iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
[OVERVIEW]
Psychic
========
Jirachi is an excellent defensive Pokemon with one of the best available secondary typings in Steel, letting it provide Psychic teams with a solid set of resistances that includes Fairy and Steel, a Poison immunity, and a vital Bug-type neutrality, which Psychic generally lacks on defensive Pokemon. Base 100 stats across the board let Jirachi act as an incredible defensive asset for Psychic teams, especially when utilizing U-turn. U-turn specifically lets Jirachi act as a slow, defensive pivot in order to safely bring in teammates and get favorable matchups. Thanks to its Poison immunity, Jirachi is able to avoid Toxic, which makes it an incredibly effective defensive Pokemon on Psychic. Due to its rather vast movepool and expansive utility kit, which includes Healing Wish, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Toxic, and Wish, Jirachi can fill a multitude of roles on Psychic teams, including a Stealth Rock setter, status spreader, and strong pivot. Jirachi's ability, Serene Grace, gives it the opportunity to take down slower opposing Pokemon with Iron Head's doubled flinch rate, especially if paired with Thunder Wave. However, Jirachi is plagued by being limited to four moveslots, which limits the number of roles it can effectively fill on Psychic.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive (Psychic)
move 1: Iron Head
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 4: U-turn / Wish
item: Leftovers
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 176 SpD / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Iron Head is Jirachi's attack of choice, as it carries Steel-type STAB, has a doubled flinch rate thanks to Serene Grace, and is extremely spammable. Stealth Rock puts pressure on opposing teams, most notably Bug and Flying teams, while also breaking Focus Sashes and providing nice chip damage. Toxic is the better of Jirachi's two status options because of its ability to wear down opposing walls such as Mantine and Porygon2. Thunder Wave is another good status option that can be used to cut a foe's Speed in half, and when used with Iron Head, it can completely shut Pokemon down. U-turn is Jirachi's form of slow pivoting, which brings teammates in safely. Alternatively, Wish gives Jirachi recovery beyond Leftovers and allows it to become a decent check or counter to some major threats in the metagame such as Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu.
Set Details
========
Full investment in HP gives Jirachi the highest possible mixed bulk. 80 EVs are placed in Jirachi's Speed stat in order for it to reach 256 Speed, allowing it to outspeed fully invested Adamant Diggersby. The rest of the EVs go into Special Defense with a Careful nature to maximize Jirachi's special tanking potential. Serene Grace lets Jirachi make greater use of Iron Head by doubling its flinch rate. Leftovers rounds out the set as a form of passive recovery that allows Jirachi to pivot more freely by giving it greater longevity.
Usage Tips
========
Jirachi can work as lead on Psychic, as it can put immediate pressure on the opposing team with Stealth Rock and status while also providing momentum quickly via a slow U-turn. This Jirachi set should be used as a switch-in to the many special attacks it is resistant or immune to. Jirachi can be used to tank physical attacks as well thanks to its maximum investment in HP and incredible defensive typing, but it will not be able to take these hits as easily. Take advantage of Jirachi's great utility options in setting up Stealth Rock, spreading status with Toxic or Thunder Wave, and healing itself and others via Wish support. Thanks to its Steel typing, access to Toxic and Thunder Wave, and ability to spam Iron Head, Jirachi can be used to shut down opposing walls and defensive Pokemon such as Chansey, Mega Venusaur, and Staraptor with few to no drawbacks. Jirachi is Psychic's most valuable defensive check to Bug-type threats such as Choice Scarf Heracross and Scolipede, so keeping it healthy to successfully manage these Pokemon is vital. Jirachi is an amazing pivot for Psychic teams as well, using U-turn to bring momentum to its team's side by taking attacks for the Pokemon it's pivoting out to. If Jirachi has Wish, it can successfully combine it with Iron Head spamming as well as status moves to stall out opposing Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu; however, Wish also enables Jirachi to heal teammates. Be wary of Pokemon that may carry super effective attacks, especially physical ones, as moves like Knock Off and Earthquake can usually take Jirachi out quickly. Make sure to switch out to an appropriate teammate when faced with most physical attackers, as the lack of investment in Jirachi's Defense stat can leave it fairly vulnerable to Pokemon such as Garchomp and Landorus-T.
