In-battle formes
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| HP: | 71 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Attack: | 120 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Defense: | 95 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Atk: | 120 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sp. Def: | 95 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed: | 99 |
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Strategies
- en
Written by Lotus
Overview
- Genesect, like many Steel-types, struggles to justify its place on many teams due to an extreme level of competition it faces with better Steel-types. Its nearly unparalleled movepool and ability to run multiple offensive sets are not sufficient to make Genesect worth using due to its unreliability as a check to Xerneas and inconsistent damage output that is reliant on Download.
- Genesect requires its team to have extra security against Xerneas as well as other common threats like Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh that can pivot into Genesect. Burdening the team to deal with these threats further diminishes Genesect's viability as an offensive Pokemon and decreases the number of sets that Genesect can opt to use to benefit its teammates in return.
- As a pivot, Genesect can force switches quite well and thus function as an offensive pivot, but it lacks much damage output against defensive teams without a beneficial Download boost and a boosting item despite the multiple coverage moves it can run, while running dedicated sets that aim to wallbreak will make it helpless against offensive teams due to its middling Speed and bulk.
- Many Pokemon in Ubers can pose immediate danger to Genesect once it makes a single misprediction. All of these negatives combine to invalidate all of Genesect's sets other than Choice Band, which it can run in an attempt to improve its role as a pivot by strengthening U-turn to punish switches harder, justify Extreme Speed to maintain its usefulness against offensive teams, and OHKO Xerneas in a one-on-one situation after Stealth Rock damage without relying on Download.
- Even a pivoting set using Choice Band faces competition with other pivots like Mega Scizor and Magearna. Mega Scizor has a much better chance to take on Geomancy Xerneas and its access to recovery enables it to switch into support Arceus formes as well, while Magearna, though it may suffer from its inability to pivot against Ground-types, is one of the best checks to Xerneas and checks other dangerous Pokemon like Yveltal.
Choice Band
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Moves
- U-turn allows Genesect to generate momentum and pivot out of unfavorable matchups against threats it draws in. With Choice Band and an Attack boost from Download, U-turn becomes powerful enough to OHKO offensive Primal Kyogre and deals a decent amount of damage even to some resisted foes.
- Iron Head threatens Fairy-types and can outright OHKO Choice Scarf Xerneas while having a good chance to remove Geomancy Xerneas after Stealth Rock damage.
- Extreme Speed gives Genesect valuable utility in revenge killing, and it does sufficient damage to pick off weakened, faster foes at reasonable health thanks to Choice Band and Download.
- While Explosion results in Genesect's removal, it can be used to take down a persistent switch-in and maintain momentum. Explosion is one of the few ways Genesect can take down Ho-Oh without relying on Stealth Rock and is strong enough to have a chance to OHKO Mild Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock damage and, with an Attack boost from Download, can even outright remove a defensive variant. Choice Band-boosted Explosion with the appropriate Download boost can also outright OHKO maximum HP support Arceus formes.
Set Details
- The given EV spread is optimal for Genesect's role, maximizing its damage output and Speed as a physical pivot holding a Choice Band.
- Genesect using Extreme Speed is only legal with a Hasty nature and Shiny forme. While this hinders Genesect's ability to check Extreme Killer Arceus, it makes Genesect faster than maximum Speed base 90 Pokemon and neutral-natured base 99 Speed Pokemon like Xerneas and Yveltal with maximum Speed investment.
- Download gives Genesect a boost in Attack or Special Attack depending on the foe's defensive stats when Genesect switches in.
- Choice Band gives Genesect a needed reinforcement in damage output, and it allows Genesect to do formidable damage when combined with Download.
Usage Tips
- Genesect struggles to switch into most offensive foes despite its good defensive typing. At best, it can pivot into attacks from Choice Scarf Xerneas lacking Hidden Power Fire and resisted Judgment from Arceus formes once or twice; however, even a small amount of prior damage will make it fall to +2 Moonblast from Geomancy Xerneas. This means Genesect has to choose between relying on almost always switching in unharmed to take on Xerneas lacking coverage to hit Steel-types or focus more on functioning as a pivot while getting slowly worn down.
- Though Genesect will mostly use U-turn to generate momentum and prevent many Pokemon it invites in from easily taking advantage of it, it will have to resort locking itself into different moves depending on the situation. Iron Head can be used to threaten Fairy-types and pressure slower teams, as it does decent damage with Choice Band and an Attack boost from Download. Weakened setup sweepers should be taken out with Extreme Speed, and it can also be used to score a possible KO on defensive Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock. If Genesect is in a horrendous matchup, has to lure and remove Ho-Oh or a support Arceus forme, or has to revenge kill slower, healthy foes, such as Swords Dance-boosted Primal Groudon and Extreme Killer Arceus, using Explosion will be a worthwhile decision, though it is possible that a Ghost- or Steel-type Pokemon may pivot into Genesect with an intent to take a weak hit from its other moves.
