Is Xerneas good in Pokemon GO?

Pokemon fans are familiar with the sheer power of Xerneas in the main series games, but will it be as dominant in Pokemon GO?

Xerneas was recently released in the Luminous Legends X event as the first Fairy legendary in the game. It made a big name for itself in the main series games (and VGC 2019 for sure) due to its move, Geomancy. This phenomenal attack doubled Xerneas’ Special Attack, Special Defense and Speed, albeit needing a turn after to charge. Niantic hasn’t added this move though. So, will Xerneas remain good without its main tactic?

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of the writer.

Is Xerneas good in Pokemon GO?

Concerning Xerneas in Pokemon GO, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that its stats look strong. It has 250 Attack, which puts it ahead of some of the more powerful fairies like Gardevoir (still behind Mega Gardevoir by a quite a bit though).

Xerneas’ stamina is also quite good. 246 Stamina is enough to outlast the majority of opponents Xerneas would face. In the main series games, Xernas has a surprisingly high HP stat, so it was nice to see that represented by Niantic. It could be a decent Gym defense option with this amount of health.

Now here's the bad news: it’s movepool is pretty disappointing. Xerneas has one glaring flaw in Pokemon GO: a lack of a fast Fairy-type move. Since the legendary deer doesn’t learn Charm in the main series games, Niantic didn’t allow it to learn the move here either. This means that Xerneas has to rely on Zen Headbutt and, believe it or not, Tackle, for fast damage.

In terms of charge moves, Xerneas has a nice selection of high DPS attacks. It was really sad to see that Xerneas didn’t get access to Dazzling Gleam though. That could have been a reliable move that only requires 50 energy, whereas Moonblast needs the entire bar to fill before being used. The other charge moves Xerneas can use are Giga Impact, Thunder, Close Combat and Megahorn.

Overall, Xerneas is a decent Pokemon, but certainly not the best Fairy-type. Right now, it looks like it will be outclassed by the likes of Gardevoir and Togekiss. Trainers who are serious about PvP modes like the Ultra League probably won’t be making too much use of the Pokemon X mascot.

These trainers might want to think about keeping a Xerneas or two around, however. There is a possibility that Niantic will give Xerneas a Fairy-type fast move in the future, whether that is Charm, or if they add another move like Fairy Wind or Baby-Doll Eyes. If this ends up happening, Xerneas will see a big jump in viability.