Xerneas [QC: 2/2] [GP: 2/2]

[Fc]

[Overview]

With Fairy Aura and Geomancy boosting its already strong Moonblast, Xerneas can become one of the most dangerous offensive sweepers in the metagame. Its coverage and utility options to prevent certain checks from beating it are all very great, giving it both versatility and effectiveness in all of its moveslots. Xerneas has fairly high natural bulk with a good typing, letting it also potentially wall many dangerous wallbreakers such as Zekrom, Zygarde, and Marshadow. Most of Xerneas's offensive power comes from Geomancy, though, meaning that if it is phazed or otherwise forced out, its effectiveness offensively is severely hurt, and defensive sets without it struggle to break through most walls in general.

[SET]
name: Geomancy
move 1: Geomancy
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Substitute / Ingrain / Aromatherapy
item: Power Herb
ability: Fairy Aura
nature: Modest
evs: 168 Def / 252 SpA / 88 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Power Herb Xerneas is a very dangerous sweeper, using its high Special Attack and Fairy Aura-boosted Moonblast to sweep teams after a Geomancy. Thunder is useful coverage for foes that shrug off Moonblast, most importantly Ho-Oh and Necrozma-DM. Substitute, Ingrain, and Aromatherapy are all very good support moves to complement the rest of its moveset. Substitute blocks potentially deadly status and lets Xerneas take any hit that could normally KO it, Ingrain prevents phazing and gives slight passive recovery—which can be crucial in the Ho-Oh matchup, and Aromatherapy clears status for Xerneas and its team, which is always beneficial with those being very common on Pokemon such as Eternatus and Necrozma-DM. 88 Speed EVs outrun Adamant Necrozma-DM with maximum Speed investment, as well as Jolly Marshadow if Xerneas switched into Sticky Web before using Geomancy. Leftover EVs go into Defense instead of HP because Geomancy already makes Xerneas very specially bulky.

Strong special walls and Moonblast-resistant foes are some of the hardest obstacles for Xerneas. Physically offensive Yveltal with Taunt and Knock Off can support it on hyper offense teams, pressuring Blissey, Necrozma-DM, and Ho-Oh, removing Heavy-Duty Boots from the latter as to greatly hurt its longevity against Xerneas. Xerneas's incredible offensive presence lets it function well with a multitude of breakers to form a strong offensive core. Groudon and Zekrom add physically offensive pressure to complement Xerneas's special offense. Zygarde and Lunala are commonly used to check Groudon, which Xerneas can pressure, and Lunala and Necrozma-DM are common checks to Zekrom, which Zekrom and Xerneas can both work to overwhelm. Strong special lures on bulkier teams can assist Xerneas in sweeping also, working to overwhelm certain checks; Choice Specs Power Gem Dialga and Trick Calyrex-S can bait in and break down Ho-Oh, giving Xerneas a much easier time sweeping.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Aromatherapy / Defog / Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
ability: Fairy Aura
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

RestTalk with Moonblast gives defensive Xerneas both the longevity and the ability to pressure certain offensive Pokemon that it needs to, letting it much more reliably beat targets like Zekrom, Marshadow, and Zygarde. Aromatherapy is amazing, as Sleep Talk can select it to wake Xerneas up early, while Defog is always welcome for entry hazard control, even though Xerneas loses to common hazard setters such as Necrozma-DM and Ferrothorn. Thunder Wave can sometimes be crucial for slowing down fast offensive threats. 252 Defense EVs lets Xerneas handle its main targets, with Leftovers for even more healing against them.

Defensive Xerneas struggles to break through a lot of common defensive Pokemon, meaning it requires a good amount of offensive presence to support its passiveness. Necrozma-DM, Ho-Oh, Eternatus, and Blissey can all easily wall it, making Pokemon such as Zekrom, Dragon Dance Zygarde, and Marshadow incredible offensive partners to pressure these checks that also benefit from Aromatherapy. Xerneas also can't check a lot of Pokemon by itself, with threats such as Necrozma-DM and Calyrex-S being incredibly scary to face. Other defensive pivots that cover these Pokemon, most notably Yveltal for the former two and Ho-Oh to soft check all three, are greatly appreciated. Xerneas checking such dangerous threats as Zekrom and Zygarde is greatly appreciated by many defensive and offensive Pokemon alike weak to them. Ferrothorn can afford to run a specially defensive set to check Kyogre, since it doesn't have to work on beating those two Dragon-types, and Necrozma-DM is freed up a lot from not having to check Zekrom, so it can instead run a specially defensive set to cover bigger threats to it and Xerneas such as offensive Eternatus.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Psyshock works as an option on Geomancy variants, letting Xerneas reliably break through Blissey and Amoonguss. This comes with Xerneas losing one of its utility options, all of which are very good, giving it a heavy opportunity cost. Focus Blast is similarly a usable coverage option, but it only hits a few targets like Ferrothorn. Defensive Xerneas can run Heavy-Duty Boots as the item, benefitting from it long term against entry hazard chip damage. The lack of recovery is quite noticeable, though, as Xerneas really likes recovering without having to use Rest. Xerneas can also opt to run a Choice Scarf set with Moonblast, Aromatherapy, Thunder Wave, and Defog, making it a fast revenge killer and support Pokemon with cleric and hazard control abilities. This set doesn't have the power backing of Geomancy or the bulk of defensive sets, though, making it harder to fit on teams overall.

