Haxorus
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
With a good moveset and an Attack stat rivaling that of Rayquaza, Haxorus is a great choice for a Dragon attacker. Its performance is along the lines of many other top-tier non Shadow Dragons such as Palkia and Salamence. Although Haxorus falls behind in comparison to the heavy hitting Shadow Dragon-types, it's nonetheless a great budget option for players who participated in its Community Day.
Offense
- Dragon Tail is basically the only Quick Move worthwhile on offense, and it should pair with Breaking Swipe*.
- Dragon Claw is slightly worse than Breaking Swipe, but a viable option nonetheless.
- Counter is a good move, but it lacks STAB and synergy on Haxorus
- Surf, Night Slash, and Earthquake have no real utility on Haxorus.
Defense
- Dragon Tail is fantastic on Defense, but it's also very predictable and easy to deal with given the right counters.
- Counter is a bit weaker, but is just as viable as Dragon Tail due to hitting Steel Types harder.
- Breaking Swipe is virtually undodgeable, though it is rather weak.
- Dragon Claw is a 3-bar move that hits hard and is narrowly resisted. It's a wonderful move on defense!
- Night Slash is similar to Dragon Claw, and adds a different resistance profile. Though both are walled by Fairy Types!
- Surf is a reasonable move that pairs well with Haxorus' Fast Moves to make Haxorus hard to wall. Being 2-bar does slow it down a bit, though.
- Earthquake is powerful, but Haxorus is too frail to be able to use it reliably on defense. Though it does offer counter-coverage against Steel Types.
Counter is one of the best fast moves in the game, provides wide coverage, but lacks STAB. Dragon Tail deals high STAB damage and offers Dragon-type coverage, but sports only average energy gains.
Breaking Swipe is an incredible Charged Attack - it Dragon Claw's STAB, decent damage and low cost, but also comes with a guaranteed Attack debuff. By extension, Dragon Claw is strictly inferior to Breaking Swipe. Night Slash falls behind in raw damage output, and isn't particularly strong, but provides Dark-type coverage and a small chance to proc a major ATK boost. Surf is a respectably efficient charge move that can be used frequently, though it doesn't always synergize well with Haxorus. Earthquake costs the most amount of energy by a large margin, and isn't recommended for this reason, though its valuable coverage and high damage threat are still appealing.
Haxorus is a Dragon-type with a very high ATK stat, which results in poor bulk in this league. While its moveset is fast and can easily pressure shields, the extreme fragility is often enough for Haxorus to faint before claiming any wins. It should also be noted that with the exception of Earthquake, the ubiquitous Azumarill resists every move that Haxorus can learn. The addition of Breaking Swipe to its movepool may allow Haxorus to find place in certain rulesets.
