Pokémon Baxcalibur

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Baxcalibur

Base Stats: 115 HP / 145 Attack / 92 Defense / 75 Special Attack / 86 Special Defense / 87 Speed
Abilities: Thermal Exchange | Ice Body (H)

Notable Moves:
- Glaive Rush
- Icicle Crash
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Thunder Fang
- Freeze-Dry
- Aqua Tail
- Tera Blast

All Moves

By Level-Up:
[Evo] Glaive Rush
[1] Snowscape
[1] Breaking Swipe
[1] Dragon Tail
[1] Ice Shard
[1] Tackle
[1] Leer
[6] Icy WInd
[12] Dragon Breath
[18] Focus Energy
[24] Bite
[29] Ice Fang
[35] Dragon Claw
[42] Take Down
[48] Ice Beam
[55] Crunch
[62] Icicle Crash

By TM:
[TM001] Take Down
[TM006] Scary Face
[TM007] Protect
[TM009] Thunder Fang
[TM010] Ice Fang
[TM025] Facade
[TM027] Aerial Ace
[TM028] Bulldoze
[TM034] Icy Wind
[TM044] Dragon Tail
[TM046] Avalanche
[TM047] Endure
[TM050] Rain Dance
[TM052] Snowscape
[TM055] Dig
[TM057] False Swipe
[TM058] Brick Break
[TM059] Zen Headbutt
[TM066] Body Slam
[TM070] Sleep Talk
[TM078] Dragon Claw
[TM084] Stomping Tantrum
[TM085] Rest
[TM088] Swords Dance
[TM089] Body Press
[TM099] Iron Head
[TM100] Dragon Dance
[TM103] Substitute
[TM108] Crunch
[TM115] Dragon Pulse
[TM130] Helping Hand
[TM135] Ice Beam
[TM143] Blizzard
[TM149] Earthquake
[TM152] Giga Impact
[TM156] Outrage
[TM163] Hyper Beam
[TM169] Draco Meteor
[TM171] Tera Blast

Egg Moves:
Icicle Spear
Aqua Tail
Dragon Rush
Freeze-Dry

New Ability:

Thermal Exchange: Boosts Baxcalibur's Attack by one stage every time it is hit with a Fire-type move. Baxcalibur cannot be burned.

New Move:

Glaive Rush

120 BP
100% Accuracy
8 PP

The user throws its entire body into a reckless charge. Attacks from opposing Pokemon during the next turn cannot miss and will inflict double damage.

Pros:
- Dragon / Ice is a powerful offensive typing, Ice in particular hits many things super effectively while Dragon offers strong neutral coverage
- Baxcalibur boasts immense 145 Attack, which allows it to hit extremely hard. Can wallbreak well with high powered moves coming off its nuclear Attack stat.
- Good physical movepool, with a spammable Dragon STAB as a signature move in Glaive Rush, which is strong as Outrage but doesn't lock Baxcalibur in. Granted, it has a drawback with leaving Baxcalibur more vulnerable to attacks afterwards, but that is a better exchange than what happens with Outrage. Also has Ice STAB as well as coverage in Earthquake, priority in Ice Shard, and a few niche coverage options at its disposal.
- Can boost with Dragon Dance as well to amp its power and speed to great levels to allow it to sweep.
- Thermal Exchange is a wonderful ability to have on Baxcalibur, making it immune to burns, crucial for a physical sweeper and wallbreaker, while also allowing it to bait a Fire-type move and boost its power even more: fitting for Choice sets.
- Has good bulk to be a setup sweeper: 115 HP is great combined with overall good defensive stats help it take some hits. Can take hits even better under a snowstorm if used on a snow team with snow boosting its defensive stats, and Aurora Veil can also supplement Baxcalibur's ability to take hits and boost.

