I've been playing Legends Arceus recently and I've had the urge to use Luxray for a while since then. Needless to say this is an absolute Godsend and a complete work of art, keep it up man.Luxray
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"Luxray is a proud and friendly Pokémon dedicated to helping its friends. Luxray has high inner strength, refusing to give up when committed to a goal. Luxray cares greatly for others and will jump straight into danger without a second thought to save someone" - Bulbapedia
"Being able to finally find a genuine niche for Luxray in OU after multiple generations makes me happier than I could properly articulate; Luxray is awesome" - Morkal
BASE STATS MIN-MAX STAT RANGE HP:
80270 - 364 Attack:
120220 - 372 Defense:
79146 - 282 Sp. Atk:
95175 - 317 Sp. Def:
79146 - 282 Speed:
70130 - 262
Abilities:
Rivalry, Intimidate | HA: Guts
Notable Physical + Utility Moves:
Body Slam, Crunch, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Play Rough, Psychic Fangs, Trailblaze, Wild Charge
Luxray's infamy is known by most competitive Pokemon players thanks to its long and unfortunately... well, unfortunate, competitive history. Luxray has always been cursed with specific attributes that left it out to dry in almost every meta's landscape, to the point where it would always end up in the lowest tier or not being able to compete in a lower tier at all. However, despite this, what if I told you that Luxray actually has a solid OU niche in Generation 9? Luxray received some new tools that allow it to succeed in the current meta thanks to this new move access and (looking at older OU generations) a comparatively kinder environment. Luxray is a strong mono-electric type that finally had a much-deserved second wind (arguably first wind) through the addition of Terastallization and Trailblaze to bolster its offensive and defensive capabilities. So let's jump into yet another massive OU niche post and analyze why Luxray finally has room to breathe in OU - the truth may shock you! (Don't worry, I know how shockingly bad my pun was).
Disclaimer: Luxray is tough to properly slot into team builds; as such, I highly recommend looking into OU speed tiers here and memorizing relevant benchmarks along with specific core matchups before you use Luxray on one of your builds (I will explain the speed benchmarks and matchups in this post as well)! Figuring out common switch-ins is critical in this role as well. If you take the time to learn how to best prepare your team to work with Luxray, he can pull off unexpected wonders for your team.
Summarized Advantages of Luxray
This is a "too long, didn't read" bullet point list for people who don't want to read through the whole post and want a quick understanding of Luxray's OU benefits.
- Luxray benefitted heavily from the addition of Tera, allowing it to act as a tanky Dragon, Dark, Fighting, and sometimes Ground-type lure that helps put its offensive capabilities to work and gives one of its most crucial coverage moves, Play Rough, some much-needed STAB.
- Additionally, common switch-ins such as Iron Hands, Garchomp, Great Tusk, and Ting-Lu, along with priority users such as Chien-Pao, are usually taken care of by the one-two combo of Trailblaze and Play Rough (especially when Terastallized).
- Luxray received Trailblaze, allowing it to patch its most significant flaw (base 70 speed), which eases the prediction burden that mono-electric attackers often go through in OU, along with providing it a way to thwart common switch-ins by putting them in a range to outspeed and consistently OHKO or 2HKO.
- Luxray's strong base 120 Attack, combined with its small but potent coverage movepool, means that most of the meta gets hit super effectively by its attacks resulting in some unexpected holes being blown in the opposing team's cores.
- Luxray's access to Intimidate + Assault Vest with workable 80/79/79 bulk means that Luxray can stomach strong attacks in a pinch while boosting its speed and finishing off an opposing threat.
- Luxray's offensive and defensive capabilities allow a specific type of role compression that's very hard for a Pokemon to pull off while being tanky with both Defense and Special Defense simultaneously.
- Mono-Electric (and when Terastallized, Mono-Fairy) is a solid defensive typing that works well against most of the meta and provides Luxray with a crucial paralysis immunity that Choice Scarf or other Speed-boosting mons wish they could have.
