|
-
Flash Fire
- Grants immunity to Fire-type moves and increases the power of Fire-type moves by 50% when hit by a Fire-type move.
-
Flame Body
- 30% chance to burn when struck by a contact move. Halves the number of steps required to hatch Eggs.
-
Shadow Tag
- Prevents switching.
|
Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
261 |
324 |
- |
| Atk |
55
|
131 |
146 |
209 |
229 |
| Def |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| SpA |
145
|
293 |
326 |
389 |
427 |
| SpD |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| Spe |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
Overview
Chandelure is a mixed bag in many ways. It sports an incredible 145 base Special Attack, but its other base stats are much less impressive, especially considering that it is vulnerable to Stealth Rock and sandstorm damage. While its typing is solid offensively, especially in the sun, it also gives Chandelure key weaknesses that attract dangerous threats such as Terrakion and Landorus, all of whom can easily revenge kill, or even set up on, the rather slow Chandelure. Nonetheless, the luring Pokemon has some useful immunities to Fire-, Fighting-, and Normal-type attacks. Overall, a team's inclusion of this peculiar cocktail of wallbreaking power and vulnerability to revenge kills can be very rewarding with solid back-up and careful switching.
The combination of relative frailty and middling Speed leaves Chandelure with little natural staying power, and Substitute works to fix this. Behind this precious shield, Chandelure can make great use of its awesome offensive power with no worry of being crippled by any single-hit offensive move. Very few Pokemon can take Chandelure's STAB moves very well, so this set can be particularly dangerous to offensive teams that may try to use death fodder in the hope of minimizing the damage caused. Tyranitar and Hydreigon that eagerly switch in can be duly punished with a shot or two of Hidden Power Fighting, while Pain Split can be of use if Blissey is more of an issue for the rest of the team.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
There are several factors to consider when choosing the item and nature. Timid is usually the best nature here because with it, Chandelure can outrun Timid Politoed and Adamant Dragonite. With Leftovers, 4 HP / 0 SpD Politoed can be 2HKOed by Shadow Ball much of the time (44.1% - 52.2%), and with Life Orb, 252 HP / 0 SpD Dragonite is 2HKOed after Stealth Rock damage. With Leftovers, a Modest nature does not guarantee a 2HKO on 252 HP / 252 SpD Careful Tyranitar with Hidden Power Fighting (44.6% - 52.5%), but it does guarantee it on 252 HP / 76 SpD Careful Tyranitar (50.5% - 60.4%) where Timid does not (46.5% - 55.4%). This consideration is, of course, moot with Life Orb. Finally, when considering Life Orb, one should strongly consider the residual damage that Chandelure will be taking from Stealth Rock, Spikes, and sandstorm, on top of the Substitute damage.
The main purpose of Substitute Chandelure is to make the most out of one switch-in, so the focus of its teammates should be to maximize the opportunities for it to switch in and set up a Substitute. Virizion is a good example of a teammate that can lure in opposing Pokemon carrying strong Fire- and Ice-type moves on which Chandelure can capitalize. Hydreigon is another great example, luring in Fighting- and Ice-type attacks, and allowing a free switch-in for Chandelure with U-turn. However, Hydreigon may also attract strong Dragon-type attackers, such as Latios and Salamence.
It is helpful to minimize the residual damage done to Chandelure. If its team is not directly utilizing sandstorm or hail, Ninetales's Drought is a good way to negate weather damage, and boosts the power of Chandelure's Fire Blast. A Rapid Spin user is another possibility, as Chandelure is vulnerable to all entry hazards. Forretress is a particularly good option for this role because it can lure in Fire-type attacks on which Chandelure can switch in. Conversely, entry hazards not only help Chandelure to land KOs, but also potentially lure in Forretress, whose attempts to use Rapid Spin Chandelure can block (though Starmie will still pose problems).
One of the big draws of this set is that it can remove or cripple Tyranitar fairly easily. Doing this in conjunction with another weather inducer will largely neuter sand-reliant opponents, particularly Landorus. Additionally, the opponent will have lost a great specially defensive, mixed offensive tank. This opens up opportunities for a variety of special attackers, such as Heatran, and walls, such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn.
Choice Specs Chandelure is an extremely powerful wallbreaker who can leave most opponents really hurting. STAB Fire / Ghost is complemented nicely by Hidden Power Fighting and Energy Ball, the former mainly for Tyranitar and Hydreigon, and the latter mainly for Water-type switch-ins such as Politoed. Immunity to the very common Fire- and Fighting-type attacks is extremely helpful for switching in, and Chandelure can spinblock against Forretress.
