What is a good moveset for Xerneas?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Xerneas, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Xerneas Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Comments

Xerneas good teammate: Smeargle
Geomancy+Baton Pass on Smeargle can let Xerneas get in 2 Geomancys when only using it once.

Answer 1

Might as well get the obvious out of the way.

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Psyshock / Thunderbolt / Thunder / Flash Cannon

Geomancy + Power Herb gives you what is basically a double Quiver Dance in one turn. You can usually just proceed to sweep with Moonblast from there. Focus Blast is there to hit Steel types hard, as they resist Moonblast. The metagame is still forming, so it is difficult to tell what the final moveslot should be used for.

Psyshock provides a Super Effective hit on Arceus-Poison while also hitting Blissey fairly hard. The question is though if Arceus-Poison will see enough use to warrant this move. Thunder and Thunderbolt are used to hit Ho-oh. Thunder will be less reliable this Generation thanks to the nerf that Drizzle got. And Ho-oh would probably see more use on teams with Groudon support, so Thunderbolt might be the more reliable option in dealing with it. Flash Cannon is used to take down other Xerneas.

Since Yveltal is no threat to it, and since you probably shouldn't stay in on another Xerneas without Flash Cannon, I gave it enough Speed to outspeed base 95 Pokemon. I then gave it some HP. If you use Flash Cannon, go with full Speed EVs.

Comments

I really wonder if a physical moveset for Xerneas is viable. Geomancy is too good a move to forfeit for a physical moveset though.

---

I doubt poison arceus will be used, but I can say steel will

---

You mention that you "gave it enough Speed to outspeed base 95 Pokemon", but your EV spread is 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 SpD (i.e. no speed). Was this edited?

---

Fixed it. Spe was Spd back then, and someone probably thought it was Special Defense, which resulted in that mistake.

Answer 2

I see that some people are wondering about a physical Xerneas (I was cursed with Adamant) and I simply do not know if this would hold its own weight in Ubers. So please don't get mad at me, and here goes.

Xerneas @ Life Orb / Choice Band
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Outrage
- Megahorn / Night Slash
- Protect

I know that physical is not anywhere near as good as special, but it can work. CC is to deter any steel types from switching in without danger. Outrage is powerful, but watch out for fairies. Megahorn is also powerful and good for ridding yourself of psychic and dark, but if ghosts are an issue, use Night Slash. Last is Protect. It can be used for scouting for Sludge Bomb and Flash Cannon.

I know it is overall weaker than the Geomancy set, it can be useful and a surprise! (plus CC is a valuable asset to any team.)

Comments

Why Outrage on Xerneas? It can cover Dragons with Fairy-Type moves. I'd suggest you switch Jolly for Hasty/Naive and throw in a Moonblast.

---

@Storm, the curse though...

---

It could use Horn Leech for recovery and to handle Kyogre and Groudon.

---

yeah I was cursed with Attack IVs and no Spec.Atk IVs and a Naive nature...

---

Your not using Geomancy on this and running a physical xerneas. I dont see it being useful at all

---

Have you ever heard of Choice Specs, Choice Scarf, and defensive Xerneas? Those variants are definitely viable and don't run Geomancy.

Answer 3

Well after seeing trachy and DA post what are easily the best sets I was kind of sad that I couldn't post something for what is fast becoming a cool looking Pokemon.
Then it came to me, MixedNeas

And while probably outclassed by Geomancy Xerneas here it is,

Xerneas @ Life Orb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 56 Atk / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Close Combat
- Moonblast
- Flash Cannon
- Rock Slide

Max Speed is to hit Geomancy Xerneas before they get a SpD boost. SpA is your main goal, as physical attacks are to hit Pokemon that are weak to it, such as Blissey, SpD steel types, and Ho-Oh. Moonblast is STAB, while the rest is coverage. Rock Slide is purely to take care of Ho-Oh and Mega Charizard. Life Orb increases damage which is necessary when not running max stats.