Assault Double Tank Luxray
Luxray @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 48 Def / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Trailblaze
- Crunch
- Wild Charge
Luxray's primary function is to bait out key threats in OU and surprise them with its double-boosted bulk (both from Intimidate and Assault Vest) while boosting its speed and punching holes in the opponent's team cores. Luxray almost acts like a pseudo-Zeraora but in a more offensively inclined disruptor role with notable differences. What is your first competitive instinct when you sense a strong Electric attack coming your way? Generally (barring commonly known coverage), you'd want to switch to a Ground type or a Bulky Grass type, right? This critical reaction helps Luxray work quite well, as you won't be clicking Luxray's Wild Charge anywhere near as much as you'll be clicking Traiblaze, Play Rough, and Crunch. Let's look at Luxray's EVs, starting with 208 EVs in speed; with this EV allotment and a neutral nature, Luxray's base speed is 228. If you get the +1 from Trailblaze, its base speed becomes 342. Both 228 and 342 are significant benchmarks to hit because of the key threats they outspeed, so let's see what gets outspeed at these two speed tiers.
Speed Tier ComparisonAmoonguss, Azumarill, Ceruledge (Bulk Up Variant), Clodsire, Corviknight (Needs 236 Speed EVs with a Neutral nature or 156 Speed EVs with Jolly nature to outspeed Luxray; most Corviknights are defensive, so both are rare), Dondozo, Dragonite (Bulky D-Dance Variant), Garganacl, Gholdengo (Nasty Plot Defensive Variant), Great Tusk (Physically Defensive Variant), Grimmsnarl (needs Jolly and 212 Speed EVs to outspeed Luxray, it cannot outspeed Luxray without a Jolly nature), Hatterene, Iron Hands, Kingambit, Rotom-Wash (Defensive Variant), Scizor (Needs 252 EVs with a Neutral nature or 172 Speed with a Jolly nature to outspeed Luxray; generally 252 Speed EVs with Adamant are only used on the offensive Swords Dance variant, not the Banded or Boots variants), Skeledirge, Ting-Lu, Torkoal, Toxapex.
Luxray 228 - Outspeeds (Excluding):
Luxray 342 (+1) - Outspeeds (ExcludingAmoonguss, Azumarill, Ceruledge, Clodsire, Corviknight, Dondozo, Dragonite, Garchomp, Garganacl, Gholdengo, Glimmora, Great Tusk, Hatterene, Iron Hands, Iron Moth (Agility Variant pre-boost), Iron Treads (Requires 252 EVs + Jolly nature to speed tie Luxray), Pawmot, Quaquaval, Roaring Moon (All non-Jolly variants), Rotom-Wash, Scizor, Skeledirge, Ting-Lu, Torkoal, Toxapex, Volcarona.):
Luxray with 208 Speed EVs outpaces most of the slower metagame and, at +1 outspeeds anything with base 105 or less speed (and also outspeeds some notable sets of Pokemon with a higher speed tier that don't max out EVs). This is why you will almost always want to click Trailblaze first so that your opponent's switch-in has a high chance of becoming setup fodder, as Trailblaze simultaneously boosts Luxray's speed while breaking Focus Sash and Multiscale along with putting certain Pokemon into KO range. Additionally, you'll want to avoid Terastallizing until the specific threat you wish to lure has switched into your Luxray. Terastallizing on the predicted switch itself will often cause a double switch that can leave you at a strategic disadvantage.
I must double-stress this point, as it's vital for Luxray's playstyle success. 90% of the time, you will want to use Trailblaze first before any other move; this is especially true if you suspect your opponent will switch Pokemon due to a bad matchup.
Offensive Capabilities
So what can it do with this speed? Simple, Luxray can heavily chunk, or OHKO, some very potent OU threats. This wouldn't be possible with Luxray's base 120 Attack and powerful coverage options in Play Rough and Crunch. Let's start with Trailblaze damage chip calculations followed by Play Rough calculations before Luxray is terastallized to give a pre-tera baseline (usually early-mid game after a Trailblaze on the predicted switch).
