Ubers Xerneas



Written by Drew
QC by Dominatio / Nayrz
GP by Rakan
Art by Bummer

Xerneas is easily one of the most powerful Pokemon in Ubers, second only to Primal Groudon. Its Geomancy and Z-Geomancy sets are two of the most threatening and centralizing sets in Ubers and its great defensive typing lets it check the Dark- and Dragon-types that infest Ubers such as Yveltal, Arceus-Dark, Mega Salamence, Zygarde-C, and Giratina-O to name a few. Furthermore, Xerneas has great coverage to strike most Pokemon that resist its STAB and it possesses a vast support movepool with the exception of reliable recovery outside of Rest. It also has a fantastic ability which lets it deal massive amounts of damage in conjunction with STAB Moonblast.

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 100 SpD / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Thunder / Hidden Power Rock
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power Ground / Aromatherapy

This is Xerneas's classic set, utilizing Geomancy and Power Herb to set up in one turn rather than two. Moonblast is an incredibly powerful Fairy-type STAB which deals massive amounts of damage thanks to Fairy Aura. Thunder covers Ho-oh, Celesteela, and Toxapex, all of which resist Moonblast, and can also deal heavy damage to Primal Kyogre. Hidden Power Rock may be used instead to hit Ho-oh harder, but it doesn't hit any other threats very hard. Focus Blast deals heavy damage to Primal Groudon and Steel-types such as Ferrothorn. Even Steel-types that take neutral damage from it such as Magearna, Solgaleo, and Bronzong are still hit hard. Hidden Power Ground can deal more consistent damage to Primal Groudon and Steel-types (Bronzong and Ferrothorn excluded) for super effective damage. Aromatherapy lets Xerneas support its teammates and itself by relieving them of status, as Toxic and paralysis are particularly troubling for Xerneas. Xerneas's defensive EVs let it survive two hits from Life Orb Yveltal's Oblivion Wing. Its Special Attack EVs and Modest nature help maximize Xerneas's offensive presence and its final 84 EVs are invested into Speed to help +2 Xerneas outspeed +1 Adamant Mega Salamence.

Xerneas @ Fairium Z
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Geomancy
- Ingrain / Sleep Talk
- Rest
- Moonblast

Z-Geomancy Xerneas is more of a bulky sweeping set, utilizing Fairium Z to boost all of its stats on its first turn of set up, and give an extra boost to Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed on its second turn. This set utilizes the rarely seen move Ingrain to keep Xerneas from being phazed by Primal Groudon's Roar or Lugia's Whirlwind and gives it some sort of passive recovery. Rest is another form of recovery that also cures status (although it does inflict Xerneas with sleep) and takes advantage of the great defensive stats Xerneas gains after a boost. Sleep Talk may be used over Ingrain in conjunction with Rest to allow Xerneas to continue to deal damage or set up even more while asleep. Moonblast is Z-Geomancy Xerneas's only attacking move, but its power with Fairy Aura makes it great nonetheless. Nearly all of Xerneas's EVs are invested into HP and Defense along with a Bold nature in order to help Xerneas tank as many hits as possible, especially after a boost, as it notably survives three Brave Bird hits from Life Orb Ho-oh. Z-Geomancy Xerneas prefers to set up on more passive Pokemon such as Mega Sableye and Arceus-Water and Pokemon that don't have enough coverage to hit it such as Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-O.

Despite its many great qualities, Xerneas does have quite a few checks. Primal Groudon is certainly the most common and best Xerneas check, resisting Moonblast and being immune to Thunder. Focus Blast and Hidden Power Ground can both deal quite a bit of damage to Primal Groudon, but most of its sets can still take a few of these moves and 2HKO with Precipice Blades. Many Steel-types also are good checks to Xerneas, such as Magearna, Solgaleo, and Ferrothorn, although the former two are hit hard by Hidden Power Ground and the latter takes heavy damage from Focus Blast. Xerneas may also utilize Choice Scarf and Choice Specs to outspeed the majority of the tier or hit hard without setting up.

