[OVERVIEW]
Moltres is a fearsome threat in RBY NU, with significant bulk, the tier's most powerful special attack in Fire Blast, and a decent Speed tier that ties Mr. Mime, Poliwhirl, and Venomoth. Moltres 2HKOes notable threats such as Mr. Mime and Nidoking, OHKOes Venomoth 74% of the time, and OHKOes Exeggcute, and it deals a significant chunk to most resistant switch-ins such as Golem and Water-types—barring Kabutops—while threatening to burn them. Fire Spin allows Moltres to chip down and pivot around its checks, Hyper Beam finishes off Fire-resistant threats, and various utility moves such as Reflect, Toxic, and Agility enable it to take on different roles, walling certain threats or sweeping late-game. Defensively, it brings Earthquake immunity and enough bulk to avoid a 3HKO from neutral attacks; even Charizard's Slash is a 4HKO, leaving Swords Dance-less sets unable to break Moltres.
Despite its legendary status, Moltres suffers from the ubiquity of the pedestrian Fire / Flying type in Charizard, which can set up on standard Moltres freely. It's also hindered by the prevalence of teams stacking Fire- and Water-types, which leave it with few opportunities to truly unleash its Fire Blast. Fire / Flying is a flawed type combination, suffering greatly against Rock Slide and carrying common weakness; even if Moltres often avoids 2HKOs from Blizzard, Thunderbolt, and Surf, it'd rather not be weak to them at all. Fire Blast and Hyper Beam are Moltres's only real, strong attack options; both are just inaccurate enough to make it inconsistent and punishable. Utilizing Moltres means running a second Fire / Flying type alongside Charizard in a metagame full of Water- and Rock-types, and one where super effective moves abound. Despite this, its sheer stat total gives it a place on many teams as a terrifying damage dealer, bulky roadblock, or endgame sweeper.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Fire Spin
move 4: Agility / Toxic
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
This set leans on Moltres's huge damage output. Because NU tends to be fast-paced and lacking in recovery, nothing but Kabutops switches fearlessly into Fire Blast. A single hit leaves a number of foes in precarious positions. It puts Mr. Mime in KO range for Charizard's Hyper Beam and usually its Fire Blast, leaves Golem unable to safely switch into Charizard's Earthquake or Mr. Mime's Psychic, and leaves Poliwhirl in range of Mr. Mime's Thunderbolt, to name a few examples. Hyper Beam lets Moltres finish off Water-types after repeatedly taking Fire Blast, notably dealing 42% minimum to Poliwhirl and 35% minimum to Seadra; this damage can add consistency in securing KOs and allows a 3HKO on Seadra if Fire Blast burns. Fire Spin lets Moltres pivot out of threats such as Golem and Water-types and can provide crucial chip damage on a foe that is just out of Fire Blast range.
The final moveslot allows Moltres to either threaten a sweep and shrug off paralysis via Agility, or create a headache for Charizard with Toxic; it can use Toxic plus Fire Spin to force Charizard to switch out rather than setting up, though this combination has dubious accuracy. Agility Moltres can also easily be saved for a late-game sweep, with teammates removing threats that can trade with or beat Moltres such as Water-types and Charizard. Then, Moltres can set up and potentially end the game, utilizing Fire Spin if necessary to earn crucial chip damage, though this is always risky.
Moltres benefits from teammates that can cover its weaknesses; Blastoise matches up well against Fire- and Water-types, and Golem comes in on Fire-types that would otherwise exploit Moltres's poor coverage. Electrode is an offbeat option to exploit Water-types but leaves the team especially Golem-weak. Moltres also benefits from Mr. Mime and Clefable, which should be on every team, as both can typically remove key threats such as themselves or Kabutops.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Fire Spin / Reflect
move 3: Toxic / Fire Spin
move 4: Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Defensive Moltres can annoy and weaken various threats that handle its offensive set well. Toxic wears down foes hoping to set up such as Charizard and Kabutops, especially in combination with Fire Spin, which wastes their turns as Toxic damage ramps up. However, remember that Toxic has 84.4% accuracy and Fire Spin has a horrid 69.5% accuracy, and this fast-paced metagame heavily punishes misses. Even without Toxic, Fire Spin still allows Moltres to harass burned foes or pivot out of threats. If running Toxic, Reflect is an option to stall out Charizard; Slash is only a 4HKO, and Hyper Beam does not 2HKO until Charizard boosts to +6. This means that Charizard has to spend several turns setting up followed by several turns to KO, usually forcing Charizard to switch out instead. This does not work against Kabutops, as Surf is a guaranteed 3HKO. Reflect additionally has utility in slowing down Nidoking and Raticate if set up in advance, though Nidoking can still 3HKO with Blizzard and Raticate can break through with Super Fang and critical hit Body Slam or Hyper Beam. Rest, of course, provides Moltres with recovery, though it is hard to wake Moltres up against most of the tier; it can attempt to do so against Charizard without Swords Dance, Clefable without Blizzard, Venomoth, Moltres, and the occasional Ninetales and Porygon, and it can switch in on Charizard's Earthquake, Fire Spin, and various Thunder Wave users.