Trailblaze Damage Calculations (For Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 116 HP / 0 Def Azumarill (Band): 136-162 (36.7 - 43.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill (Assault Vest): 136-162 (33.6 - 40%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao: 68-81 (22.5 - 26.9%) -- 36.4% chance to 4HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Dondozo: 102-120 (20.2 - 23.8%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Garchomp (Hazard Phaze): 60-71 (14.2 - 16.9%) -- possible 6HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp (Swords Dance): 60-71 (16.8 - 19.8%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Great Tusk (Offensive): 90-108 (24.2 - 29.1%) -- 99.3% chance to 4HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Great Tusk (Physically Defensive): 68-82 (15.6 - 18.8%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 200 HP / 180+ Def Quaquaval: 102-120 (28.2 - 33.2%) -- 89.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Quaquaval: 136-162 (43.7 - 52%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Rotom-Wash (Scarf Trick): 108-128 (35.5 - 42.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Wash (Physically Defensive): 78-94 (25.6 - 30.9%) -- 3.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Trailblaze vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Ting-Lu: 94-112 (18.2 - 21.7%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
Play Rough Damage Calculations (Before Terastallization)
View attachment 485917
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Breloom: 246-290 (94.2 - 111.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao: 246-290 (81.7 - 96.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 260-306 (82 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Almost Always OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Multiscale Dragonite (Offensive Dragon Dance): 107-126 (33.1 - 39%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO (once Multiscale is broken, Play Rough will almost always knock out Dragonite from this damage range)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 144 HP / 0 Def Multiscale Dragonite (Bulky Dragon Dance): 107-126 (29.8 - 35%) -- 16% chance to 3HKO (once Multiscale is broken, Play Rough has a good chance to knock out Dragonite from this damage range)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 214-252 (50.9 - 60%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 214-252 (59.9 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Great Tusk: 162-192 (43.6 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO (2HKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Great Tusk: 122-144 (28.1 - 33.1%) -- 84.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery (Slight chance for 2HKO and guaranteed 3HKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Grimmsnarl: 288-340 (73 - 86.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 56 HP / 252 Def Iron Hands (Choice Band): 154-182 (33.2 - 39.3%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Iron Hands (Swords Dance): 192-226 (42.7 - 50.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (Strong 2HKO chance with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Iron Valiant: 222-262 (76.8 - 90.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meowscarada: 272-322 (92.8 - 109.8%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO (OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Pawmot (Utility): 272-322 (79 - 93.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Pawmot (Offensive): 272-320 (96.7 - 113.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO (OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 200 HP / 180+ Def Quaquaval: 182-216 (50.4 - 59.8%) -- 83.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (2HKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Quaquaval: 244-288 (78.4 - 92.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (Strong chance to OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 540-636 (130.4 - 153.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Quite a few potent Pokemon don't like to take a Play Rough, especially with hazard or Trailblaze-damage chip. This is why Play Rough is far more valuable as a base move than Wild Charge is, along with the lack of Wild Charge recoil. While some pre-Tera options can be shaky without Chip, multiple post-Tera options (especially Pokemon you intend to lure) are no longer safe once Luxray has terastallized.
Play Rough Damage Calculations (Terastallized)
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252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Breloom: 368-434 (140.9 - 166.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao: 368-434 (122.2 - 144.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 390-458 (123 - 144.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 160-189 (49.5 - 58.5%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO (OHKO with Multiscale broken Chip, Dragonite cannot switch in)
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 144 HP / 0 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 160-189 (44.5 - 52.6%) -- 19.9% chance to 2HKO (Strong chance to OHKO with Multiscale broken Chip, Dragonite cannot switch in)
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 320-378 (76.1 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Strong chance to OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 320-378 (89.6 - 105.8%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO (OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Great Tusk: 242-288 (65.2 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Strong chance to OHKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Great Tusk: 182-216 (41.9 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (2HKO with Chip)
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Grimmsnarl: 432-510 (109.6 - 129.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 56 HP / 252 Def Iron Hands: 230-272 (49.6 - 58.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Iron Hands: 288-338 (64.1 - 75.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Iron Valiant: 332-392 (114.8 - 135.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meowscarada: 408-482 (139.2 - 164.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Pawmot: 408-482 (118.6 - 140.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 200 HP / 180+ Def Quaquaval: 272-324 (75.3 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Quaquaval: 366-432 (117.6 - 138.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 808-952 (195.1 - 229.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tera Fairy Luxray Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Ting-Lu: 252-296 (49 - 57.5%) -- 56.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (2HKO with Chip)
Tera Fairy Play Rough is downright dangerous, as not many teams in OU have an answer for strong Physical Fairy STAB attacks, especially when that attack is Play Rough. Next up, we have Crunch, which is extremely helpful for the Pokemon that commonly resist Fairy-type attacks and carries a potent chance to drop the opponent's Defense -1, meaning that sometimes specific threats like Defensive Nasty Plot Gholdengo have to risk getting KO'd or switch out.
