[SET]
name: Substitute + Calm Mind Sweeper
move1: Substitute
move2: Calm Mind
move3: Flash Cannon / Psychic
move4: Thunderbolt / Signal Beam
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 80 SpA / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Easily Jirachi's most potentially dangerous set, the combination of a 101 HP Substitute and Calm Mind is lethal to almost anything that tries to stall this Jirachi out. While Jirachi has lost the niche of being able to beat Blissey one-on-one with this set due to the tendency of Blissey
running more Special Defense EVs as well as the increased use of Seismic Toss, it can still effortlessly beat 252
HP/252
Def Bold variants or Seismic Toss-less variants and pose a major threat to many teams.</p>
<p>While Psychic has been the preferred choice for Calm Mind Jirachi in the past, Flash Cannon is now more effective for a number of reasons. First, Flash Cannon + Thunderbolt boasts excellent neutral coverage, being resisted only by Swampert, Gastrodon, and Electric-types, the latter of which are beaten due to their propensity to use
special attacks that will not break boosted Substitutes. Magnezone is especially notable, as
Choice Specs variants are the only ones that can reliably beat Jirachi, so you can set up on it repeatedly until you can beat it with Thunderbolt. Second, Latias resists the entirety of the
Psychic / Thunderbolt set, while Flash Cannon allows you to set up and eventually beat any Latias variant. Third, Flash Cannon provides reliable power with which to batter Celebi, arguably the best counter to CM Jirachi variants
, thanks to Perish Song. Finally, access to reliable Steel-type STAB means that Tyranitar is no longer such an end-all be-all threat, and indeed, Jirachi can wear down and eventually beat the Tyranitar that terrorizes Psychic-based sets. Psychic can also be used as your main STAB, as it has more neutral power against some notable targets, such as Kingdra, Lucario, and some Electric-types, as well as giving you the ability to hit Swampert effectively. It also allows you to eliminate the more sturdy
Fighting-types such as Machamp and Heracross as well as immediately finish off Infernape if you're behind a Substitute. Bear in mind that if you use Psychic, you have the option of using Signal Beam in tandem with it to hit notable threats such as Tyranitar, Celebi, and Latias. However, you sacrifice the ability to hit Skarmory, Heatran, and other potent counters, so it's a choice of who you think your team is more able to beat.</p>
<p>One generally plays Jirachi in the mid to late stages of battle, sending
it in on his plethora of resistances or on attacks from less offensively apt Pokémon and Substituting on the switch to its counter. If the opponent switches to something like Heatran, Mamoswine, or Tyranitar that are too threatening to Calm Mind against, Jirachi should dent them with an attack as the threat breaks the Substitute, then come back in later when they are sufficiently weakened or dead. Mamoswine will go down on the second switch-in, while once Tyranitar is at roughly 50% health Jirachi can Calm Mind as the Substitute is broken and pick it off with Flash Cannon. Ideally, though, your opponent will send in Blissey, a bulky Water
-type, or a general
special attacker. Against most special attackers, you can simply Calm Mind until their attacks fail to break your substitutes. At this point you can simply alternate Sub and Calm Mind until you have enough boosts to sweep your opponent's team. Leftovers allows Jirachi to make plenty of Substitutes, as each Substitute loses Jirachi a net of 12.5% HP against an opponent that cannot break it.</p>
<p>Wish is a viable alternative to Substitute for a number of reasons, most notably the ability to stall Seismic Toss Blissey infinitely as well as other
special
attackers. However, Wish variants suffer from a number of crippling issues that make it nearly unusable. The first is the tendency of Blissey to carry Thunder Wave, which means that once it realizes you don't have Substitute, it'll just cripple you and go to something else that can easily kill you. Substitute also ensures that Jirachi wins Calm Mind wars by protecting against
critical
hits, something that Wish cannot do. Finally, Substitute allows Jirachi to scout and hammer away at opponents that threaten it, while Wish is helpless as soon as a counter comes in.</p>