Moltres can enable double switches to catch foes as they attempt to switch into its Rest, getting Kabutops or Blastoise against Golem or Charizard. Reflect sets additionally benefit from setting up a Moltres versus Charizard endgame, surprising the opponent with an unexpectedly bulky Moltres as Toxic racks up damage; to this end, allies that are effective at trading one-for-one such as Nidoking, Golem, and Blastoise are beneficial.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Moltres generally lacks other move options. Although Fire Blast can't be dropped, one can combine its other moves in varying ways to meet different threats, such as running Hyper Beam on a Rest set. Double-Edge is an option, providing far more PP than Fire Blast or Hyper Beam, but fails to outdamage Fire Blast even on Fire-resistant targets, while Sky Attack's charge time is easy to maneuver around.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Charizard**: Charizard outspeeds Moltres and sets up Swords Dance freely, taking little from Fire Blast or Hyper Beam while 4HKOing with Slash or boosting up and KOing with +6 Hyper Beam. Moltres has counterplay in the form of Toxic + Reflect, which allows it to tank any Charizard set. Toxic whittles Charizard down, but running Toxic sacrifices valuable utility elsewhere and renders Charizard immune to paralysis, allowing it to simply switch out and return later.
**Kabutops**: Fire Blast might as well be Ember to Kabutops, and it resists Hyper Beam too, rendering Moltres entirely ineffective. It threatens to set up Swords Dance or retaliate with a number of 3HKO options, including Surf, Blizzard, Slash, and Hyper Beam, and it essentially ignores burn. While Moltres outspeeds it and can use Fire Spin to pivot out, a miss will be punished to the tune of 30-40% of Moltres's HP.
**Golem**: Golem takes Fire Blast easily, only having a 14% chance to be 3HKOed, and threatens to OHKO in return with Rock Slide 92% of the time. However, a burn significantly hampers Golem, so it must carefully consider the risk, especially if other options such as Water-types are available. If Moltres manages to apply burn, it can even freely set up Agility to reapply the burn Attack drop, making Golem's Rock Slide barely 4HKO.
**Bulky Water-types**: Blastoise takes Fire Blast well; Moltres needs to land three Fire Blasts and Hyper Beam to 4HKO, potentially missing in the process, while Blastoise is able to 3HKO with Surf. Less specially bulky options like Seadra and Kingler can check Moltres in a pinch, being 4HKOed and 3HKOed by Fire Blast while 2HKOing with their STAB options in return. However, they want to come in against a weakened Moltres due to their lower Speed and relative frailty. Poliwhirl takes quite a bit from Fire Blast normally, being 3HKOed like most other Water-types, but threatens the moves Hypnosis and Amnesia; this allows it to barricade Moltres almost as well as Kabutops while threatening significantly more damage in return, dealing minimum 77% with Hydro Pump at +2. Moltres gains little from winning the Speed tie.
**Paralysis**: A paralyzed Moltres becomes much easier to handle, outsped by its checks and less likely to land already inconsistent moves such as Fire Blast. Paralysis also creates many revenge killers such as Nidoking, Clefable, and Mr. Mime. While Moltres often runs Agility and can counteract the Speed loss, this does not prevent full paralysis from inhibiting its reliability.
