Magearna Movesets & Competitive Sets

Fleur Cannon's high Base Power lets Magearna potentially OHKO offensive Yveltal and always OHKO Zekrom. Volt Switch provides momentum, allowing Magearna to pivot from unfavorable matchups. Pain Split keeps Magearna healthy against foes with large base HP such as Yveltal, Eternatus, and Ho-Oh. Heal Bell is used for valuable cleric support. Defensive Ho-Oh is a fantastic partner for Magearna, mitigating its weakness to Geomancy Xerneas and taking advantage of common switch-ins to Magearna like Ferrothorn. Galarian Darmanitan is a good partner that can create a pivot core and take advantage of bulky Ground-types that Magearna invites in, such as Groudon and Landorus-T. Magearna's cleric support allows Zarude to run Synthesis instead of Jungle Healing and Calyrex-S to more easily run Nasty Plot on Trick sets. Setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Groudon, Calm Mind Kyogre, and Dragon Dance Zygarde-C appreciate Magearna's cleric support. Eternatus is another good partner that can deal with most Kyogre sets.

Moves Fleur Cannon is a great option to hit neutrally and compress different targets into one slot, also being an excellent candidate for a Z-Move to hit hard without the drawback. Ice Beam prevents specially defensive Gliscor from switching in and is better for dealing with Serperior and Tapu Bulu, with the downside of not being able to threaten Kyurem-B. Flash Cannon is good for Fairy-types like Mega Mawile and Clefable while still being a good, more spammable, neutral option. Pain Split is Magearna's method of recovery, allowing it to heal off chip damage and sit on the likes of Chansey. Heart Swap allows Magearna to flip the script on bulky setup sweepers like Reuniclus, Mega Latias, and Cresselia by stealing their boosts, threatening the opposing team with a boosted attack as they switch out. Heal Bell is a great support option to clear status from teammates, such as a paralyzed Tornadus-T and Rest Seismitoad. Thunder Wave irritates plenty of switch-ins like Heatran, Jirachi, and Volcarona and is especially potent against Mega Alakazam, essentially taking it out of commission in one turn. Set Details The physical bulk investment allows Magearna to survive a +2 High Jump Kick from Hawlucha at full health, with the rest of the EVs pooled into Special Defense. Usage Tips Be careful of Magearna's HP, as Pain Split is quite an unreliable method of recovery, and Magearna is liable to being chipped down easily by attacks. For the same reason, make sure to keep Spikes off of the field at all times. Heart Swap has half the PP of Calm Mind, so, if possible, it's optimal to use it after multiple opposing boosts to ensure that Magearna won't be stalled out of them. Pain Split can be essentially blocked if the opponent switches in a Pokemon at low health, so if they have a suitable candidate, it can be better to attack instead to finish it off or pivot out with Volt Switch. Team Options This set is more tailored towards teams ranging from balance to stall, typically acting as a secondary check to Pokemon alongside its utility duties. Seismitoad has good defensive synergy with Magearna, as Seismitoad can check Heatran, and its Water Absorb works with Magearna's Dark resistance to handle Ash-Greninja as a team effort. Additionally, Heal Bell variants of Magearna can wake Seismitoad up from Rest. Wish support from the likes of Chansey and Clefable can decrease the burden on Magearna's Pain Split and prevent it from being worn down as easily. Toxapex and Kommo-o check the likes of Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona and appreciate Magearna being able to handle Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele as well as Kyurem-B. Chansey takes the pressure off of Magearna when it comes to handling many special attackers, but it notably cannot safely handle Tapu Lele and can lose to bulky setup sweepers like Calm Mind Reuniclus, which is why Heart Swap Magearna benefits it a lot as a teammate. Tornadus-T can add to the pivoting core with U-turn and helps to handle threats like Kartana and Mega Medicham. Gliscor has a helpful immunity to Ground and can check the hugely threatening Heatran for Magearna, with Magearna handling Ice-types like Kyurem-B and Weavile in return. Mega Latias complements Magearna perfectly, taking on Fire- and Ground-types like Victini and Gliscor while relying on Magearna for Dark- and Ice-types like Ash-Greninja, Weavile, and Kyurem-B.