<p>The given EVs allow Jirachi to hit 308 Speed, outpacing Adamant Salamence and Jolly Lucario. This is to stop Jirachi from being potentially revenge killed with Earthquakes or Close Combats when sufficiently weakened. 252 HP EVs (and a 31 HP IV if used in game) is absolutely <i>required</i> on Substitute Jirachi in order to set up on Seismic Toss Blissey. The remaining 80 EVs are put into Special Attack. Alternately, one can drop Jirachi's Speed to 280 or 244 and boost his Defense stat instead, allowing Jirachi to set up on weaker physical attackers like Bronzong.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move1: Calm Mind
move2: Psychic
move3: Thunderbolt / Grass Knot
move4: Signal Beam / Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Where the last set was focused on setting up to a massive degree before sweeping unhindered by foes such as Blissey, this set concentrates more on getting one or two Calm Mind boosts before blasting apart anything in its path with its great type coverage. Psychic serves as main STAB, and is the most powerful attack that Jirachi can boast. The second move is for primary coverage- Thunderbolt takes out bulky
Water-types such as Suicune and Milotic as well as some steel-types such as Skarmory that are weak to Electric, as well as boasting excellent neutral coverage. Grass Knot also covers bulky Water-types, but also hits Swampert. It also has the especially notable distinction of hitting Tyranitar super-effectively, a Pokemon that can prove troublesome for Jirachi to defeat.</p>
<p>The final attack is for coverage. Hidden Power Fire is best used with Grass Knot, and allows Jirachi to hit Pokemon such as Celebi, Metagross, Scizor, and especially Magnezone which can pose a threat to Jirachi, or at least wall it. If Thunderbolt is your chosen move, then Signal Beam also makes an excellent alternative, as it strikes Tyranitar and Celebi super-effectively. Hidden Power Ground or Fighting are also reasonable alternatives for hitting Heatran, which plagues Jirachi, but being unable to hit Celebi effectively is often more damaging than a weakness to Heatran.</p>
<p>Leftovers gives more survivability and can let this Jirachi get more Calm Minds, but Life Orb can provide much needed power, which reduces Jirachi's need to get as many Calm Minds.</p>
[SET]
name: Anti-Lead
move1: Iron Head
move2: Trick
move3: Stealth Rock
move4: U-turn
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly
evs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With the advent of suicide leads such as Azelf and Aerodactyl, this Jirachi can find itself hampering many of the most popular leads in the current metagame. The most common suicide leads, Azelf and Aerodactyl, are both cleanly 2HKOed by Iron Head, and with Jirachi's Serene Grace booting Iron Head's flinch rate, this means that 60% of the time these leads won't have the chance to lay down their Stealth Rock, and the remainder of the time, they won't be able to do anything otherwise such as attack, lay down a screen, or explode. Against slower leads such as Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and Bronzong, Trick will significantly reduce their usefulness by hampering them with a Choice Scarf that is useless to them. After Tricking the
Choice Scarf, or later in the game, Jirachi is free to lay down Stealth Rock of its own. U-
turn is excellent as a last move to scout or to escape from Magnezone should the need arise.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Choice
move1: Iron Head
move2: Fire Punch
/ Zen Headbutt
move3: Thunder
Punch
/ Zen Headbutt
move4: U-turn
item: Choice Scarf
/ Choice Band
nature: Jolly
evs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Diamond/Pearl granted Jirachi a great boon in the form of a massively improved physical movepool to match its Base 100
Attack stat. Iron Head is the primary move on the set, as it boasts a 60% chance to flinch, and is the primary draw of this set. There are three primary moves for the next two moveslots. Fire Punch and Thunder
Punch are available to hit Steel-types and Water-types respectively, two main resistors of Iron Head. Alternately, Zen Headbutt provides secondary STAB, a 40% chance of
flinch, and a way of dealing with bulky versions of Machamp and Hariyama. Finally, U-
turn is fantastic as always as a primary scouting move, allowing you to scout for your opponent's Jirachi counter and possibly avoid being trapped by Magnezone.</p>
<p>Physical Jirachi is a phenomenal Pokemon to beat many of the primary threats in the current metagame. Iron Head threatens Tyranitar even after a Dragon Dance, and its 60% flinch chance makes it a huge threat to anything that doesn't resist it. Fire Punch deals with Scizor handily, as well as 2HKOing Lucario and dealing plenty of damage to Metagross. Thunder