Team Options
========
Slowbro is an amazing teammate for Jirachi, as it carries a resistance to one of Jirachi's weaknesses in Fire, can check Water-types more easily, and most importantly provides a switch-in to physical attackers that can work with Jirachi in a pivot core thanks to Regenerator. Mega Slowbro provides even better physically defensive support in exchange for the loss of Regenerator, which could end up being a good reason to run Wish on Jirachi. Victini is Psychic's best physical wallbreaker, checking common threats to Jirachi such as Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor and providing an offensive check to Pokemon like Volcarona, Choice Scarf Heracross, and Choice Scarf Excadrill. It also acts as an offensive pivot thanks to U-turn, which can bring Jirachi in on threats to Victini such as Rock- and Water-types as well as on defensive and utility Pokemon like Porygon2 and Klefki. Latios is one of Psychic's best special wallbreakers and is a good offensive check to Pokemon that threaten Jirachi, namely Garchomp, Heatran, and Nidoking. It can also act as a switch-in to Fire- and Ground-type attacks and provide support in the form of Defog for removing entry hazards and can benefit greatly from Jirachi's status spreading, pivoting, and Wish passing. Mega Latios can break down annoying Steel-types that can wall Jirachi while also gaining great support via Jirachi's utility in U-turn, Wish, and Healing Wish. Focus Sash + Counter Alakazam can work well with Jirachi's slow pivoting as a check to physical sweepers. Jirachi can also keep Alakazam healthy via Wish. Mega Alakazam works as a powerful sweeper that can switch in safely thanks to Jirachi's U-turn and can easily take over the momentum of a match. Meloetta is Psychic's most solid check to Ghost-types because of its immunity to their STAB attacks. It can provide great support for Jirachi against Pokemon such as Blacephalon, Gengar, and Mimikyu and greatly appreciates Wish support due to its lack of recovery. Mew can act as either a stallbreaker that can help Jirachi spread status with Will-O-Wisp or as a scout that can also remove the items of opposing Pokemon with Knock Off. Stallbreaker Mew also appreciates Stealth Rock support from Jirachi, which frees up its own moveslots for more essential utility options in Defog and Taunt. Mewnium Z Mew can gain favorable matchups thanks to Jirachi's slow U-turn, which can also lead to an easy use of Rock Polish or Nasty Plot for a sweep. Mega Latias pairs well with Jirachi as a check to Fire- and Ground-type attacks while also being a potent threat as a setup sweeper. Jirachi is able to bring Mega Latias in safely and give it great support via Wish and Healing Wish. Mega Gallade is another excellent teammate that appreciates Jirachi's support immensely so that it can effectively break down defensive cores and find safe opportunities to set up a Swords Dance.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Psychic
--------
Protect is an option on specially defensive Jirachi to get safe healing with Wish, stall opposing statused Pokemon, and scout for attacks; however, this takes up a moveslot that could be better used for a solid attacking option, entry hazards, or a slow pivoting move. Healing Wish is another utility option that can be used in order to fully heal a teammate, but it comes at the same opportunity cost as Protect + Wish.
Checks and Counters
===================
Psychic
--------
**Super Effective Attackers**: Pokemon that carry super effective STAB attacks such as Blacephalon, Heatran, Excadrill, and Mega Sharpedo can break past Jirachi with minimal effort. Jirachi can really only catch these Pokemon on the switch with a U-turn into a better matchup.
**Setup Sweepers**: Mega Scizor and Bisharp specifically can easily setup against Jirachi and possibly sweep Psychic teams very quickly with few drawbacks.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory don't mind Jirachi at all and generally force it out. At most, Jirachi can paralyze these Pokemon with Thunder Wave, but it's ultimately a fruitless effort.
**Water-types**: Water-types such as Toxapex, Seismitoad, and Greninja generally don't mind taking hits from Jirachi and can cripple, OHKO, or 2HKO it in return.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Specially defensive Jirachi can struggle with managing powerful physical threats such as Choice Band Tapu Bulu and Mega Heracross, as it generally does not take hits well from these Pokemon and is usually 2HKOed.
**Walls**: Walls such as Slowbro and Mega Venusaur generally don't care about anything that Jirachi does to them, although Slowbro does need to watch out for Toxic.
