|
-
Keen Eye
- The wielder's accuracy cannot be lowered.
-
Sheer Force
- Increases power of moves with secondary effects by 30%, but removes the effects.
-
Defiant
- Boosts Attack by two stages for every stat drop.
|
Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
100
|
- |
175 |
207 |
- |
| Atk |
123
|
128 |
143 |
175 |
192 |
| Def |
75
|
85 |
95 |
127 |
139 |
| SpA |
57
|
69 |
77 |
109 |
119 |
| SpD |
75
|
85 |
95 |
127 |
139 |
| Spe |
80
|
90 |
100 |
132 |
145 |
Overview
Braviary's excellent Attack stat, access to STAB Brave Bird, and Sheer Force ability, along with access to Whirlwind, gives him a niche in VGC 2011 as a powerful attacker that can also support the team. His respectable bulk and decent Speed allow him to pose a threat to many common Pokemon, while his STAB Brave Bird allows him to OHKO most Amoonguss and do huge damage to almost anything. Braviary's relatively low Speed means that he is easily outsped and KOed by many common Pokemon, but he can still pose a serious threat with the right support.
Brave Bird is an excellent STAB move, doing huge amounts of damage to a large number of common Pokemon, and allows Braviary to provide an excellent check to Amoonguss that lack a Coba Berry, easily OHKOing it. Rock Slide gives Braviary a way to hit Thundurus and Archeops for good damage, OHKOing both of them with boosts from Life Orb and Sheer Force. Superpower hits everything that resists Brave Bird and Rock Slide for huge amounts of damage, KOing or doing severe damage to most Rock- and Steel-types. The EVs grant the best overall bulk, allowing Braviary to almost always survive a Life Orb Terrakion's Rock Slide or Thundurus's Discharge, while allowing him to hit as hard as possible. Life Orb gives Braviary a boost to his attacks, while Sheer Force boosts the power of Rock Slide, making it an extremely powerful attack.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Whirlwind allows Braviary to prevent Trick Room from being set up, even against opponents with Mental Herb, but the loss of Protect really hurts Braviary, with his relatively low Speed and weaknesses to Rock Slide and Discharge. A Flying Gem is a viable option over Life Orb, as it allows Braviary to get off a very powerful Brave Bird while avoiding recoil damage from Life Orb; however, the decrease in power after using the Flying Gem generally makes Life Orb the better item. A Jolly nature with an EV spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe is also an option, allowing Braviary to outspeed faster opponents, such as Krookodile and Excadrill, that do not use a boosting nature, but this significantly reduces his bulk and power. Braviary makes an excellent attacker for Tailwind teams thanks to his powerful STAB Brave Bird and his ability to stop Trick Room teams from setting up with Whirlwind. To this end, teammates such as Conkeldurr and Krookodile are recommended when not running Superpower to deal damage to the Rock- and Steel-types that resist Brave Bird and when running it to avoid having to deal with the Attack drop as often. Tornadus might find Braviary an especially useful partner, as his Rock Slide OHKOes Thundurus, a Pokemon with which Tornadus has significant trouble. Thundurus easily OHKOes Braviary with Thunderbolt before he can make a move under normal conditions, so a Tailwind user such as Tornadus or Whimsicott is useful Braviary to prevent this, as with Tailwind up, Braviary can outspeed and OHKO Thundurus with Rock Slide. A fast Amoonguss can also help, using Rage Powder to divert the Thunderbolt and taking advantage of Tailwind to outspeed and use Spore on the opposing team. Many Rock Slide users can outspeed and OHKO Braviary, so Thundurus with Grass Knot and Hidden Power Ice makes a good partner, KOing most Rock Slide users before they can attack.
Other Options
Braviary has access to Tailwind, but is generally a poor user of it because of his subpar Speed and bulk. Mandibuzz, Tornadus, and Whimsicott are all better users of Tailwind due to their ability to set it up with priority or with vastly greater bulk. A Charti Berry can help Braviary take less damage from Rock Slide, but the extra power Life Orb provides is necessary for Braviary to do significant damage. Thrash is a very powerful STAB move, but hits a random opponent and as such is very unreliable when looking to deal damage to a specific Pokemon. Sky Drop is banned due to a gamebreaking glitch. Hone Claws, Work Up, and Bulk Up are options to boost Braviary's Attack, but with his weakness to Rock Slide and use in Tailwind teams, he's much more effective attacking straight off. Shadow Claw allows Braviary to deal good damage to many common Trick Room users, but a neutral Brave Bird outdamages a super effective Shadow Claw, making it useless. Rain Dance or Sunny Day can allow Braviary to support a weather team, but Whimsicott and Thundurus outclass it in this role due to their ability, Prankster, which allows them to set up the weather with priority. Keen Eye is an option in the unlikely case your opponent decides to lower accuracy, but is generally inferior to Sheer Force unless Braviary does not run a move boosted by Sheer Force.
Checks and Counters
Thundurus OHKOes Braviary with Thunderbolt before he can do anything, but if Braviary is under Tailwind, he will outspeed and KO Thundurus with Rock Slide. Many Rock Slide users outspeed Braviary and can do severe damage to him, but must watch out for Tailwind, which will allow Braviary to outspeed and smash them with Superpower. Opposing Amoonguss with a Coba Berry can easily take a Brave Bird and use Spore on Braviary to put him to sleep.