Sunny weather is where Chandelure truly shines. Its Overheat becomes absurdly strong, surpassed only by Sheer Force Darmanitan's Flare Blitz and Solar Power Charizard's Fire Blast, and its Fire Blast is almost as strong, though it does fall short of Victini's V-create and Heatran's Eruption. Unlike Darmanitan and Charizard, however, Chandelure suffers no recoil or recoil-like damage and has useful immunities to Fighting and Fire. This means that, barring entry hazard damage, Chandelure can potentially switch in multiple times and keep firing off its Fire-type STAB.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The following calculations aim to demonstrate the sheer power of Choice Specs Chandelure in the sun:
Modest Overheat:
- vs 4/0 Latios: 93.4% - 109.9% (OHKO after Stealth Rock)
- vs 248/8 Gyarados: 77.1% - 90.8% (OHKO after Stealth Rock)
- vs 252/252+ Dragonite: 56.7% - 66.8% (2HKO after Stealth Rock + Leftovers)
- vs 248/0 Jellicent: 72.5% - 82.4% (2HKO)
- vs 252/0 Latias: 66.8% - 78.8% (2HKO)
- vs 252/0 Blissey: 65.7% - 77.5% (2HKO, guaranteed after Stealth Rock + Leftovers)
- vs 252/0 Chansey: 55.4% - 65.2% (2HKO after Stealth Rock + Spikes)
- vs 4/0 Kingdra: 54.5% - 64.0% (2HKO after Stealth Rock + Spikes + Leftovers)
This means that the problem of missing 2HKOs is largely not a factor when choosing between Overheat and Fire Blast. Instead, Overheat vs Fire Blast is mostly a matter of accuracy vs the ability to stay in on revenge kills. However, even -2 Overheat is quite powerful in the sun, more so than many other attacks.
Speed EVs can be adjusted to outpace certain threats. The listed EV spread outruns 252 Spe Politoed while rounding down Stealth Rock damage; 152 Spe Modest still outruns 216 Spe Timid Magnezone while rounding down Stealth Rock damage, and 224 Spe Modest outruns 208 Spe Naive Cloyster. A Timid nature misses out on some of the above mentioned KOs, making Fire Blast more favored.
Ninetales is an almost required teammate considering the power boost that it gives, as well as the removal of many of Chandelure's drawbacks. Grass-types such as Virizion and Steel-types such as Scizor tend to be good teammates not just for Chandelure but for a sun team as a whole, due to their good match-ups against Tyranitar, Politoed, and weather abusers in general. Ferrothorn is particularly promising because it is blessed with both types, and Chandelure's typing complements Ferrothorn's very well. Additionally, Ferrothorn's Spikes can guarantee 2HKOs on Chansey and Kingdra if Modest Overheat is being used. A Rapid Spinner such as Forretress can be very helpful, though many do not fare very well against Jellicent. Although Chandelure can 2HKO specially defensive Tyranitar with Hidden Power Fighting, it will definitely appreciate a different teammate to deal with this very common threat, such as Conkeldurr or Gliscor, both of whom also deal with common revenge killers such as Landorus effectively. Offensively, sweepers such as Volcarona highly appreciate the removal of the aforementioned threats.
While Chandelure is not necessarily slow, adding a Choice Scarf turns it into an extremely effective revenge killer. At 387 Speed, this allows it to outspeed a sizable portion of the unboosted metagame, as well as a small selection of Choice Scarf users. Chandelure's power is greatly boosted by sunshine, and defensive sun teams will enjoy having a Chandelure around to crush opposing sweepers, and even though this set lacks the nuclear power of the Choice Specs variant, it'll still hit hard enough to be an effective deterrent. Chandelure's typing and reasonable defenses can give it many opportunities to switch in, which means that you may not necessarily be waiting for a revenge kill, but instead switching into a safe attack and then striking back at the opponent for a handy KO, regardless of whether they switch. The only real choice to make on this set is between Fire Blast and Overheat. While Overheat suits the nature of a Choice item more, in having to attack then switch instantly, Chandelure is not the sort of Pokemon that likes to keep jumping in and out. As a result, Fire Blast is a preferred choice, as Chandelure can switch in, Fire Blast away more than once to whittle down the opposing team, and then switch out to safety.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Without a doubt, Water-types (especially in the rain) and Tyranitar are Chandelure's biggest problems. Fortunately, if used on a sun-based team, Chandelure will have an abundance of Grass-type teammates ready to take these threats down. This will make Chandelure's sweep easier, and give your defensive Pokemon a much easier time. Other team support comes obviously as follows: Ninetales provides endless sunshine; Steel-types such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Forretress lure in many Fire-type moves from which Chandelure can obtain a Flash Fire boost; and Pokemon such as Dragonite, Salamence, and Gliscor lure in Ice-type attacks and take down specially defensive Pokemon that are causing problems for Chandelure. Finally, due to being locked into one attack, Chandelure is likely to be switching in and out a lot. Being weak to Stealth Rock, this can be problematic for the longevity of Chandelure. Blissey is an effective provider of Wish, and can sponge many of the special Water-type attacks aimed at Chandelure.
