QC Checks: Sweep / Problems / Shrang
GP Checks: Winry. / GatoDelFuego
The Pontiac Fiero of Ubers
______________________________
Overview
########
Returning to another round of Ubers as the first, and currently only, starter Pokemon to be Uber, Blaziken has become notorious for its immediate strength and fearsome ability to force switches and wallbreak with Swords Dance. However, the shift towards bulky offense is a far cry from the hyper offensive teams that Blaziken fit into in XY, and it just isn't much of a place for a glass cannon like Blaziken to thrive. Newcomers Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence check Blaziken well, and dominance of the heavy weather abilities have stolen away its best wallbreaking tool: five-turn sun. Being prone to all forms of entry hazards and over-reliant on Flare Blitz puts Blaziken on a timer, and its subpar 80 / 80 / 80 bulk as Mega Blaziken means it is not going to last long. Blaziken's best set also takes up a Mega slot, and it suffers quite a bit of opportunity cost in comparison to other Mega Evolutions such as Mega Salamence or Mega Gengar. Despite all of this, Blaziken remains one of the few nightmares of balance and stall, and still packs enough juice to remain a serious threat despite how bulky the metagame has gotten.
Offensive
########
name: Long Live Blaze
move 1: Protect / Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Stone Edge / Knock Off
ability: Speed Boost
item: Blazikenite / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Protect is a fantastic move on Blaziken. It not only allows Blaziken to safely Mega Evolve, but it also lets Blaziken rack up Speed boosts and scout the opponent's plays. Swords Dance turns Blaziken into a disgustingly powerful wallbreaker with only a single turn of setup. However, keep note that opportunities to set up are quite limited because of how lackluster Blaziken's bulk is; so for overall consistency, Protect is much-preferred. Flare Blitz is ridiculously strong and is Blaziken's most consistent physical STAB attack. Low Kick is also very powerful and hits most of the metagame as a 120 Base Power move due to how heavy the tier is, and in tandem with Flare Blitz lets Blaziken hit almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage. High Jump Kick is an option over Low Kick in order to OHKO Mega Diancie and to beat the extremely rare Unaware Quagsire. With a Swords Dance boost, Blaziken can even OHKO 56+ Defense Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes with High Jump Kick. Stone Edge is the best coverage move for Blaziken because it provides a way for Blaziken to hit Mega Salamence hard and has other select targets such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and physically defensive Yveltal. Another superb coverage option is Knock Off, as it OHKOes Latias after Stealth Rock and Latios regardless of prior damage and is Blaziken's only way to hit Giratina for considerable damage. In the last slot, Baton Pass can be put to good use. For instance, if Blaziken has grabbed a Swords Dance boost but is face-to-face with a Pokemon it does not have a good type matchup against, such as Primal Groudon, Blaziken can pass its boosts to a more appropriate sweeper for the situation, such as Rayquaza.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment give Blaziken the immediate strength that it is most well-known for, immediately putting it to work upon entering the battlefield. An Adamant nature should always be used, as it secures some key OHKOs such as those on Latios and Latias with Knock Off and offensive Kyogre with Low Kick. The slashes represent two possible sets; Protect + 3 attacks or Swords Dance + 3 attacks. A set of Swords Dance + Protect + 2 attacks can be used, but Blaziken will miss the coverage against Mega Salamence or the Giratina formes. If the opportunity cost of using Mega Blaziken is too much for one to even consider using it, do realize that Life Orb is a fine replacement over the Blazikenite. The two main concerns of using Life Orb is the added 10% recoil after every landed attack and the more fragile 80 / 70 / 70 bulk, meaning Blaziken will be worn down even faster to Flare Blitz recoil and be even further susceptible to priority attacks. However, normal Blaziken with a Life Orb is, in fact, slightly stronger than Mega Blaziken, and the open Mega slot can vastly expand teambuilding possibilities.
Usage Tips
========
Blaziken has very poor bulk, so it shouldn't be switched into any neutral or powerful resisted attacks. To get it into battle, it is important to double switch or bring it in on something that he has a severe type advantage over, such as Steel-types. If Protect is used, feel free to use it liberally, as it allows Blaziken to gain +1 Speed every turn it is used, effortlessly giving Blaziken offensive momentum and pressuring the opposition. It also has the utility of revealing what the opponent would have done the turn it is used, allowing you to utilize that information to either make your own predictions or to cause your opponent to overthink. However, do note that your opponent can predict a Protect to set up their own Pokemon. Do not mindlessly spam Flare Blitz, as the recoil racks up quickly, especially if Life Orb is used. Your opponent can easily take advantage of this and pile up the recoil damage from Flare Blitz and perhaps Life Orb by luring Flare Blitz with Pokemon that resist Fighting and switching into Fire-type resistances, ultimately causing Blaziken to faint from recoil. To avoid this, it is important to make predictions and capitalize on the switches Blaziken forces. Also, be aware of potential priority users such as Arceus, Rayquaza, and Deoxys-A, as they can make short work of Blaziken before it even gets the chance to do some work.
Team Options
========
Wobbuffet is an outstanding partner to the Swords Dance variant. It can easily trap support Pokemon and provide both Encore support for easy setup opportunities and has access to Safeguard to halt any status users, namely ones with access to Prankster Thunder Wave. Yveltal and other Dark-types work wonders for Blaziken. They can easily check and even dispose of both Lugia and Giratina, two of Blaziken's premier checks. Extreme Killer Arceus is the best offensive partner for Blaziken, mainly because of how much their checks overlap. In this core, Blaziken will heavily dent the opposition and even eliminate some of Arceus's checks, such as Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. With such Pokemon weakened or disposed of, Arceus can more successfully pull off a sweep. A good check to Primal Groudon is mandatory, as Blaziken will need it either removed from battle or weakened significantly; levitating Pokemon such as Latios, Latias, and Landorus-T make for excellent partners, and the latter can even provide Stealth Rock support. Because Blaziken is vulnerable to all forms of entry hazards, Rapid Spin support is highly appreciated. A fantastic user of the move is Forretress, which can provide Spikes and Toxic Spikes support while also being able to get Blaziken into battle unscathed with its slow Volt Switch. Defog support from the likes of Latios and Latias can be appreciated, but keep in mind that Blaziken needs entry hazards on the opponent's side of the field to have an easier time sweeping. Sun support is invaluable to Blaziken, but it is quite difficult to fit on teams because how dominant Primal Groudon is over normal Groudon.
Other Options
########
A dedicated Baton Pass set consisting of Baton Pass, Protect, Substitute or Roar, and Flare Blitz with Leftovers and an EV spread of 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature can be used, but it is better done by Scolipede, whose main niche lies in being a Spikes-setting lead. Hidden Power Ice and some Special Attack investment can be used to OHKO Gliscor, Landorus-T, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza, but has just about no utility outside of that. Shadow Claw can be used on the offensive set to hit Giratina-O a little bit harder than Blaziken would with Knock Off, but the secondary effect of Knock Off and the added Base Power when hitting a Pokemon holding an item will be missed. Earthquake may also be used to OHKO Mega Diancie and Relaxed Groudon after Stealth Rock damage with a Swords Dance boost, but it causes Blaziken to have very redundant type coverage for what it needs to be able to hit in the tier. Hone Claws alongside High Jump Kick is usable in order to guarantee that High Jump Kick always lands, but the immediate power of a Swords Dance boost is much-preferred.
Checks & Counters
########
**Giratina**: Giratina is a nightmare for Blaziken. Both formes are immune to Blaziken's Fighting-type STAB moves and resist Flare Blitz, allowing them to comfortably sponge any of Blaziken's attacks bar a boosted Knock Off. They can also hit Blaziken hard with Dragon Tail, phazing it and any boosts that it has acquired. Giratina-O especially poses a threat to Blaziken with its powerful Draco Meteor, Dragon Claw, and Earthquake, even picking off weakened Blaziken with Shadow Sneak.
