Good Speed and Attack make Staraptor both an obvious and excellent Choice Bander. Intimidate makes him a good choice as a lead and helps when sending him out later, just don't get too over zealous when switching into physical attacks, his defenses are still poor. Brave Bird and Return / Double-Edge are his main weapons and both hit incredibly hard, while Close Combat hits for at least neutral damage on every Rock and Steel-type. The STAB Normal attacks are mostly for Electric-types, especially Zapdos who also resist Fighting. Double-Edge guarantees a OHKO on Zapdos, but Return is usually preferable as two recoil moves is rather excessive. The fourth slot is the sort of "utility" move. U-turn allows you to scout your counter and get in a hit, while Pursuit is always a great move on Choice Banders and Staraptor makes good use of it. It's especially good against the likes of Celebi and Exeggutor who will run, fearing a Brave Bird. Quick Attack is for protection against Reversal/Flail users and to take down other weakened but faster foes. It does upwards of 45% to the likes of Azelf, Raikou and Weavile. Like most Choice Banders he'll benefit from Wish support, but it's even more essential with Staraptor due to the recoil of Brave Bird and Double-Edge. To varying degrees, Jirachi, Vaporeon, Jolteon and Umbreon can work. Rapid Spin support—Donphan is an excellent choice for this—to remove Stealth Rock will also aid his survivability.
Slight variation on the previous set. Choice Scarf makes Staraptor faster than almost everything and he still packs quite a punch. U-turn is the better choice in the fourth slot as Choice Scarf means he can almost always get in a hit before taking one himself. Other OptionsLife Orb gives him more freedom to attack, but he can ill afford the extra 10% damage each time he attacks. Roost is an option but Staraptor is too fragile to use it effectively. Endeavor can work once recoil from Brave Bird takes its toll, which can help against the likes of Metagross. Featherdance can cripple incoming physical attackers, but Staraptor is better off staying on the offensive. EVsChoice Bander should have max Attack and either Jolly or Adamant nature. A minimum of 296 Speed to outspeed Jolly Heracross or 319 Speed to for Jolly Electivire. Any remaining EVs should go in HP. Choice Scarf sets should always have an Adamant nature and max Attack. 270 Speed for Choice Scarf Heracross or 285 for Choice Scarf Medicham. OpinionWith two STAB 120 BP Attacks and the Attack and Speed to make great use of them, Staraptor is a very potent physical threat. Unlike his fellow Normal/Flying-types like Dodrio and Swellow, Staraptor doesn't fear being totally walled by Rock and Steel-types thanks to his powerful Fighting attack—Close Combat. While his defenses are poor, his Ground immunity and Intimidate are a big help when trying to switch him in to unleash his powerful assaults. Recoil from Brave Bird and Double-Edge can wear him down over time and Stealth Rock and Sandstorm do him no favors either, but you can expect him to do a lot of damage while he remains in play. As was already mentioned, recoil from Brave Bird and Double-Edge can be devastating to Staraptor's survivability. For example, although a CB Brave Bird against the standard Blissey can cause up to 95% of damage (651 HP), this will strip off a massive 217 HP from Staraptor. That's a rather extreme example though. Should you KO a Pokémon with 304 HP, you'll lose over 100 HP yourself. Wherever possible try to KO your opponents with Return or Close Combat; only use Brave Bird when absolutely necessary. CountersSkarmory, Jirachi, Metagross and Bronzong resist both STAB moves, have high Defense, and are neutral to Close Combat, making all four of them excellent choices against Staraptor. Rhyperior's massive HP and Defense, coupled with his Solid Rock ability, which reduces his Fighting weakness, also makes him a good counter. Although they get hit hard by Brave Bird, Ghosts are good switch-ins thanks to their immunity to both Close Combat and Return/Double-Edge. They can cripple Staraptor with Will-O-Wisp or simply attack him with super effective attacks like Thunderbolt (Gengar, Mismagius, Rotom), ThunderPunch, or Ice Punch (Dusknoir). Rotom also resists Brave Bird, but his defenses are poor, so he can't take repeated abuse from it. Zapdos resists both Brave Bird and Close Combat, and easily kills Staraptor with Thunderbolt. Otherwise, just try to outpredict him as he'll usually be restricted by Choice Band/Scarf. |
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