Punch takes out Gyarados, and with a Choice Scarf, Jirachi outspeeds even Jolly +1 Gyarados. Ice Punch, while not listed on the set due to not providing effective coverage with Jirachi's main STABs, is still a possibility for dealing with once Dragon Danced Salamence as well as offensive variants of Gliscor. It also outspeeds the standard Adamant Choice Scarf Flygon and Dragon Dancing Dragonite.</p>
<p>Choice Scarf is the preferred item, as Iron Head's flinch requires you to be faster than your opponent, but Choice Band can provide a boost in power, as Jirachi's base 100 attack is rather lacking without a boost.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Choice
move1: Psychic
move2: Thunderbolt
move3: Grass Knot
move4: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Ice / Trick
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
nature: Timid
evs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Jirachi is now well known for its physical choice sets, Jirachi still has the stats and fantastic movepool to back up a special choice set. Choice Specs is the preferred item, as the physical set is more useful for
a Choice Scarf due to its impeccable coverage, Serene Grace Iron Head, and fast U-turn. However, the higher base power of Jirachi's special attacks makes it a fine choice for a fast revenge killer.</p>
<p>Psychic provides basic STAB, and is the strongest attack that Jirachi is capable of using. After that, everything else is for coverage. Thunderbolt is used to hit bulky
Water-types as well as the very threatening Gyarados. Grass Knot is very useful for covering Swampert, Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and various other threats that can switch in on the first two attacks. The final attack is filler, and is meant to cover various threats. Hidden Power Ground is the best attack that Jirachi can muster against Heatran, while Hidden Power Ice can hit Celebi, which resists this Jirachi's entire moveset, as well as Salamence and other
Dragon
-types. Trick, on the other hand, is very efficient for crippling common switchins to this set, such as Celebi, Bronzong, and most importantly Blissey, none of which appreciate a Choice Scarf or Specs.</p>
[SET]
name: Wish Support
move 1: Wish
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Body Slam / Thunder Wave / Thunder
move 4: Iron Head / Ice Punch
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 240 HP / 156 Def / 76 SpD / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A general supporting tank Jirachi, this set is tailored to use Jirachi's resistances and great defenses to pass Wishes around to other members of one's team. The general strategy is to Wish, then U-turn to scout out a threat (or take a hit from a faster one) while healing something else on the team. If the opponent is faster and will KO Jirachi, such as Mamoswine, one should opt to switch rather than use U-turn. Jirachi is best used to nurse Pokémon that resist his Fire and Ground
-type weaknesses back to health, such as Salamence and Gyarados.</p>
<p>The other moves on this set allow Jirachi to provide even more support while beating certain threats. Body Slam is an awesome move on Jirachi, dealing some damage with a 60% chance of paralyzing anything but Ghost-types. This is especially annoying if you paralyze something like Mamoswine or Flygon, whom normally don't have to worry about losing their Speed. Thunder Wave is still available if you want to guarantee paralysis, but Body Slam is usually better. Thunder is an even lesser option that only paralyzes non-Ground
(-)types 42% of the time (factoring in accuracy), but it is a nasty surprise for Skarmory, easily 2HKOing it.</p>
<p>The fourth slot gives this Jirachi a little offensive power. Iron Head provides basic STAB, as well as allowing for effective
"paraflinch
" after a successful
paralysis from the third move. On the other hand, Ice Punch can deal massive damage to Salamence. Jirachi always survives two Adamant +1 LO Outrages, even with SR, and Ice Punch can allow Jirachi to deal with Salamence directly, without relying on Wish or
paralysis.</p>
<p>240 HP EVs hits 401, allowing Jirachi optimal Leftovers recovery as well as granting him the ability to take 5 consecutive Seismic Tosses. 32 Speed EVs beats Jolly Tyranitar and Timid Magnezone, allowing this Jirachi to escape
Choice Specs Magnezone's clutches unharmed. The rest of the EVs are split between the defenses, with enough physical
Defense to not be 2HKOed by Adamant Salamence's Life Orb Outrage after a Dragon Dance. </p>
[SET]
name: Dual Screen
move 1: Light Screen
move 2: Reflect
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Wish
item: Light Clay