Cons:
- 87 Speed, while not terrible, is a tad underwhelming. Renders it on the slower end and even with Dragon Dance, generally leads it to be outsped by the faster Pokemon of the lot, especially faster Dragons such as Garchomp, Salamence, or Hydreigon.
- Ice is a typing that defensively leaves Baxcalibur with exploitable weaknesses: it is worn down quickly by Stealth Rock and is also weak to Technician boosted priority moves from Breloom and Scizor, both of whom can revenge kill Baxcalibur easily after some damage.
- Glaive Rush is a relatively spammable move, but its downside renders Baxcalibur extremely vulnerable to getting revenge killed, particularly on Choice sets.

Terastal Potential:
- Baxcalibur can Terastalize into either of its own types to boost the power of its STABs even further and enhance its nuking potential. Tera-Dragon Baxcalibur loses the exploitable weaknesses of Ice (and still keeping STAB on Icicle Crash) while also giving it an extremely nuclear powered Glaive Rush that can annihilate anything that does not resist it. Contrarily, Tera-Ice Baxcalibur gets a stronger Icicle Crash, which in turn gets more super effective coverage than Glaive Rush.
- Tera-Ground or Tera-Steel Baxcalibur in tandem with a coverage move can toy with Baxcalibur's potential switch-ins such as Tinkaton (if it sees any use in OU that is). Tera-Electric Baxcalibur with Thunder Fang can in rare cases toy with Azumarill.

Potential Sets:
Dragon Dance
Baxcalibur @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability: Thermal Exchange
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Glaive Rush
- Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
- Earthquake

The bread and butter set for Baxcalibur will be that of a Dragon Dance sweeper. A straightforward sweeper, Baxcalibur's job is to boost its power and speed with Dragon Dance, then go for the sweep with hard hitting STABs and coverage in Earthquake. Baxcalibur's solid natural bulk helps it get some boosts, especially if you're using it in a snow team with Aurora Veil. Glaive Rush is a high powered Dragon STAB that hits extremely hard coming from a boosted Baxcalibur, especially off of its high natural Attack stat. Icicle Crash is a second STAB that serves as Ice STAB: it can hit more things super effectively, and also serve as a strong neutral attack against most Fairy-types barring Azumarill. The flinch chance can also come in handy at times. Alternatively, Icicle Spear can give Baxcalibur a way to bypass Focus Sash users and Substitute users. Earthquake functions as coverage, especially against Steel-types such as Bisharp/Kingambit and Magnezone. All in all, a relatively straightforward set: set up and sweep, and this will likely be the main use for Baxcalibur in the OU metagame.

Choice Band
Baxcalibur @ Choice Band
Ability: Thermal Exchange
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Glaive Rush
- Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

With Baxcalibur's high natural Attack, it can also be an immediate wallbreaker with Choice Band to nuke stuff off the bat. Glaive Rush coming off of banded 145 Attack will nuke anything that does not resist it, and of course, Icicle Crash is a strong second STAB. Icicle Spear can be a Substitute/Focus Sash breaker. Earthquake functions as coverage against Steel-types. As the final move on this set, Baxcalibur can use Ice Shard as a priority move to revenge kill fast targets. Chief among them are faster Dragon-types such as the ever-prevalent Dragapult and Garchomp, as well as the less common Salamence and Hydreigon.

Choice Scarf
Baxcalibur @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thermal Exchange
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Glaive Rush
- Icicle Crash / Icicle Spear
- Earthquake
- Iron Head / Thunder Fang

Baxcalibur is honestly likely a lesser choice for a Choice Scarf user than, say, Garchomp or Salamence who will probably be better choices for this particular role due to their superior Speed. But Baxcalibur can still pull this off with a few advantages. First, it can boost its power by switching into a Fire-type move thanks to Thermal Exchange, allowing it to become a hard hitting revenge killer. Second, it also possesses a more spammable STAB in Glaive Rush that does not lock Baxcalibur in like Outrage does. The moveset is fairly simple and easy to understand, with Glaive Rush and either Icicle Crash or Icicle Spear as STAB that either hits hard, or hits with a flinch chance or is a multi-hit move. Earthquake functions as coverage, while Iron Head can hit Fairy-types, or if you're really feeling like it, Thunder Fang can be a niche coverage option to hit Azumarill harder than any of Baxcalibur's other moves.



