Sputnik
Bono My Tires are Deceased
[SET]
name: Special Sweeper
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Energy Ball
item: Shuca Berry
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Xurkitree's very high Special Attack stat and excellent boosting move in Tail Glow might make it look like a stupendous wallbreaker and sweeper. Unfortunately, Xurkitree's mediocre movepool gives it issues against common foes such as Ferrothorn, Assault Vest Tangrowth, and Galarian Slowking, and a subpar Speed tier leaves it outrun by several prominent offensive Pokemon, such as offensive Landorus-T, Garchomp, Mega Latias, and Mega Diancie. The one teamstyle Xurkitree can function somewhat decently on is Sticky Web hyper offense, as it outruns most of the metagame after Sticky Web. Unfortunately, Xurkitree has to compete with other, better sweepers that fit on this teamstyle; most notably, Thundurus-T has far better coverage, outruns Landorus-T, has a better defensive typing, and can viably run Z-Moves, therefore making it more powerful and threatening. Additionally, Xurkitree is rather frail, making it vulnerable to priority from the likes of Rillaboom, Mega Lopunny, and Weavile. Faster Pokemon that ignore Sticky Web also present issues, with Ground-immune Pokemon such as Mega Latias, Mega Latios, and Hydreigon as well as Heavy-Duty Boots users such as Zeraora, Victini, and Tapu Koko all fitting the bill. Xurkitree should therefore almost never be run on any serious competitive team.
Hidden Power Ice allows Xurkitree to blast through Garchomp and Gliscor while also hitting Dragon-types like Kommo-o and Grass-types such as Amoonguss and Tangrowth. Energy Ball gets past Gastrodon, Hippowdon, and Quagsire. Shuca Berry allows Xurkitree to beat Landorus-T in conjunction with Hidden Power Ice, as Landorus-T is not affected by Sticky Webs and always beats this set otherwise. It also allows Xurkitree to set up on other Ground-types if necessary. Shuckle can set up Sticky Webs and Stealth Rock to support Xurkitree's sweep, and a Defiant user such as Bisharp or Contrary Serperior can help keep the entry hazards up by dissuading and punishing Defog attempts. Other Sticky Web attackers such as Mega Scizor, Mega Heracross, Kommo-o, and Thundurus-T are useful teammates. Unfortunately, the latter essentially invalidates Xurkitree by performing its role almost entirely better.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sputnik, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[pannuracotta, 517892], [adem, 529732]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
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