http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/flareon
Removed: Choice, Baton Pass and Mixed sets: outclassed by Arcanine/Blaziken/ Houndoom/ Moltres...
2x approved, 2x GP
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[Overview]
<p>Flareon is often considered one of the weaker 'Eeveelutions' due to his bad Defense, HP, and Speed; lack of strong physical STAB despite his high Attack stat; and Stealth Rock weakness thanks to his Fire typing.</p>
<p>However, even with all these drawbacks, Flareon can still perform some niche roles with his high Special Defense and access to Wish. Flareon is not 2HKOed by most bulky Water-types and is a great counter to specially offensive Grass-types and Moltres (without Toxic), which allows him ample opportunities to support his teammates with Wish while attempting to stall out the opponent.</p>
[SET]
name: Wish
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect
move 3: Flamethrower / Lava Plume
move 4: Toxic
nature: Calm
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is something that Fire-types like Blaziken and Houndoom can't do. Flareon's job is to keep his team healthy with Wish and stall the enemy out with a combination of Wish, Protect, and Toxic. Flareon can counter common threats such as offensive Moltres, special Venusaur, Sceptile, Arcanine (special and bulky sets without Toxic), Rotom, and Alakazam while stalling walls for instance Chansey and even Milotic.</p>
<p>Lava Plume keeps physical attackers from switching in freely as they risk a burn, while Flamethrower has more Base Power and a lower burn rate, which may be beneficial when dealing with bulky Water-types, for example, Milotic and Slowbro as the burn grants them immunity to Toxic. The EVs ensure that 0 SpA Milotic, one of the most powerful bulky Water-types, never 2HKOes Flareon with Surf when factoring in Leftovers. They also let him take some physical attacks ,for instance, Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed, mixed Blaziken's Life Orb Superpower, and unboosted Life Orb Venusaur's Earthquake.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As Flareon's Defense is nothing to write home about, a defensive Ground-type such as Donphan or Claydol is a good teammate to take the Rock- and Ground-type attacks aimed at Flareon. Fighting-types, e.g., Hariyama and Hitmontop can also take Rock attacks and don't have a shared Water weakness. A Water-type such as Milotic is also a good partner to combat Fire-types who Flareon can't handle, such as Blaziken. Milotic also checks most Ground- and Rock-types, such as Rhyperior. Since Flareon can outstall bulky Water-types and troublesome walls, Pokemon who love having these out of the way, for example, Azumarill, Feraligatr, and Sceptile, are also good partners.</p>
<p>Flareon is weak to Stealth Rock, so a spinner is valuable to Flareon. Donphan and Claydol are again good choices as they can spin Stealth Rock and Spikes away and also lay Stealth Rock down themselves. Blastoise can take the Water-type attacks that Flareon can't take, such as Azumarill's Waterfall. In return, Flareon's Wish lets Blastoise last longer to spin. Hitmontop can take Rock-type attacks and spin against Ghost-types thanks to Foresight.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>As mentioned, Water-types are good teammates to take Water-type attacks and combat Ground-, Fire-, and Rock-types while Flareon takes Grass-type attacks. Milotic can handle Rhyperior, Blaziken, and Arcanine and can go more offensive with Life Orb since Wish can help keep her healthy. Blastoise is also a good option as he can spin.</p>
<p>A Ground- or Rock-type like Claydol can take on Ground- and Rock-types with ease and set up Stealth Rock to hurt the opponent's team. Claydol may also spin away Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes that hinder Flareon's chances to come in and start stalling. Fighting-types, however, have more synergy and numerous options; Poliwrath, who is immune to Water attacks; Hitmontop, who can spin; and Hariyama, who is bulky, all make good teammates.</p>
<p>Grass-types also take Water-type attacks and in return Flareon absorbs Fire-type attacks while getting a Flash Fire boost. Venusaur, thanks to his Poison-type, absorbs Toxic Spikes on the switch in and attracts Fire attacks while Flareon keeps his health up with Wish. A Swords Dance variant can be a particularly effective partner, as Flareon checks one of Swords Dance Venusaur's biggest counters, Moltres.</p>
