Basculegion Movesets & Competitive Sets

Set Details Basculegion differentiates itself from Basculegion-F with its greater Attack, offering plenty of damage with its powerful STAB Wave Crash and other physical Water-type moves to overpower physical walls like Hippowdon and specially defensive Water-resistant Pokemon like Empoleon and Hisuian Goodra. Flip Turn helps Basculegion keep up momentum, especially against defensive switch-ins like Slowbro, Chesnaught, and Empoleon. Aqua Jet compensates for Basculegion's poor Speed and enables it to pick off faster foes like Galarian Zapdos, Krookodile, and Weak Armor-boosted Armarouge. Although Shadow Ball isn't boosted by Choice Band, it's still Basculegion's strongest move against Slowbro and only effective move against Volcanion. Adaptability cranks up Basculegion's power even further, enabling it to potentially 2HKO bulky Hisuian Goodra with Wave Crash and guaranteeing a 2HKO on Slowbro with Shadow Ball. Alternatively, Swift Swim nets Basculegion a spot on rain teams; the boost from Swift Swim compensates for Basculegion's middling Speed, and the rain provides a comparable boost to Adaptability for Basculegion's Water-type moves. Tera Water lets Basculegion's Wave Crash OHKO Cyclizar, while increasing the damage output of Aqua Jet and Flip Turn. Basculegion also enjoys shedding its weaknesses to Sucker Punch from Bisharp and Shadow Sneak from Mimikyu. The extra damage Tera Ghost provides Shadow Ball helps Adaptability variants of Basculegion finish off Slowbro more quickly, though the trade-off of losing the Adaptability boost for Basculegion's Water-type moves can make it less potent as a revenge killer and offensive pivot. VoltTurn teams appreciate Basculegion as a powerful wallbreaker that functions as an offensive pivot, and it forms great pivot cores with Pokemon like Galarian Zapdos, Cyclizar, and Raikou. Knock Off users like Cyclizar, Hisuian Goodra, and Chesnaught threaten to cap Basculegion's damage output if they don't KO it directly, so Basculegion relies on Knock Off absorbers like Wo-Chien and Amoonguss. If Basculegion joins rain teams, it will be reliant on Politoed to get the rain up. Politoed and other Water-types on rain teams, such as Barraskewda and Kingdra, work with Basculegion to overload checks to Water-types like Slowbro and Suicune. On these rain teams, Kilowattrel can threaten bulky Water-types and Water-immune Pokemon, including Slowbro and Volcanion, for Basculegion. Healing Wish and Lunar Dance users like Jirachi, Gardevoir, and Cresselia give Basculegion a second chance wallbreaking or cleaning up, healing off any burns Basculegion's taken and making up for the massive amount of damage Basculegion tends to accrue from recoil and entry hazards. Basculegion itself appreciates hazards being up to wear down Wo-Chien and non-Heavy Duty Boots variants of Slowbro and Amoonguss, so Krookodile, Rhyperior, and Kleavor can support it. Spikes support from Chesnaught and Klefki goes even further than Stealth Rock for wearing down Hisuian Goodra, Empoleon, and other checks to Basculegion that forego Heavy-Duty Boots.

Basculegion-M uses its high-Base Power STAB attacks like Wave Crash and Last Respects to claim knockouts in the early-game and secure wins in the late-game, respectively, as well as its Swift Swim ability to outspeed nearly the whole unboosted metagame under rain, giving it positive matchups against metagame staples such as Incineroar, Gholdengo, and Volcarona. Last Respects can reach an incredible Base Power of 200, threatening nearly every Pokemon that does not resist Ghost-type attacks with an OHKO. Aqua Jet allows Basculegion-M to pick off a foe at low health while avoiding Sucker Punch from Kingambit. Flip Turn allows it to deal damage and retreat to safety before being attacked. Choice Band maximizes Basculegion-M’s damage, notably improving the chance for Last Respects with two fainted teammates to OHKO Rillaboom. Tera Water maximizes the damage output of Basculegion-M's Water-type attacks, guaranteeing an OHKO against almost any Gholdengo set, and removes its weakness to Dark-type attacks such as Kingambit’s Sucker Punch. Tera Grass allows Basculegion-M to survive any attack from Rillaboom, resist Electro Shot from Archaludon, and ignore Spore and Rage Powder from Amoonguss. The defensive investment allows Basculegion-M to survive a Grassy Glide from Rillaboom. With the Attack investment, Basculegion-M will always OHKO Incineroar in the rain with Wave Crash even after Intimidate. The Speed investment allows it to always outspeed Primarina. Choice-locked sets are inherently more risky to use, as being locked into the wrong move can lose an endgame. The Swift Swim set is riskier in terms of speed control, as it relies on its team to set up rain. This set has the potential to be faster than the Choice Scarf set, but without rain, its Speed and damage output can be underwhelming. It has the advantage of Choice Band providing a higher damage boost than Adaptability. This set, as well as the Choice Scarf set, are risky to use over the Focus Sash set as they can be knocked out with one hit.