Moves Shift Gear gives Magearna a quick fix to its mediocre Speed, allowing it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame as well as common Choice Scarf users like Landorus-T and Victini, with Soul-Heart then letting it quickly spiral out of control once it cannot be revenge killed. Focus Blast powered up into All-Out Pummeling allows Magearna to blow past Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn after they take even little chip damage. Fleur Cannon hits neutral targets hard and complements Focus Blast well. It can also be paired with Fairium Z to great effect, removing the Special Attack drop and allowing Magearna to start accruing Soul-Heart boosts. Thunderbolt allows Magearna to super effectively hit Toxapex and Celesteela, which are unbothered by Magearna's other moves, as well as hitting Pokemon like Victini and Mega Scizor neutrally. It can also be paired with Electrium Z to give Magearna an easier time versus the aforementioned Pokemon, especially when boosted by Electric Terrain. Ice Beam allows Magearna to safely dispatch Ground-types like Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Garchomp and heavily damage other Ice-weak Pokemon like Tapu Bulu and Zapdos without needing to use Fleur Cannon or Twinkle Tackle. Calm Mind can be used alongside Shift Gear to make the most of any setup opportunity Magearna gets, letting it bypass its reliance on getting a KO to boost its power, usually utilizing a combination of Fleur Cannon and either Focus Blast to hit Ferrothorn or Thunderbolt to hit Toxapex. Set Details Either Fightinium Z or Fairium Z can be used on Magearna variants featuring both Focus Blast and Fleur Cannon; if your team already has sufficient measures to deal with Steel-types, Fairium Z is the best option for taking on the wider metagame. Electrium Z eases Magearna's toughest matchups against Fire-types like Victini and Mega Charizard Y and synergizes well with Electric Terrain. Leftovers can be used to help Magearna weather hits while setting up, which is useful for the Calm Mind variant, though variants using three attacks prefer holding a Z-Crystal to maximize their power. Wiki Berry can be used in a similar fashion, being much more helpful if Magearna takes a big hit like Choice Specs Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt, potentially putting it out of range of strong priority like Ash-Greninja's Water Shuriken. Usage Tips Shift Gear Magearna is best used as an endgame cleaner, with its ability Soul-Heart making it the perfect fit for the role, as it punishes any sort of sacrifices the opponent makes, even when Magearna doesn't claim the KO itself. Because of this, and because of its complete lack of investment in bulk, it's unwise to allow Magearna to take hits throughout a game. It's often a better idea to conserve HP to afford Magearna more opportunities to set up late-game, additionally affording it comfort against priority attacks. Common Pokemon that can outspeed and revenge kill Magearna after a Shift Gear boost can be counted on one hand: Unburden-boosted Hawlucha, Sand Rush Excadrill in sand, Swift Swim Mega Swampert in rain, and Choice Scarf Kartana if Magearna has been chipped significantly prior. If any of these are present on the opposing team, it's wise to wait until they have been handled before going for a sweep. Magearna finds its ideal setup opportunities against Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Rotom-Wash that cannot immediately threaten it, although due to its good natural bulk and wonderful typing, it can find setup opportunities against the majority of the metagame if it needs to. Thunder Wave from would-be setup fodder like Ferrothorn and Clefable can hinder Magearna's sweep attempt, so it should be scouted prior. Team Options This set is suited for offense and hyper offense teams that value its perfect toolkit as a cleaner. It's a good idea to pair Magearna with a defensive Steel-type, like Heatran or Ferrothorn, as it can't fulfill its typical duties as a defensive Steel-type when it has no bulk investment and needs to be preserved for later in the game. Wallbreakers like Choice Specs Tapu Lele and Mega Medicham can soften up opposing teams, with the former being especially good at baiting in and weakening common switch-ins to Magearna, such as opposing defensive Magearna, Heatran, and Chansey. Rotom-Wash can check Mega Swampert and Sand Rush Excadrill, helping Magearna's team outlast them until it can boost and sweep. Ash-Greninja can chip away at Assault Vest Magearna and Ferrothorn as well as set Spikes, clearing the way for Magearna to sweep. Although niche, on hyper offense teams, Magearna appreciates dual screens and Aurora Veil support from the likes of Tapu Koko and Alolan Ninetales, respectively. Tapu Koko is another great hyper offense teammate, boosting the power of Magearna's Thunderbolt and Gigavolt Havoc and setting dual screens.

