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Haxorus Movesets in Other Games | |
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SV | SWSH |
This is a best build and strategy guide for using Haxorus in competitive play in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Haxorus, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.
Haxorus - Related Guides | |
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Evolution and Learnset | Build for Ranked Battle |
List of Contents
Pokemon | Type 1 | Type 2 |
---|---|---|
Abilities | ||
Mold Breaker | Moves can be used regardless of Abilities. | |
Rivalry | Deals more damage to a Pokemon of same gender. | |
Unnerve (Hidden) | Makes the foe nervous and unable to eat Berries. |
Type | |
---|---|
Takes 4x damage |
|
Takes 2x damage | |
Takes 0.5x damage | |
Takes 1/4x damage |
|
Takes 0x damage |
|
HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
76 | 147 | 90 | 60 | 70 | 97 |
Best Natures | ||
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Jolly (+Spd, -Atk) |
Adamant (+Atk, -Spd) |
Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -Atk) |
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EV Spread | HP 60 / Atk 188 / Def 4 / Sp.Def 4 / Spd 252 |
Final Stat Values | HP 159 / Atk 191 / Def 111 / Sp.Def 91 / Spd 163 |
Ability | Mold Breaker |
Held Item | Haban Berry |
Moveset | ・Outrage ・Dragon Dance ・Earthquake ・Iron Tail |
Haxorus has the potential to deal a lot of damage, but its mediocre bulk makes it easy to take it by stronger attackers.
Haban Berry attempts to fix this, letting Haxorus switch into opposing Dragon-types better.
Outrage is Haxorus' strongest STAB move that deals damage for 2 to 3 turns and causes confusion when it's done. Dragon Dance is its main boosting move, raising its Attack and Speed stat by 1 stage.
Earthquake is Haxorus main coverage move, providing great neutral coverage and hitting Steel-types such as Heatran and Metagross for super effective damage.
Its last move is Iron Tail, which is the only way Haxorus can deal damage against Fairy-types that will easily wall its main Dragon-type moves.
We're using a modified physical attacking EV spread with full investment in Speed and 188 Atk EVs so that it can hit as hard and as fast as possible.
60 HP and 4 Def and 4 Sp.Def to round off its bulk and ensure that it can take weaker or unboosted attacks from opposing attackers.
Mold Breaker provides Haxorus some great utility. This Ability ignores the opposing Pokemon's Abilities, such as Mimikyu's Disguise or Wash Rotom's Levitate.
Haban Berry halves the damage of super effective Dragon-type moves. This allows Haxorus to stay in battle against the likes of Garchomp or Hydreigon and get a Dragon Dance boost to turn the tide of the battle.
Shadow Claw | An alternative coverage move that can replace Iron Tail. Becomes Max Phantasm during Dynamax, lowering the opposing team's Defense stat by 1 stage. |
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Rock Slide | An alternative coverage move that can replace Iron Tail. Synergizes well with Earthquake. |
Close Combat | An alternative covrage move that can replace Iron Tail. Becomes Max Knuckle during Dynamax, boosting Haxorus and its team's Attack stat by 1 stage. |
Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -Atk) |
---|---|
EV Spread | Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spd 252 |
Final Stat Values | HP 151 / Atk 199 / Def 111 / Sp.Def 90 / Spd 163 |
Ability | Mold Breaker |
Held Item | Choice Scarf |
Moveset | ・Outrage ・Close Combat ・Iron Tail ・Earthquake |
Haxorus is an excellent candidate for Choice Scarf, with its main role being that of a revenge killer or late-game cleaner.
Outrage is Haxorus' strongest STAB move that deals damage for 2 to 3 turns and causes confusion when it's done. Close Combat is a powerful Fighting-type coverage move that hits Steel, Rock, and Dark-types for super effective damage.
Its last two moves round off its coverage. Iron Tail hits Fairy-type Pokemon while Earthquake is great move with neutral coverage.
We're using a standard physical attacking EV Spread, with full EV investment in Attack and Speed so that Haxorus hits hard and as fast as possible. The remaining 4 EVs are invested in Def to slightly boost its physical bulk.
Mold Breaker provides Haxorus some great utility. This Ability ignores the opposing Pokemon's Abilities, such as Mimikyu's Disguise or Wash Rotom's Levitate.
Choice Scarf doubles Haxorus Speed stat, but restricts it from only using the initial move that it used during the start of the battle.
Shadow Claw | An alternative coverage move that can replace Iron Tail. Becomes Max Phantasm during Dynamax, lowering the opposing team's Defense stat by 1 stage. |
---|---|
Rock Slide | An alternative coverage move that can replace Iron Tail. Synergizes well with Earthquake. |
Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -Atk) |
---|---|
EV Spread | Atk 252 / Def 4 / Spd 252 |
Final Stat Values | HP 151 / Atk 199 / Def 111 / Sp.Def 90 / Spd 163 |
Ability | Mold Breaker |
Held Item | Focus Sash |
Moveset | ・Outrage ・Dragon Dance ・Iron Tail ・Earthquake |
Haxorus makes an excellent, and while it has mediocre bulk, Focus Sash easily patches that up - ensuring that it has a free turn to set up with its boosting move.
