[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Iron Head
move 2: Body Slam / Thunder / Thunder Wave
move 3: Fire Punch / U-turn
move 4: Protect / Stealth Rock / Substitute / Wish
item: Leftovers
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Jirachi provides excellent utility with just Iron Head, allowing it to use a diverse array of support moves. Body Slam is not very strong, but offers a 60% chance to paralyze and can crucially paralyze Ground-types. Paralysis gives foes only a 30% chance to hit through Iron Head and helps incapacitate faster Pokemon trying to set up on Jirachi, such as Dragon Dance Gyarados, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and Agility Empoleon. Body Slam also outdamages Iron Head against foes such as Swampert, Starmie, Zapdos, and Infernape, allowing Jirachi to finish them off at low health. Thunder is another option, as despite only having a 42% chance to paralyze foes factoring in accuracy and Serene Grace, it hits Ghost-types, OHKOes Gyarados after Stealth Rock, and 2HKOes Starmie and Skarmory. Thunder Wave gives Jirachi an 100% chance to paralyze foes, but does not do damage, making it vulnerable to Taunt and Substitute.
Fire Punch gives Jirachi coverage against Steel-types such as opposing Jirachi, Magnezone, Skarmory, Scizor, Bronzong, and Metagross and crucially has a 20% chance to burn the foe. The burn chance not only lets it wear down targets quicker with Iron Head, but also helps Jirachi survive various Ground-type attacks from Metagross and Bronzong. Another option is U-turn, as it makes Jirachi an excellent pivot as well as allows it to escape Magnezone. When paired with Wish, Jirachi can survive the hit from faster Pokemon so the teammate receiving the Wish switches in unscathed.
Protect helps Jirachi passively heal itself and scouts the foe. Jirachi can often heal a lot of HP by alternating flinching the foe with Iron Head and using Protect. Another option is Stealth Rock, as Jirachi can set it up against many different Pokemon while fending off Rapid Spinners such as Starmie and Forretress with the threat of status or super effective coverage. Jirachi can maximize its ability to take advantage of paralysis with Substitute. Substitute blocks status, Knock Off, and weaker attacks, forcing the foe to try to hit through paralysis and Iron Head flinching multiple times to beat Jirachi. Jirachi can often passively heal the HP needed to make a Substitute with Iron Head and paralysis.
Set Details
========
With three attacks and a utility move, Jirachi can use numerous EV spreads; this EV spread has maximum HP, has enough Speed EVs to outspeed Lucario and Roserade, and has enough Attack EVs to KO Lucario at -1 Defense after one round of Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage 75% of the time. Jirachi needs 156 Attack EVs to KO Lucario after Life Orb recoil at -1 Defense outright. Even with Thunder, Jirachi should run a hindering Special Attack nature, as it is still strong enough against Gyarados, Skarmory, and Starmie. 252 HP EVs gives Jirachi 101 HP Substitute unbroken by one Seismic Toss and great general bulk. Should Lucario not be as important, Jirachi can also run maximum Speed EVs with a spread of 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Speed to at least speed tie with Flygon, opposing Jirachi, and Zapdos; more Attack EVs to power up Fire Punch and Iron Head; and more bulk to better pass Wish with U-turn.
If Jirachi has Fire Punch, it should use at least 176 Speed EVs with a neutral nature to outspeed Adamant Lucario and Heatran. Some example EV spreads Jirachi can use include 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Spe with an Adamant nature and 252 HP / 108 Atk / 148 Spe with a Jolly nature. These EV spreads do more damage to Magnezone and opposing Jirachi with Fire Punch and require less Iron Head flinches to break through foes. Without Fire Punch, Jirachi is free to invest more in its bulk to better pass Wish. Some example EV spreads that outspeed Tyranitar include 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe with an Impish nature and 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe with a Careful nature. Jirachi can also minimize its Speed to take the hit before Wish passing via U-turn with an EV spread of 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 SpD with an Impish or Relaxed nature and potentially less than 31 Speed IVs. Beware that lowering Speed makes it harder to flinch foes.
