Xatu
Mystic Pokémon
It’s said that while this Pokémon has the power to predict the future, it’s not powerful enough to change the future it sees.
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Competitive
Strategy Overview
Access to Magic Bounce lets Xatu block entry hazards from defensive Stealth Rock users, mainly the omnipresent Registeel as well as Bronzong. While Xatu struggles to switch directly into offensive hazard setters like Metagross and Roserade due to mediocre bulk, it still beats them one-on-one and forces prediction with the threat of Magic Bounce. Xatu's fantastic movepool also gives it the option to further support its team with U-turn or pose a massive threat to passive teams with Calm Mind in its last moveslot. However, Xatu is very matchup reliant. It fails to consistently beat offensive hazard setters, and its mediocre stats and defensive typing prevent it from threatening offensive teams with Calm Mind, meaning it'll only truly excel against balance teams with Registeel or Bronzong as their Stealth Rock user or against passive defensive teams lacking an Unaware user when running Calm Mind. Xatu is exploitable as well; many common Pokemon such as Zygarde-10%, Ninetales, Barbaracle, and Houndoom set up on it for free, and Pursuit users like Sneasel and Drapion can remove it, making it much easier for the opponent to set up Stealth Rock. It also has competition with Espeon, which offers a much more formidable offensive presence, and with other Defog users. For example, Defog Magic Guard Sigilyph beats Registeel and Bronzong lacking Gyro Ball nearly as well as Xatu while having better stats all around, and other Defog users such as Mandibuzz trade the ability to excel against Registeel for a much more impressive defensive presence and typing.
Common Teammates
Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc