This week's Pokemon of the Week is Xatu.

Type: Psychic / Flying
Base Stats: 65 HP / 75 Atk / 70 Def / 95 SpA / 70 SpD / 95 Spe
Ability: Synchronize / Early Bird / Magic Bounce

Introduction:
Xatu is a seemingly mediocre pokemon that finds an incredible niche: Magic Bounce. This ability allows it to bounce back hazards, status moves, etc. With the current rise of frosslass/shuckle teams, this ability is invaluable as it can not only prevent these pokemon from setting up while xatu is in play, it can even reflect the hazards/taunt back in a good switch.

It has a number of interesting options in its movepool. Calm Mind allows for possible setup opportunity. Light Screen and Reflect offer the bird an ever greater niche in supporting the team. Haze is invaluable against sub calm-minders and the like. Roost offers valuable recovery. Confuse Ray is my favorite move ever, and given the amount of switches that Xatu forces on defensive mons, it is certainly competitively viable. Heat wave offers it rare coverage over escavalier and the like. Tailwind, wish, and u-turn are also great options.

However, there is a catch. A number of these options cannot be used alongside Magic Bounce. Most significant are Wish and Baton Pass. Regardless of this setback, Xatu's main niche in Magic Bounce is still intact.

What to try:


Xatu @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Psychic
- Grass Knot / Giga Drain

This generation in RU, Xatu surprisingly finds itself performing an offensive set very well. With its great coverage, though, this is unsurprising. 95 base SpA should not be underestimated when boosted by life orb. Psychic hits very hard, and its fire+grass coverage take down a surprising number of threats including Rhyperior and Escavalier. Of course, Xatu would find this set entirely eclipsed by Delphox, but Magic Bounce is its saving grace. Combining that much utility with comparable power to mons like Delphox, and you have a legitimate offensive threat. The choice between GK and GD is based on preference. Giga Drain cannot ko Spdef Rhyperior, but it fares fine against other variants. Without giga drain, Alomomola cannot be cracked without a crit, as psychic cannot 2hko after protect+letovers. Giga Drain also offers minor healing utility. Grass Knot is usually the better option, though, as Rhyperior is such an important target for Xatu that missing the 1hko is equatable to certain demise.

Xatu @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Spd / 252 Def / 248 HP
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Thunder Wave / Toxic
- Psychic / Foul Play / Night Shade
- U-turn / Heat Wave / Reflect / Light Screen

Xatu can also run a decent defensive set. This certainly increases Xatu's longevity, allowing it to consistently offer magic bounce support, but it vastly decreases its offensive presence. Regardless, it offers great utility. Rocky Helmet is a solid option for punishing mons like Virizion and Cobalion on the switchin. If it can come in on a multi-hit attack such as Cincinno's tail sweep, it will rebound incredible damage. It is also useful for discouraging fake out spam via Ambipom. The choice between twave and toxic depends on your team. Twave is valuable for crippling offensive threats like the muskateers, while toxic can deal with more defensive threats like alomomola. The rest of the set is purely of to your preference. Psychic offers consistent stab. Foul play does surprising damage to strong attackers. Night Shade will moderately damage any pokemon. U-turn in the fourth slot is invaluable as a momentum-grabber. Heat wave is a possibility for not giving mons like Escavalier a free switch-in. Reflect and Light Screen are certainly viable options for the purpose of increasing Xatu's bulk and supporting the team.

Checks and Counters:
Xatu hates pursuit. It's inability to use Baton Pass definitely cripples it in this regard. If rocks are already up, Xatu will not appreciate the constant 25% damage. Electric types like Heliolisk/Jolteon are major threats, though they will have trouble switching in to the offensive set. Rhyperior can be an issue for the defensive set, as Xatu has no grass coverage. This weakness is rather significant as it discourages Xatu from switching in to a possible stealth rock setter. Strong choice users in general pose a danger to Xatu, as it simply is not bulky enough to fend them off.

Teammates:
Xatu support is loved by mons that hate hazards. Moltres, Yanmega, Fletchinder, etc. hate rocks, and Xatu helps a ton with keeping them off the field. Xatu holds surprising power behind its attacks, and it can quickly dismantle an unprepared offensive team. Mons like Sharpedo are great for their ability to quickly clean up. Slowking is a hard stop to the offensive set, so a pursuit user such as Escavalier is well-appreciated.

Topics For Discussion:
What are good partners that you have found for Xatu?
What have you found puts a stop to most Xatu variants? How can you overcome them?
What is the most useful Xatu set?
What sorts of innovative sets can Xatu run? Trick flame orb? Calm mind sweeper? Sucka punch? Feather Dance?
How should Xatu be played?
When should Xatu be used relative to other threats?
Educated Theorymon is allowed, but make sure to focus on actual experience and testing. Remember that this is an informative project, and so practical use trumps unrealistic theory.