**Arcanine**: While uncommon in the modern metagame, Arcanine is uniquely able to wall Moltres . Not only does it outrun Moltres, but it also shrugs off any move and can retaliate with Body Slam and Hyper Beam, targeting Moltres's weaker Defense and threatening paralysis. However, Rest Moltres sets can engage in a stall war with Arcanine, and Toxic sets often win in the long term as well.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sabelette, 583793]]
- Quality checked by: [[phoopes, 96315], [May, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
Moltres is a fearsome threat in RBY NU, with significant bulk, the tier's most powerful special attack in Fire Blast, and a decent Speed tier that ties Mr. Mime, Poliwhirl, and Venomoth. Moltres 2HKOes notable threats such as Mr. Mime and Nidoking, OHKOes Venomoth 74% of the time, and OHKOes Exeggcute, and it deals a significant chunk to most resistant switch-ins such as Golem and Water-types—barring Kabutops—while threatening to burn them. Fire Spin allows Moltres to chip down and pivot around its checks, Hyper Beam finishes off Fire-resistant threats, and various utility moves such as Reflect, Toxic, and Agility enable it to take on different roles, walling certain threats or sweeping late-game. Defensively, it brings Earthquake immunity and enough bulk to avoid a 3HKO from neutral attacks; even Charizard's Slash is a 4HKO, leaving Swords Dance-less sets unable to break Moltres.
Despite its legendary status, Moltres suffers from the ubiquity of the pedestrian Fire / Flying type in Charizard, which can set up on standard Moltres freely. It's also hindered by the prevalence of teams stacking Fire- and Water-types, which leave it with few opportunities to truly unleash its Fire Blast. Fire / Flying is a flawed type combination, suffering greatly against Rock Slide and carrying common weakness; even if Moltres often avoids 2HKOs from Blizzard, Thunderbolt, and Surf, it'd rather not be weak to them at all. Fire Blast and Hyper Beam are Moltres's only real, strong attack options; both are just inaccurate enough to make it inconsistent and punishable. Utilizing Moltres means running a second Fire / Flying type alongside Charizard in a metagame full of Water- and Rock-types, and one where super effective moves abound. Despite this, its sheer stat total gives it a place on many teams as a terrifying damage dealer, bulky roadblock, or endgame sweeper.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Fire Spin
move 4: Agility / Toxic
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
This set leans on Moltres's huge damage output. Because NU tends to be fast-paced and lacking in recovery, nothing but Kabutops switches fearlessly into Fire Blast. A single hit leaves a number of foes in precarious positions. It puts Mr. Mime in KO range for Charizard's Hyper Beam and usually its Fire Blast, leaves Golem unable to safely switch into Charizard's Earthquake or Mr. Mime's Psychic, and leaves Poliwhirl in range of Mr. Mime's Thunderbolt, to name a few examples. Hyper Beam lets Moltres finish off Water-types after repeatedly taking Fire Blast, notably dealing 42% minimum to Poliwhirl and 35% minimum to Seadra; this damage can add consistency in securing KOs and allows a 3HKO on Seadra if Fire Blast burns. Fire Spin lets Moltres pivot out of threats such as Golem and Water-types and can provide crucial chip damage on a foe that is just out of Fire Blast range.
The final moveslot allows Moltres to either threaten a sweep and shrug off paralysis via Agility, or create a headache for Charizard with Toxic; it can use Toxic plus Fire Spin to force Charizard to switch out rather than setting up, though this combination has dubious accuracy. Agility Moltres can also easily be saved for a late-game sweep, with teammates removing threats that can trade with or beat Moltres such as Water-types and Charizard. Then, Moltres can set up and potentially end the game, utilizing Fire Spin if necessary to earn crucial chip damage, though this is always risky.
Moltres benefits from teammates that can cover its weaknesses; Blastoise matches up well against Fire- and Water-types, and Golem comes in on Fire-types that would otherwise exploit Moltres's poor coverage. Electrode is an offbeat option to exploit Water-types but leaves the team especially Golem-weak. Moltres also benefits from Mr. Mime and Clefable, which should be on every team, as both can typically remove key threats such as themselves or Kabutops.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Fire Spin / Reflect
move 3: Toxic / Fire Spin
move 4: Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Defensive Moltres can annoy and weaken various threats that handle its offensive set well. Toxic wears down foes hoping to set up such as Charizard and Kabutops, especially in combination with Fire Spin, which wastes their turns as Toxic damage ramps up. However, remember that Toxic has 84.4% accuracy and Fire Spin has a horrid 69.5% accuracy, and this fast-paced metagame heavily punishes misses. Even without Toxic, Fire Spin still allows Moltres to harass burned foes or pivot out of threats. If running Toxic, Reflect is an option to stall out Charizard; Slash is only a 4HKO, and Hyper Beam does not 2HKO until Charizard boosts to +6. This means that Charizard has to spend several turns setting up followed by several turns to KO, usually forcing Charizard to switch out instead. This does not work against Kabutops, as Surf is a guaranteed 3HKO. Reflect additionally has utility in slowing down Nidoking and Raticate if set up in advance, though Nidoking can still 3HKO with Blizzard and Raticate can break through with Super Fang and critical hit Body Slam or Hyper Beam. Rest, of course, provides Moltres with recovery, though it is hard to wake Moltres up against most of the tier; it can attempt to do so against Charizard without Swords Dance, Clefable without Blizzard, Venomoth, Moltres, and the occasional Ninetales and Porygon, and it can switch in on Charizard's Earthquake, Fire Spin, and various Thunder Wave users.
