[OVERVIEW]
* Xurkitree has the second highest base Special Attack of the entire metagame, which assists greatly in fulfilling its role as a Special sweeper / cleaner.
* Beast Boost is a great ability for Xurkitree, although its low speed tier makes it difficult to utilise beast boost without a +1 speed boost or scarf, otherwise it is slower than threats such as Garchomp / Tapu Lele / Tapu Bulu / Mimikyu.
* Mono Electric typing gives Xurkitree weakness to notable Ground-type Pokemon including Mamoswine and Garchomp, lack of common resistances, and only one STAB option.
* Xurkitree's lack of secondary STAB is compensated for to an extent by its huge Special Attack and coverage options including Hidden Power Ice / Energy Ball / Hidden Power Ground.
* Xurkitree's overall bulk is not impressive but is acceptable, as it is enough to withstand a few hits from common priority options including Shadow Sneak / Ice Shard / Aqua jet.
* Xurkitree has tough competition to take the teamslot of the offensive Electric-type over Tapu Koko, Thundurus-Therian and Thundurus-Incarnate.
[SET]
name: Cleaner
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Volt Switch
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Energy Ball / Dazzling Gleam
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 252 Spa / 4 Spd / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Thunderbolt remains as the staple STAB of choice.
* Volt Switch is an excellent choice in order to maintain momentum via pivot, whilst at the same maintaining offensive pressure.
* Hidden Power Ice is used to hit the usual Dragon-type / Ground-type threats whilst also hitting Flying-type Pokemon immune to Thunderbolt such as Landorus-T and Thundurus-T. Hidden Power Ground hits Mega Charizard X / Excadrill / Magnezone / Alolan Marowak.
* Energy Ball provides coverage against Ground threats which Hidden Power Ice cannot OHKO but Energy Ball can, notably Mamoswine (although Mamoswine does tend to have either Focus Sash or Assault Vest). It also provides a 2HKO on Excadrill, Hippowdon, and offensive Landorus-T that lacks assault vest. Dazzling Gleam is to hit Dragon-types if Hidden Power Ground is used.
* If you want extra coverage with Hidden Power Ground, you can replace Volt Switch with Dazzling Gleam, making Xurkitree harder to wall however at the cost of scouting.
Set Details
========
* Timid nature guarantees that Xurkitree is faster than any base 150 or below such as Tapu Koko and Mega-Gengar.
* Modest nature puts Xurkitree on par with base 150's but outpaces anything slower than that, whilst also providing a much better OHKO chance on threatening Mega Pokemon such as Mega-Lucario and Mega-Gyarados, although Modest does fail to outspeed +1 Mega-Gyarados.
* Choice Scarf gives Xurkitree enough speed to let it revenge kill slower threats such as non-scarf Garchomp and Mega-Gyarados at +1.
* 252 special attack maximises damage output to assist in sweeping and revenge killing.
* 252 Spe ensures that Xurkitree has enough speed to best abuse of Choice Scarf and actually outpace anything below base 150 speed, notably Mega-Gengar / Tapu Koko.
* 4 Spd is to avoid giving Download Porygon2 the Special Attack Boost.
Usage Tips
========
* Leading with Xurkitree is generally the best option as Volt Switch makes it easy to scout out what Pokemon your opponent has decided to bring, whilst also dealing chunks of damage to assist in maintaining offensive pressure. Be cautious if choosing to lead with Xurkitree however as Electric-type immunities including Garchomp / Mamoswine / Alolan-Marowak are common, which is very bad news as they can easily switch in while Xurkitree is locked into Electric STAB.
* Xurkitree can also function as a mid - late game sweeper. Given the Choice Scarf, Xurkitree needs not to worry about a lot of the tier's faster threats including Mega-Gengar and Tapu Koko. By checking Pokemon, Xurkitree can often get an easy kill if there is no reliable switch in, triggering Beast Boost and starting an otherwise difficult to control snowball effect with Beast Boost.
Team Options
========
* Physically Defensive Tapu Fini can serve as a hard check to Xurkitree's Ground-type threats including Garchomp / Mamoswine, as it can dent them with Nature's Madness, putting them within KO range for Xurkitree.
