14 November 2025

The Most Iconic Gen 6 Pokemon is Ruining Pokemon Legends: Z-A Battles

By newsgame

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is arguably one of the most revolutionary Pokemon games ever, as it dramatically changes the way critter battles happen and where player agency goes. Normally, in a turn-based environment, the Pokemon that players choose and the moves they use have a specific function that changes depending on the overall strategy, the format of the battles (i.e., singles, doubles, etc.), and what role each critter should fulfill. Pokemon Legends: Z-A has all of these elements, but they are completely shifted both during the main story and in online battles. Now, one specific Gen 6 Pokemon is ruining the experience for most fans, making some battles straight-up unplayable.

Even though not all Mega Evolutions in the series are back in the game, Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s best teams typically run the usual suspects, like Metagross, Gyarados, Greninja, and other popular mons. However, with the release of Season 2 just a week ago, the online environment has changed considerably because of Xerneas. This is because of a few reasons:

Xerneas became playable in Ranked Battles with Season 2 alongside Yveltal and Mega Delphox, as Delphoxite is a reward for reaching Rank S. This means there’s novelty in using Xerneas in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
Xerneas is one of the best Fairy-type Pokemon in the series, and even without its signature ability, it still has incredible stats and a powerful move in Geomancy. In PLZA, Geomancy is particularly strong because it also increases Xerneas’ movement speed, meaning it can dodge non-homing attacks more easily.
Dragon-type Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Z-A are extremely common in online battles, meaning it’s easy to lead with Xerneas and take care of them or force opponents to switch.
Xerneas has incredible coverage moves and great accompanying stats, meaning it can deal with even some of its best counters.
One of the best Xerneas counters is Metagross, currently. However, most Metagross movesets run Heavy Slam, which does little damage to Xerneas due to the latter’s weight. Since it’s often not optimal to use two Steel moves, Xerneas can dodge Heavy Slam with increased movement speed and leave Metagross hanging.

Xerneas is arguably the most iconic Gen 6 Pokemon because it’s the mascot for Pokemon X, which outsold Pokemon Y when they were released.

Say Hello to The Best Pokemon in Legends: Z-A’s Ranked Battles

For starters, Xerneas has a BST of 680, which is incredible even for some of the best Legendary Pokemon out there. With 126 HP, 131 Attack, 95 Defense, 131 Sp. Attack, 98 Sp. Defense, and 99 Speed, Xerneas has better stats than most critters, even when they are using a Mega Evolution.

Since Xerneas has high Attack and Special Attack, it can be built with either, but Special Attack is the better choice if using Geomancy, which should always be the case. Giving Xerneas a buff to Special Attack and Special Defense with Geomancy, while also boosting its movement speed, is extremely easy, as all it takes is targeting an opposing mon and pressing the button tied to Geomancy.

Unlike turn-based games, Geomancy offers a 1-stage buff to Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense instead of 2 stages, and it buffs movement speed instead of Speed. It also takes a bit longer to use than regular moves, but it doesn’t need a whole turn to charge like it normally does.

With Sp. Attack investment, HP, and maybe points into Defense or Special Defense, Xerneas is very hard to take down, even with supereffective moves. Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Plus Moves help Xerneas further, as it can use them regardless of its lack of a Mega Evolution, making some attacks deadlier. An optimal moveset for Xerneas in PLZA would be:

Geomancy
Moonblast
Focus Blast
Thunderbolt

The Best Xerneas Counters in Pokemon Legends: Z-A Explained

There are various ways to counter Xerneas, but it can be hard even for the best team compositions in the game. Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Mega Scizor is a good counter for Xerneas because the latter doesn’t have access to Fire moves, which are 4x effective on Scizor. Bullet Punch is also a good move to use against Xerneas, which Metagross also learns, as it’s a priority attack that also moves the user toward the target very fast.

Physical attackers with Dig and Fly can find success against Xerneas, as they are homing moves that follow the target and then hit. For this reason, Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Mega Skarmory and Mega Excadrill are perfect picks, as they have access to Fly and Dig, respectively, and can then use a Steel move to secure the KO. This is especially true if they use Swords Dance. Overall, the best Xerneas counters in Pokemon Legends: Z-A include: