As a long-time competitive Pokemon player ranked in the top 500 on Battle Stadium Singles, I‘ve been eagerly analyzing the new Gen 9 additions that seem viable for the metagame. And one Pokemon that immediately caught my attention was Baxcalibur, the menacing pseudo-legendary evoluton of Frigibax.
With fantastic base stats and a near-perfect offensive typing, Baxcalibur shapes up to be one of the biggest metagame threats introduced in Scarlet and Violet. In this extensive guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know about acquiring and properly utilizing Baxcalibur to dominate opponent teams.
Overview and Base Stats
Baxcalibur falls in line with the tradition of formidable Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries dating back to Gen 1‘s Dragonite. Take a look at how its base stats measure up to classics like Tyranitar and Metagross:
| Pokemon | HP | Atk | Def | SpA | SpD | Spe | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baxcalibur | 115 | 145 | 92 | 75 | 86 | 87 | 600 |
| Tyranitar | 100 | 134 | 110 | 95 | 100 | 61 | 600 |
| Metagross | 80 | 135 | 130 | 95 | 90 | 70 | 600 |
With a tremendous base 145 Attack, Baxcalibur rivals the best. And its overall stat distribution seems geared toward offense like Metagross rather than the more balanced Tyranitar.
This raw power combined with key strengths and resistances from Baxcalibur‘s Dragon/Ice typing means it hits brutally hard while having plenty of switch-in opportunities. Proper team support and moveset optimization will make it extremely difficult to stop.
Ideal Natures and Training Regimen
I recommend the following competitive natures to enhance Baxcalibur‘s capabilities:
- Adamant – Boosts Attack by 10% while lowering unused Special Attack
- Jolly – Boosts invaluable Speed while reducing unneeded Special Attack
Both natures shore up that mediocre base 87 Speed stat to better compete with faster threats. And they double down on Baxcalibur‘s physical attacking strengths by reducing its poor Special Attack.
When training your Baxcalibur, make sure to feed it 26 Proteins to maximize Attack EVs (Effort Values). And use the appropriate training Power items for another 100 EVs in the desired stat:
- Power Bracer for Attack EVs
- Power Anklet for Speed EVs
This rigorous training regimen will strain your Pokemon but produce a Baxcalibur ready to devastate opponents. I also highly recommend Bottle Capping your Baxcalibur‘s IVs to guarantee 31s across the board, further enhancing performance.
Moveset Options
With an Ability boosting Attack under fire and sheer base power backing it up, Baxcalibur only needs one turn to set up devastating sweeps. Here is the moveset I‘d recommend with some coverage options:
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage / Dragon Claw
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake / Fire Fang
After a single Dragon Dance, very little survives two hits from Baxcalibur‘s STAB attacks – even resists risk getting OHKO‘d. Outrage offers maximum power but locks you in, while Dragon Claw provides consistency. Icicle Crash hits brutally hard with STAB and boasts an excellent critical hit ratio. Finally, Earthquake covers Steels that wall both STABs.
More coverage moves like Fire Fang or Superpower are usable but reduce reliability compared to Earthquake. And Baxcalibur appreciates the recovery turn after Outrage rampages.
Acquiring Your Own Baxcalibur
Baxcalibur evolves from Arctibax at level 54, which itself evolves from Frigibax at level 35. Catching and training up your own Frigibax is ideal for conditioning EVs and Nature early. Quick Leveling items also work if you‘re impatient!
Once obtained, shower your Baxcalibur with Protein and the Power items mentioned earlier for a perfectly trained sweeper. And don‘t neglect Vitamins, Wings, and X items either – they provide more raw stat boosts to push this monster‘s Attack stat even higher!
Supporting Cast and Team Fit
As with any late-game win condition, proper team support is crucial to pave the way for Baxcalibur. The key things I try to provide are:
- Fairy and Steel checks – Crucial to limit hard counters
- Entry hazard removal – Baxcalibur dislikes switching in on rocks
- Cleric support – Cleanse confusion, poison, burn etc.
- Wincon backups – Wallbreakers, setup sweepers etc.
Some excellent partners that check those boxes include:
- Rotom-Wash – Defogs, electric coverage, fairy resist
- Toxapex – Cleric abilities, steel neutralization
- Lele – Psychic terrain prevents priority revenge kills
- Blacephalon – Secondary win condition, speed tier synergy
With support keeping Baxcalibur healthy and punching holes, it quickly devastates unprepared teams in just a couple turns. This snowball potential makes it a persistent threat demanding an answer.
Checking Baxcalibur‘s Rampages
While mighty, Baxcalibur does have some reliable counters I leverage frequently to stop it cold:
- Assault Vest Goodra – Drastically bolsters special bulk to sponge hits
- Tinkaton – Steel/Fairy typing gives it quad resistances
- Max HP Toxapex – Massive HP pool and Regenerator ability
- Burn/Poison – Rapidly wears it down without Cleric support
Good priority users like Breloom and Azumarill can also exploit Baxcalibur‘s merely decent speed tier to pick it off early.
But in general, the best checks are bulky steels and fairies that resist both STABs while having recovery or status moves. Preventing Baxcalibur from setting up and forcing it out is critical.
Closing Thoughts
With fantastic offensive stats and typing, Baxcalibur shapes up to be one of the biggest meta threats from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Proper support and maybe a boost or two is all it needs to run through unprepared teams. Just beware of priority attacks and bulky resists wearing it down prematurely.
Overall, Baxcalibur seems destined to take over the pseudo-legendary mantle from veterans like Tyranitar and Metagross. So start training one today if you want to devastate your battle stadium opponents!
Let me know if you have any other questions about using Baxcalibur competitively. And please check out my YouTube channel Competitive Insights for more tips to dominate ranked play!
