Common Roles

Special Wall: With serviceable utility moves of the likes of Will-O-Wisp and Wish as well as a respectable Special Defense stat that is unfortunately hindered by its typing and HP stat, Flareon can act as a special wall to certain Pokemon such as Gholdengo, non-Tera Iron Moth, and Tornadus-T.

Wallbreaker: Boasting a high base Attack with access to Guts means that even Pokemon that resist Fire have a tough time switching into Flareon. However, having to hold a Toxic Orb in order to reliably activate Guts means it struggles to get much value out of it due to its lack of physical coverage and being incredibly easily to revenge kill.

Common Moves

Primary STAB Moves: Flare Blitz, Lava Plume, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Overheat, Temper Flare

Setup Moves: Calm Mind, Curse, Trailblaze

Utility Moves: Roar, Wish, Will-O-Wisp, Yawn, Protect

Coverage: Facade, Alluring Voice, Scorching Sands, Shadow Ball, Double Kick, Bite

Niche Moves

Fire Spin: Although it traps Flareon with the foe, Fire Spin can be used to get chip damage on bulkier targets.

Dig: Flareon's desperation for coverage moves truly runs deep, and Dig + Power Herb may be useful in catching a Rock-type off guard.

Quick Attack: Quick Attack on Guts sets can prove useful in either revenge killing or picking off weakened foes.

Common Items

Heavy-Duty Boots: Due to Flareon's debilitating weakness to entry hazards, Heavy-Duty Boots is an absolute must on bulkier sets, allowing it to repeatedly attempt to get Wish to its teammates, even with its low base HP.

Toxic Orb: The only way Flareon has to activate its own Guts is with Toxic Orb. The residual damage from the Toxic poison status will rarely matter, as Guts sets severely lack longevity.

Niche Items

Power Herb: Flareon's feeble flings in farming damage draws it to dark depths; Dig is its only way of touching Rock-types on the physical side outside of Trailblaze, but it is often better off running a special set with Scorching Sands if the goal is to hit a Rock-type.

Silk Scarf: If Flareon is expected to get poisoned by its foes, Silk Scarf is ideal on Guts sets to boost Facade and Quick Attack, alleviating some of the pressure it has to click Flare Blitz and taking recoil damage.

Leftovers: If entry hazards are not as much of a concern in a match, Leftovers provides additional healing on Wish + Protect sets.

Flame Orb: On sets designed specifically to Terastallize, Flame Orb is an option to deal less damage than Toxic Orb would, but not every Flareon should be designed to Terastallize.

Eject Pack: With an Eject Pack, Flareon can use Overheat to get a big hit off and get a teammate in safely. It has the ability to pass a Wish this way as well.

Tera

Flareon is a usable secondary Tera Captain when paired with a higher-tier Tera Captain if none of the other low-point Pokemon on a draft benefit from Terastallization. On offensive sets, Tera Norma boosts the moves it usually wants to use on Guts sets, and it can also use Tera types that give it additional coverage options with Tera Blast, such as Tera Electric to hit bulky Water-types and Tera Ground to hit Rock- and Steel-types while having Facade to hit everything else. On defensive sets, Tera types that can take advantage of Flash Fire, such as Tera Steel and Grass, are standout choices.

Draft Strategy

Flareon should not come to every matchup, and it should be drafted on a team that functions fine without it. When it comes, it needs a lot of support, as it either lacks a way to put out substantial amounts of damage or longevity depending on its set. It can use Wish to heal up Pokemon that lack reliable means of recovery, but with no way to safely pivot to its teammates, this can be risky. Drafting Flareon on a team that appreciates an immunity to Fire would be best, taking advantage of Flash Fire.

Checks and Counters

Pokemon That Resist Fire: Since it lacks a way to hit Pokemon with strong moves outside of its Fire-type moves, practically any Pokemon that resists Fire moves has an easy time checking Flareon.

Physical Walls: Physical walls that are not weak to Fire-type moves such as Great Tusk, Landorus-T, and Garchomp can all switch into the Guts Flareon set easily and force it out, although they all don't appreciate getting burned from Will-O-Wisp.

Residual Damage: On Guts sets, residual damage can be Flareon's biggest killer, especially considering that its best physical Fire-type move damages itself.

Physical Attackers: Flareon's low physical bulk leaves it extremely vulnerable to physical attackers, even ones that can only hit it for neutral damage.