Checks and Counters
====

**Necrozma-DM**: Necrozma-DM is the premier Steel-type in the tier, and one of the best Xerneas checks. Specially defensive sets are able to beat even boosted Xerneas, and physically defensive and offensive sets can live a boosted hit and use Sunsteel Strike for massive damage if not an OHKO.

**Special Walls**: Blissey, Assault Vest Amoonguss, and Ferrothorn are all very strong checks to Xerneas given its standard moveset lacking coverage for them, chipping it down and removing Geomancy boosts with Blissey's Confide or Amoonguss's Clear Smog. Defensive Xerneas also is completely unable to break through these Pokemon, allowing them to easily take advantage of it.

**Phazing**: With offensive Xerneas's reliance on Geomancy for breaking many common defensive Pokemon, phazing effectively neutralizes it as a threat. Ho-Oh is the best at this role, with Lunala and Lugia also having the potential to stop its sweep.

**Shedinja**: Xerneas can only hit Shedinja with extremely niche moves.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Fc, 511624]]
- Quality checked by: [[Manaphy, 50695], [SiTuM, 274590]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [ Bandkrook, 301217]]

 

[Manaphy]

looks gud

If you’re real, mention Specs Dialga as a partner to lure Ho-Oh :’]

QC 1/2

 

[Fc]

looks gud

If you’re real, mention Specs Dialga as a partner to lure Ho-Oh :’]

QC 1/2

Added a mention of specs dialga and also caly as special lures for ho-oh, and fixed up a small part in the set comments of geo I missed when making it into paragraph form, ty for the check and this is ready for qc 2

 

[SiTuM]

hmm i've seen some mentions of scarf xern in some analysis so i'd say you could mention it in the other set options, i guess?

this looks really complete otherwise!

QC 2/2

 

[Fc]

hmm i've seen some mentions of scarf xern in some analysis so i'd say you could mention it in the other set options, i guess?

this looks really complete otherwise!

QC 2/2

Added scarf Xerneas in oo, ty for the check and sending to GP

 

[Adeleine]

Add/Fix Remove Comment
(AC): Add Comma

Hide

[Overview]

With Fairy Aura and Geomancy boosting its already strong Moonblast from a high special attack, Xerneas can become one of the most dangerous offensive sweepers in the metagame. Its coverage and utility options to prevent certain checks from beating it are all very great, giving it both variety and power versatility and effectiveness in all of its move choices for different scenarios moveslots. Xerneas has a fairly high natural defense and HP fairly high natural bulk with a good typing, letting it also potentially function as a strong wall for wall many dangerous breakers such as Zekrom, Zygarde, and Marshadow. Most of Xerneas's offensive power comes from Geomancy, (AC) though, meaning that if a sweep is stopped through phazing or Xerneas is phazed or otherwise forced out, (AC) its effectiveness offensively is severely hurt, and defensive sets without it struggle to break through most walls in general.

[SET]
name: Geomancy
move 1: Geomancy (moved geomancy first bc you name the set after it)
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Substitute / Ingrain / Aromatherapy
item: Power Herb
ability: Fairy Aura
nature: Modest
evs: 168 Def / 252 SpA / 88 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Power Herb Xerneas is a very dangerous sweeper, abusing its high Special Attack and Fairy Aura-boosted (added hyphen) Moonblast to sweep teams after a Geomancy. Thunder is useful coverage after the fairy moves to cover for certain weaknesses, most importantly giving Xerneas a much harder it on Ho-oh for foes that shrug off Moonblast, most importantly Ho-Oh and Necrozma-DM. Substitute, Ingrain, and Aromatherapy are all very good support moves to complement the rest of its moveset. Substitute blocks potentially deadly status and lets Xerneas live take any hit that could normally KO it, Ingrain prevents phazing and gives slight passive recovery—which can be crucial in the Ho-Oh matchup, and Aromatherapy clears status for Xerneas and its team, (AC) which is always beneficial with status being very common on Pokemon such as Eternatus and Necrozma-DM. The 88 speed evs outruns Speed EVs outrun Adamant Necrozma-DM with max Speed investment, with the rest put into max special attack for power and defense to live hits better overall. Leftover EVs go into Defense instead of HP because Geomancy already makes Xerneas very specially bulky. (I imagine?)

