachi's form of slow pivoting, which brings teammates in safely.
* Wish allows Jirachi to carry recovery beyond Leftovers and become a decent check or counter to some major threats in the metagame such as Magearna.
Set Details
========
* Full investment in HP allows Jirachi to have the highest possible mixed bulk.
* 80 EVs are placed in Jirachi's Speed stat in order for it to reach 256 Speed, allowing it to outspeed fully invested Adamant Diggersby.
* The rest of the EVs in Special Defense and a Careful nature maximize Jirachi's special tanking potential.
* Serene Grace allows Jirachi to make greater use of moves carrying secondary effects.
* Leftovers rounds out the set as a form of passive recovery that allows Jirachi to pivot more freely by giving it greater longevity.
Usage Tips
========
* Jirachi can work as lead on Psychic, as it can put immediate pressure on the opposing team with Stealth Rock and status while also providing momentum quickly with slow pivots via U-turn.
* This Jirachi set should be used as a switch-in to special attacks for Psychic teams, namely the many it is resistant or immune to.
* Jirachi can be used to tank physical attacks as well thanks to its maximum investment in HP and incredible defensive typing, but it will not be able to take these hits as easily.
* Take advantage of Jirachi's great utility options in setting up Stealth Rock, spreading status with Toxic or Thunder Wave, and healing itself and others via Wish support.
* Thanks to its Steel typing, access to Toxic and Thunder Wave, and ability to spam Iron Head, Jirachi can be used to shut down opposing walls and defensive Pokemon such as Chansey, Mega Venusaur, and Staraptor with few to no drawbacks.
* Jirachi is Psychic's most valuable defensive check to Bug-type threats such as Choice Scarf Heracross and Scolipede, so keeping it healthy to successfully manage these Pokemon is vital.
* If Jirachi has Wish, it can successfully combine it with Iron Head spamming as well as status moves to stall out opposing Pokemon such as Magearna; however, Wish also enables Jirachi to heal teammates.
* Jirachi is an amazing pivot option for Psychic teams, using U-turn to bring momentum to its team's side by taking attacks for the Pokemon it's pivoting into.
* Be wary of Pokemon that may carry super effective attacks, especially physical ones, as moves like Knock Off and Earthquake can usually take Jirachi out quickly.
* Make sure to switch out to an appropriate teammate when faced with most physical attackers, as the lack of investment in Jirachi's Defense stat can leave it fairly vulnerable to Pokemon such as Garchomp and Landorus-T.
Team Options
========
* Slowbro is an amazing teammate for Jirachi, as it carries a resistance to one of Jirachi's weaknesses in Fire, can check Water-types more easily, and most importantly provides a switch-in to physical attackers that can work with Jirachi in a pivot core thanks to Regenerator. Mega Slowbro provides even better physically defensive support in exchange for the loss of Regenerator, which could end up being a good reason to run Wish on Jirachi.
* Victini is Psychic's best physical wallbreaker, checking common threats to Jirachi such as Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor and providing an offensive check to Pokemon like Volcarona, Choice Scarf Heracross, and Choice Scarf Excadrill. It also acts as an offensive pivot thanks to U-turn, which can bring Jirachi in on threats to Victini such as Rock- and Water-types as well as defensive and utility Pokemon like Porygon2 and Klefki.
* Latios is one of Psychic's best special wallbreakers and is a good offensive check to Pokemon that threaten Jirachi, namely Garchomp, Heatran, and Nidoking. Latios can also provide support in the form of Defog for removing entry hazards and can benefit greatly from Jirachi's status spreading, pivoting, and Wish passing. Latios also has Levitate, which allows it to switch in on Ground-type attacks for Jirachi.
* Alakazam with Focus Sash and Counter can work well with Jirachi's slow pivoting as a check to physical sweepers. Jirachi can also keep Alakazam healthy via Wish, which can come in handy. Mega Alakazam works as a powerful sweeper that can get safe switches in thanks to Jirachi's U-turn and can easily take over the momentum of a match.
* Meloetta is Psychic's most solid check to Ghost-types because of its immunity. It can provide great support for Jirachi against Pokemon such as Chandelure, Gengar, and Mimikyu and greatly appreciates Wish support due to its lack of recovery.
