With the Community Day exclusive attack Breaking Swipe, Haxorus has broken out of just being a Master League Pokemon and now threatens the Great League and Ultra League. While Breaking Swipe’s Atk debuff helps Haxorus have passable bulk in the CP restricted Leagues, it still has some bulk issues. In this guide, the Haxorus PvP IV Deep Dive, Haxorus’ most significant stat checks and related PvP IVs are highlighted for the Great League. Doubling down on bulk appears to be solid, but there are some juicy Atk Breakpoints to think about.
Note: this guide discusses the hidden true stats of Pokemon in Pokemon GO. In order to see these true stats you need to use an IV checking app (CalcyIV, Pokegenie) or an IV checking website (GOStadium, PvPIVs.com, or PvPoke itself). To make things simple, the guide also features standard PvP IV tables.
If you’re not familiar with PvP IVs, check out this PvP IVs Simplified video:
PvP IV Tables
The tables linked below feature the IV spreads with a hyperlinked table that meet some of the more important stat checks highlighted in the article. It’s important to review the guide itself to make sure you’re getting what you want out of your Haxorus. For example, you may want a slightly higher Def weight for more consistency and you can thrift a little bit on the HP.
GL High Bulk (95.8 Def, 103 HP)
GL Atk/HP (152.68 Atk, 103 HP)
- 153.01 covers Quagsire (1-1)
- 153.51 covers 127.7 Def Galarian Stunfisk (152.68 is based on Rank 1)
- 154.31 covers high Def Sableye (2/15/15)
Great League Haxorus
With ~1500 stat product (near Haunter levels of “bulk”) Haxorus wants every bit of Def and HP it can get. A bulk focused Haxorus will want at least 95.8 Def to help avoid a Lickitung Breakpoint (based on Raid IVs, Rank 1 Lickitung requires 95.04 Def), which can enable the 1-2 (you spend 1 shield, they spend 2) and makes the 1-1 more consistent. All Haxorus will want as much HP as possible, with 103 HP being a soft minimum. 104 HP may enable the Noctowl 0-0, but it can be IV dependent (Noctowl enjoys being Atk weighted).
Haxorus also has some Atk Breakpoints it can take advantage of, but achieving them, the Def BP, and the HP check is impossible. In general, it appears sacrificing Def instead of HP has less consequences, as Breaking Swipe can make up for lost Def.
The Atk Breakpoints are (based on Rank 1 IVs, unless stated otherwise):
- 150.3, Umbreon 0-0 & 1-2
- 152.51, Lickitung (no matchup changes)
- 152.68, Galarian Stunfisk 3rd Rock Slide avoid
- Based on Rank 1 (0/12/15, 127 Def)
- 153.51 for the Rank 2 (127.7 Def)
- 155.18 for the Rank 3 (129.1 Def)
- Ironically, 155.15 Atk is the limit to maintain 103 HP
- 153.01, Quagsire 1-1
- 154.31, Sableye 2-2
- Based on 2/15/15 (125.3 Def), so your Atk could reasonably be a bit lower
Ultra League Haxorus
Due to time restraints, we weren’t able to fully identify Haxorus’ stat checks for the Ultra League. In our brief foray though, it didn’t appear there was anything significant for Atk. Therefore, focusing on Bulk/Stat Product should suffice. As always, it could be worthwhile to hold onto stat weighted iterations that hit close to 2500 just in case.
Wrap Up
Haxorus’ Dragon-type + Counter access + unique coverage has always been sought after in the Great League and Ultra League. Haxorus has always missed the mark as it’s extremely fragile in these leagues. With Breaking Swipe, Haxorus has finally been able to break out of the Master League. It’ll be interesting to see how well Haxorus performs in the months to come. As it stands, it looks decent, but it could play a bit too fragile or a smidge too strong with the speed, coverage, and debuffs.