Strong special walls and Moonblast resists Moonblast-resistant foes are some of the hardest obstacles for Xerneas, and as such quite a few Pokemon can help shore up its shortcomings against those targets. Physically offensive Yveltal with Taunt and Knock Off can help support it on hyper offense teams, pressuring Blissey, Necrozma-DM, and knocking off Ho-oh's Heavy-Duty Boots which hurts Ho-Oh, removing Heavy-Duty Boots from the latter as to greatly hurt its longevity greatly against Xerneas. Xerneas's incredible offensive presence allows for it to lets it function well with a multitude of breakers to form a strong offensive core. Zacian is one of the best partners, as they can both work together as a strong fariy spam core to the resulting Fairy spam core can overwhelm checks such as Necrozma-DM and Ho-oh which Ho-Oh that want to take on both Pokemon but can't long term. Groudon and Zekrom can also add physically offensive pressure to help with Xerneas' weaker physical side complement Xerneas's special offense. Zygarde and Lunala are commonly used to check Groudon, (AC) which Xerneas can pressure, and Lunala and Necrozma-DM are common checks to Zekrom, (AC) which they Zekrom and Xerneas can both work to overwhelm. Strong special lures on more bulky bulkier teams can assist Xerneas in sweeping also, working to overwhelm certain checks. (could you give examples of either lures or checks they work to overwhelm) Choice Specs Power Gem Dialga and Trick Calyrex-S can bait in and break down Ho-Oh, giving Xerneas a much easier time sweeping.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Aromatherapy / Defog / Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
ability: Fairy Aura
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

RestTalk with Moonblast gives defensive Xerneas both the longevity and the ability to pressure certain offensive Pokemon that it needs to, letting it much more reliably beat targets like Zekrom, Marshadow, and Zygarde. Aromatherapy is amazing, (AC) as it can be rolled with Sleep Talk to get an early wake up Sleep Talk can select it to wake Xerneas up early, while Defog is always welcome for entry hazard control, (AC) even though Xerneas loses to common hazard setters such as Necrozma-DM and Ferrothorn. (comma -> period) and Thunder Wave for status can sometimes be crucial for slowing down fast offensive threats. Xerneas goes all in on physical defense as that side is where its main targets lie to handle its main targets, with Leftovers for even more passive healing against them.

Defensive Xerneas struggles to break through a lot of common defensive Pokemon, meaning it requires a good amount of offensive presence to support its passiveness. Necrozma-DM, Ho-Oh, Eternatus, and Blissey can all easily wall it, making Pokemon such as Zekrom, Dragon Dance Zygarde, and Marshadow incredible offensive partners to pressure its checks that these checks and also benefit from Aromatherapy healing potential status they may take. Xerneas also can't check a lot of Pokemon by itself also, however, with threats such as Necrozma-DM, Calyrex-S, and Zacian being incredibly scary to face. Other defensive pivots that cover these Pokemon, most notably Yveltal for the former two and Ho-Oh to soft check all three, (AC) are greatly appreciated. With Xerneas checking such dangerous threats such as Zekrom and Zygarde being checked by Xerneas, a lot of defensive and offensive Pokemon alike work as great partners that want those weaknesses covered. is greatly appreciated by many defensive and offensive Pokemon alike weak to them. Ferrothorn can afford to run a specially defensive set to check Kyogre, (AC) since it doesn't have to work on beating those two Dragon-types, and Necrozma-DM is freed up a lot from not having to check Zekrom, (AC) and so it can instead cover bigger threats to it and Xerneas such as Zacian.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Psyshock works as an option on Geomancy variants, letting Xerneas have a reliable way to reliably break through Blissey and Amoonguss. This comes with Xerneas losing one of its utility options, all of which are very good, giving it an a heavy opportunity cost. Focus Blast is similarly a usable coverage option, (AC) that can be used, but also has the opportunity cost of replacing a potentially very valuable option at the benefit of only hitting but it only hits a few targets like Ferrothorn. Defensive Xerneas can run Heavy-Duty Boots as the item, benefitting it long term against hazard chip damage. The lack of recovery is quite large noticeable, (AC) though, as Xerneas really likes recovering without having to use Rest so Heavy-Duty Boots comes at the cost of less overall recovery especially if hazards aren't in play. Xerneas can also opt to run a Choice Scarf set with Moonblast, Aromatherapy, Thunder Wave, and Defog as options, making it a fast revenge killer and support Pokemon with its cleric and hazard control abilities. This set doesn't have the power backing Geomancy or the bulk of defensive sets, (AC) though, making it harder to fit on teams overall.