Crunch Damage Calculations
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252+ Atk Luxray Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ceruledge (Swords Dance): 218-258 (74.9 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Ceruledge (Bulk Up): 218-258 (61.5 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 230-272 (72.5 - 85.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 190-224 (60.3 - 71.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gholdengo: 136-160 (35.9 - 42.3%) -- 92.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Crunch vs. -1 252 HP / 252+ Def Gholdengo: 204-240 (53.9 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Crunch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Skeledirge: 180-214 (43.7 - 52%) -- 11.7% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Luxray Crunch vs. -1 248 HP / 0 Def Skeledirge: 272-322 (66.1 - 78.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
While Wild Charge will not be used as commonly as your coverage moves, it's still quite helpful for certain threats that it nails super effectively. So lastly, let's look at some STAB Wild Charge super effective calculations as there aren't many times it will be using Wild Charge compared to Play Rough or Crunch.
Wild Charge Damage Calculations
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252+ Atk Luxray Wild Charge vs. 116 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 368-434 (99.4 - 117.2%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Luxray Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 368-434 (91 - 107.4%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Luxray Wild Charge vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 212-252 (53.1 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Dondozo: 270-320 (53.5 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Wild Charge vs. 200 HP / 180+ Def Quaquaval (Bulk Up): 272-324 (75.3 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Luxray Wild Charge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Quaquaval (Swords Dance): 366-432 (117.6 - 138.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Luxray Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 170-204 (55.9 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
Defensive Capabilities
So we've now established that Luxray can severely dent most of the OU metagame, so what about its defensive profile? With a small investment of 48 Defense EVs combined with Luxray's useful Intimidate ability + the Assault Vest item, Luxray can stomach some unexpectedly powerful attacks both pre-Tera and post-Tera. Mono-Electric only has one weakness, Ground-type attacks, while Mono-Fairy only has weaknesses to Poison and Steel-type attacks. Additionally, Mono-Fairy has useful resistances to Bug, Dark, and Fighting, along with Mono-Electric's useful resistances to Electric, Flying, and Steel-type attacks. So let's take a look at Luxray's pre-Tera Electric typing first to see just what kinds of hits it can withstand on both the physical and special side.
Defensive Calculations (Electric, Before Terastallization)So what happens when Luxray switches to being a Fairy type with Terastallization? Not only does it become immune to Dragon-type moves, but it can now stomach hits that it previously could not handle reliably, especially with Intimidate.
Physical Moves (-1 Intimidate):
-1 252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 135-159 (44.8 - 52.8%) -- 22.3% chance to 2HKO
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 202-238 (67.1 - 79%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 0 Atk Corviknight Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 44-52 (14.6 - 17.2%) -- possible 6HKO
-1 0 Atk Dondozo Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 70-84 (23.2 - 27.9%) -- 78.6% chance to 4HKO
4 Def Dondozo Body Press vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 75-89 (24.9 - 29.5%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO
252+ Def Dondozo Body Press vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 101-119 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 194-230 (64.4 - 76.4%) -- approx. 2HKO
4 Def Garganacl Body Press vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 83-98 (27.5 - 32.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
-1 0 Atk Garganacl Salt Cure vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 33-40 (10.9 - 13.2%) -- guaranteed 5HKO after Salt Cure
-1 116+ Atk Iron Hands Drain Punch vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 100-118 (33.2 - 39.2%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO
-1 4 Atk Iron Valiant Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 124-147 (41.1 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Iron Valiant Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 95-112 (31.5 - 37.2%) -- 83.2% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Iron Valiant Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 141-167 (46.8 - 55.4%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 62-73 (20.5 - 24.2%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor U-turn vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 144-171 (47.8 - 56.8%) -- 88.3% chance to 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 164-194 (54.4 - 64.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 0 Atk Ting-Lu Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Luxray: 180-212 (59.8 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Special Moves:
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 133-157 (44.1 - 52.1%) -- 14.8% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 109-129 (36.2 - 42.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Gholdengo Make It Rain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 81-96 (26.9 - 31.8%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Gholdengo Make It Rain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 121-143 (40.1 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 162-192 (53.8 - 63.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Glimmora Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 127-150 (42.1 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Glimmora Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 160-190 (53.1 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Glimmora Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 189-223 (62.7 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Glimmora Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 238-282 (79 - 93.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Hatterene Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 103-123 (34.2 - 40.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Iron Moth Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 133-157 (44.1 - 52.1%) -- 14.8% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Iron Moth Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 127-150 (42.1 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Iron Valiant Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 118-141 (39.2 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Iron Valiant Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 178-211 (59.1 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
8 SpA Skeledirge Torch Song vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 76-91 (25.2 - 30.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
0 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Luxray: 91-108 (30.2 - 35.8%) -- 34.9% chance to 3HKO
Defensive Calculations (Fairy, Terastallized)
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 123-146 (40.8 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 83-98 (27.5 - 32.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 141-166 (46.8 - 55.1%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 94-111 (31.2 - 36.8%) -- 74.2% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 187-222 (62.1 - 73.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 126-148 (41.8 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Great Tusk Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 113-133 (37.5 - 44.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-1 252 Atk Great Tusk Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 75-89 (24.9 - 29.5%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO
0 Atk Ting-Lu Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 135-159 (44.8 - 52.8%) -- 22.3% chance to 2HKO
-1 0 Atk Ting-Lu Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 48 Def Tera Fairy Luxray: 90-106 (29.9 - 35.2%) -- 20.1% chance to 3HKO
Team Support Options
Spore
Spore allows Luxray critical switch-in opportunities, especially in the early game, where you generally don't want to terastallize if you can help it. I highly recommend Amoonguss for this specific Spore role as Regenerator keeps it healthy throughout the match, allowing more opportunities to open the floor for Luxray.