All in all, feast your eyes on Gen 9's newest pseudo-legendary member. A relatively straightforward and simple Pokemon, albeit highly effective, Baxcalibur has all the tools it needs to be a formidable offensive threat. Its stat spread is lopsided and its movepool makes it fairly one-track, but it does its jobs as a wallbreaker and sweeper and can do them very efficiently while also proving a formidable monster thanks to its excellent STAB combination, access to great coverage, and superb Attack and decent Speed to become a powerhouse. Its good bulk also helps it take the odd hit in allowing it to set up as a sweeper. It also has some pretty unique tools: its signature move is as strong as Outrage but significantly more spammable and with a less penalizing drawback, while its Ice STAB helps a lot with either Icicle Crash or Icicle Spear as useful options. Frankly, Baxcalibur is shaping up to be akin to Kyurem-B, with many similar tools at its disposal to be the kind of threat Kyurem-B was in Gen 8 (nah we're not talking Gen 5-7 Kyurem-B), perhaps not as blatantly broken though, but in some ways more effective thanks to its better array of moves at its disposal.

Anyway, what do you think of our newest pseudo-legendary? Does this Dragon/Ice monster have what it takes to be a top threat in the OU metagame? Do you think it could end up broken, or do you think its flaws will render it ultimately manageable in the long term? Feel free to discuss!

 

[Magcargo]

I'm thinking this mon could make a good combo with Slowking once the meta settles a bit. Though I think Slowking is a bit sketch atm since it is threatened by almost everything and many of the mons that threaten it also have good to neutral matchups w/ Baxcalibur like Flutter Mane, Roaring Moon, etc. Still, since Slowking is able to lure these in really well, it can cripple them with Thunder Wave very easily, so its still good support for Baxcalibur, even if its not necessarily via Chilly Reception + Future Sight like I initially thought.

I like this mon more than Kyurem-B overall since it gets a lot of really good moves like Icicle Crash, Glaive Rush, and Earthquake that Kyurem-B wishes it had and its stat spread is arguably more optimized than Kyurem-B even if it is worse in almost every area. Its ability is fantastic too. However, I think the current Speed and Power level of the metagame is such that Baxcalibur will be struggling to to sweep even if it gets a Dragon Dance. Too many big threats like Flutter Mane, Roaring Moon, Iron Valiant, etc. are way too fast, espicially with a Booster energy, making it hard for Baxcalibur to find a safe oppurtunity to sweep. Faster Ice-types, like Chien-Pao and to a lesser extent, Iron Bundle, also might overshadow it since their initial speed advantage is very crucial in allowing them to revenge kill other fast Pokemon and have comparable power. I think Baxcalibur will shine once these Pokemon leave the meta.

 

[Rasar]

I really like using electric type Tera Blast on Baxcalibur. Gives it the Boltbeam combo which is especially useful against Toxapex and Corviknight.

 

[RBYer]

I think if it's going to find a niche, it's going to be due to its bulkiness because it just is kind of slow.

Surviving basically anything and getting off the 2nd Dragon Dance might be the key. This kind of strategy also would have good synergy with Glaive Rush, being able to OHKO almost anything.

As such, maybe getting away from lots of Attack EVs and especially Life Orb seem like maybe where it can find some use in OU but I really just don't know if it has what it takes.

 

[gvon]

I love baxcaliber but how come outrage isn't even an option over glaive rush? I know it was mentioned but I honestly feel way better locking myself into outrage for 2 or 3 turns than halving my bulk when I might need him to take a hit while attacking

 

[furyofyuriy]

I love baxcaliber but how come outrage isn't even an option over glaive rush? I know it was mentioned but I honestly feel way better locking myself into outrage for 2 or 3 turns than halving my bulk when I might need him to take a hit while attacking

My best answer to that would be two reasons from one cause: Fairy type. I think in this gen in particular, choice sets have to be more wary of random tera types being splashed onto mons. Namely, locking themselves into a type that has an immunity too said type. Outrage hits hard and is a solid move no doubt, but Ice hits more things much harder without the lock.