Usage Tips
========
Jirachi should lead or switch in on a target it threatens, such as Tyranitar or offensive Latias and start spreading paralysis or set up Stealth Rock if it has it. The main exception is if Jirachi has Fire Punch and would rather burn the foe, such as against Skarmory, Bronzong, and Metagross. Once Jirachi has statused its checks, it should typically switch out and come in again on the many foes it threatens. Once the check is in again and statused, Jirachi can then start wearing it down with Iron Head, Stealth Rock, and its coverage moves. This is a highly effective strategy; Jirachi is naturally fast and quite bulky, so it takes multiple hits through Iron Head and paralysis to beat. Substitute sets are even more difficult to defeat, as foes have to hit through paralysis and Iron Head to just break the Substitute. While Jirachi can chain many flinches to take down almost any opponent, such as offensive Heatran and Swampert, only try to do this in desperate situations, as not getting the flinch can lead to Jirachi getting KOed much earlier than it should have. With Protect, don’t allow opponents to take advantage with set-up by being too predictable with it.
With Wish and U-turn, Jirachi can pass Wish, but be careful to keep its health high enough, as it will often take a hit doing so and doesn’t have Protect to back it up. U-turn can also be effective as an early game pivot. Note that Thunder is often unexpected from Jirachi, so it can get a lot of damage against Gyarados and Skarmory in particular. Especially without recovery, Jirachi should try to avoid status at all costs, as paralysis ruins it trying to flinch foes downs and a burned Jirachi is useless and faints quickly.
Team Options
========
Utility Jirachi is a valuable partner for a lot of spikeless offensive builds that love support against Lucario and Choice Specs Latias, appreciate status, and potentially need a Stealth Rock user. For this reason, one of its most common partners is Tyranitar, as Choice Scarf and Dragon Dance sets both enjoy additional back up against Latias while more defensive sets appreciate a stopgap against Lucario and speed control. Choice Scarf Tyranitar also helps with Gengar, as Jirachi does not like dealing with Gengar potentially burning it or overwhelming it with Life Orb boosted attacks. Sand also helps wear down checks like Zapdos and Suicune more effectively. Jirachi, particularly with Substitute, also is a premier Pokemon on more offensive paralysis teams; it enjoys teammates such as Azelf, Machamp, and Thunder Wave + Dragon Dance Gyarados who can potentially help spread paralysis and take advantage of the foes Jirachi wears down. Azelf’s Explosion can potentially both give Jirachi a chance to start spreading status and weaken a Steel-type check such as Heatran or Metagross. Machamp has similar checks to Jirachi, so if it defeats or heavily weakens Skarmory, Gyarados, or Metagross, Jirachi can clean up the rest. Gyarados is also an effective teammate, as it has great type synergy with Jirachi’s weakness while also opening up holes with either a Choice Band or Dragon Dance set. Other sweepers such as Swords Dance Empoleon or Swords Dance Gliscor can be excellent partners to take advantage of how Jirachi can wear down their answers, such as Swampert, with status and Iron Head. While Jirachi can be effective if it is lucky against defensive teams, it does enjoy some additional assistance against them. Wallbreakers such as Breloom and Heatran are fantastic, while Infernape can potentially join Breloom as a dual fighting core. Offensive Starmie sets, such as Choice Specs, can potentially get rid of the entry hazards that Jirachi can often let up trying to burn Skarmory. Ground immunities such as Gengar, Choiced Latias, and Mixed Flygon are great options alongside Jirachi, as they can pivot nicely into predicted Earthquakes and hit hard in return. Additionally, each of them can force substantial damage on Heatran, paving the way for an Iron Head sweep later.
As Jirachi can be weak to set up sweepers with a Lum Berry, it does appreciate an additional backstop to them, such as Choice Scarf Rotom-A and Choice Scarf Latias. While Jirachi does appreciate Magnezone support, it is more commonly paired with Choice Scarf Magneton due to the role compression Jirachi provides as a Stealth Rock user and the fact Magneton helps against neutral nature Dragon Dance Gyarados and Dragon Dance Dragonite. Jirachi is also particularly effective alongside Knock Off support, as removing Leftovers makes Iron Head highly effective in wearing down foes who resist Iron Head. Partners such as specially defensive Empoleon and Clefable can work. Additionally, Trick + Iron Ball Metagross can remove Leftovers from mutual checks like Skarmory and Zapdos so that Jirachi can break through them.