* Focus Sash Mamoswine is a great partner for Xurkitree, providing Stealth Rock support which puts Pokemon such as Mega-Gengar withing OHKO for Xurkitree, while also
providing a check to Dragon-type threats including Mega-Salamence if weakened and Choice Scarf Garchomp.
* Steel-type Pokemon such as Celesteela makes for a really nice partner, being able to switch-in against other common Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Garchomp / Tapu Lele and retaliate back with Leech Seed / Heavy Slam. Ferrothorn is also a great teammate, comfortably taking both Dragon / Ground-type hits while pressuring with leech seed + protect.
* Cloyster is a nice option as it tends to spook away Ground-types which can otherwise be a problem for Xurkitree.
[SET]
name: Sweeper
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Hypnosis / Energy Ball / Substitute
item: Electrium Z / Psychium Z / Focus Sash
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 252 Spa / 4 Spd / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Tail Glow is used to grant Xurkitree with incredible wallbreaking potential, allowing it to 2HKO bulky threats such as Cresselia and Porygon2.
* Thunderbolt is the STAB option of choice, despite providing a weaker Z move than Thunder as the accuracy is much more preferred.
* Hidden Power Ice gives the best two-move coverage, able to hit all of Electric's resistances / immunities such as common Ground-type and Dragon-type Pokemon, while Energy Ball at +3 smashes through Garchomp, Excadrill, Hippowdon, non Assault Vest Mamoswine and non Assault Vest Landorus-T.
* Hypnosis is used in conjunction with Psychium Z, giving Xurkitree a +1 speed boost alongside a great opportunity to set up with Tail Glow, assuming that Hypnosis hits. Energy Ball can also be used instead of Hypnosis, giving Xurkitree near perfect coverage and allowing it to break the likes of Hippowdon and Excadrill, as HP Ice at +3 does not OHKO either. Substitute allows Xurkitree to setup with more freedom while also giving it a layer of protection against common threats such as Landorus-Therian and Tapu Bulu.
* A quiet nature with 252 hp / 252 spa is an option for Tail Glow + 3 attacks on Trick Room teams, as well as a Bold nature with 252 hp / 252 def and Shuca berry to tank powerful Earthquakes from the likes of Garchomp and Landorus-Therian, whilst hitting back hard with HP Ice.
Set Details
========
* Electrium Z gives Xurkitree an extremely powerful one off Thunderbolt, allowing it to deal heavy damage without a boost whilst hitting extremely hard at +3, even through protect.
* Psychium Z is used to allow the use of Z-Hypnosis, which has a 60% chance to put your opponent to sleep, while also patching up Xurkitree's average speed.
* Focus Sash allows Xurkitree to check the likes of Mega-Charizard Y and +1 Mega-Gyarados whilst also providing an opportunity to set up with Tail Glow.
* A Modest nature maximises Special Attack while still outspeeding base 130 Pokemon and below when at +1 including Mega-Gengar / Tapu Koko.
* A Timid nature ensures that at +1 Xurkitree can outspeed Pheromosa running a Mild / Naughty nature as well as Base 150's and below, but is still slower than Naive / Hasty Pheromosa by one point. Timid also ensures that Xurkitree can outspeed base 80 mons while unboosted, including Mamoswine.
Usage Tips
========
* Note what you can easily setup on / take a hit from. Water-type / Flying-types are obviously the primary examples as they are immediately threatened with the option of Thunderbolt. Xurkitree can also setup on slower threats including Aegislash, Mamoswine, Tapu Bulu and Mega-Sczior, but has to rely on Hypnosis hitting, otherwise they all OHKO.
* Depending on which Xurkitree set you use, take careful note of team preview. Tail Glow + 3 attacks excels against bulkier builds and especially stall, whilst Z Hypnosis is better against offensive teams with a less solid defensive backbone.
* Xurkitree best takes advantage of this late game, with the intention of cleaning up the remainder of the team. If Z Hypnosis hits, set up Tail Glow once and proceed to sweep. Two sets of Tail Glow is both too risky to set and a tad overkill. If Z Hypnosis misses, majority of the time it's still best to stay in with Xurkitree and output as much damage as possible.