And if you wanna be nitpicky, Ice shard is an interesting case to be made on non choice sets as a follow up to glaive rush if something didn't die.

 

[pika pal]

How common do we expect Fire and Burns to be this gen, the latter with Scald's culling and the former simply because types are all over the place in the early experimenting time?

I feel the commonality of Fire moves, alongside other match-up considerations, could affect Baxcalibur's preferred Tera. If Fire moves are frequent for things like Gholdengo or Steel Teras, Dragon Bax loses its SR weakness, ups its main nuke, and resists Fire moves to proc the ability for throwing out nukes, which could favor immediate-power sets like Band and Scarf compared to its DD sets.

 

[furyofyuriy]

How common do we expect Fire and Burns to be this gen, the latter with Scald's culling and the former simply because types are all over the place in the early experimenting time?

I think fire is going to be extremely present this gen. Steel is the default tera type for many pokemon just to add as walls. Grass gained an absurd number of mons this gen, as well as steel. While the loss of scald will impact the number of burns we see as a whole, the status is just to valuable for many teams to pass up. So with a decrease in scald, you can expect an increase in Will-o-wisp and possibly even Lava Plume usage from Torkoal.

I should also mention that Landorus, while not in the game yet, is confirmed to have gotten Nasty plot and its new move from arceus which is essentially scald but stronger and with less accuracy.

 

[k.r.o.b.]

Loaded dice could actually be an option on this mon if it runs icicle spear and wants to go tera ice.

Btw another good option for DD set is boots. This mon is quite bulky and likes coming in at full health

 

[AKIMI JAGAMI]

What do you think of this set?
Baxcalibur Clear amulate
Ability Thermale Exchange
Nature adamant
Evs 252 atk 252 spe 4 def
Glaive rush
Icicle crash
Iron head
Dragon dance

I think that clear amulate can help him with intimidate,or stat lowers moves,that for a phisical sweeper with Dragon dance Is essential,the teratype steel can help the match whith Fairy type
Please let me know what you think about

 

[pika pal]

What do you think of this set?
Baxcalibur Clear amulate
Ability Thermale Exchange
Nature adamant
Evs 252 atk 252 spe 4 def
Glaive rush
Icicle crash
Iron head
Dragon dance

I think that clear amulate can help him with intimidate, or stat lowers moves, that for a phisical sweeper with Dragon dance Is essential,the teratype steel can help the match whith Fairy type
Please let me know what you think about

I don't think Clear Amulet is particularly important.

OU right now has very few Intimidators, and just very few stat lowering options that matter in any gen. Boosting Sweepers are typically dealt with by mons that stop them from boosting or can handle them even after a Boost such as Unaware mons or certain Bulky/Faster mons like Dragapault, Scarfers, etc. Not to mention Clear Amulet essentially only benefits you if the opponent is using those methods and otherwise is an empty item slot, compared to a Choice Item, Leftovers, or Heavy Duty Boots which are always beneficial in any match-up.

I also don't know about the Steel Tera Type. You're left utterly Walled by Steel Pokemon with that coverage compared to something such as Tera Electric to Blast Corviknight or Tera Ghost which will still have strong neutral coverage.

 

[Sonikgav]

I actually think Amulet is useful due to Parting Shot more than Intimidate at this point, just possibly not here.

 

[Miscellaneous9999]

Thermal exchange is a great ability but it is slightly awkward to use since it doesn't give a fire resistance meaning that even with baxcaliburs good bulk you don't really want to switch into neutral fire attacks too often

 

[Dreadfury]

I've been toying with this set a bit and I think this is Bax's best set currently. I dub it "Bax Stabbeth":

Baxcalibur @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Shard
- Glaive Rush
- Icicle Spear

This thing's Speed tier is awkward enough that I feel like running Adamant is generally the better course of action; Baxcalibur's natural bulk is very good, so it has plenty of opportunities to set up an SD and fire off some very strong attacks.