While Calm Mind Chandelure faces stiff competition with other special sweepers, particularly Volcarona, it holds the distinction of being able to 2HKO 252 HP / 0 SpD Blissey and Chansey in the sun after just one boost. It is also somewhat bulkier than Volcarona and does not suffer nearly as much from Stealth Rock. While the Substitute and Choice Scarf sets lack the power to break through defensive checks, and the Choice Specs set is horribly vulnerable to maneuvers involving Protect or death fodder, Calm Mind Chandelure suffers from neither of these issues, able to attain wallbreaking power or launch an attack without worrying about being locked into the wrong move. However, the need to OHKO the opponent is more pressing due to the turn spent boosting. A middling base 80 Speed doesn't help matters, making Chandelure vulnerable to a host of faster attackers.
If using Life Orb, Flamethrower is sufficient, albeit barely, to 2HKO Chansey and Blissey in the sun after Stealth Rock damage. Substitute is suggested mainly to block status and set up on Blissey and Chansey, while Hidden Power Fighting can be used to KO Tyranitar. Substitute is a great move in general to compensate for the lack of recovery, but using it on a Life Orb set is unwise due to the large amount of self-inflicted damage that would result.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The choice of item and nature brings significant consequences to Chandelure's utility on a team. A Timid nature allows Chandelure to outrun Timid Politoed and Adamant Dragonite, but a Life Orb is required to OHKO either of them with Shadow Ball and Stealth Rock after a Calm Mind boost (86.3% min for 4 HP / 0 SpD Politoed, 71.8% - 84.7% for 252 HP / 0 SpD Dragonite). A Modest nature is plausible to try to OHKO 252 HP / 252 SpD Careful Tyranitar after Stealth Rock damage and one round of Leftovers recovery (84.2% min) while guaranteeing the OHKO on 252 HP / 76 SpD Careful Tyranitar under the same conditions (99% min). Leftovers exchanges all of these KOs for a much more lasting presence that emphasizes breaking defensive teams. In this case, Fire Blast is the preferred STAB to ensure the 2HKO on Blissey and Chansey.
Chandelure's main concerns are landing OHKOs and not fizzling out before doing anything useful. For the former, Stealth Rock and Spikes are very valuable to ensure the OHKOs on Politoed and Tyranitar, especially if Chandelure has a Timid nature. Steel-types, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Bronzong, and Jirachi, are excellent for setting up hazards because they attract Fire-type attacks into which Chandelure can switch. For the latter, Rapid Spin users, such as Forretress, come to mind due to Chandelure's Stealth Rock weakness. Ninetales helps to fulfill both requirements, powering up Chandelure's STAB moves enough to beat Blissey and Chansey while removing the residual damage from sandstorm.
