Special
Balanced
470Average
95Moderate
CTier

On paper, Xatu looks underwhelming. In practice, Magic Bounce bounces status moves back at the user — and that's the whole story. Psychic/Flying typing means Ground moves can't touch it, which offsets the 5 weaknesses somewhat. Known as the Mystic Pokemon.

The stat budget goes to damage. Sp. Atk and Speed carry the offense, HP doesn't even come close. A Mystic Pokemon on a medium-fast 1M XP curve, worth 2 Sp. Atk and Speed EVs per KO.

Base Stats
470Above
HP65
C
Attack75
C
Defense70
C
Sp. Atk95
B
Sp. Def70
C
Speed95
B
Total470
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Xatu yields +1 SpA, +1 Spe
HPAtkDefSpA+1SpDSpe+1
Details
Catch75Challenging•Medium Fast1M XP•1.5m / 4'11"•15kg / 33.1 lbs•165Base XP
Pokedex Entries

XATU stands rooted and still in one spot all day long. People believe that this POKéMON does so out of fear of the terrible things it has foreseen in the future.

Ruby

XATU is known to stand motionless while staring at the sun all day long. Some people revere it as a mystical POKéMON out of their belief that XATU is in possession of the power to see into the future.

Sapphire

Xatu Weakness

Avg

Type-wise, Xatu takes extra damage from Electric, Ice, Rock, Ghost, and Dark. Ground moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. Xatu leans toward special offense (base 95 Sp.Atk) instead of trying to wall anything.

Gen III Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
ElectricIceRockGhostDark
½xResisti
GrassPsychic
¼xResisti
Fighting
0xImmunei
Ground
STAB (4)i
FightingPoisonGrassBug
5Weak
3Resist
1Immune
Scorei-3
Stealth Rock25% on switch
Abilities
SynchronizeCopies burns, paralysis, and poison received onto the Pokémon that inflicted them.
Early BirdMakes sleep pass twice as quickly.
Magic BounceHAReflects most non-damaging moves back at their user.

Evolved from Natu. Xatu is the final form in this two-stage line. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. HP grew the most through evolution (+25 over Natu), and Xatu peaks at 470 total stats.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Natu
#177Natu
25
Level 25
Xatu
#178Xatu
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Natu
PsychicFlying
Xatu
PsychicFlying
HP
40
65+25
ATK
50
75+25
DEF
45
70+25
SP.ATK
70
95+25
SP.DEF
45
70+25
SPE
70
95+25
BST
320D-Tier
470C-Tier+150
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Special
Special
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Xatu to get Natu eggs easily using 25 partners from the Flying egg group. Notable egg moves include Drill Peck, Feather Dance, Feint Attack and 5 more.

Egg Groups
Flying
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
8moves
Breed With (best first)
togeticaltariapelipperfarfetchdswabluwingullcrobatpidgeotdodrioxatufearowgolbat
12 of 25·

Psychic is the main STAB option after a Calm Mind boost. Leftovers gives Xatu passive recovery each turn to survive the setup turn, and flexible EVs EVs make the boosted hits count. The remaining moves catches resists.

Best Build

Support
Ability
Synchronize
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Nature
Timid+SPE
EVs

Best Xatu Moveset

  • PsychicSTAB
  • Giga Drain
  • Calm MindSTAB
  • Thunder Wave

Recommended Teammates

Dugtrio
DugtrioGood
Metagross
MetagrossDecent
Tyranitar
TyranitarDecent

The egg pool carries weight here. Drill Peck and Feather Dance aren't available any other way for Xatu, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Future Sight and Psychic for solid options.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Leer
—10030Normal
Lv 1
Peck
3510035Flying
Lv 10
Night Shade
—10015Ghost
Lv 20
Teleport-6
——20Psychic
Lv 35
Future Sight
12010010Psychic
Lv 35
Wish
——10Normal
Lv 50
Confuse Ray
—10010Ghost
Lv 65
Psychic
9010010Psychic

TM Moves

Src
TM40
Aerial Ace
60—20Flying
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM04
Calm Mind
——20Psychic
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
HM05
Flash
—7020Normal
HM02
Fly
709515Flying
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
751005Grass
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM16
Light Screen
——30Psychic
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM29
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM18
Rain Dance
——5Water
TM33
Reflect
——20Psychic
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM43
Secret Power
7010020Normal
TM30
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
TM48
Skill Swap
——10Psychic
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM47
Steel Wing
709025Steel
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM06
Toxic
—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Drill Peck
8010020Flying
Egg
Feather Dance
—10015Flying
Egg
Feint Attack
60—20Dark
Egg
Haze
——30Ice
Egg
Psych Up
——10Normal
Egg
Quick Attack+1
4010030Normal
Egg
Refresh
——20Normal
Egg
Steel Wing
709025Steel

Tutor Moves

Xatu can't learn any Tutor moves

You'll want mid-game access before hunting Xatu. Moderate rates across 2 encounter spots means the location matters. Sort by Best below and target the top-rated area first.

Where To Catch Xatu in Ruby & Sapphire

The path to Xatu starts with Natu at Lv. 25-31 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Natu
    Step 1Catch Natu
    Safari Zone - Southeast
    RubyGrassLv.25UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - Southeast
    SapphireGrassLv.25UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - Southwest
    SapphireGrassLv.25UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - Southwest
    RubyGrassLv.25UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - Northeast
    RubyGrassLv.27-29UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - Northeast
    SapphireGrassLv.27-29UncommonMidFacility
    EASY
  2. Xatu
    Step 2Xatu ✓
    Safari Zone - Northeast
    SapphireGrassLv.29-31RareMidFacility
    CHALLENGING
    Safari Zone - Northeast
    RubyGrassLv.29-31RareMidFacility
    CHALLENGING
    or evolve from Natu (Step 1)

  • Magic Bounce changes the entire equation for Xatu. The 470 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier.

  • Xatu's biggest threats include Jolteon (Electric), Cloyster (Ice), and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Ghost and Dark-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

  • Natu evolves into Xatu at level 25. Xatu is the fully evolved form. It sits at 470 BST in its evolved form.

  • Magic Bounce is what you want on Xatu. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Synchronize, Early Bird) work on paper but Magic Bounce is what makes Xatu worth using.

  • Base 95 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Xatu is a special attacker with base 95 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two.

  • Xatu appears in 16 games, including Gold & Silver, Crystal, and Ruby & Sapphire.

Available in 16 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Xatu spans 8 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in most mainline games.