**Lugia**: If Multiscale is intact, Lugia will wall even a Swords Dance-boosted Blaziken to hell and back. It won't enjoy losing its Leftovers to Knock Off, but it can hit back hard with Aeroblast, phaze out Blaziken with Whirlwind, or Toxic stall while recovering any damage taken with Roost. However, if Lugia switches into Stealth Rock, a boosted Blaziken will plow through it with Stone Edge or Knock Off.
**Primal Groudon**: Defensive Primal Groudon will struggle with the Swords Dance variant, but it can comfortably tank any unboosted hit that Blaziken can throw at it. In return, Primal Groudon can easily dispose of Blaziken with a Ground-type STAB move. But Primal Groudon is easily worn down by entry hazards, and it will fall to a salvo of Low Kicks if it has switched into Stealth Rock too many times.
**Diancie**: Diancie's light weight and Rock typing allow it to take pitiful damage from Low Kick and Flare Blitz, respectively. Disappointingly, Mega Diancie is 2HKOed by Flare Blitz regardless of whether or not it has a Defense-lowering nature, but it can hit Blaziken back with a powerful Earth Power before fainting to repetitive Flare Blitzes. Both Mega and non-Mega Diancie have huge trouble with the rare High Jump Kick, however.
**Mega Salamence**: Mega Salamence will give Blaziken a run for its money, as it can utilize Intimidate before it Mega Evolves to comfortably tank any of Blaziken's STAB attacks. However, it'll succumb to a +1 Stone Edge if it lacks significant bulk investment and has taken Stealth Rock damage.
**Rayquaza**: Rayquaza's severe type advantage over Blaziken allows it to be a decent check, especially because it has Extreme Speed. Even so, if Rayquaza has taken Stealth Rock damage, it will faint to a +2 Flare Blitz or Knock Off, and even to an unboosted Stone Edge.
**Landorus-T**: Landorus-T can keep Blaziken in check with its respectable physical bulk after the Intimidate drop and super effective Earthquake, but it is easily worn down by Stealth Rock and has no reliable recovery to withstand Blaziken's assaults.
**Gyarados**: Non-Mega Gyarados resists both of Blaziken's STAB moves and has Intimidate to back up its physical bulk. It can also play mind games with Blaziken on the turn it Mega Evolves, forcing Blaziken to choose between landing a Low Kick in attempt to predict the Mega Evolution or to go for a Stone Edge in attempt to predict that Gyarados stay unevolved; even switching out entirely can result in a set-up Gyarados. It also threatens Blaziken with its STAB Waterfall or powerful Earthquake, both with the strength to put Blaziken out of the match.
**Ho-Oh**: Stone Edge mauls Ho-Oh, but with a physically defensive set, Ho-Oh can wall even a boosted Blaziken on the condition that it lacks Stone Edge and Stealth Rock is clear of the field.
**Arceus-Ghost**: An immunity to Low Kick helps Arceus-Ghost, but it will take a big chunk of damage from Flare Blitz if it lacks significant Defense investment. However, after the recoil received from Flare Blitz, Blaziken will be in KO range of Arceus-Ghost's powerful Judgement.
**Fairy, Psychic, and Poison Arceus**: Fairy, Psychic, and Poison Arceus resist Low Kick, but they'll take a huge number from Flare Blitz unless they have significant Defense and HP investment. However, after Flare Blitz recoil, Blaziken is put into OHKO range of Fairy Arceus and Poison Arceus's powerful Judgement, wheras Psychic Arceus OHKOes Blaziken with Psyshock or Judgement regardless of prior damage. Poison Arceus also experiences great opportunity cost from being completely helpless against Primal Groudon unless it carries Calm Mind and Earth Power; but by that measure, Poison Arceus would no longer be capable of checking Blaziken because it then eschews power for bulk.
