This is only an amateur check! I spoke to one of the GP guys last night who said I was ok to do this as an amateur.
Things that need changing are in red - ideas and changes to be made are in green.
Things that need changing are in red - ideas and changes to be made are in green.
BL for 3 generations straight and counting!
Overview
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Despite its ridiculous power, Staraptor is often ignored because of its unimpressive Speed and horrific frailty. While its STAB Brave Bird 2HKOes nearly every Pokemon in the entire game, Staraptor struggles to take even resisted hits. In addition, it is weak to Stealth Rock and relies heavily on recoil moves, so it wears itself down very quickly. Staraptor is very one-dimentional (dimensional) in nature; in nearly every match, it uses Brave Bird a few times, OHKOes or 2HKOes a couple of opponents, and dies to recoil in the process. It is also one of the best partners to Talonflame, as it has the raw power to easily break through the walls that Talonflame struggles to get past on its own. While it may not stick around for very long, Staraptor's ability to hit everything that dares to step in its way like a wrecking ball ensures that its impact on the game is very hard to ignore.
Choice Band
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name: Choice Band
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Double Edge
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: U-turn / Final Gambit / Quick Attack
ability: Reckless
item: Choice Band
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Staraptor's Brave Bird is ridiculously powerful. It can OHKO or 2HKO nearly every Pokemon in the entire game that does not resist it (nearly every Pokemon that does not resist it), and quite a considerable number that do. Double Edge has the same power as Brave Bird, but it has more common resists and an immunity, so it should be used sparingly, as Brave Bird is most often the better choice. Close Combat is another situational move.: Its its main targets are Heatran and Tyranitar, though nearly every Pokemon that Close Combat would be used to hit is 2HKOed by Brave Bird anyway, so predicting the switch is usually unnecessary. U-turn should only be used in specific situations, as Staraptor rarely gets a chance to safely switch in and attack, so making the most of these few opportunites is important in order to use Staraptor to its fullest potential. Final Gambit is great for crippling Skarmory, which is Staraptor's most reliable defensive check, and allowing another Pokemon to come in for free. Quick Attack is an option in order to revenge kill severely weakened faster threats, but it is a horrible move to be locked into and Staraptor is better off leaving the revenge killing duties to another Pokemon, such as Talonflame.
Set Details
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Max Attack and Speed EVs are used because as a frail offensive Pokemon, Staraptor's main purpose in life is to hit things fast and hard. A Jolly nature is preferred because Staraptor cannot afford to be outsped in most cases, so it needs as much Speed as possible. The extra power of an Adamant nature doesn't gain many notable KOs, but the Speed drop means that Staraptor will miss out on a ton of important Pokemon from around base 90 Speed and up. However, an Adamant nature can still be used to get a few OHKOs and 2HKOes that Jolly does not. The most significant of these are: the 2HKO on Heatran and Rotom-W after Stealth Rock with Brave Bird, and the OHKO on both of them with Close Combat and Double Edge, respectively. Choice Band is the perfect item for Staraptor. It only really needs to use Brave Bird in most situations, so there's no real need for it to switch moves, while the 1.5x power boost makes Staraptor that much more threatening.
Usage Tips
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Click Brave Bird and watch things die (faint, KO?). There's no secret to using Staraptor; Brave Bird is the best play in almost every circumstance. Double Edge and Close Combat should only be used to hit specific Pokemon that resist Brave Bird, such as Rotom-Wash and Tyranitar, respectively. U-turn should mainly only be used if the opponent has an Aegislash or Skarmory, but it can be useful early on if there's a specific wall you want to save Staraptor for. Staraptor is so frail that it cannot comfortably switch into even resisted attacks. This means that when it does get in for free, it usually wants to deal as much damage as possible before going down, as it may not get many more chances to come in.
Team Options
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Talonflame is by far Staraptor's best partner. Staraptor can lure in and remove checks to Talonflame such as: Heatran, Rotom-W, or Tyranitar, giving Talonflame free reign to clean late game. Pinsir is another great partner, as it pairs with Staraptor and Talonflame to create a nearly unwallable triple "bird" core. Excadrill can provide much needed Rapin (Rapid)Spin support. It can also set up Stealth Rock, which turns a few 2HKOes into OHKOes, such as on Heatran and Rotom-W. Defog support from the likes of Latios, Scizor, or Latias, is also useful to remove Stealth Rock. Latias also has Healing Wish, which can give Staraptor or one of its allies a second chance to tear through the opposing team. Additionally, any Pokemon that either appreciates specific walls or walls in general being removed is a good teammate for Staraptor, because Staraptor is proficient at breaking down nearly every defensive Pokemon in OU.
Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Double Edge
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: U-turn / Final Gambit
ability: Reckless
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Like usual, Brave Bird is the only move Staraptor ever needs to use in most circumstances. However, as this set has quite a noticeable power drop when compared to the Choice Band set, Double Edge and Close Combat are often handy to gain 2HKOes that Brave Bird cannot, such as on defensive Rotom-Wash and Heatran, respectively. U-turn is once again very situational, as Staraptor would rather just use Brave Bird most of the time. However, the momentum it provides is rather nice. Final Gambit is useful because it lets Staraptor dent Pokemon it cannot hope of getting (cannot get) past, such as Skarmory.
Set Details
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252 Attack and Speed EVs are used to hit hard and fast. A Jolly nature is used to tie with +1 base 100 Speed Pokemon, such as +1 Mega Charizard X. Choice Scarf makes Staraptor a great late-game cleaner against offensive teams by boosting its disappointingly low Speed, which can otherwise prevent it from being overly effective against offense.
Usage Tips
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Choice Scarf Staraptor isn't that great of a revenge killer due to its frailty, succeptability ( susceptibility ) to priority, and Stealth Rock weakness. Where it truly shines, however, is as a late-game cleaner. Once all of their Flying-type resistant Pokemon have been removed, offensive teams can do very little to stop Staraptor from cleaning up. Choice Scarf Staraptor should usually be saved for late in the game, and themn brought in once it has a good opportunity to clean. Once again, all of Staraptor's moves not named Brave Bird are fairly situational. Nearly every time Staraptor is out, Brave Bird is the best play.
Team Options
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Talonflame is once again Staraptor's best partner. In fact, if you aren't using this set with Talonflame, you're better off just using Choice Band Talonflame. However, Choice Scarf Staraptor and Choice Band Talonflame make great partners as late-game cleaners against offensive teams. Excadrill is the best user of Rapid Spin in OU and has decent synergy with both Staraptor and Talonflame. Stealth Rock reduces the amount of time Staraptor can use Brave Bird (read: kill things), so having a reliable way to remove it is essential. Defog support is good for the same reason, and in some ways is even better because it cannot be blocked.
Other Options
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Staraptor is a very straightforward Pokemon with few other options. It can run a Life Orb set to take advantage of Roost, however it is much better suited to running Choice sets since it rarely ever needs to switch moves. A SubRoost set with Intimdate (Intimidate) is usable, as Staraptor is good at forcing switches, but Staraptor is horribly frail and not that fast, so this is mediocre at best and a waste of Staraptor's potential.
Checks & Counters
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**Aegislash**: Due its great typing, Aegislash is one of the only offensive Pokemon in the game capable of avoiding a 2HKO from any of Staraptor's moves. It also has access to King's Shield, which lets it deter Staraptor from staying in and attacking it.
**Skarmory**: Skarmory is by far the best defensive counter to Skarmory Staraptor?, if not the only one. It cannot be 2HKOed by any of Staraptor's moves and can easily stall it out with Roost.
**Fast Offensive Pokemon**: Since Staraptor is pitifully frail, the best way to deal with it is often just to attack it with a faster Pokemon or one with priority moves. Almost any attack will do huge amounts of damage to Staraptor.
**Rocky Helmet/Iron Barbs**: Since Staraptor gets worn down incredibly easily, Pokemon with Rocky Helmet, such as Garchomp or Ferrothorn, force it to take massive amounts of damage by simply attacking them.
**Mega Aggron**: With its insane defenses and Filter, Mega Aggron fears very little from Staraptor. However, if it has not yet Mega Evolved, it is easily dealt with by Close Combat, so it is not the most reliable switch-in unless it has Mega Evolved.
**Rhyperior**: Rhyperior can switch into Staraptor's STAB moves with ease and can OHKO it in return, but it can still be worn down by multiple Close Combats.