Moltres can enable double switches to catch foes as they attempt to switch into its Rest, getting Kabutops or Blastoise against Golem or Charizard. Reflect sets additionally benefit from setting up a Moltres versus Charizard endgame, surprising the opponent with an unexpectedly bulky Moltres as Toxic racks up damage; to this end, allies that are effective at trading one-for-one such as Nidoking, Golem, and Blastoise are beneficial.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Moltres generally lacks other move options. Although Fire Blast can't be dropped, one can combine its other moves in varying ways to meet different threats, such as running Hyper Beam on a Rest set. Double-Edge is an option, providing far more PP than Fire Blast or Hyper Beam, but fails to outdamage Fire Blast even on Fire-resistant targets, while Sky Attack's charge time is easy to maneuver around.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Charizard**: Charizard outspeeds Moltres and sets up Swords Dance freely, taking little from Fire Blast or Hyper Beam while 4HKOing with Slash or boosting up and KOing with +6 Hyper Beam. Moltres has counterplay in the form of Toxic + Reflect, which allows it to tank any Charizard set. Toxic whittles Charizard down, but running Toxic sacrifices valuable utility elsewhere and renders Charizard immune to paralysis, allowing it to simply switch out and return later.
**Kabutops**: Fire Blast might as well be Ember to Kabutops, and it resists Hyper Beam too, rendering Moltres entirely ineffective. It threatens to set up Swords Dance or retaliate with a number of 3HKO options, including Surf, Blizzard, Slash, and Hyper Beam, and it essentially ignores burn. While Moltres outspeeds it and can use Fire Spin to pivot out, a miss will be punished to the tune of 30-40% of Moltres's HP.
**Golem**: Golem takes Fire Blast easily, only having a 14% chance to be 3HKOed, and threatens to OHKO in return with Rock Slide 92% of the time. However, a burn significantly hampers Golem, so it must carefully consider the risk, especially if other options such as Water-types are available. If Moltres manages to apply burn, it can even freely set up Agility to reapply the burn Attack drop, making Golem's Rock Slide barely 4HKO.
**Bulky Water-types**: Blastoise takes Fire Blast well; Moltres needs to land three Fire Blasts and Hyper Beam to 4HKO, potentially missing in the process, while Blastoise is able to 3HKO with Surf. Less specially bulky options like Seadra and Kingler can check Moltres in a pinch, being 4HKOed and 3HKOed by Fire Blast while 2HKOing with their STAB options in return. However, they want to come in against a weakened Moltres due to their lower Speed and relative frailty. Poliwhirl takes quite a bit from Fire Blast normally, being 3HKOed like most other Water-types, but threatens the moves Hypnosis and Amnesia; this allows it to barricade Moltres almost as well as Kabutops while threatening significantly more damage in return, dealing minimum 77% with Hydro Pump at +2. Moltres gains little from winning the Speed tie.
**Paralysis**: A paralyzed Moltres becomes much easier to handle, outsped by its checks and less likely to land already inconsistent moves such as Fire Blast. Paralysis also creates many revenge killers such as Nidoking, Clefable, and Mr. Mime. While Moltres often runs Agility and can counteract the Speed loss, this does not prevent full paralysis from inhibiting its reliability.
**Arcanine**: While uncommon in the modern metagame, Arcanine is uniquely able to wall Moltres . Not only does it outrun Moltres, but it also shrugs off any move and can retaliate with Body Slam and Hyper Beam, targeting Moltres's weaker Defense and threatening paralysis. However, Rest Moltres sets can engage in a stall war with Arcanine, and Toxic sets often win in the long term as well.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sabelette, 583793]]
- Quality checked by: [[phoopes, 96315], [May, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
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