So go ahead and try out Xerneas for yourself and break through Ubers!
 
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I'm going to post this thread even though it isn't technically approved because this pastebin is only saved on my desktop and I'm going on vacation, but if you QC, know this isn't technically approved.
 

antemortem

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Would it be possible to prune this one down to Xerneas' most-used/best set? It's a bit lengthy.
 
Would it be possible to prune this one down to Xerneas' most-used/best set? It's a bit lengthy.
Talked about this on PS and basically i think the second set is p important, and as such, I don't think it should be removed. If necessary though. I can trim this down to bare bones. Since now this is officially approved QC can go through this.
 
both sets are equally potent yet distinct enough that you can't really capture xerneas's potential without going in depth on both of them. with that said if it had to be trimmed down to one i'd prefer it be z geo that stays.

sleep talk should be mentioned in the z geo section and slashed with ingrain. describe what z geo can set up on, often using ingrain/z geo on the wrong turn can lead to xerneas being phazed out or trapped and taken out. to keep this as concise as possible only note scarf and specs as other options, everything else is so niche that you wouldn't use them in a serious team.

QC 1/2
 
both sets are equally potent yet distinct enough that you can't really capture xerneas's potential without going in depth on both of them. with that said if it had to be trimmed down to one i'd prefer it be z geo that stays.

sleep talk should be mentioned in the z geo section and slashed with ingrain. describe what z geo can set up on, often using ingrain/z geo on the wrong turn can lead to xerneas being phazed out or trapped and taken out. to keep this as concise as possible only note scarf and specs as other options, everything else is so niche that you wouldn't use them in a serious team.

QC 1/2
implemented
 
"It also has a fantastic Special Attack stat"

131 SpA is pretty average-low for Ubers standards, and its power is only really in Moonblast thanks to Fairy Aura and the Fairy-type being so good. It really shows when using Xerneas's coverage moves. The Geomancy spread should use the updated one:

72 HP / 252 SpA / 100 SpD / 84 Spe < see its (currently in GP) analysis if you don't know what this does

Standard Geomancy is easier to cover and is well, standard, making it easier to digest for FB readers. If anything take out Z-Geomancy if this really needs to be trimmed down, I get that its more unique and newer in SM but it is the lesser used set and is a little more complicated in usage. This is down to the people in charge of the FB page though. I'm fine with both if they are.

QC 2/2
 
"It also has a fantastic Special Attack stat"

131 SpA is pretty average-low for Ubers standards, and its power is only really in Moonblast thanks to Fairy Aura and the Fairy-type being so good. It really shows when using Xerneas's coverage moves. The Geomancy spread should use the updated one:

72 HP / 252 SpA / 100 SpD / 84 Spe < see its (currently in GP) analysis if you don't know what this does

Standard Geomancy is easier to cover and is well, standard, making it easier to digest for FB readers. If anything take out Z-Geomancy if this really needs to be trimmed down, I get that its more unique and newer in SM but it is the lesser used set and is a little more complicated in usage. This is down to the people in charge of the FB page though. I'm fine with both if they are.

QC 2/2
implemented. Unless antemortem would like to request further discussion on shortening this/removing one of the sets, this is ready for GP.
 
Additions
Removals
Xerneas is easily one of the most powerful Pokemon in Ubers, second only to Primal Groudon. Its Geomancy and Z-Geomancy sets are two of the most threatening and centralizing sets in Ubers Ubers, and its great defensive typing lets it check the Dark- and Dragon-types that infest Ubers such as Ubers, Yveltal, Arceus-Dark, Mega Salamence, Zygarde-C, and Giratina-O to name a few. Furthermore, Xerneas has great coverage to strike cover most Pokemon that who resist its STAB STAB, and it possesses a vast its support movepool with the exception of reliable recovery outside of Rest. is nearly as vast, despite its lacking any good recovery bar Rest. It also has a fantastic ability which lets ability, letting it deal massive amounts of damage in conjunction with STAB Moonblast.