Psychic
========
Jirachi is an excellent defensive Pokemon with one of the best available secondary typings in Steel, letting it provide Psychic teams with a solid set of resistances that includes Fairy and Steel, a Poison immunity, and a vital Bug-type neutrality, which Psychic generally lacks on defensive Pokemon. Base 100 stats across the board let Jirachi act as an incredible defensive asset for Psychic teams, especially when utilizing U-turn. U-turn specifically lets Jirachi act as a slow, defensive pivot in order to safely bring in teammates and get favorable matchups. Thanks to its Poison immunity, Jirachi is able to avoid Toxic, which makes it an incredibly effective defensive Pokemon on Psychic. Due to its rather vast movepool and expansive utility kit, which includes Healing Wish, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Toxic, and Wish, Jirachi can fill a multitude of roles on Psychic teams, including a Stealth Rock setter, status spreader, and strong pivot. Jirachi's ability, Serene Grace, gives it the opportunity to take down slower opposing Pokemon with Iron Head's doubled flinch rate, especially if paired with Thunder Wave. However, Jirachi is plagued by being limited to four moveslots, which limits the number of roles it can effectively fill on Psychic.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive (Psychic)
move 1: Iron Head
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 4: U-turn / Wish
item: Leftovers
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 176 SpD / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Iron Head is Jirachi's attack of choice, as it carries Steel-type STAB, has a doubled flinch rate thanks to Serene Grace, and is extremely spammable. Stealth Rock puts pressure on opposing teams, most notably Bug and Flying teams, while also breaking Focus Sashes and providing nice chip damage. Toxic is the better of Jirachi's two status options because of its ability to wear down opposing walls such as Mantine and Porygon2. Thunder Wave is another good status option that can be used to cut a foe's Speed in half, and when used with Iron Head, it can completely shut Pokemon down. U-turn is Jirachi's form of slow pivoting, which brings teammates in safely. Alternatively, Wish gives Jirachi recovery beyond Leftovers and allows it to become a decent check or counter to some major threats in the metagame such as Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu.
Set Details
========
Full investment in HP gives Jirachi the highest possible mixed bulk. 80 EVs are placed in Jirachi's Speed stat in order for it to reach 256 Speed, allowing it to outspeed fully invested Adamant Diggersby. The rest of the EVs go into Special Defense with a Careful nature to maximize Jirachi's special tanking potential. Serene Grace lets Jirachi make greater use of Iron Head by doubling its flinch rate. Leftovers rounds out the set as a form of passive recovery that allows Jirachi to pivot more freely by giving it greater longevity.
Usage Tips
========
Jirachi can work as lead on Psychic, as it can put immediate pressure on the opposing team with Stealth Rock and status while also providing momentum quickly via a slow U-turn. This Jirachi set should be used as a switch-in to the many special attacks it is resistant or immune to. Jirachi can be used to tank physical attacks as well thanks to its maximum investment in HP and incredible defensive typing, but it will not be able to take these hits as easily. Take advantage of Jirachi's great utility options in setting up Stealth Rock, spreading status with Toxic or Thunder Wave, and healing itself and others via Wish support. Thanks to its Steel typing, access to Toxic and Thunder Wave, and ability to spam Iron Head, Jirachi can be used to shut down opposing walls and defensive Pokemon such as Chansey, Mega Venusaur, and Staraptor with few to no drawbacks. Jirachi is Psychic's most valuable defensive check to Bug-type threats such as Choice Scarf Heracross and Scolipede, so keeping it healthy to successfully manage these Pokemon is vital. Jirachi is an amazing pivot for Psychic teams as well, using U-turn to bring momentum to its team's side by taking attacks for the Pokemon it's pivoting out to. If Jirachi has Wish, it can successfully combine it with Iron Head spamming as well as status moves to stall out opposing Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu; however, Wish also enables Jirachi to heal teammates. Be wary of Pokemon that may carry super effective attacks, especially physical ones, as moves like Knock Off and Earthquake can usually take Jirachi out quickly. Make sure to switch out to an appropriate teammate when faced with most physical attackers, as the lack of investment in Jirachi's Defense stat can leave it fairly vulnerable to Pokemon such as Garchomp and Landorus-T.
