Day 44: Haxorus

(BGM: Victory Road from Black & White)

As I stated before in my Kommo-o segment, most Pseudo Legendaries are Dragon-types and for good reason. Not only do they have some of the most powerful moves in any Pokemon game, not only are most Dragon types rare, and not only do most Dragon-types have some of the best stats, they also aren't weak to that many types, being weak to only Fairy, Ice, and its own type. Sure the catch is that they're only super effective to their own type, but Dragon-types also have a good movepool to expose their opponents weaknesses.

This next Pokemon, while he's not a Pseudo-Legendary, honestly should be one for all the reasons I just mentioned.

So, here we go! My second favorite Dragon-type, and my second favorite Unova Pokemon…

Haxorus!

(Insert Haxorus cry here)

(BGM: Battle! Champion Iris from Black 2 & White 2)

Oh Haxorus, why didn't Game Freak make you Unova's Pseudo-Legendary instead of Hydreigon? Or at the very least, why didn't they give Unova two Pseudo-Legendaries like they did with Hoenn and make you the second one?

Nothing against Hydreigon, he's a fine Pokemon…I just like my Pseudo-Legendaries to fully evolve before the ripe level of 64, you know, when the endgame usually happens?

Alas, bitching and moaning about Hydreigon is for another day. For right now, let's hack into Haxorus and see what we find…geez that sounded a lot better in my head…

So, let's talk about his design. Being called the 'Axe Jaw' Pokemon, you'd better believe that Haxorus has two large 'axe-like' fangs that can cut steel…and they look freaking awesome! But nowhere near as awesome as the shades of green and black that work really well together. The green parts of his body almost look like armor and the red in his eyes, claws, and edges of his axe-fangs really bring him all together.

But looking cool is only the tip of the iceberg.

Going into his abilities, Haxorus has Mold Breaker, which renders most abilities useless. There's Rivalry, which deals more damage to Pokemon of the same gender as Haxorus. And finally his hidden ability…Unnerve…which prevents Haxorus' opponents from eating any berries…

Very rarely have I seen a hidden ability be worse than the natural abilities, but Haxorus is such a case. You definitely want either Rivalry or Mold Breaker for your Haxorus as they're both very useful and fun to use in the right circumstances.

Now let's take a look at those stats. From lowest to highest, we have 60 in Special Attack, 70 in Special Defense, 76 in HP, 90 in Physical Defense, 97 in Speed, and a whopping 147 in Physical Attack. Yeah, Haxorus is a Pokemon that knows how to get Physical, both literally and metaphorically, and with decent defenses and speed (not the best but still usable), you're guaranteed to get at least one good hit on your enemies if Haxorus doesn't take them out first.

There's a reason why people want Haxorus banned competitively, and in some instances has been banned, and that reason his his gargantuan Physical Attack…seriously Game Freak, why the hell haven't you made Haxorus a Pseudo-Legendary?!

And what's a 147 Physical Attack stat without good Physical moves to teach?

At his disposal, Haxorus has all of the best Physical Dragon type moves like Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, Breaking Swipe, and Outrage! Even better, Haxorus can learn moves like Dragon Dance and Swords Dance to really take his Attack stat to greater heights.

But Dragon moves are only super-effective against other Dragon-types? What else can Haxorus learn to ensure victory? Sit back, dear reader, and I'll tell you!

We have Slash, Crunch, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Poison Jab, Giga Impact, Shadow Claw, Iron Head, Aerial Ace, X-Scissor, and Close Combat! And as far Egg Moves are concerned, Haxorus can have Aqua Tail, Night Slash, First Impression, and Iron Tail!

How do you like them Leppa Berries?

Haxorus is easily the better Unova Dragon Type. Not only does he evolve sooner than Hydreigon…

…seriously, Deino evolves into Zweilous (Level 50) two levels after Fraxure evolves into Haxorus (Level 48)...

…But his movepool is awesome, his stats are on par with most Pseudo-Legendaries, and his abilities are excellent.

In closing, if you haven't used a Haxorus at least once in any of the game's he's been in, I'd recommend you do so now…or the punishment is the Guillotine…

…

And Haxorus can actually learn Guillotine, this is a very valid threat.