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Jirachi is a fantastic user of the Dual Screen strategy. Bring in Jirachi during the middle of the game on something that it can force out, such as a CB Tyranitar that used Stone Edge. The process from there, depending on your team, is very linear. It is recommended you Light Screen first, as most Pokemon that threaten Jirachi attack from the Special side of the spectrum. Use Reflect next, and U-turn to a Baton Passer such as Celebi or Gliscor, or a set up sweeper such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar. Thanks to Light Clay boosting the length of both Reflect and Light Screen to 8 turns instead of 5, your set up, and your attempted sweep, should be much easier to accomplish.</p>
<p>Jirachi differs from other Dual Screen users because of Wish and U-turn. When used with no Speed EVs, U-turn becomes a great method of insuring that your chosen target comes into the field taking as little damage as possible. Wish completes the set, as it is a great method for Jirachi to support itself or the team.</p>
<p>The given EVs make Choice Scarf Heatran's Flamethrower a 3HKO after Light Screen is up, and also gives good physical bulk after a Reflect as well. No Speed EVs are recommended on this set to get the maximum benefit out of U-turn, and allow Jirachi to be as bulky as possible. While some may feel that more Speed EVs are necessary, remember that Jirachi will often be one link in a chain, and that it is often better to get your Baton Passer or set up sweeper at full health than to have them take a hit that will reduce their chances at getting off a successful sweep.</p>
[SET]
name: Rain Support
move1: Rain Dance
move2: U-turn
move3: Wish
move4: Thunder / Water Pulse
item: Damp Rock
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 80 SpA / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Jirachi is one of the best Rain Dance supporters and transition Pokémon in the game.</p>
(Is this needed? Just add it into the next paragraph)
<p>The idea is to send in Jirachi on a resistance, then Rain Dance on the switch. Not only does thins nullify common switch-ins like Heatran, this is exactly the kind of support Kabutops or Kingdra may need. From there, use U-turn to scout the opponent. This is Jirachi's main advantage over Bronzong, and if the opponent switches to Tyranitar to change the weather you can just send in Dugtrio and be done with him. </p>
<p>Wish and Thunder are the obvious extra moves on this set. Wish allows Jirachi to support the entire team and possibly even fake a non-Rain set if you're interested in mindgames. Thunder OHKOs Skarmory and has a 60% chance of paralyzing anything, a great way to cripple things like Heatran. Water Pulse is a lesser option in this slot to do damage to Ground-types coming in on Jirachi, but is less useful than Thunder.</p>
[SET]
name: Uberachi
move1: Wish
move2: U-turn
move3: Toxic
move4: Protect
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A pure utility set, this set takes advantage of Jirachi's natural defensive bulk as well as its excellent typing in Ubers. Steel/Psychic typing means it is neutral to Fighting, Bug, Ghost, Dark, Electric, and Water, while resisting Dragon and Ice. In addition, the ubiquity of Kyogre means that the ever-common rain removes Jirachi's Fire
-type weakness.</p>
<p>Protect is the magic of this set. Toxic/Protect and Wish/Protect are two very effective combinations, as Jirachi can use them in tandem to whittle away at the HP of common Ubers threats, especially those on the special side. For example, Kyogre's
rain-boosted Modest Surf does a meager 52.23% - 61.88% damage, which can easily be stalled out with Wish/Protect and Toxic. Many other threats can also be dealt with in a similar fashion, including Palkia, Darkrai, and special
-based variants of Giratina-O. U-turn serves as scouting as well as a ways of making it easier to pass Jirachi's Wishes.</p>
<p>The EVs listed give excellent resistance against the high-powered special attacks in Ubers, and especially against Dialga and Palkia's tendency to run Fire Blast to cover Steel-types. It also provides protection against Life Orb Rayquaza running Overheat. As a side note, the defensive EVs ensure that Jirachi will always survive an Adamant Rayquaza's Life Orb Earthquake, even with Stealth Rock down, as well as surviving Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake 80% of the time. The high Special Defense and neutrality to Dark
-type moves also means that this Jirachi can be an excellent counter to any Darkrai not carrying Nasty Plot.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Timid/Jolly nature with 176 Speed EVs reaches 308 Speed, outpacing all Base 100s with a neutral nature as well as Jolly Lucario and Porygon-Z, and is the preferred speed for beating the threats that Jirachi is tailor-made to beat. After that, stick 252 EVs into whichever attacking stat Jirachi is using, and stash the last 80 EVs into HP for survivability. The SubCM set reverses the HP and Attack EVs to craft the ever-important 101 HP