Checks and Counters
====

**Necrozma-DM**: Necrozma-DM is the premier Steel-type in the tier (RC) and one of the best Xerneas checks. Specially defensive sets are able to beat even boosted Xerneas, and physically defensive and offensive sets can live a boosted hit and use Sunsteel Strike for massive damage, (AC) if not an OHKO.

**Special Walls**: Blissey, Assault Vest Amoonguss, and Ferrothorn are all very strong checks to it given it lacks Xerneas given its standard moveset lacking coverage for them, being able to chip with their weaker attacks while Blissey and Amoonguss can remove Geomancy boosts with Confide and Clear Smog respectively chipping it down or removing Geomancy boosts with Blissey's Confide or Amoonguss's Clear Smog. Defensive Xerneas also is completely unable to break through these Pokemon, allowing them to easily take advantage of Xerneas.

**Phazing**: With offensive Xerneas's reliance on Geomancy for breaking many common defensive Pokemon, phazing works as a way to effectively neutralizes it as a threat. Ho-Oh is the best at this role, with Lunala and Lugia also having the potential to stop its sweep.

**Shedinja**: Xerneas commonly carries no coverage to hit Shedinja super effectively, and is completely walled by it as such. can only hit Shedinja with extremely niche moves. (alternatively "Shedinja completely walls every viable Xerneas moveset.")

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Fc, 511624]]
- Quality checked by: [[Manaphy, 50695], [SiTuM, 274590]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [username2, userid2]

1/2

 

[Fc]

Implemented, ty for the check

 

[Band]

add remove comments

bambi

[Overview]

With Fairy Aura and Geomancy boosting its already strong Moonblast, Xerneas can become one of the most dangerous offensive sweepers in the metagame. Its coverage and utility options to prevent certain checks from beating it are all very great, giving it both versatility and effectiveness in all of its moveslots. Xerneas has fairly high natural bulk with a good typing, letting it also potentially wall many dangerous wallbreakers such as Zekrom, Zygarde, and Marshadow. Most of Xerneas's offensive power comes from Geomancy, though, meaning that if Xerneas it is phazed or otherwise forced out, its effectiveness offensively is severely hurt, and defensive sets without it struggle to break through most walls in general.

[SET]
name: Geomancy
move 1: Geomancy
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Substitute / Ingrain / Aromatherapy
item: Power Herb
ability: Fairy Aura
nature: Modest
evs: 168 Def / 252 SpA / 88 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Power Herb Xerneas is a very dangerous sweeper, using its high Special Attack and Fairy Aura-boosted Moonblast to sweep teams after a Geomancy. Thunder is useful coverage for foes that shrug off Moonblast, most importantly Ho-Oh and Necrozma-DM. Substitute, Ingrain, and Aromatherapy are all very good support moves to complement the rest of its moveset. Substitute blocks potentially deadly status and lets Xerneas take any hit that could normally KO it, Ingrain prevents phazing and gives slight passive recovery—which can be crucial in the Ho-Oh matchup, and Aromatherapy clears status for Xerneas and its team, which is always beneficial with status those being very common on Pokemon such as Eternatus and Necrozma-DM. The 88 Speed EVs outrun Adamant Necrozma-DM with max Speed investment. Leftover EVs go into Defense instead of HP because Geomancy already makes Xerneas very specially bulky.