Comments

I'd change rock slide for close combat for steel Arceus besides people won't think you'll have a physical move on a special sweeper.

---

Agreed Aceacea

Answer 4

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Psyshock

You do not need Flash Cannon at all, since Fairy does not resist Fairy. Moonblast with STAB and Fairy Aura will hit another Fairy much harder than Flash Cannon. Hidden Power [Ground] perfectly cover all types that resists Moonblast, which are Fire, Steel and Poison. Psyshock is the best filler, since it hits Arceus Poison harder, and most importantly, it takes care of Blissey, Evolite Chansey and Gengar.

Answer 5

Here's a set that has worked for me on Showdown!:

Xerneas @ Leftovers
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast

The spread is basically the same as trachy's (sorry for copying your spread if your reading this trachy). The 32 HP lets you set up the famed 101 HP Substitute, without which would allow Chansey and Blissey to Toxic you and break your Substitutes with ease. The 224 Speed EVs outspeed base 95's without a Choice Scarf. I dumped the rest into Special Attack for obvious reasons.

The plan is to come in on someone you know will flee or that you can set up Substitute on (Dragon types, Chansey, Blissey, Arceus-Dark, etc.) use Geomancy while utilizing the Substitute as a buffer, then sweep. Moonblast is there for STAB and Focus Blast is there for Ferrothorn, Arceus-Rock, Arceus-Steel, and other threats you otherwise couldn't touch.

Hope this helps! :)

Comments

Focus Blast is unreliable and psychical, substitute is unneeded with geomancy, you need flash cannon for coverage

---

Focus Blast is a Special move. Flash Cannon literally hits nothing. Substitute is perfectly viable for longer stall fights against Blissey or Ferrothorn.

Answer 6

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 SpA
Timid Nature
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ground]

---

Mine is sort of like Trachy. This set is for a fast special sweeper Xerneas. Geomancy is good move especially with Power Herb and it raises's Special Attack, Special Defense and Speed by two stages each. Moonblast is for STAB. Flash Cannon is for good Fairy coverage, it's a strong hitting move and has a chance to lower the targets Sp. Def. Now we have HP [Ground] this move covers all of its weaknesses.

Answer 7

Xerneas @ Big Root
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close combat
- Horn Leech
- Night Slash
- Substitute

I know this moveset doesn't get any Fairy STABs, but it is useful for breaking special walls like Regice, Ho-oh, and Lugia.
Close Combat for steel types, Horn leech for Kyogre and Groudon and also for the Substitute
Night Slash for any troublesome Mewtwo and stuff.
Substitute works well with Horn leech and Big Root

This moveset is mainly for people like DracoArceus who are stuck with an Adamant Xerneas

Comments

no
big root is garbage
its a special attacker with garbage physical
close combat lowers defense, and is physical
horn leech is physical but acceptable sort of
night slash is physical and moonblast would have better coverage
why use substitute? geomancy would be more helpful anyways

---

Excuse me, this thing has the same special attack as physical attack. If someone wants to run a physical set, why not? Did you even read the note at the bottom. "This moveset is mainly for people like DracoArceus who are stuck with an Adamant Xerneas"

Answer 8

Physical Xerneas is a whole lot worse than special, but it can catch an opponent off guard.

Xerneas @ Choice Scarf / Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Horn Leech
- Play Rough
- Close Combat
- Zen Headbutt / Megahorn

Play Rough is STAB. Close Combat deals with Steel types that Xerneas is weak to (look out for Zacian-C and Magearna). Horn Leech is coverage and increases longevity. Zen Headbutt covers Poison types, while Megahorn can be used if you'd prefer a way to deal with Psychic types. Leftovers help Xerneas stay in the game, while Choice Scarf and Life Orb boost its sweeping potential a bit.

Comments

I think physical Xerneas is a thing now considering it got Play Rough in Gen 8.