* Since Z-Hypnosis is a one off situation, it's imperative that Z-Hypnosis is used at the right time. You can also opt to not Z-move against slower teams and just use regular Hypnosis if you've got another Z-move user.
Team Options
========
* A check to Alolan-Marowak is mandatory. Alolan-Marowak hard walls Xurkitree without Hidden Power Ground, which in itself is quite a sub-par option given the set. Mega-Gyarados fills this role, taking advantage of a free setup opportunity on the switch, although doesn't like Will-O-Wisp variants. Salamence also works as it can sponge 3 hits after intimidate and spam Roost + Dragon Dance, but also doesn't appreciate Will-O-Wisp. Mandibuzz works the best as a defensive check, able to pressure Alolan-Marowak with Roost + Toxic.
* Xurkitree benefits greatly from Tapu Bulu's Grassy Surge, letting Xurkitree have the opportunity to tank Ground-type moves, while also giving a sense of recovery. Tapu Bulu also overrides Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain and Tapu Koko's Electric Terrain, which otherwise renders Xurkitree's Z-Hypnosis useless for anything other than speed.
* Even with resistance to Steel / Flying / Electric-type, Xurkitree struggles to take hits given its mediocre bulk. Because of this, Xurkitree pairs well with generally bulk pokemon including Porygon2 and Celesteela, both of which give Xurkitree a reliable defensive fallback.
* Xurkitree needs answers to Ground-types, notably Garchomp and Mamoswine. Mega-Gyarados and Cloyster fit this roll, as they also appreciate it when Xurkitree lands a Hypnosis on the switch since they can switch in for free and set up.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Z-Hypnosis can use Hidden Power Ground as a means of dealing with Alolan-Marowak which otherwise walls Xurkitree, but this is a very team-dependant decision as even at +3, Hidden Power Ground is unlikely to OHKO opposing Dragon-type threats.
* Dazzling Gleam is also an option over HP Ice to OHKO Hydreigon whilst still hitting Dragon-types, however Hidden Power Ice otherwise outclasses it due to how it maintains the same coverage which Dazzling Gleam has whilst still hitting Grass-types, and providing a OHKO on Garchomp and Landorus-Therian.
* Z-Rain Dance remains usable as it gives a speed boost and 100% accurate Thunder for 5 turns. Hidden Power Water is a great tech move with this set as it can hit both Non-Assault Vest Mamoswine and Alolan-Marowak. Tail Glow can be used to help break through slower defensive teams, while Dazzling Gleam can be used to hit Garchomp
* Focus Sash is a niche option if you have a spare, as well as Air Balloon / Shuca Berry as both options allow Xurkitree to beat Mega-Salamence / Choice Scarf Garchomp without any prior setup or reliance on prediction. Timid Hidden Power Ice can OHKO both of these threats. Air Balloon also works in conjunction with Extreme Evoboost, giving Xurkitree temporary immunity to Ground and allowing it to sweep with x2 speed, Beast Boost, and free move selection.
* Z-Electric Terrain gives Xurkitree a boost to Electric STAB and speed by one stage, significantly powering up Thunderbolt. The Terrain can however be easily overridden by opposing Tapus, so it isn't all too good for anything other than speed.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Offensive Ground-types**: Garchomp, Mamoswine, Excadrill and Landorus-Therian all outspeed +1 Xurkitree if holding a Choice Scarf and can OHKO in return. Focus Sash variants of these Pokemon are also huge threats, given that they can take a hit and OHKO with Earthquake. Assault Vest Excadrill also lives +3 Energy Ball and again, can OHKO.
**Mega-Venusar**: Thick Fat prevents Hidden Power Ice form doing any notable damage, while resisting every other coverage move which Xurkitree uses.
**Tyranitar**: Only gets OHKO'd by +3 Energy Ball. Assault Vest variants live this however. Tyranitar is also commonly partnered with Excadrill, a threatening Pokemon to Xurkitree in itself.
**Choice Scarf Tapu Lele**: Choice Scarf Tapu Lele outspeeds Xurkitree regardless of +1 / Choice Scarf, with Psychic providing an 81.3% chance to OHKO under Psychic Terrain.
**Tapu Bulu**: Beats any Xurkitree that lacks Hidden Power Ice or is choice locked into another move.
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