The Focus Sash set allows Basculegion-M to take a hit and return with strong attacks such as Liquidation and Last Respects. Liquidation is used over Wave Crash in order to avoid taking recoil damage and breaking Focus Sash. Tera Ghost is used with this set, as Last Respects is likely to become stronger than its weaker Water-type attacks. This set can survive a fast attack under Tailwind or Trick Room and use Protect to stall them out, making it generally better against opposing speed control compared to the other sets. However, it will not do as much damage as the Choice Band set and is unlikely to be able to threaten an early-game OHKO because it lacks Wave Crash. It can fit on a variety of teams due to it being self-sufficient in terms of damage output and not necessarily needing speed control.

Choice Scarf Basculegion-M can be used on a team that does not have a way to set up rain to outspeed foes in any situation. Adaptability can make up for the decreased damage output. This set can finish off damaged teams with Last Respects without needing a Speed boost from rain. Because of Choice Scarf, Basculegion-M is likely to outspeed its foes, so it can use Flip Turn to switch into a bulkier ally when threatened. Tera Blast is only intended for the Tera Fighting set, in order to hit Kingambit and Archaludon. Tera Water can be used to amplify Basculegion-M's damage. Tera Fighting is used with Tera Blast to pressure Kingambit with an OHKO while resisting its Sucker Punch, and it also lets Basculegion-M resist Knock Off from Incineroar and Tyranitar. A Jolly nature with maximum Speed is necessary for the Choice Scarf set to outspeed Dragapult. Adaptability is always useful due to always providing a boost in some way, whereas Swift Swim is contingent on rain being active for Basculegion-M to benefit. However, this set will not do as much damage as the Choice Band set. The Choice Scarf set may not perform well against opposing speed control such as Trick Room, as it cannot use Protect to stall out turns of Trick Room.

This is the sample set before we work on new analyses. This will be updated as the metagame continues to develop. Stay tuned!

Basculegion-M is a niche sweeper on hyper offense teams, primarily those utilizing Psychic Terrain and Sticky Web, due to its mediocre Speed tier and susceptibility to priority moves. Basculegion-M’s viability is tied to it being the strongest user of Last Respects, letting it OHKO or 2HKO almost the entire tier when it's the last Pokemon. Bulky Ghost-resistant Pokemon such as Yveltal and Arceus-Dark can also be 2HKOed by 300-Base Power Last Respects, leaving only Arceus as a safe switch-in. While fast, Basculegion-M is still outsped by Zacian-C and Deoxys-S, so it can only sweep once both of those Pokemon have fainted. Wave Crash lets Basculegion-M wear down Arceus, 2HKOing it after Stealth Rock damage. Tera Blast Fighting puts even more pressure on Arceus, being able to OHKO it after some chip damage while also 2HKOing bulkier variants of Arceus-Dark, which is important because both otherwise prevent Last Respects from being a roll. Flip Turn can be used to generate momentum if Arceus switches in or if Arceus-Dark or Yveltal switch in if Last Respects is not at full power. Aqua Jet lets Basculegion-M pick off threats like a weakened Arceus-Ground that outspeeds it after a Dragon Dance. Tera Fighting makes Basculegion-M resistant to Yveltal’s Sucker Punch and neutral to Marshadow's Shadow Sneak, preventing it from being revenge killed by them; it also synergizes best with Tera Blast to hit Arceus harder than Wave Crash. Basculegion-M should almost always be sent out once most, if not all, of its teammates have fainted, maximizing Last Respect’s power. Generally, using Basculegion-M is fairly straightforward, as 300-Base Power Last Respects should OHKO everything left, but it has to Terastallize in order to beat a healthy defensive Yveltal or Arceus-Dark. If Arceus is on the opposing team, the main priority would be to either KO it with a partner like Arceus-Ground or Deoxys-A or poison it such as with Glimmora's Toxic Spikes, limiting its longevity. Due to Basculegion-M’s susceptibility to priority, it functions best on Psychic Spam teams utilizing Tapu Lele and Deoxys-A to punch holes early on. Glimmora is a solid partner, as it can set Toxic Spikes and Spikes to wear down Arceus and Arceus-Dark, enabling Basculegion to sweep in the late game. Sticky Web teams with Shuckle or Smeargle can also utilize Basculegion, as the Sticky Webs let Basculegion outspeed Deoxys-A and Zacian-C, as well as other boosted Pokemon. Wallbreakers such as Swords Dance Necrozma-DM and Ultra Necrozma are great partners, as they lure and remove both Yveltal and Arceus-Dark easily. While Basculegion-M is strong, it is still unable to OHKO extremely physically bulky Pokemon such as Zygarde-C and defensive Primal Groudon, so the aforementioned entry hazards help wear them down, alongside teammates that put pressure on them like Taunt Arceus-Ground and Zacian-C.

