Welcome once again to Pokemon of the Week. This week we'll be taking a look at a Pokemon that defines the term "power creep", and one that many expected would be banned but wasn't. This week, we'll be taking a look at Haxorus

Those axes on Haxorus's jaw aren't there just for show, they're there to slice your head off (admittedly awkwardly). When we found out about Haxorus's bases stats and pure Dragon typing, a lot of us were convinced that it would not be able to remain in OU. A base Attack of 147, a number so high that nothing in the 4th gen OU tier came close to rivaling it, as well as access to both Dragon Dance and Swords Dance to boost this even further, it seemed inevitable that all our teams would fall to this beast.

But then... the competitive scene came and saw very little use of Haxorus at first. Spamming those powerful Outrages often came at a heavy price, and it became immediately clear that Haxorus was lacking something that most Dragons take for granted: a Fire type attack to deal with Steel types.

With the addition of Black2 and White2 tutors, however, Haxorus now has Superpower. Add in Swords Dance, and Haxorus is now capable of 1-2HKOing the entire metagame. Haxorus is not the perfect Dragon, but it is a massive threat to quite literally every Pokemon in the game, and should never be underestimated.

Haxorus has many options available to it for many different roles. With access to both Swords Dance and Dragon Dance, Haxorus is dangerous to both defensive teams with SD and offensive teams with DD.

Haxorus@ Fighting Gem / Life Orb / Lum Berry Mold Breaker Adamant nature (+Attack, -Sp. Attack) EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP Swords Dance Outrage Superpower / Low Kick Substitute / Aqua Tail / Earthquake

Swords Dance Haxorus is a mighty beast that is easily capable of sweeping a slower, more defensive team after a single boost. Paralysis and/or Tailwind support is appreciated to allow Haxorus an easier sweep. Anyway, Outrage is your main STAB attack, 1-2HKOing pretty much everything, ever. Even Skarmory is 2HKOd by Outrage after an SD, which shows how insane Haxorus's power is. Superpower is good for smashing through Steel types that resist Outrage. Low Kick is an option to hurt Steel types without lowering your Attack and Defense.

In the last slot, Substitute is a good option. It allows you to scout for Steel type switch-ins that would seek to come in on Outrage, allowing you to break them from the safety of a Sub. It also blocks status, which might be an opponent's best or only way of stopping Haxorus once it has setup. Aqua Tail is an option for Haxorus when you consider how common Rain is. It essentially gives Haxorus a secondary STAB attack, and Water combined with Dragon is a nearly unresisted STAB combination, especially if you factor in the Fighting attack Haxorus has access to. Finally, Earthquake is an option for hitting more specific threats, such as Jirachi and Bronzong, as well as providing good coverage without the negative effects of Superpower or the iffy base power of Low Kick.

One final note for this set, as well as any Haxorus set is that Magnezone is a great partner for it, trapping Steel types that can sometimes inhibat Haxorus's sweep. Hidden Power Fire beats Scizor, Ferrothorn, Forretress and at least damages most other Steel types. It can also make use of Volt Switch to wear down opposing teams and give you the edge over your opponent, or even Thunder Wave or Discharge to provide the Paralysis support that Haxorus appreciates.

Haxorus@ Choice Band Mold Breaker Adamant nature (+Attack, -Sp. Attack) / Jolly nature (+Speed, -Sp. Attack) EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Attack / 4 HP Outrage Superpower Earthquake Aqua Tail / Dragon Claw

Slapping a Choice Band onto Haxorus is an obvious way to easily cause immediate destruction to an opponent. While a Swords Dance set is more powerful after a boost, Choice Band allows Haxorus to plow through opponents without using a turn. Outrage is standard overpowered Dragon attack that will level most non-Steel type opponents. Superpower is a wonderfully powerful attack to break through most Steel types, with Earthquake supplementing your coverage against other Steel types such as Jirachi, though be careful about using these two coverage moves, as they're easily completely walled by Pokemon that are immune to them. Aqua Tail is mentioned once again for it's power in Rain, allowing you to break through such threats as Gliscor without a single thought. Dragon Claw gets an honorable mention for being a STAB attack without being locked into Outrage for 2-3 turns, though it is considerably weaker.

Haxorus@ Lum Berry / Draco Plate Mold Breaker Adamant nature (+Attack, -Sp. Attack) / Jolly nature (+Speed, -Sp. Attack) EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP Swords Dance Dragon Dance Outrage Low Kick / Earthquake

It might seem redundant at first to have both Swords Dance and Dragon Dance on Haxorus, there is a very good reason behind it, and it is not to hope to use one right after the other. Swords Dance allows Haxorus to go on a heavy offensive against teams with slower, bulkier opponents, while Dragon Dance allows it to take on faster, more offensive teams. Early on in the match when faster threats are still around, Dragon Dance should be used to get a speedy edge over the opponent, and later into the game, Swords Dance can be used to clear out the bulky opponents and generally power through the rest of the opponent's team.

Outrage is the main move of this set, demolishing everything that isn't Steel type. Low Kick beats most Steel types, as they tend to be heavy, and provides good coverage, while Earthquake does the same, but beats different Steel type threats, so choose according to your team.

Haxorus@ Lum Berry / Yache Berry Mold Breaker Adamant nature (+Attack, -Sp. Attack) / Jolly nature (+Speed, -Sp. Attack) EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP Dragon Dance Outrage Earthquake Low Kick / Taunt

Using Dragon Dance alone allows Haxorus more coverage moves. Outrage is STAB, blah, blah, blah. Earthquake and Low Kick for Steel types, but Low Kick can be replaced with Taunt to prevent phazing from Pokemon like Skarmory. Lum Berry prevents status while setting up or removes the confusion from Outrage once. Yache Berry, on the other hand, prevents you from being picked off from Ice Shard users attempting to end your fast sweep with priority.

In-game, Haxorus is easy enough to get. You can even get a free shiny one in Black2 and White2, but if you want a wild one, head off to Mistralton Cave, or get one via Dream World in Icy Cave. Here's what I'd use for an in-game Haxorus:

Haxorus Dragon Claw Earthquake Brick Break / Low Kick Outrage / Dragon Dance / Swords Dance

This is basically all of the competitive sets rolled together. Dragon Claw is a consistant STAB with no negative side-effects. Earthquake beats down most Steel types, while Brick Break or Low Kick takes care of the rest. Outrage is a great finishing move for matches when the opponent has 2-3 Pokemon left, but Dragon Dance is nice to get an edger at the beginning of a match. Swords Dance also gives an edge, if you're over-leveled and outspeed all of your opponents anyway, but by then you might as well use Outrage.

Haxorus was one I was worried about when I first saw it's stat layout. 147 Base Attack is absolutely ridiculous, especially with Dragon typing. But it was allowed into the metagame and things ran fine (hell, Black Kyurem is OU, but that's a rant for another day...). In terms of design, it's pretty cool I guess. The axe blades on it's mouth seem inconvenient and not helpful for killing things, which would make it a pretty bad predator. They probably should have been on the arms. I don't really have much of an opinion of Haxorus, to be honest. It's a Pokemon worth raising, and the shiny form is pretty nice, so... go get one and raise it up or something. I don't really care. You're not reading this right now anyway. I'm eating a snowcone while I write this. Okay bye.

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