Moves Twinkle Tackle allows for a one-time KO on many common neutral targets such as Gliscor, Clefable, Manaphy, Tapu Lele, and Landorus-T. Once it is used up, Fleur Cannon can still be used as a powerful STAB move with no major drawback, as claiming a KO will give a Soul-Heart boost, which counteracts the Special Attack drop. Focus Blast is a solid coverage option that allows it to break through Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Heatran. Thunderbolt deals good damage to Toxapex and Celesteela while also allowing Magearna to not waste its Fairium Z on Pokemon like Tornadus-T. If Magearna's teammates can cover the breaking of bulky Water- and Steel-types, other coverage moves can be looked at. Flash Cannon can be used as another solid neutral STAB option that doesn't lower Special Attack, while Ice Beam hits Ground-types like Landorus-T and Gliscor, allowing Magearna to preserve its Z-Move against them. Set Details As this version of Magearna benefits from underspeeding opposing Pokemon, a Quiet nature with 0 Speed IVs is preferable to become as slow as possible. Fairium Z allows Magearna to deal massive damage to neutral targets, which helps make use of the limited turns of Trick Room. Electrium Z can also be used to break past Toxapex and Celesteela, while Fightinium Z threatens Heatran and Ferrothorn. Usage Tips Trick Room Magearna typically forgoes its defensive duties in favor of becoming a dangerous late-game cleaner. It takes advantage of its solid bulk to help it set up Trick Room after the opposing team is weakened into range of its attacks. As a result, it doesn't really want to switch into hits early in the game, lest it become too chipped to sweep. Once Trick Room is set, you want to prioritize OHKOs on the opponent, as its turns are limited. This might entail using Magearna's Z-Move immediately in order to start stacking Soul-Heart boosts. Team Options Strong Psychic- and Fairy-types are great partners for Magearna. Choice Specs Tapu Lele is great in this regard, as it deals solid damage to Steel-types that check Magearna, such as Heatran, Ferrothorn, and opposing Magearna, as well as providing Psychic Terrain to block priority such as Ash-Greninja's Water Shuriken and Mega Medicham's and Mega Lopunny's Fake Out, with the latter being a way to stall Trick Room turns. Mega Mawile does similar things in regards to overwhelming shared checks and can potentially benefit from the Trick Room that Magearna can set. Spikes setters such as Greninja and Ferrothorn also make great teammates, as Spikes further chip the opponent's grounded Pokemon. Rotom-Wash is also a good fit alongside Magearna, as it checks Heatran and Ground-types like Landorus-T while spreading burn on Magearna answers such as Toxapex and opposing Magearna. Though uncommon, Magearna can also be used as a Trick Room setter on full Trick Room teams, as its defensive typing can allow it to set Trick Room multiple times; on these teams, it doesn’t need to preserve bulk to sweep because its teammates typically do the wallbreaking themselves.