name: Utility
move 1: Iron Head
move 2: Body Slam / Thunder / Thunder Wave
move 3: Fire Punch / U-turn
move 4: Protect / Stealth Rock / Substitute / Wish
item: Leftovers
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Jirachi provides excellent utility with just Iron Head, allowing it to use a diverse array of support moves. Body Slam is not very strong, but offers a 60% chance to paralyze and can crucially paralyze Ground-types. Paralysis gives foes only a 30% chance to hit through Iron Head and helps incapacitate faster Pokemon trying to set up on Jirachi, such as Dragon Dance Gyarados, Dragon Dance Dragonite, and Agility Empoleon. Body Slam also outdamages Iron Head against foes such as Swampert, Starmie, Zapdos, and Infernape, allowing Jirachi to finish them off at low health. Thunder is another option, as despite only having a 42% chance to paralyze foes factoring in accuracy and Serene Grace, it hits Ghost-types, OHKOes Gyarados after Stealth Rock, and 2HKOes Starmie and Skarmory. Thunder Wave gives Jirachi an 100% chance to paralyze foes, but does not do damage, making it vulnerable to Taunt and Substitute.
Fire Punch gives Jirachi coverage against Steel-types such as opposing Jirachi, Magnezone, Skarmory, Scizor, Bronzong, and Metagross and crucially has a 20% chance to burn the foe. The burn chance not only lets it wear down targets quicker with Iron Head, but also helps Jirachi survive various Ground-type attacks from Metagross and Bronzong. Another option is U-turn, as it makes Jirachi an excellent pivot as well as allows it to escape Magnezone. When paired with Wish, Jirachi can survive the hit from faster Pokemon so the teammate receiving the Wish switches in unscathed.
Protect helps Jirachi passively heal itself and scouts the foe. Jirachi can often heal a lot of HP by alternating flinching the foe with Iron Head and using Protect. Another option is Stealth Rock, as Jirachi can set it up against many different Pokemon while fending off Rapid Spinners such as Starmie and Forretress with the threat of status or super effective coverage. Jirachi can maximize its ability to take advantage of paralysis with Substitute. Substitute blocks status, Knock Off, and weaker attacks, forcing the foe to try to hit through paralysis and Iron Head flinching multiple times to beat Jirachi. Jirachi can often passively heal the HP needed to make a Substitute with Iron Head and paralysis.
Set Details
========
With three attacks and a utility move, Jirachi can use numerous EV spreads; this EV spread has maximum HP, has enough Speed EVs to outspeed Lucario and Roserade, and has enough Attack EVs to KO Lucario at -1 Defense after one round of Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage 75% of the time. Jirachi needs 156 Attack EVs to KO Lucario after Life Orb recoil at -1 Defense outright. Even with Thunder, Jirachi should run a hindering Special Attack nature, as it is still strong enough against Gyarados, Skarmory, and Starmie. 252 HP EVs gives Jirachi 101 HP Substitute unbroken by one Seismic Toss and great general bulk. Should Lucario not be as important, Jirachi can also run maximum Speed EVs with a spread of 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Speed to at least speed tie with Flygon, opposing Jirachi, and Zapdos; more Attack EVs to power up Fire Punch and Iron Head; and more bulk to better pass Wish with U-turn.
If Jirachi has Fire Punch, it should use at least 176 Speed EVs with a neutral nature to outspeed Adamant Lucario and Heatran. Some example EV spreads Jirachi can use include 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Spe with an Adamant nature and 252 HP / 108 Atk / 148 Spe with a Jolly nature. These EV spreads do more damage to Magnezone and opposing Jirachi with Fire Punch and require less Iron Head flinches to break through foes. Without Fire Punch, Jirachi is free to invest more in its bulk to better pass Wish. Some example EV spreads that outspeed Tyranitar include 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe with an Impish nature and 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe with a Careful nature. Jirachi can also minimize its Speed to take the hit before Wish passing via U-turn with an EV spread of 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 SpD with an Impish or Relaxed nature and potentially less than 31 Speed IVs. Beware that lowering Speed makes it harder to flinch foes.