**Water Arceus**: Water Arceus's resistance to Flare Blitz is a great benefit for it, but it will easily fall to a volley of Low Kicks, especially after entry hazard damage. Although it fares poorly against Primal Groudon, Water Arceus threatens Blaziken with an OHKO from its Water-type Judgment.
**Entry Hazards**: Blaziken is prone to all forms of entry hazards and is forced out by quite a few things depending on what coverage it runs, forcing Blaziken to be further worn down by entry hazards each time it switches in.
**Strong Priority Attacks**: Strong priority users such as Extreme Killer Arceus, Deoxys-A, and Rayquaza effectively provide damage control to Blaziken's parade, picking it off after some prior damage or hitting it first to force a faint from Flare Blitz recoil.
GP Checks: Winry. / GatoDelFuego
The Pontiac Fiero of Ubers
______________________________
Overview
########
Returning to another round of Ubers as the first
Offensive
########
name: Long Live Blaze
move 1: Protect / Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Stone Edge / Knock Off
ability: Speed Boost
item: Blazikenite / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Protect is a fantastic move on Blaziken. It not only allows Blaziken to safely Mega Evolve, but it also lets Blaziken rack up Speed boosts and scout the opponent's plays. Swords Dance turns Blaziken into a disgustingly powerful wallbreaker with only a single turn of setup. However, keep note that opportunities to set up are quite limited because of how lackluster Blaziken's bulk is; so for overall consistency, Protect is much-preferred. Flare Blitz is ridiculously strong and is Blaziken's most consistent physical STAB attack. Low Kick is also very powerful and hits most of the metagame as a 120 Base Power move due to how heavy the tier is, and in tandem with Flare Blitz lets Blaziken hit almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage. High Jump Kick is an option over Low Kick in order to OHKO Mega Diancie and to beat the extremely rare Unaware Quagsire. With a Swords Dance boost, Blaziken can even OHKO 56+ Defense Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes with High Jump Kick. Stone Edge is the best coverage move for Blaziken because it provides a way for Blaziken to hit Mega Salamence hard and has other select targets such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and physically defensive Yveltal. Another superb coverage option is Knock Off, as it OHKOes Latias after Stealth Rock and Latios regardless of prior damage and is Blaziken's only way to hit Giratina for considerable damage. In the last slot, Baton Pass can be put to good use. For instance, if Blaziken has grabbed a Swords Dance boost but is face-to-face with a Pokemon it does not have a good type matchup against, such as Primal Groudon, Blaziken can pass its boosts to a more appropriate sweeper for the situation, such as Rayquaza.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment give Blaziken the immediate strength that it is most well-known for, immediately putting it to work upon entering the battlefield. An Adamant nature should always be used, as it secures some key OHKOs such as those on Latios and Latias with Knock Off and offensive Kyogre with Low Kick. The slashes represent two possible sets; Protect + 3 attacks or Swords Dance + 3 attacks. A set of Swords Dance + Protect + 2 attacks can be used, but Blaziken will miss the coverage against Mega Salamence or the Giratina formes. If the opportunity cost of using Mega Blaziken is too much for one to even consider using it, do realize that Life Orb is a fine replacement over the Blazikenite. The two main concerns of using Life Orb is the added 10% recoil after every landed attack and the more fragile 80 / 70 / 70 bulk, meaning Blaziken will be worn down even faster to Flare Blitz recoil and be even further susceptible to priority attacks. However, normal Blaziken with a Life Orb is, in fact, slightly stronger than Mega Blaziken, and the open Mega slot can vastly expand teambuilding possibilities.