Substitutes needed to survive a single Seismic Toss. Rain Support uses the same EVs to provide the most survivability in order to come in and provide Rain as many times as possible. 252 HP/100 Def/156 SpD with a Careful Nature allows the Dual Screen Jirachi to survive a Timid Heatran's Fire Blast 85% of the time, and survive two of them 96% of the time with a Light Screen up. 240 HP / 76 Def / 160 SpD / 32 Spe with Impish on the support set gives considerable defenses on both sides, as well as giving 244 Speed, which outpaces Timid Magnezone and Jolly Tyranitar. Alternately, a 252 HP/80 Def/176 Spe Jolly spread can be used to outspeed Jolly/Timid Lucario and paralyze it so something else can take care of it.</p>
[
Other Options]
(Other Options comes before EVs)
<p>Jirachi boasts an absolutely phenomenal movepool, and the numerous sets above fail to cover all of Jirachi's usable options. On the offensive side, Doom Desire can be used for an odd mono-attacking set, but is rarely usable outside of gimmick use. Icy Wind can be used to hit and slow down Dragon-types and 2KO them. Charge Beam combines with Serene Grace to provide a 100% chance of boost (90% after accuracy), but struggles to find its way onto a set due to access to Calm Mind and Thunderbolt. Drain Punch provides Fighting-type coverage as well as some small healing for Jirachi, but its low power is rather off-putting. Signal Beam can provide a powerful hit to cover both Celebi and Tyranitar at the same time, but provides little coverage outside of the two of them.</p>
<p>On the defensive/supportive side, Jirachi boasts some interesting possibilities. Cosmic Power boosts both Jirachi's Defense and Special Defense simultaneously, which combines with Jirachi's excellent defensive typing to create an opponent that can be incredibly difficult to break. Safeguard can be pseudo-passed along with Wish to provide coverage against status for other Pokemon. Gravity is an interesting attack that can be used to set up for a sweeper with powerful Ground-type STAB such as Rhyperior, Mamoswine, or Flygon and allow them to beat Skarmory easily without depending on prediction.</p>
[
Opinion]
<p>Jirachi was not a bad Pokemon in Advance, but the transition to the latest generation was extremely kind to it. Where it was generally relegated to the role of Calm Mind Sweeper in Advance, a niche often occupied by the powerful Raikou or bulky Suicune, the advent of Choice Scarf, as well as its much improved physical movepool and STAB
flinching moves with Serene Grace, make Jirachi an incredibly versatile Pokemon in the current OU metagame. It can effectively run a ridiculous amount of equally effective sets, from the incredibly efficient Calm Mind sets of Advance, to powerful or speedy Choiced sets hitting from either side of the spectrum, to extremely useful Support sets in the form of Wish
(-)passing,
paralysis support, and
screen Support. Throw in its fantastic Steel/Psychic typing and Jirachi can find itself a niche in almost any part of the metagame, making it a top candidate for any team.</p>
<p>Jirachi also has the distinction of not only being an incredibly effective Calm Mind user, but also being immune to Toxic Spikes and Sandstorm, something that sets it apart from other Calm Mind users such as Suicune and Raikou. Combine that with the ability to produce 101 HP Substitutes, as well as 100/100/100 defenses and 100 base Speed, and Jirachi is a top-notch Calm Minder with the ability to sweep straight through teams if it's given a chance.</p>
[
Counters]
<p>It's impossible to find a 100% counter to Jirachi given its ridiculous versatility. That said, each set is entirely counterable, just that each requires a separate set of counters.</p>
<p>The SubCM sets are arguably the most difficult to counter. Even the end-all be-all counter to
special offense, Blissey, is unable to stop Jirachi, given its 101 HP
Substitutes and Serene Grace for the possibility of Special Defense drops. Perish Song Celebi is undoubtedly the best counter to SubCM Jirachi, given that Perish Song goes through Substitute, forcing Jirachi to switch out or die as Celebi recovers in its face. Celebi also resists the most common moveset of Psychic/Thunderbolt. Barring that, the most efficient counter depends on Jirachi's choice of moves. Psychic-based movesets are mainly countered by Tyranitar, which is immune to Psychic and resists its filler with its excellent Special Defense in Sandstorm.