* Mew can act as either a stallbreaker that can help Jirachi spread status with Will-O-Wisp or scout and remove the items of opposing Pokemon with Knock Off. Stallbreaker Mew also appreciates Stealth Rock support from Jirachi, which frees up its own moveslots for more pressing utility options in Defog and Taunt. Mewnium Z Mew can gain favorable matchups thanks to Jirachi's slow pivoting with U-turn, which can also lead to an easy use of Rock Polish or Nasty Plot for a sweep.
* Gothitelle is an excellent team option that can trap opposing Pokemon, crippling opposing walls and utility Pokemon such as Chansey, Mega Venusaur, and Zapdos, preventing these Pokemon from limiting Jirachi's hazard setting and status spreading.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf (Psychic)
move 1: Iron Head
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Ice Punch / Fire Punch
move 4: Healing Wish
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Iron Head is Jirachi's go-to STAB option, as it is highly spammable and carries a doubled flinch rate.
* U-turn provides Jirachi with a solid pivoting option in order to avoid having to deal with the plethora of Pokemon capable of walling it such as Heatran as well as Rocky Helmet users like Mandibuzz and Skarmory.
* Ice Punch is Jirachi's ideal coverage move for its ability to hit Dragon-, Flying-, Grass-, and Ground-types, namely Dragonite, Zapdos, Breloom, and Garchomp.
* Fire Punch is a coverage option that can be used to hit Bug-, Grass-, and Steel-types such as Scizor, Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela.
* Healing Wish is a great option for the last moveslot, as it can come in very handy for bringing teammates back to full health and removing status.
Set Details
========
* Maximum EVs in both Attack and Speed stats let Jirachi have the best possible damage output while being able to outspeed a large portion of the metagame.
* A Jolly nature ensures that Jirachi makes the most out of its base 100 Speed stat and ensures that it can't be outsped by Choice Scarf users such as Excadrill and Hydreigon.
* Choice Scarf lets Jirachi be a Psychic team's Speed control while also having the potential to outspeed and wear down or KO most of the unboosted metagame as well as many common +1 threats such as Z-Hypnosis Xurkitree and Landorus-T. Choice Scarf also lets Jirachi get off Healing Wish fairly safely in order to restore teammates that may be better-suited for the matchup or needed to secure a victory.
* Serene Grace doubles the secondary effect chance of Jirachi's moves, turning it into an effective Choice Scarf user and giving it the potential to sweep by spamming Iron Head.
Usage Tips
========
* Choice Scarf Jirachi works well as a lead option thanks to its role as an offensive pivot with U-turn, giving Psychic teams momentum and favorable switches quickly.
* Jirachi can be exceedingly proficient as a revenge killer and cleaner thanks to Serene Grace-boosted Iron Head carrying a high flinch rate and therefore being very spammable.
*Jirachi's coverage options in Ice Punch and Fire Punch can be helpful in managing opposing Pokemon, but being locked into them can easily lead to being in unfavorable matchups, so be aware of what Pokemon the opponent has remaining.
* Jirachi's Steel / Psychic typing allows it to switch into various attacks without much danger, giving it an opportunity to gain momentum by forcing switches and pivoting out into appropriate teammates.
* Healing Wish can be used to heal teammates back to full health and remove status. It's extremely effective on Choice Scarf Jirachi, as even if Jirachi itself becomes rendered unusable in a matchup, it can still serve as a game-changing support option.
Team Options
========
* Thanks to Jirachi running Choice Scarf, Victini can be given a Choice Band instead to further its physical wallbreaking capabilities and turning it into a massive threat in any matchup. Victini also acts as a great response to Pokemon that Jirachi struggles with such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Volcarona.
* Latios works as an excellent special wallbreaker to form a great offensive core on Psychic with Jirachi. It also has access to Defog, which could help Jirachi avoid damage from entry hazards, especially if it wants to make use of Healing Wish at low health.
* Alakazam works as a good check to physical sweepers thanks to the combination of Focus Sash and Counter, eliminating threats to Jirachi such as Mega Sharpedo and Mega Charizard X. Mega Alakazam acts as a great special sweeper that can benefit greatly from Jirachi's pressuring opponents into switches and pivoting out with U-turn.
* Deoxys-S is an amazing suicide lead with which to set up entry hazards for Choice Scarf Jirachi to be able to pressure opposing teams immensely with both Iron Head and U-turn pivoting.