Moves Fleur Cannon is a crucial, powerful STAB move that hits hard neutrally, catching all sorts of offensive Pokemon like Mega Lopunny, Tapu Koko, Greninja, and Mega Medicham all in one slot. Ice Beam is a surefire way to OHKO Landorus-T and Gliscor that also pressures the likes of Serperior and Zapdos. Energy Ball can be used to snipe the likes of Mega Swampert switching in as well as Seismitoad and Gastrodon. Iron Head is a good option for more efficiently trading damage with opposing Assault Vest Magearna and Tapu Lele, as well as pressuring Calm Mind Clefable. Hidden Power Fire takes chunks out of Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor and OHKOes Kartana, while Focus Blast can do this as well as 2HKO Heatran at the cost of poor accuracy. Volt Switch allows Magearna to take a hit and safely bring in offensive teammates, additionally keeping up the pressure if it catches a switch. Set Details The physical bulk investment allows Magearna to survive a +2 High Jump Kick from Hawlucha at full health, additionally being useful for taking Psyshock from Tapu Lele, with the rest of the EVs pooled into Special Defense to maximize its bulk. If running Iron Head, use a spread of 248 HP / 224 SpD / 36 Spe with a Sassy nature; the Speed allows it to get the jump on uninvested Clefable. Usage Tips Magearna can be thrown into special attackers like Ash-Greninja and Mega Alakazam early-game, threatening them out and bringing in wallbreakers with Volt Switch. Magearna has a tendency to give free setup opportunities to the likes of Mega Charizard X and Volcarona, especially so after using Fleur Cannon, so make sure not to leave it in and pivot out as much as possible if your answers to them have been taken out of commission. In certain other matchups, Magearna's great bulk gives it plenty of opportunities to favorably trade, surviving Earthquake from defensive Landorus-T from full and comfortably surviving Mega Lopunny's High Jump Kick. Watch out for Protean variants of Greninja, as they can use Tectonic Rage to remove Magearna immediately, Hidden Power Fire to weaken Fleur Cannon, and Spikes to block Volt Switch. Team Options This set fits best on fast-paced offense teams, acting as a short-term blanket check to special threats and providing safe pivoting. Landorus-T is the traditional complement to Assault Vest Magearna, as it's essentially Magearna's physical counterpart in that it temporarily checks physical attackers like Mega Charizard X and Excadrill, also working together with Magearna to handle Mega Mawile and Choice Scarf Kartana and providing more momentum with U-turn. Frail attackers like Mega Medicham, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Lopunny are the prime beneficiaries of Magearna's slow pivoting, as they struggle to switch directly into attacks. Other pivots like Tapu Koko and Rotom-Wash are able to work with Magearna to keep up momentum, with Tapu Koko posing an offensive threat and both checking Ground-types for Magearna. Choice Scarf users like Landorus-T and Kartana act as an extra safety net against Mega Alakazam + Tapu Lele teams, ensuring that even when Magearna is overwhelmed, Mega Alakazam can still be revenge killed. Considering the amount of Pokemon that Magearna is tasked with handling, it can become overwhelmed quite quickly, so Victini makes for a good teammate because it shares key resistances, such as to Psychic, Ice, and Grass.

Moves Calm Mind turns Magearna into a threatening wallbreaker and a dangerous late-game cleaner and makes it more difficult for special attackers such as Tapu Koko and Mega Alakazam to take it down. Fleur Cannon hits neutral targets such as Landorus-T and Seismitoad hard and mows through Fighting- and Dragon-types like Mega Lopunny, Mega Medicham, Kommo-o, and Mega Latias. Ice Beam cleanly OHKOes the likes of Gliscor while still threatening Grass-types like Serperior and Tapu Bulu and Dragon-types like Kommo-o. Focus Blast pairs well with Fleur Cannon by hitting Steel-types like Heatran and Ferrothorn for major damage. Aura Sphere has more PP and provides a more accurate Fighting-type coverage option to still hit the aforementioned Steel-types, at the expense of a significant drop in power, with Magearna no longer able to OHKO Excadrill without a boost. Finally, Thunderbolt allows Magearna to threaten the likes of Toxapex, Celesteela, and Mega Charizard Y super effectively, all of which can handle its other moves. Set Details The given EV spread enables Magearna to survive a +2 High Jump Kick from Hawlucha and two Focus Blasts from Mega Alakazam after Stealth Rock, with Speed investment to