- Think twice before attempting to send Genesect in against offensive teams to revenge kill a foe with Extreme Speed. Though Extreme Speed may be powerful enough to take out frail sweepers, it may lack sufficient power to land a KO without Download boosting Genesect's Attack. Genesect locked into Extreme Speed is also very exploitable, as it invites threats like Necrozma-DM and Marshadow to take advantage of it, while bulkier setup sweepers like Primal Groudon and Zygarde can set up on it as well. Mega Gengar is another concerning foe when Genesect is about to lock itself into Extreme Speed, as Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag and immunity to Extreme Speed means Genesect will be hopelessly trapped.
Team Options
- A good number of Pokemon massively benefit from Genesect's ability to create ideal matchups. Primal Kyogre can gain an opportunity to safely switch in through Genesect's U-turn and threaten Primal Groudon, Ho-Oh, or a physically defensive foe. Primal Groudon, Ho-Oh, and Arceus-Ground can be pivoted into Steel-types switching into Genesect.
- Primal Groudon also provides Genesect's team with more security against Xerneas by being a reliable check, provides Stealth Rock support to keep Ho-Oh at bay, manages problematic Steel-types, and defeats physically defensive foes with Overheat or Swords Dance-boosted attacks without forcing Genesect to use Explosion to bypass them. In return, Genesect can switch into Toxic for Primal Groudon.
- Various support Arceus formes can justify running Stealth Rock to prevent Ho-Oh from liberally switching into Genesect, provide a good defensive presence to check dangerous foes in the event where Genesect locks itself into a poor move, and benefit from Genesect drawing in and removing Ho-Oh with Explosion if they can't pressure Ho-Oh carrying Defog. Should they be in a bad matchup against an opposing support Arceus forme, Genesect can switch into Toxic and threaten to 2HKO the foe using Iron Head with the appropriate Download boost or net a surprise KO with Explosion.
- Mega Salamence and defensive Zygarde check to Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh. Mega Salamence can benefit from the pressure that Genesect applies on Fairy-types and certain Steel-types, and defensive Zygarde can spread paralysis with Glare to make up for Genesect's average Speed.
- Defog users like Giratina-O and Ho-Oh can prevent Genesect from getting worn down by entry hazards and threaten certain Primal Groudon variants, and Genesect can create a favorable matchup for them to freely spread status or attack by pivoting into them with U-turn.
Other Options
- Genesect has an incredible movepool with coverage moves that it can theoretically use to improve its matchup against almost the entirety of the tier. However, any special coverage move will need a favorable boost from Download to be effective, and special variants of Genesect holding items like Choice Specs or a Z-Crystal are less effective as a pivot due to U-turn's significantly lower damage output, meaning it will mostly be forced to make a correct prediction unlike when it holds a Choice Band and can justify using U-turn more freely when predictions become difficult.
- Ice Beam can pressure Giratina-O and OHKO Zygarde and Mega Salamence, and Flamethrower or Blaze Kick can break through Steel-types more quickly. These moves, unfortunately, cannot be justified on the Choice Band set, as they often end up being additional dangerous moves to be locked into.
- A Choice Scarf set can make Genesect an effective revenge killer against offensive teams, but it is extremely reliant on Download to take down bulky foes and struggles to punish its checks due to its weak U-turn.
Checks and Counters
Ho-Oh: Ho-Oh's heavy resistance to U-turn, resistance to Iron Head, Regenerator, and ability to OHKO Genesect with Sacred Fire make it an effective switch-in to Genesect that forces it to sacrifice itself with Explosion to KO Ho-Oh.
Toxapex: Toxapex is a good switch-in to Genesect for similar reasons as Ho-Oh, and it can punish Genesect with Rocky Helmet damage while also setting Toxic Spikes to cripple Genesect's team.
Primal Groudon: While it does not boast Ho-Oh's level of longevity and is also vulnerable to a well-timed Explosion from Genesect, Primal Groudon can easily switch into Genesect for similar reasons as Ho-Oh and set Stealth Rock, spread status, or throw a heavy blow at the switch-in.
Steel-types: All of Genesect's most common moves are resisted by Steel, giving it a hard time beating Steel-types on its own and forcing it to pivot into teammates that can beat them with U-turn. Specific Steel-types like Skarmory and Celesteela are more problematic due to their high physical bulk and access to recovery.
Ghost-types: Ghost-types resist U-turn, can exploit Genesect locked into Extreme Speed, and can even switch into Explosion, making Genesect's attempt to take down a foe with itself go to a complete waste. Prominent Ghost-types like Mega Gengar, Marshadow, and Giratina-O dislike being hit by Iron Head upon switching in, however.
Faster Foes: Genesect's rather poor bulk leaves it vulnerable to getting revenge killed by faster foes like Mega Gengar, offensive Arceus formes, and Choice Scarf users like Yveltal.
