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OU Talonflame
- Thread starter alexwolf
- Start date
Why is the Choice Band set mentioned when it's not even close to being one of Talonflame's best sets?
Because it's one of Talonflame's best sets?
It's not just one of it's best sets, it IS his best set.
Life Orb stacked way too much with its recoil-inducing attacks; it's the reason Sharp Beak is used over it.
Mm, that's a good point, but Sharp Beak only benefits Brave Bird, not Flare Blitz. Or is the fire coverage not as important?
Brave Bird is the main attack to spam (why not?), with Flare Blitz only being used against specific targets, mostly Flying-resists. Since the majority of Flying-resists are Steel-type (weak to Fire), Flare Blitz hits them plenty hard. Although Life Orb does give Talonflame better odds of 2HKOing and OHKOing Zapdos and Aegislash respectively, Choice Band instead guarantees this. Life Orb as a middle ground is not worth the significant HP loss with each attack.
BurningMan
fueled by beer
Meh LO might not be the most optimal choice most of the time, but i wouldn't say its totally unviable, being able to switch moves while still getting a significant power boost on all attacks is great even if it means taking even more recoil damage.
I am actually suprised it got no mention at all althuough it is propably not that important since it is pretty niche.
I am actually suprised it got no mention at all althuough it is propably not that important since it is pretty niche.
But with CB, you can't Roost, and from the way you put it, I'm guessing that non-banded Flare Blitz can't get those KOs. Obviously Tailwind is the better option if you're running CB, but Sharp Beak just seems like an...odd item choice, given that those are some important KOs you're missing out on by not going banded. Granted, I'm not really sure why any Talonflame offensive would stay in on a Zapdos unless they had caught it on the switch, but that's another point altogether. Or am I really overestimating Roost's significance in helping Talonflame net more than one or two KOs before it kills itself?
Yeah I mean you're really only spamming Brave Bird most of the time, which Sharp Beak gives enough of a boost to. Life Orb just causes WAY to much recoil, as continual Brave Bird recoil + Life Orb damage + the possibility of Stealth Rock means Talonflame is either going to have to kill itself or Roost. The problem with Roost is, though, is while it's not frail per say, a lot of offensive Pokemon don't have trouble OHKOing it.
So basically, too much recoil + not enough times to Roost in a game means that Life Orb is really not the best item for Talonflame. But BurningMan is correct that it can have some merit, so maybe an OO mention? (If it's not in OO already, I haven't looked yet)
Actually, that's not how Me First works. Me First only can be successfully used if you move before the opponent, and then it copies the move the opponent chose this turn. The move used the turn before is irrelevant to it; it would be relevant for Mirror Move and Copycat, but Talonflame learns neither of those.
So using Me First against a Garchomp or Kyurem-B is a very risky option, as it will deal pitiful damage if they go for Stone Edge or Fusion Bolt, respectively, and completely fail if they choose a non-offensive option, leaving you locked into a move can be easily played around to get more free turns. It may be used for a certain KO if they're locked into Outrage, however, though Talonflame is then outrage-locked itself.