outspeed Skarmory, while the rest of the EVs are dumped into Special Attack. Aguav Berry can be used to gain back lost HP in a pinch after taking hits while setting up, more useful when faced with heavy hits like Landorus-T's Earthquake. Leftovers is another useful option in a similar manner to slowly regain health, making it harder for passive Pokemon like Chansey to meaningfully chip away at Magearna. If Magearna is knocked into low HP, Custap Berry allows it to net surprise damage against Pokemon like Landorus-T and Mega Swampert after taking a hit. Usage Tips Calm Mind Magearna fills a unique role as a wallbreaker, late-game cleaner, and a defensive stopgap that can take on monstrous special attackers like Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, and Mega Alakazam, with Soul-Heart enabling it to nab a boost after a KO and mitigate the Special Attack drop from Fleur Cannon. It is highly recommended to ensure that Magearna stays as healthy as possible to handle Hawlucha and Kommo-o due to this set's limited longevity and, in the case of Hawlucha, the high amount of HP needed to survive one hit and revenge kill. Magearna often finds setup opportunities against Choice-locked Pokemon like Ash-Greninja locked into Dark Pulse and Kartana locked into Leaf Blade as well as passive Pokemon like non-Flamethrower Clefable, Slowbro, and Toxapex. Magearna can also use its bulk to trade against Pokemon like Gliscor and defensive Landorus-T, surviving their super effective hits and OHKOing them back with its boosted attacks. Magearna should avoid trying to set up if checks like Mega Swampert, Victini, Volcarona, and Mega Charizard X are present and wait until they are dealt with before going for the sweep. Make sure to scout for any unexpected super effective coverage such as Fire Fang from Mega Mawile and Tectonic Rage from Protean Greninja. Despite being a solid answer to Weavile, Knock Off removes Magearna's Aguav Berry or Leftovers and reduces its longevity, especially if entry hazards are on the battlefield. Team Options This set is geared towards offense and hyper offense teams, which value its defensive utility as a Steel-type and capability as a Calm Mind sweeper. Magearna appreciates wallbreakers like Tapu Lele and Kyurem-B punching holes through opposing teams and breaking down the likes of Chansey, Heatran, and opposing Magearna. On hyper offense teams, a dedicated lead such as Mega Diancie, Taunt Mew, Landorus-T, or Excadrill is greatly appreciated, setting up entry hazards to help Magearna. Mega Diancie is especially notable, as it can bait in and use Substitute + Endeavor to potentially eliminate the likes of Heatran, Chansey, and defensive Magearna, all of which can take on Calm Mind Magearna. Serperior is a solid partner for Magearna, utilizing Taunt + Leaf Storm to beat Chansey one-on-one and Glare to cripple Pokemon faster than Magearna, such as Excadrill, Mega Medicham, and Mega Charizard Y, potentially sacrificing itself to do so. The chance of full paralysis also grants Magearna extra opportunities to set up Calm Mind, giving Magearna better chances to force through the likes of opposing Calm Mind Magearna and Heatran. Physical setup sweepers such as Gyarados, Dragonite, and Mega Charizard X are also solid partners, as they can force damage against shared checks like opposing Magearna and Toxapex for the other to clean up later in the game and take Fire-type attacks aimed at Magearna. Additionally, the former two, as well as Charizard before Mega Evolving, can set up against Choice Scarf Landorus-T locked into Earthquake thanks to their Ground immunity. In return, Magearna handles the likes of Weavile, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Alakazam. Mega Pinsir also enjoys partnering with Magearna, softening the likes of Celesteela and Ferrothorn while Magearna covers Rock-types like Mega Diancie and Choice Scarf Tyranitar and pressures Zapdos. Magearna also enjoys pairing with Volcarona, as it can threaten Steel-types like Mega Scizor and Celesteela. Additionally, they can pressure Chansey together, forcing it to burn through its Soft-Boiled PP, with Volcarona being able to potentially outplay it with Substitute + Swarm. Kommonium-Z Kommo-o is another solid teammate for Magearna and greatly appreciates the removal of Fairy-types like Clefable and Tapu Lele to clean up later in the game. Cresselia provides a safe switch-in against Ground-type moves aimed at Magearna as well as crucial support with Thunder Wave to cripple faster Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Lunar Dance to grant Magearna another chance to sweep.