Answer 9

Xerneas @ Power herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 SpA / 168 Def / 88 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Thunder
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Ground]

Geomancy is obvious.
Moonblast is for good STAB.
Thunder is for Fairy resists like Celesteela, Ho-oh and Toxapex.
Focus Blast is for Steel-types not weak to Thunder, like Ferrothorn.
Hidden Power [Ground] hits Primal Groudon, Necrozma-Dusk Mane, and Magearna.

88 speed is to make sure that it still outspeeds +1 Mega Rayquaza.
252 SpA is to make its moves hit as hard as possible.
The 168 Def is to make it harder to kill on the physical end.

Answer 10

National Dex AG

I bet none of you saw this coming because you're all so obsessed with Geomancy.

Xerneas @ Leftovers
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Defog / Sleep Talk
- Aromatherapy
- Rest

Moonblast is STAB and is also quite powerful without investment into Special Attack. Defog removes hazards, but if you already have another Defogger like Ho-Oh or Arceus-Fairy, Sleep Talk can be used instead in conjunction with Rest. Aromatherapy heals your teammates' status condition and, if called by Sleep Talk, Xerneas's own Rest sleep, which makes it a good partner to defensive Pokemon lacking reliable recovery, such as Rest Primal Kyogre and Rest Primal Groudon. Rest is recovery.

252+ Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Xerneas: 205-243 (44.9 - 53.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 224 Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Xerneas: 178-211 (39 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 16 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 356-422 (98.6 - 116.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Life Orb Marshadow Poltergeist (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Xerneas: 169-200 (37 - 43.8%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Marshadow: 374-444 (116.5 - 138.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Comments

It's not as good as it should be because FairyCeus exists.

Answer 11

Physical Xerneas Moveset

Xerneas @ Choice Band
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Rock Slide

Banded Physical Xerneas. Play Rough if Fairy STAB. Close Combat and Megahorn are really strong coverage moves, and Rock Slide is also coverage. The Choice Band boosts Attack by 1.5x, making Xerneas very strong. Special Xerneas is more common because of Geomancy, but opponents can have fun switching into a Special wall (Evio Chansey, Blissey etc) to get hit with a super strong Physical move lol.

Have fun using this set, hope I helped! :D

Comments

Won’t Band be better as it boasts more power? Or you can mention that Scarf makes it a formidable revenge killer.

---

oops did i put scarf? lol thanks for reminding me. yeah i meant band

Answer 12

This is the first time I've posted a moveset of my choice; hope I do alright!

Xerneas @ Persim Berry / Babiri Berry
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 208 Atk / 208 SpA / 48 SpD / 48 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Moonblast
- Outrage / Megahorn / Close Combat
- Psychic
- Night Slash

Moveset:
Moonblast (STAB)
Outrage / Megahorn / Close Combat (Coverage)
Psychic (coverage, protection against poison types)
Night Slash (coverage, high critical hit ratio)

Using this moveset could make fighting steel types a problem. This is when the Babiri Berry could be useful, to weaken the steel-type attacks. Then you could use Night Slash and hope for a critical hit. The Persim Berry could be used to recover from Outrage's confusion, so you could use it twice (getting a powerful, 4-6 turn attack).

I'm sure there are many loopholes and ways to get over this strategy; I'm still learning! I hope some of you find this useful! Please tell me if there are ways to make this moveset better!

Comments

I'd definitely not go with Outrage; Moonblast is just overall better since it's already super-effective on Dragons, plus STAB.
As for Psychic...I'd almost rather use Nature Power (becomes Earthquake over WFC), especially if you aren't using Geomancy. That would also help with Fire and Rock types.

---

You should have Speed EVs. It needs speed to outspeed other Pokemon in the tier.

