What is a good counter to Xearnes?

Question

So Xearnes is quite the powerhouse, having acess to Geomancy, lots of coverage options and a good typing in Uber. So, what is a good way to dispose of it? Suggest any Pokemon from tier using any strategy, as long as it works.

Answer 1

Xerneas is a deal. However, some help to counter it:

• Poison Jab and Meteor Mash both does very well against Xerneas. I assume Bullet Punch also can make some damage.
• A quick Covet user may steal the Power Herb which makes Geomancy worthy. Otherwise, you gain the turn advantage.
• Snatch Geomancy to mess up the strategy.
• Taunt Prankster user may shut down Xerneas from using Geomancy. Then, you can steal his Power Herb and give it to your Pokémon and use it on SolarBeam for example.
• Trick a Scarf may block Xerneas on Geomancy.
• Metagross is a check, resisting Xerneas's attacks and countering with Bullet Punch.

I hope this helps.

Comments

Do you have examples of Pokemon that can pull these strategies of?

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Ambipom can use Covet quickly to steal Power Herb, then if you play a double battle, you can Trick with another Pokémon giving Ambipom a good item for a Power Herb.
Poison Jab can be used by Skuntank, but it is slow, though. Scarf may arrange this.
Snatch can be used by Liepard or even by Yveltal :)
Trick is Latios's mate.

Hope it helps.

Answer 2

There are actually a few Pokemon who can counter Xerneas well without being a horrible Pokemon to use in Ubers. It all depends on the coverage Xerneas has. Most Xerneas will be using Fairy+Fighting coverage along with Geomancy. But the last move they have is unable to cover everything.

Arceus-Poison: Xerneas needs Psyshock/Psychic in order to have a chance against Arceus, as it can only 3HKO it with Thunder. Meanwhile, Arceus has Poison Jab which gets the 2HKO on Xerneas without any investment. Judgement gets only a 3HKO though, so Special Arceus-Poison should probably not be used.

Ho-oh: As long as Xerneas does not use Thunderbolt/Thunder, you'll be fine, as Ho-oh is for the most part (93% of the time) 3HKOd by Psyshock, and if it uses Flash Cannon as its coverage, it stands no chance against Ho-oh. Ho-oh can 2HKO Xerneas with both Sacred Fire and Brave Bird. Beware Rocks though.

Scizor: Choice Band 252 Attack Adamant Technician Scizor with Bullet Punch OHKOs Xerneas.

These are basically the best counters to Xerneas. There are a few others, but they aren't nearly as good as these guys or would need to run sets that are not standard.

Comments

Arceus Poison can't deal with Xerneas. They standardly run Psyshock / Psychic, but the others seem nice. Although Focus Blast wrecks Scizor if Bullet Punch isn't used for whatever reason.

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And hence: "Xerneas needs Psyshock/Psychic in order to have a chance against Arceus"

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Aegislash walls Xerneas variants that lack Thunder/Thunderbolt, and even if they do carry it, they cannot OHKO, while Aegislash can easily OHKO or 2HKO with STAB Gyro Ball/Iron Head. It is also pretty good in Ubers too.

Answer 3

xerneas is a very formidable opponent and I'd say that it rules the ubers. dialga might stand a chance but since it is part dragon it wouldn't be the best to tackle xerneas. wobuffet might beat it with a mirror coat but give it a focus sash so it definitely survives xerneas`s attack. with geomancy xerneas is unstoppable.

Aggron can be a boos in taking out xerneas although it has rubbish s.defence it can ohko it with a steel gem STAB iron tail.

Answer 4

I found Mega Scizor Bullet punch to work great! 100% chance of death with one attack buff from baton pass ninjask.

Hope I helped. The High pointed users have already gotten to the question before I did e-e

Answer 5

I, personally, find defensive Lugia with Toxic (which is what I use) to work most of the time, depending on what that particular Xerneas is running, but it will check or counter most common variants.

Aegislash is probably the most reliable counter, but otherwise isn't that great in Ubers. Aegislash's fully invested Iron Head will OHKO common Xerneas (4 HP EVs) after Stealth Rock, and has a small (6.25%) chance to OHKO without rocks.