Moves Fleur Cannon is Magearna's main damage-dealing option, able to act as a decisive finishing blow against the likes of Chansey after it stacks enough easily afforded Calm Mind boosts. This can be bolstered further by Fairium Z, giving Magearna a sharper finishing blow and allowing it to get the ball rolling immediately against more volatile, offensive teams. Thunderbolt is the perfect complement, as it would be very hard to make this set work without Thunderbolt to pile damage onto Toxapex and hit Steel-types like Celesteela and opposing Magearna. Calm Mind is crucial for forcing through sturdy special walls, additionally helping against special attackers by causing the likes of Ash-Greninja and Tapu Koko's attacks to bounce off. Pain Split allows Magearna to play the long game against the bulky teams this set is known for terrorizing, getting an absurd amount of health back from Chansey and healing off chip damage from attacks. Set Details The given EV spread allows Magearna to survive an Earthquake from Landorus-T and High Jump Kick from Mega Medicham, outspeed Skarmory, and avoid the 2HKO from Timid Choice Specs Tapu Lele's Psychic and Mega Alakazam's Focus Blast, and the rest of the EVs are pooled into Special Attack. Leftovers reduce the burden on Pain Split to keep Magearna healthy, making its matchup easier against the likes of Chansey. Magearna can also run a spread of 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe with a Bold nature to keep the Speed benchmark, maximize its ability to check physical attackers like Kartana and Mega Mawile, and trade with Mega Medicham and Hawlucha more safely. Usage Tips The main draw of this set is how difficult it is to consistently wall, as with the combination of Calm Mind + Pain Split as well as a great Special Attack, Magearna joins the exclusive club of special attackers that can break through Chansey. To put it simply, Magearna excels against passive structures, as it can use the likes of Chansey, Mega Latias, and Clefable as setup fodder, and they have limited means to force it out. Though a boosted Z-Move is a necessary part of Magearna's plan against the likes of Chansey, specially defensive Gliscor, and opposing Calm Mind users, it has plenty of immediate breaking power in more offensive matchups, microwaving neutral targets like Landorus-T, Zapdos, and Tapu Lele. In these matchups, don't get disillusioned by Magearna's offensive potential; it serves its duty perfectly fine by being thrown in to check the likes of Kyurem-B or being saved until late-game sections to beat sweepers like Dragonite, Gyarados, Kommo-o, and Mega Tyranitar one-on-one. When facing Thunder Wave Chansey, it's important not to fully commit to taking paralysis without a good reason, as this gives Chansey odds to win the one-on-one with full paralyses. Team Options This variant of Magearna fits perfectly on bulky balance teams that can relieve it of some of its defensive duties and appreciate it consistently posing a threat against opposing balance teams. Gliscor provides a rock-solid answer to Heatran and can back up Magearna either with entry hazard support or as a secondary threat with Swords Dance. Slowbro serves as an answer to some of the worst attackers Magearna can face, like Mega Charizard X, Mega Swampert, and Excadrill, especially so with Slowbronite. Toxapex handles the specially offensive nasties like Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona well and especially appreciates Magearna stepping in against Tapu Lele and Alakazam. It can even run Shed Shell to add Heatran to the list of notable Pokemon it handles for Magearna. Mega Latias can provide a secondary wincon with Calm Mind or can spread paralysis with Thunder Wave while it checks the likes of Gliscor and Mega Charizard Y. Stealth Rock is important for shortening the lifespan of Fire-type checks like Mega Charizard X and Victini, so setters like Chansey and Clefable make plenty of sense as teammates. Ferrothorn has great synergy with Magearna, as it can reduce its burden against the likes of Tapu Koko and Greninja, allowing it to preserve its health to trade, while additionally offering Spikes to chip away at Magearna's checks such as Heatran, Jirachi, Thunder Wave Chansey, and opposing Magearna.