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Pokémon Go Xerneas counters, weaknesses and moveset explained

The legendary stag can now be battled in Pokémon Go!

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Guide by Lottie Lynn Guides Editor
Updated on

Xerneas, the life Pokémon, is the first Gen 6 legendary Pokémon to arrive in Pokémon Go.

If you want to add this magical stag to your collection, you'll need to have a good understanding of Xerneas' counters and weaknesses before you meet it in battle. You can now catch a shiny Xerneas in Pokémon Go!

Like all legendary Pokémon, Xerneas appears in five-star raids and, to ensure its defeat, you'll want to battle it alongside a group of trainers, which, thanks to the Remote Raid passes, you can now do at home.

On this page:

Cover image for YouTube videoBattling and catching Xerneas in Pokémon Go
Battling and catching Xerneas in Pokémon Go.Watch on YouTube

Xerneas counters and weaknesses in Pokémon Go

Below you can find Xerneas' weaknesses and some counter ideas which will help you defeat it in Pokémon Go:

  • Xerneas type - Fairy-type
  • Xerneas is weak against - Poison and steel-types
  • Xerneas counters - For poison-types, Beedrill, Toxicroak, Roserade and Victreebel. For steel-types, Scizor, Metagross, Dialga and Excadrill.
  • Other Xerneas counters - Since Xerneas is a pure fairy-type Pokémon, planning your counters for this Pokémon is quite easy. We recommend on creating a team of your strongest poison and steel-type Pokémon - this will ensure you're focusing on Xerneas' weaknesses, which will hopefully lead to this stag's defeat.

Xerneas CP in Pokémon Go

Here are the CP ranges you can expect to see when battling or attempting to catch Xerneas in Pokémon Go:

  • Raid Boss CP - 45,899 CP
  • CP when being caught - 2073 to 2160 CP
  • Weather boosted CP (Cloudy) when being caught - 2591 to 2701 CP

Thank you to Bryanrobledo6 from reddit for the help with this information.

Xerneas Moveset in Pokémon Go

When it comes to Xerneas' best moveset in Pokémon Go, we recommend having Tackle (Fast Move) and Giga Impact (Charged Move). Since both of these attacks are normal-types, we recommend having Moonblast as Xerneas' second Charged attack if you're lucky enough to unlock said attack.

Xerneas can use a variety of Fast and Charged moves in Pokémon Go, including:

Possible Fast Moves:

  • Tackle (Normal)
  • Zen Headbutt (Psychic)

Possible Charged Moves:

  • Close Combat (Fighting)
  • Giga Impact (Normal)
  • Megahorn (Grass)
  • Moonblast (Fairy)
  • Thunder (Electric)

The World of Wonders season has come to Pokémon Go, which has brought Sustainability Week, and the World of Wonders quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

Everything we know about Xerneas

Xerneas was the mascot for Pokémon X and, alongside Yveltal and Zygarde, is part of the Aura Trio of the Kalos region.

Xerneas and Yveltal are counterparts to each other - Xerneas embodies life, while Yveltal is a force of death.

Using its horns, Xerneas is able to grant life to the world and, at the end of it's lifespan, Xerneas is able to release this energy into the world surrounding it, before transforming into a giant tree where it will sleep for 1000 years.

The inspiration for Xerneas very clearly comes from a stag, with the design for its antlers possibly being drawn from the Eucaldoceros. This is an extinct breed of deer whose fossils have been found throughout Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. These fossils suggest that the Eucaldoceros had impressive branching antlers, which split in multiple places.

Good luck catching Xerneas in Pokémon Go!

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