Wish Passing
Wish passing allows Luxray to remain healthy throughout the match and is generally a great idea for quite a few team compositions to begin with. Scream Tail is arguably all around more useful than Alomomola, but Alomomola's physical bulk and mono-water typing have their uses as well (along with a much higher HP stat).
Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce
Luxray does not appreciate hazard damage or hazard status, so a Pokemon to either spin away or bounce back hazards is greatly appreciated. Great Tusk and Iron Treads are both phenomenal spinners, while Hatterene is the de-facto Magic Bounce user in the tier. What you choose depends on your individual team composition.
Conclusion
Luxray is a flawed Pokemon, but this is the first generation of OU where I can confidently recommend its niche as a role-compressing lure, thanks to the new tools that it got. Generation 9's meta has been very kind to many older Pokemon, thanks to the boon of terastallization. Luxray is another one of those Pokemon who have been given a new competitive edge in life. If you play to Luxray's strengths and support it properly, you'll find that our shockingly spiky boi is a worthy addition to your properly built team!
Edit #1: Fixed grammatical / formatting issues + added dividing images I forgot to add
Edit #2: Fixed broken image
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Metagame SV OU Metagame Discussion
- Thread starter TPP
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Thank you so much! Luxray has had one of the rockiest competitive histories I can think of, so I'm glad that Gen 9 was so kind to it! I'll likely be doing a "four in one" post next for the following niche mons (I've had pretty good success with all forms, especially with the Pompom and Sensu forms)
To avoid this being a somewhat shorter reply, I'd like to ask everyone a few questions to get some cool discussions going! -
1. How do you currently feel about Hyper Offense as a playstyle? Do you feel it's been getting better or worse, or has it been consistent?
2. Which typing do you feel is currently the best offensive type in OU? If you feel it's a specific type combination rather than a single type, which type combination do you feel is currently the best in OU?
3. Have you been experimenting with Sticky Web teams at all? Have you come across them in the meta? How do you feel about Sticky Web teams?
This actually makes me think, have we talked about Moltres? I know people have mentioned talonflame as a defogger, and this sparked the thought.
Braviary would be a nice addition, but looking at those calcs, it doesn't inspire much confidence, even in theory it looks way too iffy.
HO has had to change its strategies. Gone are the days of Grimmsnarl Shed Tail, and in are the days of suicide leads/PsyTerrain/etc.
Dark feels absolutely excellent but that’s probably just because of Chi-Yu and Chien Pao brainrot.
I’ve used a couple. They were fun, I’ve always liked Webs, and with the advent of gholdengo they’re much more fluid.
hisuian samurott gets OHKO'd by focus blast and cannot guarantee the OHKO in return without an adamant nature or a boosting item such as choice band or life orb, which means it still gets revenged by scarfed gholdengo. the others will for sure pose a large threat for it later down the line but i don't see samurott posing any serious problems for golden joseph, unlike most of the other pokemon mentioned here like heatran
Why Sassy and not Calm? Wouldn't taking less from Foul Play work more in your favour?
Best offensive typing for my money is Ghost--so annoying to find good Ghost switch-ins these days. The good, splashable resists in the tier are Ting-Lu, Garg, and Kingambit. Not counting something like Grimmsnarl, which only fits on one archetype, or Meowscarada/Chien-Pao types, which can't really switch into anything.
But Ting-Lu's longevity can be an issue, Kingambit fears coverage from Skeledirge, Dragapult, and Gholdengo, and Garg has to be the most overprepared-for threat in the tier atm. As is, I don't think there's anything you can throw on your team to blanket check Ghost types which makes Pult + Gholdengo offensive cores quite threatening in the meta currently. Ting-Lu is the best answer but again, you have to play carefully so it doesn't get worn down too quickly.