Team Options
========
Slowbro is an amazing teammate for Jirachi, as it carries a resistance to one of Jirachi's weaknesses in Fire, can check Water-types more easily, and most importantly provides a switch-in to physical attackers that can work with Jirachi in a pivot core thanks to Regenerator. Mega Slowbro provides even better physically defensive support in exchange for the loss of Regenerator, which could end up being a good reason to run Wish on Jirachi. Victini is Psychic's best physical wallbreaker, checking common threats to Jirachi such as Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor and providing an offensive check to Pokemon like Volcarona, Choice Scarf Heracross, and Choice Scarf Excadrill. It also acts as an offensive pivot thanks to U-turn, which can bring Jirachi in on threats to Victini such as Rock- and Water-types as well as on defensive and utility Pokemon like Porygon2 and Klefki. Latios is one of Psychic's best special wallbreakers and is a good offensive check to Pokemon that threaten Jirachi, namely Garchomp, Heatran, and Nidoking. It can also act as a switch-in to Fire- and Ground-type attacks and provide support in the form of Defog for removing entry hazards and can benefit greatly from Jirachi's status spreading, pivoting, and Wish passing. Mega Latios can break down annoying Steel-types that can wall Jirachi while also gaining great support via Jirachi's utility in U-turn, Wish, and Healing Wish. Focus Sash + Counter Alakazam can work well with Jirachi's slow pivoting as a check to physical sweepers. Jirachi can also keep Alakazam healthy via Wish. Mega Alakazam works as a powerful sweeper that can switch in safely thanks to Jirachi's U-turn and can easily take over the momentum of a match. Meloetta is Psychic's most solid check to Ghost-types because of its immunity to their STAB attacks. It can provide great support for Jirachi against Pokemon such as Blacephalon, Gengar, and Mimikyu and greatly appreciates Wish support due to its lack of recovery. Mew can act as either a stallbreaker that can help Jirachi spread status with Will-O-Wisp or as a scout that can also remove the items of opposing Pokemon with Knock Off. Stallbreaker Mew also appreciates Stealth Rock support from Jirachi, which frees up its own moveslots for more essential utility options in Defog and Taunt. Mewnium Z Mew can gain favorable matchups thanks to Jirachi's slow U-turn, which can also lead to an easy use of Rock Polish or Nasty Plot for a sweep. Mega Latias pairs well with Jirachi as a check to Fire- and Ground-type attacks while also being a potent threat as a setup sweeper. Jirachi is able to bring Mega Latias in safely and give it great support via Wish and Healing Wish. Mega Gallade is another excellent teammate that appreciates Jirachi's support immensely so that it can effectively break down defensive cores and find safe opportunities to set up a Swords Dance.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Psychic
--------
Protect is an option on specially defensive Jirachi to get safe healing with Wish, stall opposing statused Pokemon, and scout for attacks; however, this takes up a moveslot that could be better used for a solid attacking option, entry hazards, or a slow pivoting move. Healing Wish is another utility option that can be used in order to fully heal a teammate, but it comes at the same opportunity cost as Protect + Wish.
Checks and Counters
===================
Psychic
--------
**Super Effective Attackers**: Pokemon that carry super effective STAB attacks such as Blacephalon, Heatran, Excadrill, and Mega Sharpedo can break past Jirachi with minimal effort. Jirachi can really only catch these Pokemon on the switch with a U-turn into a better matchup.
**Setup Sweepers**: Mega Scizor and Bisharp specifically can easily setup against Jirachi and possibly sweep Psychic teams very quickly with few drawbacks.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Celesteela, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory don't mind Jirachi at all and generally force it out. At most, Jirachi can paralyze these Pokemon with Thunder Wave, but it's ultimately a fruitless effort.
**Water-types**: Water-types such as Toxapex, Seismitoad, and Greninja generally don't mind taking hits from Jirachi and can cripple, OHKO, or 2HKO it in return.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Specially defensive Jirachi can struggle with managing powerful physical threats such as Choice Band Tapu Bulu and Mega Heracross, as it generally does not take hits well from these Pokemon and is usually 2HKOed.
**Walls**: Walls such as Slowbro and Mega Venusaur generally don't care about anything that Jirachi does to them, although Slowbro does need to watch out for Toxic.
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