Strong special walls and Moonblast-resistant foes are some of the hardest obstacles for Xerneas.(add period), and quite a few Pokemon can help shore up its shortcomings against those targets. this is fluff, since this part of the analysis is reserved for teammates anyway Physically offensive Yveltal with Taunt and Knock Off can support it on hyper offense teams, pressuring Blissey, Necrozma-DM, and Ho-Oh, removing Heavy-Duty Boots from the latter as to greatly hurt its longevity against Xerneas. Xerneas's incredible offensive presence lets it function well with a multitude of breakers to form a strong offensive core. Zacian is one of the best partners, as the resulting Fairy spam core can overwhelm checks such as Necrozma-DM and Ho-Oh that want to take on both Pokemon but can't long term. Groudon and Zekrom can also add physically offensive pressure to complement Xerneas's special offense. Zygarde and Lunala are commonly used to check Groudon, which Xerneas can pressure, and Lunala and Necrozma-DM are common checks to Zekrom, which Zekrom and Xerneas can both work to overwhelm. Strong special lures on bulkier teams can assist Xerneas in sweeping also, working to overwhelm certain checks; Choice Specs Power Gem Dialga and Trick Calyrex-S can bait in and break down Ho-Oh, giving Xerneas a much easier time sweeping.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Aromatherapy / Defog / Thunder Wave
item: Leftovers
ability: Fairy Aura
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

RestTalk with Moonblast gives defensive Xerneas both the longevity and the ability to pressure certain offensive Pokemon that it needs to, letting it much more reliably beat targets like Zekrom, Marshadow, and Zygarde. Aromatherapy is amazing, as Sleep Talk can select it to wake Xerneas up early, while Defog is always welcome for entry hazard control, even though Xerneas loses to common hazard setters such as Necrozma-DM and Ferrothorn. Thunder Wave can sometimes be crucial for slowing down fast offensive threats. Xerneas goes all in on physical defense to 252 Defense EVs lets Xerneas handle its main targets, with Leftovers for even more healing against them.

Defensive Xerneas struggles to break through a lot of common defensive Pokemon, meaning it requires a good amount of offensive presence to support its passiveness. Necrozma-DM, Ho-Oh, Eternatus, and Blissey can all easily wall it, making Pokemon such as Zekrom, Dragon Dance Zygarde, and Marshadow incredible offensive partners to pressure these checks and that also benefit from Aromatherapy. Xerneas also can't check a lot of Pokemon by itself, with threats such as Necrozma-DM, Calyrex-S, and Zacian being incredibly scary to face. Other defensive pivots that cover these Pokemon, most notably Yveltal for the former two and Ho-Oh to soft check all three,(add comma) are greatly appreciated. Xerneas checking such dangerous threats as Zekrom and Zygarde is greatly appreciated by many defensive and offensive Pokemon alike weak to them. Ferrothorn can afford to run a specially defensive set to check Kyogre, since it doesn't have to work on beating those two Dragon-types, and Necrozma-DM is freed up a lot from not having to check Zekrom, so it can instead cover bigger threats to it and Xerneas such as Zacian.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

Psyshock works as an option on Geomancy variants, letting Xerneas reliably break through Blissey and Amoonguss. This comes with Xerneas losing one of its utility options, all of which are very good, giving it a heavy opportunity cost. Focus Blast is similarly a usable coverage option, but it only hits a few targets like Ferrothorn. Defensive Xerneas can run Heavy-Duty Boots as the item, benefitting from it long term against entry hazard chip damage. The lack of recovery is quite noticeable, though, as Xerneas really likes recovering without having to use Rest. Xerneas can also opt to run a Choice Scarf set with Moonblast, Aromatherapy, Thunder Wave, and Defog, making it a fast revenge killer and support Pokemon with cleric and hazard control abilities. This set doesn't have the power backing of Geomancy or the bulk of defensive sets, though, making it harder to fit on teams overall.

Checks and Counters
====

**Necrozma-DM**: Necrozma-DM is the premier Steel-type in the tier, and one of the best Xerneas checks. Specially defensive sets are able to beat even boosted Xerneas, and physically defensive and offensive sets can live a boosted hit and use Sunsteel Strike for massive damage if not an OHKO.

**Special Walls**: Blissey, Assault Vest Amoonguss, and Ferrothorn are all very strong checks to Xerneas given its standard moveset lacking coverage for them, chipping it down or and removing Geomancy boosts with Blissey's Confide or Amoonguss's Clear Smog. Defensive Xerneas also is completely unable to break through these Pokemon, allowing them to easily take advantage of Xerneas it.

**Phazing**: With offensive Xerneas's reliance on Geomancy for breaking many common defensive Pokemon, phazing effectively neutralizes it as a threat. Ho-Oh is the best at this role, with Lunala and Lugia also having the potential to stop its sweep.

**Shedinja**: Xerneas can only hit Shedinja with extremely niche moves.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Fc, 511624]]
- Quality checked by: [[Manaphy, 50695], [SiTuM, 274590]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [Bandkrook, 301217]

gp 2/2

 

[Fc]

ty for the check, this is done!