But Ting-Lu's longevity can be an issue, Kingambit fears coverage from Skeledirge, Dragapult, and Gholdengo, and Garg has to be the most overprepared-for threat in the tier atm. As is, I don't think there's anything you can throw on your team to blanket check Ghost types which makes Pult + Gholdengo offensive cores quite threatening in the meta currently. Ting-Lu is the best answer but again, you have to play carefully so it doesn't get worn down too quickly.
1. HO feels fine atm outside pao, but that mon is a problem regardless tbh. The drop in big walls like dozo feels like a boost, but the loss of some of the strongest offensive mons and enablers like cyclizar have definitely slowed it down.
2. most types feel pretty balanced due to the wide type variety usually present on teams, but if I had to pinpoint one, I guess ghost with fighting as a combination. it feels really consistent overall imo in terms of dealing consistent damage and handling each other weaknesses.
3. not really. A bit. They feel pretty alright and can be tricky to handle, but the sticky web setters are really telegraphed and imo aren't the best overall, so it's kinda like Torkoal where you're running a 5 and a half mon team.
I've actually had another question in mind for a while now.
Now that weve had it available for a while and have had a decent amount of time to play with it, how do you guys feel about revival blessing?
From what i’ve seen so far...(and by that i mean on a team where annihilape was still rage fisting everything in sight) pretty gimmicky.
Pawmot is by no means unusable, but its defensive utility is pretty much down the drain, and it also doesnt have room for all the moves it wants, what with having to choose between Ice Punch for Clodsire and Mach Punch for priority. Double Shock’s type removal effect means that you gotta invest Tera Electric to make it spammable, which is a huge oppurtunity cost considering what other Teras it could make use of.
Rabsca speaks for itself, though. See you in ZU, lol.
Honestly, a bit underwhelming. While having the ability to bring a Pokemon back is stellar, it kinda falls under the same issue you mentioned with Sticky Webs - that the Revival Blessing user (Basically Pawmot unless you're running Trick Room Rabsca or something) is very telegraphed and can quickly be capitalized on for a free switch unless you really work momentum properly and/or play the long prediction game.
1. Hyper Offense is definitely a viable playstyle right now, far better than last gen for sure, thanks to the current hazard-centralized meta, the presence of strong wall-breakers and sweepers like Pao, Dragonite, Iron Valiant and Dragapult, and the help of Terastallization which allowed mons like Pult, Dnite and many others to get reliable STAB moves and better coverage. Still, while it is good the meta has definitely shifted towards a more balanced approach compared to earlier this gen, especially after the ban of Chi-Yu, Cyclizar and Annihilape. The rise of bulky walls like Pex, Tusk, Garg and Corvi, and Burn spreaders like bulky Volc, Rotom-W and Dirge has also definitely slowed down the pace in the tier. I personally think that Balanced-Offense and Balanced teams are the best in this stage of the meta, and they'll get better after Pao's ban (ban it).
2. I feel like Ghost is always consistent offensively, since there are actually few mons that can take multiple STAB hits from the strongest Ghost abusers (Ghold and Pult, mainly), those being Ting-Lu, Moon and Kingambit. Combine it with a nice Fighting coverage move and nothing can stop you, which is also one of the reasons why Ape felt so broken. Dark is also been very good this gen, especially considering the lack of Fairy mons in the tier.
3. Nah, I thought that Sticky Web teams were already mid back when Cyclizar was still allowed, and now they've gotten even worse, especially considering that the only Web users are terrible mons overall. Web teams also get countered hard by Hat, which has been skyrocketing in usage these last 2 months.
It's actually a mistake, originally I wanted to make a mixed set with Shadow Claw for Gholdengo, but then I opted for a purely Special set with Sheer Force since Heat Wave allows you to hit Corvi, Kingambit and Scizor much more effectively (no pun intended).
If I remember correctly, all of the birds have lost Defog...
I was really scared when I first read what that move did, but in the end it turned out to be way less overwhelming than we all thought. Pawmot, while not entirely bad, is not nearly as good as other options in the meta, and it has suffered heavily from the ban of Cyclizar. It's still an annoying strategy to face while laddering tho (at least for me).
Out of the 34 pokemon in OU, 13 resist dark so it's brainrot (I thought dark was good too lmao)
But then again, out of the pokemon that I would consider defensive or used defensively, 2 resist dark, and dark hits 2 for supereffective. Still not the greatest but I mean it's plenty of neutral coverage.