Choice Specs Magnezone can also easily trap and beat Psychic-based sets, though
Choice Scarf Magnezone simply doesn't boast enough power, and in fact becomes setup fodder for Jirachi. Flash Cannon/HP Ground sets have an entirely different set of counters. Skarmory can come in and Whirlwind it away. Likewise, Zapdos can come in and do the same. Blissey also boasts a much better chance of beating Flash Cannon sets, though it still has the same problem of being unable to break Jirachi's substitutes in a single turn. </p>
<p>The offensive CM set without Substitute has the potential to be more destructive, but also has its problems. Blissey easily beats this set with its infinite HP and Special Defense. Likewise, Snorlax can come in and threaten Jirachi with either a powerful Fire Punch or paralysis from Body Slam, as well as Earthquake. Tyranitar fails to be OHKOed by any attack from Jirachi, even after a Calm Mind boost, and threatens with a powerful Earthquake. Sets without Thunderbolt can be Whirlwinded away by Skarmory. Without Hidden Power Ground/Fighting, Magnezone also comes in, resists the entire moveset, traps and then kills Jirachi. Perish Song Celebi poses the same threat to this set as to the Substitute set, though it falls easily to Signal Beam.</p>
<p>Choiced sets have a few more notable counters. The Physical Choice set's biggest counter is Magnezone, which resists its entire moveset barring Fire Punch, traps it, and kills it. Bulky Water-types in general are very effective at beating Physical Jirachi variance, but fear switching into Thunder
Punch. Swampert takes it one step further by boasting an immunity to Thunder
Punch, thus resisting the entire moveset with the exception of Zen Headbutt and U-turn. Hippowdon lacks the Fire and Steel
-type resists, but its gargantuan physical defense and access to reliable healing lets it shrug off Jirachi's blows easily. Skarmory resists Iron Head, Zen Headbutt, and U-turn, and can easily heal off damage, though swapping into Banded Fire Punch and Thunderpunch can be hazardous. Tyranitar once again boasts excellent physical durability and immunity to Zen Headbutt, though it fears Iron Head and U-
turn. Heatran resists everything Jirachi can throw at it besides a neutral Thunder
Punch, and threatens with STAB Fire Blast. Metagross also boasts high physical durability, though it fears Fire Punch. Gyarados also resists Fire Punch, Iron Head, and U-turn, but fears Thunderpunch.</p>
<p>Special Choice sets are different to counter. Once again, Magnezone comes in, resists most of the set, traps Jirachi, and kills it with Thunderbolt. Blissey once again acts as a one-size-fits-all counter to
special attackers, though it risks being disabled by Trick. Sets not carrying Hidden Power Ice/Fire or Signal Beam find themselves walled by Celebi. Heatran resists Jirachi's STAB and threatens back with its own STAB Fire Blast. Metagross resists Psychic, Grass Knot, and Hidden Power Ice, and only fears Hidden Power Ground and possibly Thunderbolt. Tyranitar is immune to Psychic and isn't especially scared of anything other than Grass Knot or possibly Trick.</p>