Through the use of Sunny Day, Chandelure can get past some of its usual checks and counters, such as Politoed and Tyranitar, while providing a sun team with a valuable backup sun inducer or a weatherless team with a way to combat opposing weather. Fire Blast is Chandelure's main weapon, hitting incredibly hard with boosts from Life Orb and sunlight. This variant is also notable for performing better against bulky Water-types than most of the standard Chandelure sets due to a strong SolarBeam and weaker Scalds. Shadow Ball is an option over SolarBeam to hit Latios and Latias, both of which otherwise wall this set when sun isn't in play. The last slot belongs to a Hidden Power; Hidden Power Ground can be used to reliably hit Fire-types that resist SolarBeam and Fire Blast, but barring Fire Blast's accuracy, it is only really useful for Heatran, as a sun-boosted Fire Blast can still KO most of the Fire-types in OU. Hidden Power Fighting can be used to hit Heatran as well, and it's also a reliable option for hitting Tyranitar on the switch. Chandelure can run both SolarBeam and Shadow Ball, but should only do so if your team has reliable means of removing or exploiting the opponent's Heatran, such as Dugtrio or Terrakion.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Timid is the recommended nature as it allows Chandelure to outspeed Timid Politoed and Adamant Dragonite. However, Modest can be used if more power in general is desired or if your team doesn't fear Dragonite and Politoed. Life Orb is the main item option as with it, Chandelure can OHKO 252/76+ Tyranitar with a Modest Hidden Power Fighting when sand isn't up. Leftovers is an option for durability, and it helps compensate for Chandelure's Stealth Rock weakness. Although Fire Blast can OHKO certain variants of Dragonite and Salamence after Stealth Rock, it's inaccurate, so Hidden Power Ice can be used to reliably hit them. However, Hidden Power Ice should only be used against Salamence and Dragonite, as a sun-boosted Fire Blast will hit Latios, Latias, and Haxorus harder. Pain Split can be used to recover off Life Orb and Stealth Rock damage from common switch-ins such as Blissey, but this leaves Chandelure easily walled. Memento and Heat Rock give Chandelure a more supportive role as they can be used to aid a sun sweeper's setup or to provide a sun sweeper with a large enough window to sweep. Memento can also be useful in situations where you know Chandelure is going to die to Stealth Rock. Expert Belt can be used for a balance between power and durability; it also allows Chandelure to bluff a Choice item. Colbur Berry eases prediction against Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar and Snorlax. Air Balloon grants Chandelure a third immunity, meaning it has more switch-in opportunities, but Chandelure will severely miss the power from Life Orb or the recovery from Leftovers.
Rapid Spin support gives Chandelure more chances to switch in. Forretress is a good choice for a spinner as it can also provide hazards, which can net Chandelure more KOs. Forretress also serves as bait for Flash Fire boosts. Ninetales can be used as a partner so Chandelure can hit Water-types with SolarBeam right away. Because it's weak to Stealth Rock, Chandelure loathes residual damage from sand or hail, which Ninetales eliminates upon entry as opposed to having Chandelure remove it itself. Since Chandelure could get rapidly worn down by Stealth Rock, Life Orb, and any other possible residual damage, Chansey could be used as a Wish passer, as it appreciates Chandelure removing sand and hail. Chandelure can also switch into Fighting-type attacks aimed at Chansey. Finally, due to Chandelure's mediocre Speed, paralysis support can be used to aid a sweep. Chansey is a good candidate for spreading paralysis for reasons mentioned above.
Other Options
Two unmentioned moves that may come to mind are Flame Charge and Will-O-Wisp. Indeed, Flame Charge seems like a perfect move to fix Chandelure's Speed, but Volcarona is generally better at this because it is faster, stronger, and specially bulkier after a single Quiver Dance boost than Chandelure is after a Flame Charge boost. A Will-O-Wisp support set seems viable until one realizes that Chandelure is about as bulky as Starmie, does not have a very reliable recovery move, and does not have the Speed, typing, or coverage to make up for its shortcomings. Heatran and Jellicent are much better for the burn supporting role due to their formidable bulk and great defensive typing; Heatran even lures many of the same Pokemon that Chandelure does.
Checks and Counters
In the sun, there is no hard counter in the strictest sense of the word, but Tyranitar and Politoed can switch into a STAB move and cause problems with Sand Stream and Drizzle, respectively. Porygon2 also comes to mind, being immune to both of Chandelure's STAB moves if it carries Trace, though a Choice Specs or Life Orb Hidden Power Fighting will still hit it very hard. Snorlax works similarly thanks to Thick Fat giving it a resistance to Fire. If the sun isn't up, or if Chandelure lacks Choice Specs, Water-types such as Kingdra, Dragon-types such as Dragonite, and special walls such as Blissey and Chansey are great counters.
Unreleased
Chandelure's potential hidden ability is Shadow Tag, the main cause of Wobbuffet's banishment to Ubers in the past two generations. Chandelure could make great use of this ability, revenge killing key threats such as Scizor and Gengar perfectly with a Choice Scarf set or setting up Calm Mind on helpless victims such as Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Choice-locked Pokemon with little effort. Shadow Tag would be the superior option on Calm Mind and Choice Scarf Chandelure, though in the case of the Choice Specs and Substitute sets, one could argue that letting the opponent switch to the appropriate check is what makes these sets so powerful in the first place. A powerful, faster physical attack would still deal with Calm Mind Chandelure unless it has a Substitute up, in which case two attacks from different Pokemon would be needed.