Outrage is Haxorus' strongest STAB move that deals damage for 2 to 3 turns and causes confusion when it's done. Dragon Dance is its main boosting move, raising its Attack and Speed stat by 1 stage.
Earthquake is Haxorus main coverage move, providing great neutral coverage and hitting Steel-types such as Heatran and Metagross for super effective damage.
It's last move is Iron Tail, which is the only way Haxorus can deal damage against Fairy-types that will easily wall its main Dragon-type moves.
We're using a standard physical attacking EV Spread, with full EV investment in Attack and Speed so that Haxorus hits hard and as fast as possible. The remaining 4 EVs are invested in Def to slightly boost its physical bulk.
Mold Breaker provides Haxorus some great utility. This Ability ignores the opposing Pokemon's Abilities, such as Mimikyu's Disguise or Wash Rotom's Levitate.
Focus Sash lets Haxorus survive a hit that would otherwise KO it.
Shadow Claw | An alternative coverage move that can replace Iron Tail. Becomes Max Phantasm during Dynamax, lowering the opposing team's Defense stat by 1 stage. |
---|---|
Rock Slide | An alternative coverage move that can replace Iron Tail. Synergizes well with Earthquake. |
Close Combat | An alternative covrage move that can replace Iron Tail. Becomes Max Knuckle during Dynamax, boosting Haxorus and its team's Attack stat by 1 stage. |
Haxorus is a powerful physical attacker that can further boost its Attack with Dragon Dance or Swords Dance.
This makes it one of the best setup sweepers in the current metagame, although its odd base Speed stat means it's easy to outspeed.
Haxorus doesn't have any other options other than filling the role of a physical attacker, but it certainly does it well! Although you can fit it into any team, it's best used in offensive-oriented teams.
Haxorus is one of the most commonly used physical attackers for Hyper Offense teams.
A combination of excellent attack, boosting moves, and Mold Breaker allow it to easily overpower defensive Pokemon - especially ones that rely on their respective Abilities.
Lead Dynamax | Offensive Pivot | Special Attacker |
---|---|---|
Haxorus | Scizor | Ribombee |
Haxorus functions as this team's Lead Dynamax user, although it's important that you get at least one Dragon Dance up before Dynamaxing. It can then support its team by using Max Wyrmwind to lower the opposing team's Attack, Max Knuckle to boost its own team's Attack, or Max Steelspike to bolster the team's Defense.
Even with Iron Tail, Haxorus struggles against Fairy-types. Scizor makes a great partner for it, boasting a strong Technician boosted Bullet Punch. In turn, Haxorus threatens opposing Steel-types such as Heatran and Ferrothorn with Earthquake and Close Combat respectively.
Ribombee rounds off the team's coverage by providing by providing strong Fairy-type STAB. Its Fairy-typing also allows it to switch into opposing Dragon-type moves targeted at Haxorus.
Weakness |
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Despite its massive offenses, certrain Defensive Pokemon can actually shrug off its STAB and coverage. Others can even ignore its stat boosts completely!
Pokemon | Description |
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Celesteela | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Resists Haxorus' Dragon-type STAB and immune to Earthquake ・Can stall out Haxorus with a combination of Leech Seed and Protect Moveset & Best Build for Celesteela |
Corviknight | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Resists Haxorus' Dragon-type STAB and immune to Earthquake ・Boasts reliable recovery in Roost and can phase Haxorus with Whirlwind Moveset & Best Build for Corviknight |
Ferrothorn | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Resists Haxorus' Dragon-type STAB ・Can stall out Haxorus with a combination of Leech Seed and Iron Barbs residual damage Moveset & Best Build for Ferrothorn |
Quagsire | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Ignores Haxorus' stat boosts with its Unaware Ability ・Can burn Haxorus with Scald ・Boasts reliable recovery in Recover Moveset & Best Build for Quagsire |
Haxorus doesn't have great defenses and is easily worn down by even weaker hits.
Unfortunately for the Axe Jaw Pokemon, the current metagame has a plethora of physical and special attackers that boasts super effective moves and naturally outspeed it.
Pokemon | Description |
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Dragapult | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can use Dragon Darts to break Haxorus' Focus Sash ・Naturally outspeeds Haxorus and can KO with Outrage or Draco Meteor Moveset & Best Build for Dragapult |
Tapu Fini | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Boasts great defenses, neutrality to Steel-type moves, and immune to Haxorus' Dragon-type STAB ・Its Misty Surge Ability sets up Misty Terrain, which halves the damage of Dragon-type moves Moveset & Best Build for Tapu Fini |
Garchomp | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Naturally outspeeds Haxorus and can KO with Outrage Moveset & Best Build for Garchomp |
Mamoswine | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Can use Ice Shard to outspeed Haxorus Moveset & Best Build for Mamoswine |
All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle
Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides | |||||
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Tier List | Best Builds | Series 10 List of Contenders | |||
Doubles Tier List | Team Building | Rental Teams |
Haxorus - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
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Wait, Iron Tail isn’t Haxorus’s only move to deal with Fairies. It can learn Poison Jab, while less powerful is WAY more reliable.