* Meloetta works as both a special wallbreaker and a check to Ghost-type threats for Jirachi. It also is able to force Choice items onto opposing defensive Pokemon like Chansey and Clefable thanks to Trick, crippling them and making it easier for Jirachi to break them down.
* Mew's stallbreaker set can support Jirachi through removing the items of opposing Pokemon with Knock Off, especially Choice Scarf users, and by crippling physical threats with Will-O-Wisp. Offensive Mew with Mewnium Z can benefit greatly from Jirachi's pivoting potential with U-turn and its Healing Wish, allowing it to set up and sweep.
* Celebi can work well as a utility option with Stealth Rock to help Jirachi with much needed chip damage. Utility Celebi can also act as a nice switch-in to Ground-type attacks as well as neutral damage.
* Gothitelle aids in shutting down opposing walls by crippling them by trapping, making it much easier for Jirachi to sweep opposing teams.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Psychic
--------
* Protect is an option that can use on specially defensive Jirachi to get safe healing with Wish, stall opposing statused Pokemon, and scout for attacks; however, this takes up a moveslot that could be better used for a solid attack option, entry hazards, or a slow pivoting move.
* Heart Stamp is a decent secondary STAB move that can be used on Choice Scarf Jirachi to have two sources of 60% flinch rates, although this does lower Jirachi's overall coverage and it is completely dependent on flinches because it is a very weak move.
* Trick can be used over Healing Wish on Choice Scarf Jirachi to cripple opposing defensive Pokemon and walls, but it doesn't carry the same magnitude of utility benefits that Healing Wish does.
* Colbur Berry works on specially defensive Jirachi as a way of checking Dark-types, allowing it to take Crunch from Mega Sharpedo and Dark Pulse from Greninja while being able to cripple them with Thunder Wave and Toxic in return. The downside to this is losing the passive recovery of Leftovers, meaning Wish is needed in order to recover HP or Jirachi will be worn down much more easily.
Checks and Counters
===================
Psychic
--------
**Fire-types**: Not only do all Fire-types beat Jirachi offensively, they don't mind taking any of its attacks and can easily KO it in return.
**Heatran**: Heatran completely walls all of Jirachi's viable attacks and forces Jirachi out in every situation.
**Steel-types**: If Jirachi isn't carrying Fire Punch, it can't break any Steel-types and can be completely shut down by the type's defensive Pokemon such as Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. At most, Jirachi can paralyze these Pokemon with Thunder Wave, but it's ultimately a fruitless effort.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Excadrill and Seismitoad threaten both Jirachi sets thanks to their super effective STAB coverage. Most of these Pokemon don't mind Toxic besides Hippowdon and can easily manage either Fire Punch or Ice Punch with whatever Pokemon carries a Water / Ground typing on the team.
**Dark-types**: Offensive Dark-types like Bisharp and Mega Sharpedo can easily KO Jirachi, while Rocky Helmet Mandibuzz can shut its Choice Scarf variant down. Mega Gyarados can easily set up on specially defensive Jirachi by utilizing either Substitute or Taunt.
**Ghost-types**: Pokemon such as Chandelure, Alolan Marowak, and Doublade can beat either of Jirachi's sets fairly easily with their super effective STAB moves, while Jirachi can only hit Doublade for decent damage if it's carrying Fire Punch.
**Water-types**: Thanks to resisting its main STAB attack, Water-types such as Toxapex, Seismitoad, and Greninja generally don't mind taking hits from Jirachi while crippling, KOing, or 2HKOing it in return. Greninja does, however, need to watch out for U-turn from Choice Scarf Jirachi.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Specially defensive Jirachi can struggle with managing powerful physical threats such Buzzwole and Victini, as it generally can't take a hit from these Pokemon.
**Walls**: Walls such as Slowbro and Mega Venusaur generally don't care about anything that Jirachi does to them, although Slowbro does need to watch out for Toxic.
**Trapping**: Pokemon that can trap via Pursuit or an ability such as Alolan Muk and Dugtrio can completely immobilize and break Jirachi, especially if it happens to KO a trapping Pokemon's teammates the turn before. However, Jirachi can avoid these situations by utilizing U-turn before these Pokemon switch in.
**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can be faster than Choice Scarf Jirachi can be extremely problematic, as they can usually KO it; these Pokemon include +1 Mega Sharpedo and Choice Scarf Garchomp.
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