The given EV spread allows Basculegion to survive Grassy Slide from Rillaboom and outspeed scarfed Chi-Yu during Rain or Tailwind. Tera Grass helps Basculegion to avoid super effective damage from priority users such as Raging Bolt and Rillaboom while also preventing Amoonguss from redirecting Basculegion's attacks or putting it to sleep.

Jolly nature is required to outspeed Flutter Mane.

Agility and the terrifying Last Respects transform Basculegion into a ferocious late-game sweeper once its friends are sleeping with the fishes! Last Respects and Late-game: This set is extremely focused on sweeping late-game with Agility, so while Basculegion's Water-type attacks don't make it useless earlier in the game, its best to save it as your last Pokemon to transform Last Respects into a slaughterous showstopper! Wave Crash: Even if using Focus Sash, Wave Crash's power is far too good to pass up, since Basculegion isn't guaranteed to be sweeping every game. Aqua Jet: A priority attack may seem pointless on a Speed boosting set, but beyond letting Basculegion revenge kill weakened Pokemon, it also ruins Sucker Punch attempts from Chien-Pao and Urshifu-S. Liquidation: If using Focus Sash, Liquidation is a reasonable alternative STAB attack to let Basculegion live another day. Substitute: While risky and not a great fit with Focus Sash, Substitute punishes Sucker Punch attempts from Urshifu-S and Chien-Pao and could even turn the tables on Raging Bolt's Thunderclap. Adamant versus Jolly: Adamant is the easiest nature to score sweeps with, but Jolly can be worth it if outspeeding Jolly +1 Roaring Moon and Choice Scarf Latios is important. Focus Sash versus Life Orb: Focus Sash is the most reliable way to set up Agility, making it the best option. Life Orb can pull off sweeps with less damage though and is a reasonable alternative if another teammate already has Focus Sash. Tera Types Tera Dependency - High: Terastallization guaranteeing that at least one of Basculegion's STAB attacks gets a downgrade is a bummer, but this set focuses so heavily on late-game sweeping that it's likely to go that route regardless. Ghost: Even though Tera Ghost doesn't offer much defensive benefit, boosting Last Respects is often a key ingredient for sweeping. Water: Tera Water gives Basculegion more flexibility in sweeping without the lives of its teammates being over, though Last Respects can become a disappointing cleaning tool later in the match. Fairy: Tera Fairy provides insurance against Sucker Punch throwers like Urshifu-S and Chien-Pao, but both STAB attacks receiving a power downgrade is a big problem. If doing this, seriously consider Tera Blast to rip Dark-types to shreds. Don't Use Tera Stellar!: Tera Stellar is a siren song, having no impact on Basculegion's power at all due to Adaptability's mechanics.

