Xurkitree #796: The Cable Tree That Raids Power Plants

A walking tangle of electrical cables. Xurkitree (Câblifère in French) is a 3.8-meter Ultra Beast from another world, with a white spark for a head. Its code name among Alola's investigators: UB-03 Lighting.

Contents

• Who is Xurkitree?
• UB-03 Lighting, an Ultra Beast from Ultra Space
• Type, Ability and an off-the-charts Special Attack
• Evolution: none, and no Mega Evolution
• A Christmas tree plugged into the mains
• Xurkitree at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Xurkitree?

Listed as #796 in the National Pokédex, Xurkitree is the "Glowing Pokémon" of Generation VII: 3.8 meters, 100 kilograms, and it's a pure Electric type, a rarity among Ultra Beasts.

Poképédia describes it as a mass of electrical cables that looks vaguely humanoid. Its "head" is a big, bright white spark, bristling with spikes and completely faceless — beneath it, a jumble of black wires forms its torso and limbs.

White bands run across its body and give the illusion of cable ties at its shoulders, elbows, hips and ankles. Its hands are copper structures with six flat fingers, and its tail ends in an electrical plug.

Its Shiny form has a blue body, probably a nod to the neutral wire, which is always blue in single-phase wiring, while the black of its regular coloring points to the live wire.

UB-03 Lighting, an Ultra Beast from Ultra Space

The Ultra Beasts form a family of eleven Pokémon discovered in Alola. The islands' old legends say they come from other worlds known collectively as Ultra Space, from which they burst out through Ultra Wormholes.

The Aether Foundation studies them, and the UB Task Force has given each of them a code name: Xurkitree's is UB-03 Lighting. When Pokémon Sun and Moon came out, it was the only single-type Ultra Beast; Poipole, a.k.a. UB Adhesive, joined it in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

Unlike Buzzwole to Pheromosa, it isn't exclusive to either version. In both Sun and Moon, you can encounter two in total, on Memorial Hill or in Lush Jungle, at level 65, during Looker's mission — Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon offer it at level 60.

Ordinary Poké Balls struggle to catch these visitors. So the Aether Foundation developed the Beast Ball, not to be confused with the Ultra Ball: its catch bonus climbs to 5 against an Ultra Beast and drops to 0.1 on any other Pokémon.

Type, Ability and an off-the-charts Special Attack

Being a pure Electric type keeps the math simple: a single weakness, Ground, which deals double damage to it. Three types deal it only half damage — Flying, Steel and Electric — and the other fourteen hit it normally, with no immunity at all.

As for Abilities, it has just one, Beast Boost, shared by all eleven Ultra Beasts, and no hidden ability. As soon as it knocks out an opposing or allied Pokémon with a move, its highest stat goes up by one stage.

Its six stats are all prime numbers: 83 HP, 89 Attack, 71 Defense, 173 Special Attack, 71 Special Defense and 83 Speed, for a total of 570. That 173 is the highest of any Electric type, Mega forms included.

Better still: no Pokémon in its base form beats it in Special Attack. On top of that, it knows Tail Glow right from the start in Sun and Moon, a move that only Volbeat and Manaphy share with it, and that raises that same stat by three stages at once.

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Evolution: none, and no Mega Evolution

Let's get this out of the way right away: Xurkitree doesn't evolve and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. Its chain has just one link — no stone, no trade and no level to reach — and Poipole is the only Ultra Beast that can evolve.

No Mega Evolution either, no regional form, no Gigantamax form: no Ultra Beast is among the 93 Mega Pokémon on record. The only Megas from Generation VII belong to Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora.

It doesn't breed either: genderless and placed in the Undiscovered Egg Group. Defeating it, on the other hand, yields three Special Attack EVs.

A Christmas tree plugged into the mains

The Pokémon Moon Pokédex is clear: it's a creature that escaped from an Ultra Wormhole and attacked a power plant, hence the theory that it feeds on electricity. The Ultra Moon entry adds that some specimens plant their limbs in the ground like a tree and stay perfectly still.

According to Wicke of the Aether Foundation, the cables that make up its body are made of the same material as electrical wiring, which makes it an excellent conductor. An internal organ generates energy and can release up to a million volts at once.

Its French name, Câblifère, is said to come from "câble" (cable), "conifère" (conifer) and "carbonifère" (Carboniferous), while its English name blends "circuit" and "tree." Its design mixes high-voltage power lines with a Christmas tree — its head evokes a Moravian star, and its lit-up cable ties, a string of fairy lights.

Its home world, the Ultra Plant, is a dark, stormy place where lightning strikes relentlessly. It made its anime debut in the episode known in France as "Un spectacle sans précédent !", which aired there on December 1, 2018 — enough to earn it a place among your Pokémon figures and your Pokémon plushies.

Xurkitree at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Xurkitree have an evolution?
  No. Xurkitree doesn't evolve and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon: its evolution chain has just one link, with no stone, no held item, no trade and no level to reach. It's genderless and classified in the Undiscovered Egg Group, which also prevents it from breeding. Of the eleven Ultra Beasts, only one can evolve: Poipole, which evolves into Naganadel.
• What are Xurkitree's weaknesses?
  As a pure Electric type, it has only one weakness: Ground, which deals double damage. On the other hand, it takes only half damage from three types: Flying, Steel and Electric. The remaining fourteen types hit it normally, and it has no immunities. With 71 in both Defense and Special Defense, it's best not to let it take too many hits.
• What does the Beast Boost Ability do?
  It raises Xurkitree's highest stat by one stage each time it knocks out an opposing or allied Pokémon with a move, the stat chosen being the highest of the six once IVs, EVs and Nature are taken into account. Watch out for a common misconception: this Ability doesn't reduce any damage. The Ability that reduces damage from super-effective moves, to 0.75 times, is called Prism Armor and belongs to Necrozma. Beast Boost is the Ability shared by all eleven Ultra Beasts, and none of them has a hidden Ability.
• Does Xurkitree have a Mega Evolution?
  No, and no Ultra Beast has one: none of them appear among the 93 Mega Pokémon on record. The only Mega Evolutions from Generation VII are those of Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora. Xurkitree doesn't have a regional form or a Gigantamax form either: its only variation in appearance is its Shiny coloring, with a body that turns blue. One trap to be aware of: Scolipede does have a Mega, but it's #545, a Generation V Pokémon with no connection to Alola.
• Where can you catch Xurkitree?
  Unlike Buzzwole and Pheromosa, Xurkitree isn't exclusive to either version. In both Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, it appears at level 65 on Memorial Hill or in Lush Jungle, two in total, during Looker's mission. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you encounter it at level 60 in the Ultra Plant, its home world, reached via Ultra Warp Ride. It later returns in the Dynamax Adventures of the Max Lair in The Crown Tundra, again in both versions.
• Why is its 173 Special Attack remarkable?
  Because no Pokémon in its base form does better: the only higher scores belong to alternate forms, with Mega Zygarde at 216, Mega Mewtwo Y at 194, Mega Rayquaza, Primal Kyogre and Deoxys (Attack Forme) at 180, then Mega Alakazam, Mega Heatran and Mega Chandelure at 175. It's also the highest score of any Electric type, Mega forms included. Xurkitree also knows Tail Glow, which only Volbeat and Manaphy share with it and which raises Special Attack by three stages in one go.

In short

A live-wire Christmas tree by day, a tree plugged into the ground when its reserves run low: behind its tangle of wires, Xurkitree hides the highest Special Attack of any Pokémon in its base form.