I'm gonna swing
[OVERVIEW]
Armed with high Special Attack, Ghost / Fire STAB coverage that has Hydreigon as its only viable switch-in, a strong spread attack in Heat Wave, and an immunity to Fake Out, Chandelure makes for a decent offensive Trick Room setter. Thanks to its sizable base 145 Special Attack, Chandelure can handily function as an attacker after Trick Room is up. Chandelure's decent typing and(space)immunity to Fire-type moves thanks to Flash Fire also give it plenty of chances to switch in and beat threats such as Mega Charizard Y, Amoonguss, and Breloom.
However, Chandelure's typing also makes it vulnerable to common Trick Room counters such as Bisharp and Hoopa-U. Chandelure's paltry defenses, even with maximum HP investment, and weaknesses to common attacking types in Water, Ground, Rock, and Dark also leave it easy to take down. In addition, common priority moves such as Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch, and Brave Bird can easily pick off Chandelure while also ignoring Trick Room. Chandelure's biggest con, however, is its unreliability at setting Trick Room on its own, relegating its usage to only full Trick Room teams, where it faces heavy competition from other setters such as Jellicent and Reuniclus.
[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Heat Wave
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Protect
item: Focus Sash
ability: Flash Fire / Infiltrator
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Heat Wave is a strong spread Fire-type STAB move that hits a good portion of the metagame for good damage. Shadow Ball covers threats such as Cresselia, Latios, and Mega Charizard Y, hits a single target, unlike Heat Wave, and deals more damage. Trick Room reverses the Speed tiers, letting slower teammates move first. Protect shields Chandelure from damage, lets it stall out field conditions, and helps it obtain a more favorable position.
Set Details
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Focus Sash prevents the foe from simply OHKOing Chandelure before it sets up Trick Room. A Quiet nature with maximum HP and Special Attack investment gives Chandelure maximum bulk while also giving it as much damage potential as possible. Flash Fire gives Chandelure an effective immunity to Fire and strengthens its own Fire-type attacks after taking one itself, while Infilitrator lets Chandelure ignore Substitute, allowing it to effectively deal with Pokemon such as Aegislash, a big threat to Trick Room teams, and Kyurem-B.
Usage Tips
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Chandelure should only really be used on full Trick Room as the second choice for a Trick Room setter, bringing its offensive prowess to the table, as it can't really carry the burden of consistently setting up Trick Room alone. Chandelure makes for a great lead in order to get Trick Room up early, with its immunity to Fake Out being handy and setting it apart from other Trick Room users. If faced with an obvious Taunt or Spore, it's usually better to just attack, as Heat Wave will do decent damage to Amoonguss and Breloom and Shadow Ball can take out the likes of Gyarados and Thundurus. Resetting Trick Room is not recommended when the opponent has a slower threat, such as Amoonguss, on the field, as it's simply better to attack and beat such threats. Switching Chandelure out to preserve its ability to set up Trick Room can, at times, prove to be key, provided the opponent has a Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y or Mega Kangaskhan that Chandelure can switch into.
After setting up Trick Room, Chandelure should simply attack with either Heat Wave or Shadow Ball, making use of its Speed advantage and high Special Attack. If the opponent has a Wide Guard user or a Pokemon with Flash Fire waiting in the back, Shadow Ball should be used instead of Heat Wave in order to avoid getting blocked or taken advantage of, respectively. Beware of priority users, as they can simply ignore Trick Room and hit through Chandelure's paltry defenses.
Team Options
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A Fake Out user is great to pair with a Trick Room setter, as, combined with Chandelure's Focus Sash, only Taunt and sleep-inducing moves can prevent Trick Room from getting up. Hariyama and Scrafty work well, with Scrafty also providing Intimidate and Hariyama boasting access to Wide Guard, which is useful for shielding Chandelure from Rock Slide and Earthquake; in addition, both are slow enough to take advantage of Trick Room themselves. Grass-types appreciate Chandelure's ability to deter Fire-type attacks with Flash Fire and can deal with Water-type foes quite well; Amoonguss can use Rage Powder to keep Chandelure safe and use Spore against most foes at will in Trick Room, and Ferrothorn can simply remove the likes of Azumarill, Rotom-W, and Mega Diancie with Power Whip. Various Mega Evolutions can effectively utilize Trick Room with their low Speed and high power; Mega Abomasnow can beat Water-types that Chandelure has problems with, and Mega Camerupt has incredible attacking power and great bulk, but its typing overlaps with Chandelure's. Other Trick Room setters, such as Cresselia and Reuniclus, are recommended, as Chandelure can't reliably keep up Trick Room for its team throughout the match by itself.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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A non-Trick Room special attacking set can be used to take advantage of Chandelure's high Special Attack and decent Speed, but it is often outclassed by Heatran which has better bulk and defensive typing. Will-O-Wisp can be handy to neuter physically attacking foes such as Mega Kangaskhan. Energy Ball can be nifty to hit Water- and Rock-types such as Azumarill and Mega Diancie for surprise damage. Hidden Power Ground can be used to hit Heatran hard and is especially useful with Infiltrator to hit through Substitute. Safety Goggles can block Spore and Sleep Powder, immensely improving Chandelure's matchup against Amoonguss. Colbur Berry allows Chandelure to take a Dark-type attack from the likes of Bisharp and Hoopa-U, which are big threats to Trick Room teams. Overheat is an option to hit a foe for major damage, with Fire Blast being a slightly weaker alternative that doesn't drop Chandelure's Special Attack.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Typing Advantage**: Offensive Rock-types such as Mega Diancie and Terrakion outspeed Chandelure and threaten it with their STAB moves. Hydreigon resists Chandelure's STAB moves, outspeeds it, and can hit it back super effectively, and Scrafty resists Shadow Ball and has the bulk to take a few Heat Waves, letting it easily hit back with Knock Off. Water-types such as Suicune, Ludicolo, and Rotom-W can cause issues, as they can easily take a couple of Shadow Balls and hit back with their STAB moves. Suicune can also use Snarl to lower Chandelure's Special Attack. Gyarados can set up Dragon Dances or simply take Chandelure out with Waterfall, and Keldeo can easily KO it with Hydro Pump. Strong Ground-types such as Landorus-T threaten Chandelure with their powerful STAB moves.
**Utility**: Kangaskhan can threaten Chandelure with Scrappy Fake Out before it Mega Evolves, breaking Chandelure's Focus Sash, preventing it from setting up Trick Room, and leaving it vulnerable to getting KOed. Taunt from the likes of Thundurus and Gyarados can stop Trick Room from being set.
**Speed Control**: Opposing Trick Room setters can reset Trick Room against Chandelure, effectively ruining its form of speed control.
**Speed**: Priority moves, such as Aqua Jet from Azumarill, Sucker Punch from Bisharp, and Brave Bird from Talonflame, threaten Chandulure both in and out of Trick Room.
**Opposing Weather**: Sand and hail break Chandelure's Focus Sash, and rain dampens its Fire-type STAB moves.
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