Usage Tips
========
Jirachi should lead or switch in on a target it threatens, such as Tyranitar or offensive Latias and start spreading paralysis or set up Stealth Rock if it has it. The main exception is if Jirachi has Fire Punch and would rather burn the foe, such as against Skarmory, Bronzong, and Metagross. Once Jirachi has statused its checks, it should typically switch out and come in again on the many foes it threatens. Once the check is in again and statused, Jirachi can then start wearing it down with Iron Head, Stealth Rock, and its coverage moves. This is a highly effective strategy; Jirachi is naturally fast and quite bulky, so it takes multiple hits through Iron Head and paralysis to beat. Substitute sets are even more difficult to defeat, as foes have to hit through paralysis and Iron Head to just break the Substitute. While Jirachi can chain many flinches to take down almost any opponent, such as offensive Heatran and Swampert, only try to do this in desperate situations, as not getting the flinch can lead to Jirachi getting KOed much earlier than it should have. With Protect, don’t allow opponents to take advantage with set-up by being too predictable with it.
With Wish and U-turn, Jirachi can pass Wish, but be careful to keep its health high enough, as it will often take a hit doing so and doesn’t have Protect to back it up. U-turn can also be effective as an early game pivot. Note that Thunder is often unexpected from Jirachi, so it can get a lot of damage against Gyarados and Skarmory in particular. Especially without recovery, Jirachi should try to avoid status at all costs, as paralysis ruins it trying to flinch foes downs and a burned Jirachi is useless and faints quickly.
Team Options
========
Utility Jirachi is a valuable partner for a lot of spikeless offensive builds that love support against Lucario and Choice Specs Latias, appreciate status, and potentially need a Stealth Rock user. For this reason, one of its most common partners is Tyranitar, as Choice Scarf and Dragon Dance sets both enjoy additional back up against Latias while more defensive sets appreciate a stopgap against Lucario and speed control. Choice Scarf Tyranitar also helps with Gengar, as Jirachi does not like dealing with Gengar potentially burning it or overwhelming it with Life Orb boosted attacks. Sand also helps wear down checks like Zapdos and Suicune more effectively. Jirachi, particularly with Substitute, also is a premier Pokemon on more offensive paralysis teams; it enjoys teammates such as Azelf, Machamp, and Thunder Wave + Dragon Dance Gyarados who can potentially help spread paralysis and take advantage of the foes Jirachi wears down. Azelf’s Explosion can potentially both give Jirachi a chance to start spreading status and weaken a Steel-type check such as Heatran or Metagross. Machamp has similar checks to Jirachi, so if it defeats or heavily weakens Skarmory, Gyarados, or Metagross, Jirachi can clean up the rest. Gyarados is also an effective teammate, as it has great type synergy with Jirachi’s weakness while also opening up holes with either a Choice Band or Dragon Dance set. Other sweepers such as Swords Dance Empoleon or Swords Dance Gliscor can be excellent partners to take advantage of how Jirachi can wear down their answers, such as Swampert, with status and Iron Head. While Jirachi can be effective if it is lucky against defensive teams, it does enjoy some additional assistance against them. Wallbreakers such as Breloom and Heatran are fantastic, while Infernape can potentially join Breloom as a dual fighting core. Offensive Starmie sets, such as Choice Specs, can potentially get rid of the entry hazards that Jirachi can often let up trying to burn Skarmory. Ground immunities such as Gengar, Choiced Latias, and Mixed Flygon are great options alongside Jirachi, as they can pivot nicely into predicted Earthquakes and hit hard in return. Additionally, each of them can force substantial damage on Heatran, paving the way for an Iron Head sweep later.
As Jirachi can be weak to set up sweepers with a Lum Berry, it does appreciate an additional backstop to them, such as Choice Scarf Rotom-A and Choice Scarf Latias. While Jirachi does appreciate Magnezone support, it is more commonly paired with Choice Scarf Magneton due to the role compression Jirachi provides as a Stealth Rock user and the fact Magneton helps against neutral nature Dragon Dance Gyarados and Dragon Dance Dragonite. Jirachi is also particularly effective alongside Knock Off support, as removing Leftovers makes Iron Head highly effective in wearing down foes who resist Iron Head. Partners such as specially defensive Empoleon and Clefable can work. Additionally, Trick + Iron Ball Metagross can remove Leftovers from mutual checks like Skarmory and Zapdos so that Jirachi can break through them.