You could run Boots instead of Loaded Dice depending on your hazard control/your Gholdengo matchup, but I prefer Dice to give this guy a very strong Ice STAB that eats Sashes, Sturdy, and Subs with ease. At +2 with Tera-Ice this thing kills stuff it has absolutely no business killing, although it struggles immensely with Skeledirge and Dondozo. Tera-Ice lets it always OHKO Max-HP Annihilape from full after Bax SDs and Ape Bulks Up, since Loaded Dice guarantees a minimum of four Icicle Spear hits. Against offense, this set isn't dead weight because +2 Ice Shard hits very hard.

This mon is clearly good, but it's really living in the shadow of many other better DD users right now.

 

[Zelostar]

Rotor wash is on the rise and most sets I've seen are protect, wisp, hydro, and volt switch, which means free dragon dances for Baxcalibur. I'm a fan of Tera elec so even the rarer paralysis threat can be ignored.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Been using Baxcalibur with Weakness Policy and screens and it literally obliterates everything. It loves to Terastylize because it's Ice typing really undermines it's good bulk and makes it that it has a Stealth Rock weakness. Outside of team support though, it underperforms due to it being kind of slow, has many weaknesses and the drawbacks of its signature move.

 

[Prof. Hale]

I forewent power for priority on my set. Running Ice Shard has helped with Murkrow, Garchomp, and Dragonite who try to set up and I'm currently running Expert Belt to boosr SE hits, but will probably switch it up for something non-choice. (Meowscarada and Armarouge took those).

 

[GaileOxstain]

Loaded dice could actually be an option on this mon if it runs icicle spear and wants to go tera ice.

Btw another good option for DD set is boots. This mon is quite bulky and likes coming in at full health

If this thing ever gets Scale Shot through a potential future move tutor I can definitely see that happening. But for now Icicle Crash is the safer option.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Baxcalibur @ Life Orb
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SpA/252 Spe
Naive/Rash Nature
-Glaive Rush
-Ice Beam/Blizzard
-Tera Blast
-Freeze Dry

I have been using this mixed Baxcalibur and it is a lot better than I realized. Freeze Dry surprises a lot of its common switchins like Dondozo and Azumarill. Glaive Rush still hits pretty hard without investment and a life orb. Fire Tera Blast can lure in Scizor and Goldengo and OHKO them and can more easily take advantage of Thermal Exchange.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Baxcalibur @ Life Orb
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SpA/252 Spe
Naive/Rash Nature
-Glaive Rush
-Ice Beam/Blizzard
-Tera Blast
-Freeze Dry

I have been using this mixed Baxcalibur and it is a lot better than I realized. Freeze Dry surprises a lot of its common switchins like Dondozo and Azumarill. Glaive Rush still hits pretty hard without investment and a life orb. Fire Tera Blast can lure in Scizor and Goldengo and OHKO them and can more easily take advantage of Thermal Exchange.

Bax has a poor speed tier though, and a terrible defensive typing without recovery (its weak to steel, fighting, fairy, rock and dragon). In such an offensive meta, idk if its a good idea to not have DD.

 

[Sheerluck Holmes]

Bax has a poor speed tier though, and a terrible defensive typing without recovery (its weak to steel, fighting, fairy, rock and dragon). In such an offensive meta, idk if its a good idea to not have DD.

That’s because that Baxcalibur set is a wallbreaker, not a sweeper. It punches holes so its teammates can sweep.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Bax has a poor speed tier though, and a terrible defensive typing without recovery (its weak to steel, fighting, fairy, rock and dragon). In such an offensive meta, idk if its a good idea to not have DD.

It still outspeeds close to 2/3 of the metagame and Speed ties with unboosted Great Tusk. It also has pretty good bulk and the Tera Typing allows it to lure and beat many of top threats