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 100 SpD / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Thunder / Hidden Power Rock
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power Ground / Aromatherapy

This is Xerneas's classic set, utilizing Geomancy and Power Herb to set up Xerneas in one turn rather than two. Moonblast is an incredibly powerful Fairy-type STAB which deals massive amounts of damage thanks to Fairy Aura. option, and when used in conjunction with Fairy Aura it deals massive amounts of damage. Thunder covers Ho-oh, Celesteela, and Toxapex, all of which Pokemon that resist Moonblast, and can also deal heavy damage to Primal Kyogre. Hidden Power Rock may be used instead to hit Ho-oh harder, solely deal the maximum amount of damage to Ho-oh, but it doesn't hit any of the other threats very hard. Focus Blast deals heavy damage to Primal Groudon and Steel-types such as Ferrothorn. Even Steel-types Steel-type that take neutral damage from it such as it, Magearna, Solgaleo, and Bronzong to name a few, are still hit quite hard. Hidden Power Ground can deal more consistent damage to Primal Groudon and Steel-types (Bronzong and Ferrothorn excluded) for super effective super-effective damage. Aromatherapy lets Xerneas support its teammates and itself by relieving them of status, as Toxic and paralysis are being particularly troubling for Xerneas. Xerneas's defensive EVs let it Xerneas survive two hits from a Life Orb Yveltal's Yveltal Oblivion Wing. Its Special Attack EVs and Modest nature help maximize Xerneas's offensive presence attack power, and its final 84 EVs are invested into Speed to help a +2 Xerneas outspeed a +1 Adamant Mega Salamence.

Xerneas @ Fairium Z
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Geomancy
- Ingrain / Sleep Talk
- Rest
- Moonblast

Z-Geomancy Xerneas is more of a bulky sweeping set, utilizing Fairium Z to boost all of its stats on its first turn of set up, and give an extra boost to Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed on its second turn. This set utilizes the rarely seen move Ingrain to keep Xerneas from being phazed phased by a Primal Groudon's Groudon Roar or Lugia's Lugia Whirlwind and gives it some a sort of passive recovery. Rest is another form of recovery that can also cures cure status (although it does inflict Xerneas with sleep) and takes advantage of the great defensive stats Xerneas gains after a boost. Sleep Talk may be used over Ingrain in conjunction with Rest to allow Xerneas to continue to deal damage or even further set up even more while when asleep. Moonblast is Z-Geomancy Xerneas's only attacking move, form of attacking, but its power with Fairy Aura makes it great nonetheless. Nearly all of Xerneas's EVs EVs, as well as its Bold nature are invested into its HP and Defense stats along with a Bold nature in order to help Xerneas tank as many hits as possible, especially after a boost, as it notably survives three surviving 3 Life Orb Ho-oh Brave Bird hits from Life Orb Ho-oh. Birds. Z-Geomancy Xerneas prefers to set up on more passive Pokemon such as Pokemon, Mega Sableye and Arceus-Water being notable, and Pokemon that don't have enough coverage to hit it such as it, Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-O. Giratina-O are examples.

Despite its many many great qualities, Xerneas does have has quite a few checks. Primal Groudon is certainly the most common and best Xerneas check, resisting being able to resist Moonblast and being immune to Thunder. Focus Blast and Hidden Power Ground can both deal quite a bit of damage to Primal Groudon, but most of its sets can still take a few of these moves and 2HKO with Precipice Blades. Many Steel-types also are good checks to Xerneas, such as Xerneas, Magearna, Solgaleo, and Ferrothorn, Ferrothorn to name a few, although the two former two are hit hard by Hidden Power Ground and the latter takes does take heavy damage from Focus Blast. Xerneas may also utilize Choice Scarf and Choice Specs to outspeed the majority of the tier or hit hard still be a very good Pokemon without setting up. its set up.

So go ahead and try out Xerneas for yourself and break through Ubers!

GP 1/1
 
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