With a good offensive typing and Adaptability pushing its already high-power STAB attacks past the heavens, Basculegion-M is a horrifyingly powerful wallbreaker that only gets stronger in the later stages of the game! Last Respects: After just one teammate is KOed, Last Respects already becomes a strong STAB move. When it's the last Pokemon standing, this vengeful attack will 2HKO almost anything that doesn't resist it at minimum, with the big exceptions being defensive Dragonite if Multiscale is intact and Dondozo if not using Life Orb. Endure and Custap Berry: Endure can be used to put Basculegion-M into Custap Berry's activation range against many powerful attacks, letting it fire off Last Respects on the top of its priority bracket. This can be a devastating surprise late-game, turning what could be a sure loss into new avenues to sweep! Flip Turn: Adaptability turns Flip Turn into a powerful pivoting move, giving Basculegion-M more utility early-game. Other Options Psychic Fangs: While hitting Urshifu-R extra hard isn't a bad deal, the real use for Psychic Fangs is to get rid of dual screens that would otherwise stop Basculegion-M from sweeping. Mold Breaker: Mold Breaker can be tempting for cleaving through Multiscale Dragonite, offensive Sturdy Archaludon, and the occasional Mimikyu with Last Respects, but Dragonite's habit of using Tera Normal and the big overall damage reduction makes it a rather niche option, especially since Mold Breaker announces its presence, removing any sort of surprise value. Items Life Orb: Life Orb may compromise Basculegion-M's decent bulk, but it turns the fish into an absolute scourge against bulky Pokemon, with Last Respects now 2HKOing Dondozo at its maximum power and Tera Ghost even potentially 2HKOing defensive Dragonite through Mulitscale if it lacks Leftovers! Assault Vest: When used with specialized EV spreads, Basculegion-M can send common revenge killers like Flutter Mane and Gholdengo to an early grave. Focus Sash: Even with Wave Crash's recoil, Focus Sash is good for winning unexpected matchups against threats like Chi-Yu and Chien-Pao, though note that this item benefits best from a more specialized set. General EV Spreads 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Def with Adamant: This physically bulky EV spread lets Basculegion-M survive Adamant Ogerpon-H's Horn Leech on all but the highest damage roll and does the same for Ursaluna-B's Blood Moon. It also always dodges a 2HKO from Adamant Choice Band Urshifu-R's Surging Strikes, usually survives +1 Jolly Dragonite's Scale Shot at five hits, and survives Jolly Chien-Pao's Sucker Punch. 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def with Adamant: This spread always lets Basculegion-M survive Adamant Ogerpon-H's Horn Leech, but it now has around a 19% chance of being OHKOed by Modest Ursaluna-B's Blood Moon. 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe with Adamant: While maximizing Speed makes Basculegion-M notably frail, it does outspeed some otherwise troublesome foes like Modest Raging Bolt, although it needs to watch out for Thunderclap and the rare but deadly Adamant Breloom. Brave Nature Reducing Basculegion-M's Speed can give it an edge in mirror matches when used on Trick Room teams with setters like Porygon2 and Mimikyu, but note that going as far as using a Speed IV of 0 can harm Basculegion-M's matchups against normally slower foes like Scizor, Primarina, and Corviknight, so using a Speed IV of 31 is the most flexible option. Assault Vest EV Spreads 4 HP / 252 Atk / 172 Def / 68 SpD / 12 Spe: This bulky spread allows Basculegion-M to avoid an OHKO from Jolly Ogerpon-H's Horn Leech, survive Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball, and outspeed paralyzed Adamant Dragonite even after one Dragon Dance. 212 Atk / 244 Def / 52 SpD: This spread lets Basculegion-M survive all but the highest damage from Adamant Ogerpon-H's Horn Leech and Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball at the cost of some Attack. 244 Atk / 68 SpD / 196 Spe: This enables Basculegion-M to avoid an OHKO from Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Shadow Ball while still outspeeding Adamant Breloom. Tera Types Tera Dependency - Medium: Terastallization is a more of a double-edged sword than usual due to Adaptability, which only gives its damage bonus if Basculegion-M's current typing matches the attack. Because of this, while Terastallizing makes sense for Basculegion-M, it will lower the power of at least some of its attacks! Fairy: Tera Fairy trades Basculegion-M's wallbreaking power for a defense against Dark-types. With Tera Blast, this can even stop Urshifu-S! Water: Tera Water makes Aqua Jet a potent late-game cleaning tool and lets Basculegion-M survive most Choice Specs Flutter Mane's attacks as a bonus, with the exception of rare variants with Thunderbolt or Tera Blast Stellar. Ghost: Tera Ghost transforms Last Respects into a truly outrageous wallbreaking attack when Basculegion-M is the last fish swimming, with even Dondozo taking over 50% from it! Fighting: Tera Fighting is a more niche option against Dark-types, leaving Basculegion-M vulnerable to Fairy-type attacks in exchange for a stronger matchup against Archaludon and Urshifu-S via Tera Blast. Don't Use Tera Stellar!: Basculegion-M may seem like a perfect candidate for Tera Stellar, but don't be fooled: Adaptability has no interactions with the Stellar type, making it completely useless unless Basculegion-M is using the niche Mold Breaker!