---

I really like it! Its just that I never like liked confusion. I will use this set except Geomancy with power herb and moonblast and flash cannon and all that lol. But it is definitely a great set. Especially for your first time

---

Replace outrage with geomancy, whatever item for power herb, and nightslash for flash cannon.
Reasons:
Outrage is not good for xerneas, and xerneas is a special attacker, not a physical
Power Herb to use Geomancy in one turn
Nightslash is physical, and flash cannon is special and has coverage
I know mine is more generic but its better

Answer 13

Alright, so after seeing how DracoArceus posted a Physical moveset, I'd say that it would work. Here's my take on it...

Xerneas @ Leftovers
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Close Combat
- Horn Leech
- Outrage
- Megahorn

Since this is a Physical set, Power Herb has literally no use, so I went with Leftovers. Sadly, Xerneas doesn't have Play Rough or an Attack-boosting move (outside of Swagger/Psych Up), so we have no STAB or power gaining.

Close Combat is to check Steel-types and Horn Leech is annoying when paired with Leftovers for HP gaining and coverage. Outrage covers Dragons and Megahorn covers Psychics and Darks and does a lot of damage. As for the EVs and IVs, I gave it enough to do good damage fast, and enough to tank Physical hits.

You can switch Horn Leech for Night Slash if Ghosts are too annoying, or for Protect if you run into a Special Flash Cannon Heatran/Lucario.

Comments

better than other physical sets ive seen, and actually looks like you put time into this, maybe replace leftovers for a berry for better healing, and close combat maybe for a better fighting move if it can learn one, outrage is a weird pick but can pass, i would prefer psyshock since its physical and has better coverage since dragon is only super effective against itself. You can keep megahorn but if you do keep it, consider adding a blunder policy because it is unreliable, or just replac it because you already have a bug move

---

A bit late, but Psyshock isn't physical. It's a Special move that uses your opponent's Defense instead of Special Defense. Also, Megahorn is the only Bug move on the set.

Answer 14

Xerneas @ Fairium Z
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Flash Cannon / Psyshock
- Thunderbolt

Just set up Z-Geomancy using the Z-crystal and on the second turn you have an OP Xerneas with x2.5 SpA and Speed. Sweep with Moonblast. Flash Cannon and Thunderbolt are the best coverage moves. Psyshock could be used to tackle the Poison weakness. Don't go with Focus Blast; it's pretty useless.

Answer 15

VGC

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe or 252 HP / 4 Def / 124 SpA / 4 SpD / 124 Spe
Timid Nature / Modest nature
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Protect
- Geomancy

Standard VGC set. Moonblast has a higher BP than Dazzling Gleam for dealing higher damage to Primal Groudon and other bulkier Pokemon. Dazzling Gleam hits both opponents. Protect is useful on every Pokemon in VGC. Geomancy is the ultimate set up. It might seem strange to run dual STABs instead of a coverage move, but it works much better and this is the set that’s run almost always on Xerneas.

Comments

I'm guessing this is VGC 2019

Answer 16

Xerneas @ Life Orb / Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Modest Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
- Geomancy
- Focus Blast / Psychic
- Focus Blast / Psychic / Flash Cannon / Grass Knot / Hyper Voice / Thunderbolt
- Moonblast

Xerneas, like most legendaries, has busted attack stats. Try Geomancy to set up, then sweep with Moonblast, which is boosted by 33% via Fairy Aura, and other attacks of your choice.

Comments

Why Hyper Voice?
Any reason for Life Orb over Power Herb?

---

Hyper Voice if you want a neutral attack
power herb is actually better ill add

Answer 17

Let's Get Physical!!!

Xerneas @ Life Orb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Horn Leech/Zen Headbutt
-Play Rough

Play Rough is decently reliable STAB, boosted by a Swords Dance and Fairy Aura. Swords Dance makes you incredibly dangerous. Horn Leech recovers Life Orb recoil, or you could run Zen Headbutt to check Poison types. Close Combat is a useful move if you want to nuke something (particularly Steel Types).

This is, by far, my favorite legendary. Enjoy using it and scaring literally EVERYTHING that moves. Have fun!