Usage Tips
========
Blaziken has very poor bulk, so it shouldn't be switched into any neutral or powerful resisted attacks. To get it into battle, it is important to double switch or bring it in on something that he has a severe type advantage over, such as Steel-types. If Protect is used, feel free to use it liberally, as it allows Blaziken to gain +1 Speed every turn it is used, effortlessly giving Blaziken offensive momentum and pressuring the opposition. It also has the utility of revealing what the opponent would have done the turn it is used, allowing you to utilize that information to either make your own predictions or to cause your opponent to overthink. However, do note that your opponent can predict a Protect to set up their own Pokemon. Do not mindlessly spam Flare Blitz, as the recoil racks up quickly, especially if Life Orb is used. Your opponent can easily take advantage of this and pile up the recoil damage from Flare Blitz and perhaps Life Orb by luring Flare Blitz with Pokemon that resist Fighting and switching into Fire-type resistances, ultimately causing Blaziken to faint from recoil. To avoid this, it is important to make predictions and capitalize on the switches Blaziken forces. Also, be aware of potential priority users such as Arceus, Rayquaza, and Deoxys-A, as they can make short work of Blaziken before it even gets the chance to do some work.
Team Options
========
Wobbuffet is an outstanding partner to the Swords Dance variant. It can easily trap support Pokemon and provide both Encore support for easy setup opportunities and has access to Safeguard to halt any status users, namely ones with access to Prankster Thunder Wave. Yveltal and other Dark-types work wonders for Blaziken. They can easily check and even dispose of both Lugia and Giratina, two of Blaziken's premier checks. Extreme Killer Arceus is the best offensive partner for Blaziken, mainly because of how much their checks overlap. In this core, Blaziken will heavily dent the opposition and even eliminate some of Arceus's checks, such as Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. With such Pokemon weakened or disposed of, Arceus can more successfully pull off a sweep. A good check to Primal Groudon is mandatory, as Blaziken will need it either removed from battle or weakened significantly; levitating Pokemon such as Latios, Latias, and Landorus-T make for excellent partners, and the latter can even provide Stealth Rock support. Because Blaziken is vulnerable to all forms of entry hazards, Rapid Spin support is highly appreciated. A fantastic user of the move is Forretress, which can provide Spikes and Toxic Spikes support while also being able to get Blaziken into battle unscathed with its slow Volt Switch. Defog support from the likes of Latios and Latias can be appreciated, but keep in mind that Blaziken needs entry hazards on the opponent's side of the field to have an easier time sweeping. Sun support is invaluable to Blaziken, but it is quite difficult to fit on teams because how dominant Primal Groudon is over normal Groudon.
Other Options
########
A dedicated Baton Pass set consisting of Baton Pass, Protect, Substitute or Roar, and Flare Blitz with Leftovers and an EV spread of 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature can be used, but it is better done by Scolipede, whose main niche lies in being a Spikes-setting lead. Hidden Power Ice and some Special Attack investment can be used to OHKO Gliscor, Landorus-T, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza, but has just about no utility outside of that. Shadow Claw can be used on the offensive set to hit Giratina-O a little bit harder than Blaziken would with Knock Off, but the secondary effect of Knock Off and the added Base Power when hitting a Pokemon holding an item will be missed. Earthquake may also be used to OHKO Mega Diancie and Relaxed Groudon after Stealth Rock damage with a Swords Dance boost, but it causes Blaziken to have very redundant type coverage for what it needs to be able to hit in the tier. Hone Claws alongside High Jump Kick is usable in order to guarantee that High Jump Kick always lands, but the immediate power of a Swords Dance boost is much-preferred.
Checks & Counters
########
**Giratina**: Giratina is a nightmare for Blaziken. Both formes are immune to Blaziken's Fighting-type STAB moves and resist Flare Blitz, allowing them to comfortably sponge any of Blaziken's attacks bar a boosted Knock Off. They can also hit Blaziken hard with Dragon Tail, phazing it and any boosts that it has acquired. Giratina-O especially poses a threat to Blaziken with its powerful Draco Meteor, Dragon Claw, and Earthquake, even picking off weakened Blaziken with Shadow Sneak.