With Choice Scarf and the powerful Adaptability-boosted Flip Turn under its fins, Basculegion is an effective revenge killer and offensive pivot with an important immunity to Extreme Speed. Jolly Nature: While Adamant's power may be tempting, Jolly is needed for outspeeding Iron Bundle, Adamant Dragonite after Dragon Dance, and the rare Dragapult. Last Respects: Last Respects transforms Basculegion into a vindictive sweeper once its allies have passed on to the afterlife! Head Smash: While the accuracy can be worrisome, this is Basculegion's most powerful attack against Dragonite and Roaring Moon and does a reasonable job of revenge killing Choice Specs Iron Bundle when Last Respects is still weak. Aqua Jet: Aqua Jet may seem ridiculous with a Choice Scarf, but it can pick off weakened priority users like Urshifu-S and Chien-Pao. Tera Types Tera Dependency - Low: Terastallization is nice when a game-ending sweep is in sight, but reducing the power of at least one of Basculegion's STAB attacks can make it a bit situational. Water: Wave Crash is the least risky move to lock Basculegion into, so Tera Water is a reasonable cleaning option. Ghost: Tera Ghost Last Respects is an excellent cleaning tool when Basculegion is the final soul remaining, but watch out for Ursaluna-B, Porygon2, and Tera Normal Dragonite. Fairy: Tera Fairy reducing the power of both STAB attacks is a big issue, but it saves Basculegion against Chien-Pao and Urshifu-S's Sucker Punch, and Tera Blast Fairy still deals good damage. Don't Use Tera Stellar!: Because Adaptability does not take Tera Stellar into account, this Tera Type is fool's gold and should be ignored.

With such powerful attacks and the game-ending Last Respects, Swift Swim Basculegion is the king of rain teams! Last Respects: Last Respects is the key to sweeping late-game if common Water-resistant foes such as Urshifu-R are still around, but even after one teammate is KOed, it's a good coverage attack. Setting Up Rain: Pelipper is almost required support for this Basculegion, not only providing the needed rain to gobble teams up but even providing Tailwind so Basculegion can outspeed extremely speedy foes like Booster Energy Flutter Mane and Iron Bundle. Substitute: Substitute ruins Pokemon like Chien-Pao and Urshifu-S for daring to use Sucker Punch and helps against Raging Bolt's Thunderclap as well. Head Smash: While not very reliable, this is Basculegion's most powerful attack against Dragonite and Roaring Moon and rips Iron Bundle to shreds too. Adamant versus Jolly: Adamant is the most reliable nature for sweeping, but Jolly does outspeed +1 Jolly Roaring Moon and Choice Scarf Latios. Life Orb versus Focus Sash: Life Orb is preferred for maximizing Basculegion's late-game sweeping potential. If Life Orb is needed elsewhere, Focus Sash can be a reasonable shift in focus, making Basculegion easier to use outside of rain, which makes benching Pelipper for some matchups easier to justify. Other Options Liquidation or Waterfall: Wave Crash's constant recoil wears Basculegion down quickly, so Liquidation saves Bascluegion's scales if a foe is already in its KO range. Waterfall is a tad weaker, but the 20% chance to flinch can lead to huge upsets in a battle! Rain Dance: Setting up Rain Dance usually shouldn't be a job for Basculegion, but it does severely punish Torkoal's attempt to change weather. Tera Types Tera Dependency - Medium: While Basculegion can function without Terastalliztion, its often the star sweeper of rain teams, making it a likely choice to Terastallize. Water: Tera Water boosts Wave Crash to truly obscene power, with offensive Roaring Moon in particular being OHKOed 75% of the time by Adamant Wave Crash! Fairy: Tera Fairy not only saves Basculegion from Sucker Punch foes like Chien-Pao and Urshifu-S, but it also shreds Roaring Moon if it doesn't Terastallize with Tera Blast Fairy. Stellar: Tera Stellar is a flexible method for sweeping, with the one-time boost to Last Respects reaping Urshifu-R's soul when Basculegion is the lone teammate alive! Ghost: While it doesn't have amazing synergy with rain, Tera Ghost still boosts Last Respects into a ghoulish wallbreaking tool regardless of the weather, being particularly useful against Urshifu-R, defensive Primarina, and Dondozo