(Pokemon I consider to be defensive or used defensively in case you want to know: Amoongus, clod, dondozo, corv, nacl, tusk, hat, iron treads, washtom, dirge, ting lu and toxapex)
I'm interested to see how peoples' thoughts on Tera have changed after the first suspect. Since then, we've lost tera's most infamous abuser and a mon that gave free setup turns to combo with tera as well as gaining another month of experience with the mechanic.
Do you believe that Tera has become more, or less problematic than it was previously?
What, if anything, do you still believe could be improved with Tera?
Personally, I feel like Tera has become significantly less oppressive on setup sweepers without Cyclizar. Most, like dragonite, dragapult and roaring moon are a lot more manageable. The one exception to this is volcarona, due to the defensive diversity of its setup sets.
Chien-Pao is currently the premier offensive tera, with tera-dark pushing it over the edge in regards to most hazards, however I don't think any other pokemon has the raw power such that this would be an issue after it goes.
Do you believe that Tera has become more, or less problematic than it was previously?
What, if anything, do you still believe could be improved with Tera?
Personally, I feel like Tera has become significantly less oppressive on setup sweepers without Cyclizar. Most, like dragonite, dragapult and roaring moon are a lot more manageable. The one exception to this is volcarona, due to the defensive diversity of its setup sets.
Chien-Pao is currently the premier offensive tera, with tera-dark pushing it over the edge in regards to most hazards, however I don't think any other pokemon has the raw power such that this would be an issue after it goes.
Think Tera is fine in the current meta besides the broken or semi broken mons, where those mons just need to be addressed. Think when home gets released it will be a bigger issue. Tera sort of held back by the limited amount of good mons you really have to account for, think it’s going to feel pretty absurd when that pool of mon gets larger though and it will need to be re-examined realistically speaking.
1. It's seen less usage and setup sweeper spam has definitely gotten worse without cyclizar, but I think it's still viable. Like someone else said, it's changing its strategies
2. Initially I went fairy. I've been using Iron Valiant a lot and it seems really easy to just threaten what's in front of you with a powerful moonblast. I counted the pokemon it hit for supereffective, and it was 14. Really high just a bit under half the total amount of OU pokemon. I then counted it's resists... and low and behold it was 14 as well. Strangely I think fairy/psychic is a better offensive type than fairy/fighting because a majority of fairy’s resists in this meta seem to be poison or ghost type (Skeledirge and Gholdengo) so I guess that’s why I find myself hitting Psyshock pretty much every game while I barely ever seem to click close combat (But I also think fighting is important for iron vailant giving it a 4x dark resist and stuff). I think I’ll just go for the obvious and say it’s Ghost. Doing a headcount, 7 Pokémon in OU resist ghost, but only 3 have recovery, Garganacl, Roaring Moon, and Chien Pao (Does that even count lol). This makes it hard to consistently keep under control and the best ghost types have means to force progress. Gholdengo with nasty plot, Skeledirge with Torch Song, and Dragapult with U-turn and willo. The best way to do it seems to be offensively checking them. If Garganacl is banned, it will be even harder to stop them. (I still support a ban though). The second best ghost type check at the moment I think is ting lu. It takes so little from the attacks the lack of recovery almost seems unimportant when ghost types come in because leftovers is enough. Of course it can get worn out from other attacks. I think I’ll use ghost types more after seeing this data.
3. I didn’t really experiment with sticky web much except a bit in UU after launch. I’ve encountered it a bit on ladder though and it was so annoying to deal with.
All this type matchup counting thing makes me kinda want to make an attacking type tier list for this OU
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The only Teras I have problems with right now are still Tera Normal ESpeed Dragonite and Tera Grass Volcarona.
Volc is one tanky af beast, and the phys def Quiver 3 Attacks set absolutely screws me so often because of Flame Body. Dnite basically forces me to play with Corviknight or some way to punish it with a burn (usually Talonflame.) It's really suffocating at times, personally...
1. Hyper Offense right now is in an insanely good spot, Ghold Hstack is an good as ever, Kingambit is insanely good and psyspam has been rising too. I think the main issue is the increased ease of hazards staying up +the insane power level of Pokémon allowing ho to run through teams.Thank you so much! Luxray has had one of the rockiest competitive histories I can think of, so I'm glad that Gen 9 was so kind to it! I'll likely be doing a "four in one" post next for the following niche mons (I've had pretty good success with all forms, especially with the Pompom and Sensu forms)
To avoid this being a somewhat shorter reply, I'd like to ask everyone a few questions to get some cool discussions going! -
1. How do you currently feel about Hyper Offense as a playstyle? Do you feel it's been getting better or worse, or has it been consistent?
