What are the best PvP IVs for Xerneas in Pokemon GO?

Pokemon GO had an excellent selection of Legendary Pokemon on offer through five-star raids in August 2023. One of them was the box legendary from Pokemon X, Xerneas. The life Pokemon was available in five-star raids for the global player base from August 16 to 23, 2023, and again from August 27 to September 1, 2023. Thanks to the hype around Pokemon GO Fest, the number of raids was also sufficient in most areas for players to catch Xerneas.

Xerneas also got access to its signature move, Geomancy, for the first time in Pokemon GO. This Fairy-type is one of the best of its kind in the game, thanks to its rapid energy generation capacity.

If you caught a Xerneas during this period, you might want to use it in GO Battle League, necessitating ideal IVs for each league. This article will tell you everything you need to know on the matter.

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Best IVs for Xerneas in Pokemon GO's Great League, Ultra League, and Master League

Xerneas in Pokemon GO (Image via Sportskeeda)

The most suitable IV distribution for Xerneas in different formats of GO Battle League are:

• Great League: Ineligible
• Ultra League: 1/14/15
• Master League: 15/15/15

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Xerneas Pokemon GO Battle League: Great League IVs explained

Being a powerful Legendary Pokemon, Xerneas can be caught at a minimum of 2073 CP from five-star raids. Therefore, it is rendered ineligible for any Great League format in Niantic's mobile game.

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Xerneas Pokemon GO Battle League: Ultra League IVs explained

In the Ultra League, Xerneas' perfect IVs are 1/14/15. At these IVs, Xerneas maxes out at 2500 CP at levels 23-26.

The low-attack IVs might be surprising for many players since the common notion is that perfect IV critters are the most powerful. While that is accurate in its own right, there is a concept called Combat Power (CP) Inflation.

Attack IVs have a greater weightage in calculating a critter's CP. Therefore, having perfect IVs on a critter means it reaches the CP cap in formats like the Ultra League at a relatively lower level. This compromises the defensive and bulk stats of the critter.

Thus, to maximize the bulk of a critter and the overall combat power of a critter, it is recommended that their Attack IVs be minimized while their Defense and Stamina stats are maximized in the Ultra League.

Note that Xerneas is far from an ideal pick in the Ultra League, where Steel-type critters like Registeel, Cobalion, Steelix, and Galarian Stunfisk reign supreme.

However, if you still wish to pick Xerneas in this format, it can perform well against Dark-type critters like Umbreon, Scrafty, and Obstagoon.

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Xerneas in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Xerneas Pokemon GO Battle League: Master League IVs explained

Deciding on the best IVs for Master League is relatively simple since perfect (15/15/15) IV Pokemon are usually ideal for the purpose. Since there is no cap on the maximum Combat Power, the concept of CP Inflation does not apply to this format.

Perfect IV Xerneas reaches 4275 CP at level 50. To get to this level, you need to invest a fair amount of Stardust and Candy XL. It has an Attack stat of nearly 222.6, along with 219 Stamina.

Upon gaining access to Geomancy, Xerneas is the best Fairy-type critter in the open Master League, outclassing even Hero form Zacian.

In this format, Xerneas wins in a head-to-head against popular critters like Dragonite, Zacian (Hero), Garchomp, Giratina (Origin), and Dialga.

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Now that you know the best IVs for Xerneas in each format of Pokemon GO Battle League, you can check out the best moveset for the critter for PvP modes.