**Lugia**: If Multiscale is intact, Lugia will wall even a Swords Dance-boosted Blaziken to hell and back. It won't enjoy losing its Leftovers to Knock Off, but it can hit back hard with Aeroblast, phaze out Blaziken with Whirlwind, or Toxic stall while recovering any damage taken with Roost. However, if Lugia switches into Stealth Rock, a boosted Blaziken will plow through it with Stone Edge or Knock Off.
**Primal Groudon**: Defensive Primal Groudon will struggle with the Swords Dance variant, but it can comfortably tank any unboosted hit that Blaziken can throw at it. In return, Primal Groudon can easily dispose of Blaziken with a Ground-type STAB move. But Primal Groudon is easily worn down by entry hazards, and it will fall to a salvo of Low Kicks if it has switched into Stealth Rock too many times.
**Diancie**: Diancie's light weight and Rock typing allow it to take pitiful damage from Low Kick and Flare Blitz, respectively. Disappointingly, Mega Diancie is 2HKOed by Flare Blitz regardless of whether or not it has a Defense-lowering nature, but it can hit Blaziken back with a powerful Earth Power before fainting to repetitive Flare Blitzes. Both Mega and non-Mega Diancie have huge trouble with the rare High Jump Kick, however.
**Mega Salamence**: Mega Salamence will give Blaziken a run for its money, as it can utilize Intimidate before it Mega Evolves to comfortably tank any of Blaziken's STAB attacks. However, it'll succumb to a +1 Stone Edge if it lacks significant bulk investment and has taken Stealth Rock damage.
**Rayquaza**: Rayquaza's severe type advantage over Blaziken allows it to be a decent check, especially because it has Extreme Speed. Even so, if Rayquaza has taken Stealth Rock damage, it will faint to a +2 Flare Blitz or Knock Off, and even to an unboosted Stone Edge.
**Landorus-T**: Landorus-T can keep Blaziken in check with its respectable physical bulk after the Intimidate drop and super effective Earthquake, but it is easily worn down by Stealth Rock and has no reliable recovery to withstand Blaziken's assaults.
**Gyarados**: Non-Mega Gyarados resists both of Blaziken's STAB moves and has Intimidate to back up its physical bulk. It can also play mind games with Blaziken on the turn it Mega Evolves, forcing Blaziken to choose between landing a Low Kick in attempt to predict the Mega Evolution or to go for a Stone Edge in attempt to predict that Gyarados stay unevolved; even switching out entirely can result in a set-up Gyarados. It also threatens Blaziken with its STAB Waterfall or powerful Earthquake, both with the strength to put Blaziken out of the match.
**Ho-Oh**: Stone Edge mauls Ho-Oh, but with a physically defensive set, Ho-Oh can wall even a boosted Blaziken on the condition that it lacks Stone Edge and Stealth Rock is clear of the field.
**Arceus-Ghost**: An immunity to Low Kick helps Arceus-Ghost, but it will take a big chunk of damage from Flare Blitz if it lacks significant Defense investment. However, after the recoil received from Flare Blitz, Blaziken will be in KO range of Arceus-Ghost's powerful Judgement.
**Fairy, Psychic, and Poison Arceus**: Fairy, Psychic, and Poison Arceus resist Low Kick, but they'll take a huge number from Flare Blitz unless they have significant Defense and HP investment. However, after Flare Blitz recoil, Blaziken is put into OHKO range of Fairy Arceus and Poison Arceus's powerful Judgement, wheras Psychic Arceus OHKOes Blaziken with Psyshock or Judgement regardless of prior damage. Poison Arceus also experiences great opportunity cost from being completely helpless against Primal Groudon unless it carries Calm Mind and Earth Power; but by that measure, Poison Arceus would no longer be capable of checking Blaziken because it then eschews power for bulk.