2. Which typing do you feel is currently the best offensive type in OU? If you feel it's a specific type combination rather than a single type, which type combination do you feel is currently the best in OU?
3. Have you been experimenting with Sticky Web teams at all? Have you come across them in the meta? How do you feel about Sticky Web teams?
2. Dark or ghost. Dark has better mons but ghost is as scary in gen 8. Dark has forced people to run Tera fairy in half their teams and even then kingsmbit/pao run through them.
3. Yeah I tried it, used it for a bit and got no 1 with it. It’s not good, any good webs team is just better as a standard ghold hstack team with some changes to accommodate that. Webs just don’t do much that the extra 12% from spikes,rocks end up doing over the game. Not to mention the setters are bad. Masquerain is kinda funny though
I've only recently got into Pokemon showdown and competitive pokemon so I'm not as experienced on talking about the OU format as much as many people here probably are but as my opinion as a beginner, I think tera is overall a really cool mechanic that allows for much more interesting matches while also being somewhat predictable so it isn't too unfair to the opponent. Like I think someone else above said, playing in ladder shows that many people tend to have the same tera type for certain pokemon so after a while you can become used to when an opponent will tera or what it will tera to.
I still hate extreme speed tera normal Dragonite though (I'm coping after losing the OU tournament due to it)
I don’t think you should be feeling forced to use Corv or Talonflame because there are other options to deal with these Pokémon. The unaware ability ignores stat changes so Dondozo and to a lesser extent Skeledirge (Since EQ is still supereffective, but that’s what terrastilising is for) is a complete stop to any e-speed Dragonite shenanigans. Ting Lu as well as being extremely bulky has access to the move Whirlwind. You can tera to get rid of the ice spinner weakness or just get it in quickly. On the offensive side, Iron Vailant can take a +1 tera normal extreme speed from full and outspeeds thanks to booster energy to KO with a fighting move. Dragapult is immune to extreme speed and outspeeds +1 dnite to hit it with dragon darts or wil-o-wisp. I’m sure there are more I missed.
As for Volcarona, unaware Clodsire and Skeledirge (Now totally blanks it without tera) are again great counterplay. Chien pao’s ice shard is supereffective once it teras (Priority in general is great against setup sweepers and seems almost mandatory on offensive teams) Ceruleage has flash fire and good special bulk.
Hello there! Luxray has been my favorite Pokemon ever since Gen 4, and seeing you give it so much love; and pointing out how it can work in the modern metagame really filled me with so much joy! I appreciate how much thought you put into this, as I want to see if I can use thiis Luxray set for VGC Series 2! Do you think it will work? Regardless, thank you for giving my Electric cat a whole lot of love!
Glaceon is viable now!!!!!
It is a potent breaker when combined with snow. Specs Tera ice blizzards break the backbones of many balanced and BO teams, which feature Rotom-W and/or Sussy mushroom in conjunction with Ting-lu to form a potent defensive core. That is shredded by glaceon.
It is a potent breaker when combined with snow. Specs Tera ice blizzards break the backbones of many balanced and BO teams, which feature Rotom-W and/or Sussy mushroom in conjunction with Ting-lu to form a potent defensive core. That is shredded by glaceon.
Thank you so much! My experience with VGC and its meta ecosystem is pretty limited, so I can't really speak to how well Luxray would do there - but that set does have Intimidate, so I'm sure it could possibly work with the proper support!
Glaceon is a powerhouse; I've been using a Tera Ghost variant with Assault Vest and Trailblaze that works quite well so far (albeit a currently unoptimized set not fully out of testing, EVs need tweaking).
Glaceon @ Assault Vest
Ability: Ice Body
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Shadow Ball
- Blizzard
- Trailblaze
i feel like we might actually need to ban glaceon from ou, not because it's anything close to good, but just so people stop talking about it. clearly blacklisting it was not enoughGlaceon is a powerhouse; I've been using a Tera Ghost variant with Assault Vest and Trailblaze that works quite well so far (albeit a currently unoptimized set not fully out of testing, EVs need tweaking).
Glaceon @ Assault Vest
Ability: Ice Body
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Shadow Ball
- Blizzard
- Trailblaze
- Status