**Water Arceus**: Water Arceus's resistance to Flare Blitz is a great benefit for it, but it will easily fall to a volley of Low Kicks, especially after entry hazard damage. Although it fares poorly against Primal Groudon, Water Arceus threatens Blaziken with an OHKO from its Water-type Judgment.
**Entry Hazards**: Blaziken is prone to all forms of entry hazards and is forced out by quite a few things depending on what coverage it runs, forcing Blaziken to be further worn down by entry hazards each time it switches in.
**Strong Priority Attacks**: Strong priority users such as Extreme Killer Arceus, Deoxys-A, and Rayquaza effectively provide damage control to Blaziken's parade, picking it off after some prior damage or hitting it first to force a faint from Flare Blitz recoil.
Karate Bird
Overview
########
+ With Speed Boost, he is nearly impossible to revenge kill without a priority attack
+ Incredible STAB combo and has impressive and immediate power
+ Becomes an incredible wallbreaker with Swords Dance
+ Forces a ton of switches
- The Heavy Weathers steal away 5 turn sunlight, one of his best wallbreaking tools
- Prone to all forms of entry hazards, and has underwhelming 80/80/80 bulk in Mega forms which faces fierce competition from other members of the tier
- Newcomers Primal Groudon, Soul Dew Lati@s, and Mega-Salamence discourage his usage
- The metagame shift towards Bulky Offense does not help him either
Offensive
########
name: Offensive
move 1: Protect / Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Stone Edge / Knock Off
ability: Speed Boost
item: Blazikenite / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
Other Options
########
Checks & Counters
########
Overview
########
+ With Speed Boost, he is nearly impossible to revenge kill without a priority attack
+ Incredible STAB combo and has impressive and immediate power
+ Becomes an incredible wallbreaker with Swords Dance
+ Forces a ton of switches
- The Heavy Weathers steal away 5 turn sunlight, one of his best wallbreaking tools
- Prone to all forms of entry hazards, and has underwhelming 80/80/80 bulk in Mega forms which faces fierce competition from other members of the tier
- Newcomers Primal Groudon, Soul Dew Lati@s, and Mega-Salamence discourage his usage
- The metagame shift towards Bulky Offense does not help him either
Offensive
########
name: Offensive
move 1: Protect / Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Stone Edge / Knock Off
ability: Speed Boost
item: Blazikenite / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
- Protect allows Blaziken to safely Mega-Evolve, scout, and rack up Speed boosts
- Swords Dance turns Blaziken into a formidable wallbreaker, but opportunities to set-up are quite limited because of how lackluster Blaziken's bulk is. So keep note that for overall consistency, Protect is much rather preferred
- Flare Blitz is ridiculously strong and is Blaziken’s most consistent physical STAB attack
- Low Kick is also stupidly powerful and hits most of the metagame as a 120 base power move due to how heavy the tier is, and in tandem with Flare Blitz Blaziken is granted excellent coverage
- High Jump Kick is an option over Low Kick in order to OHKO Mega Diancie and to beat the extremely rare Unaware Quagsire. Notably, with a Swords Dance boost Blaziken can OHKO 56+ Defense Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes
- Stone Edge provides a way to hit Mega-Salamence hard, and has other select targets such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Physically Defensive Yveltal
- Knock Off OHKOs Latias after Stealth Rock and Latios regardless of prior damage, and is Blaziken’s only way to hit Giratina for considerable damage
- In the last slot Baton Pass can also be put to good use. For instance, if Blaziken has grabbed a Swords Dance boost but is face-to-face with something he does not have a type advantage over such as Primal Groudon; Blaziken can pass its boosts to a more appropriate sweeper for the situation, like Rayquaza
Set Details
========
- Maximum Attack and Speed investment give Blaziken the immediate strength that it is most well known for
- The slashes represent two possible sets; Protect+3 attacks or Swords+3 attacks. A set of Swords Dance+Protect+2 attacks can be used, but Blaziken will miss the coverage against Mega-Salamence or the Giratina formes
- An Adamant nature should always be used as it secures some key OHKOs such as those on the Lati twins with Knock Off and Kyogre with Low Kick
- Life Orb Blaziken is actually slightly stronger than Mega-Blaziken, and also frees up the Mega slot
Usage Tips
========
- Blaziken has very poor bulk, so it shouldn’t be switched into any neutral or powerful resisted attacks. To get it into battle, it is important to double switch or bring it in on something that he has a severe type-advantage over
- If Protect is used, feel free to use it liberally as it allows Blaziken to gain +1 from Speed Boost to gain offensive momentum. It also has the utility of seeing what the opponent would have done the turn Protect was used, and this allows you to utilize that information to either make your own predictions or to cause your opponent to overthink
- Do not mindlessly spam Flare Blitz as the recoil racks up quickly, especially if Life Orb is used. Your opponent can easily take advantage of this and pile up the residual damage from Flare Blitz and perhaps Life Orb by switching in Fire-type resistances, ultimately causing Blaziken to faint itself from recoil. To avoid this, it is important to make predictions and capitalize on the switches Blaziken forces
- Be aware of potential priority users such as Arceus, Rayquaza, and Deoxys-A
Team Options
========
- Wobbuffet is an outstanding partner to the Swords Dance variant, as it can provide both Encore support for easy set-up opportunities and Safeguard to halt any status users, namely ones with Prankster Thunder Wave
- Yveltal and other Dark-Types work wonders for Blaziken. They can easily check and even dispose of both Lugia and Giratina, two of Blaziken’s premiere checks
- Extreme Killer Arceus is the best offensive partner for Blaziken, mainly because of how much their checks overlap. In this core, Blaziken will heavily dent the opposition and even eliminate some of Arceus’ checks, such as Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. With such Pokemon weakened or disposed of, Arceus can more successfully pull of a sweep
- A good check to Primal Groudon is mandatory, as Blaziken will need it either removed from battle or weakened; so levitating Pokemon such as the Lati twins and Landorus-T make excellent partners, and the latter even provides Stealth Rock support
- Since Blaziken is prone to all forms of entry hazards, Rapid Spin support is highly appreciated. A fantastic user of the move is Forretress, who can provide Spikes and Toxic Spikes while also being able to get Blaziken into battle unscathed with its slow Volt Switch. Defog support from the likes of the Lati twins can be appreciated, but keep in mind that Blaziken needs hazards on the opponent’s side of the field to have an easier time sweeping
- Sun support is invaluable to Blaziken, but it is quite difficult to fit on teams because how predominate Primal Groudon is over normal Groudon
Other Options
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- A dedicated Baton Pass set consisting of Baton Pass/Protect/Substitute or Roar/Flare Blitz with an EV spread of 12 HP / 244 Attack / 252 Spe and a Jolly Nature can be used, but it is better done by Scolipede whose main niche lies in being a Spikes-setting lead
- Hidden Power Ice and some Special Attack investment can be used on the offensive set to OHKO Gliscor, Landorus-T, Mega-Salamence, and Rayquaza, but has just about no utility outside that
- Shadow Claw can be used on the offensive set to hit Giratina-O a little bit harder than it would with Knock Off, but the secondary-effects of Knock Off and the added base power when hitting a Pokemon holding an item will be missed
- Hone Claws alongside High Jump Kick is usable in order to guarantee that High Jump Kick always lands, but the immediate power of a Swords Dance boost is much rather preferred
Checks & Counters
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- Giratina formes
- Lugia
- Primal Groudon
- Mega-Salamence
- Landorus-Therian
- Arceus-Fairy
- Arcues-Ghost
- Arceus-Psychic
- Arceus-Water
- Latias
- Diancie and Mega-Diancie
- Mega-Altaria
- Entry hazards
- Strong priority attacks
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