<p>As mentioned multiple times before, Flareon counters Moltres and Arcanine without Toxic. SubRoost Moltres and bulky Arcanine with Toxic turn the tables on Flareon, so defensive Altaria with Heal Bell is a good teammate since he can check both and heal status afflictions with Heal Bell.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Flareon's movepool is shallow but he still has some options. Yawn can be used to force the opponent out under the threat of sleep. A mixed attacker with Superpower / Fire Blast / Return / Hidden Power Grass may be used for breaking down walls such as Clefable and Steelix more easily, but is outclassed by Magmortar and Blaziken as they are faster and hit harder. Quick Attack provides priority, but with no STAB and weak Base Power, Return is almost always a better option. Will-O-Wisp burns physical attackers such as Azumarill and Rhyperior who want to hit Flareon on his weaker Defense stat, but Lava Plume still has a good 30% chance to burn switch-ins. You can use Fire Fang and a Careful nature on the Wish set since Flareon's Attack is higher than its Special Attack; you hit Chansey and specially defensive Pokémon such as Registeel harder, but with the low Base Power of Fire Fang and high Defense stats of other counters such as Rhyperior and Donphan, it is a lesser option. Iron Tail also damages Rock-types and doesn't lower your Attack and Defense like Superpower but it has real use out of that. Flareon can use Heal Bell but it's hard to give up one of his other moves and there are better choices such as Chansey and Clefable. Roar is good for shuffling the opponent's team around and stopping stat-uppers.</p>
<p>A Choice Band set lets Flareon hit harder but again is outclassed since Flareon has no good physical STAB outside of Fire Fang. Choice Specs runs off Flareon's lower Special Attack stat, but Overheat can dent any Pokemon who doesn't resist it. A Baton Pass set with Wish, Lava Plume, and either Substitute or Curse could be useful, but Flareon has no real opportunities to set up and is outclassed by Blaziken, who has access to Agility and Swords Dance.</p>
<p>Always max out Flareon's low HP stat and invest in his good SpD for a more defensive set. 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD lets Flareon take most special attacks with ease and survive some physical attacks, such as an Earthquake from Life Orb Venusaur or a Superpower from mixed Blaziken. For more Speed, 140 EVs with a neutral nature allow Flareon to outspeed 4 Speed Milotic and Venusaur, while 168 EVs outspeed 0 Speed Base 85s. However, it is almost always more useful to invest in Flareon's defenses as he already outspeeds some slower walls like Slowbro who don't invest in Speed. </p>
[Counters]
<p>Most Rock- and Ground-types are counters to sets without Hidden Power Grass or Superpower but they need to watch out for a burn from Lava Plume. Bulky Water-types can be outstalled by the standard set but are good counters to the offensive sets. Although not as common, more offensive Water-types such as Calm Mind Slowbro or Life Orb Milotic can 2HKO Flareon with Surf or even OHKO with Hydro Pump. ResTalkers, such as Spiritomb, can just Rest off the poison and stall Flareon out.</p>
<p>Flareon is Stealth Rock weak and has many weaknesses to common types, such as Ground and Water, so getting Stealth Rock and Spikes on the field will severely limit his lifespan.</p>
Removed: Choice, Baton Pass and Mixed sets: outclassed by Arcanine/Blaziken/ Houndoom/ Moltres...
2x approved, 2x GP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Overview]
<p>Flareon is often considered one of the weaker 'Eeveelutions' due to his bad Defense, HP, and Speed; lack of strong physical STAB despite his high Attack stat; and Stealth Rock weakness thanks to his Fire typing.</p>
<p>However, even with all these drawbacks, Flareon can still perform some niche roles with his high Special Defense and access to Wish. Flareon is not 2HKOed by most bulky Water-types and is a great counter to specially offensive Grass-types and Moltres (without Toxic), which allows him ample opportunities to support his teammates with Wish while attempting to stall out the opponent.</p>
[SET]
name: Wish
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect
move 3: Flamethrower / Lava Plume
move 4: Toxic
nature: Calm
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is something that Fire-types like Blaziken and Houndoom can't do. Flareon's job is to keep his team healthy with Wish and stall the enemy out with a combination of Wish, Protect, and Toxic. Flareon can counter common threats such as offensive Moltres, special Venusaur, Sceptile, Arcanine (special and bulky sets without Toxic), Rotom, and Alakazam while stalling walls for instance Chansey and even Milotic.</p>
<p>Lava Plume keeps physical attackers from switching in freely as they risk a burn, while Flamethrower has more Base Power and a lower burn rate, which may be beneficial when dealing with bulky Water-types, for example, Milotic and Slowbro as the burn grants them immunity to Toxic. The EVs ensure that 0 SpA Milotic, one of the most powerful bulky Water-types, never 2HKOes Flareon with Surf when factoring in Leftovers. They also let him take some physical attacks ,for instance, Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed, mixed Blaziken's Life Orb Superpower, and unboosted Life Orb Venusaur's Earthquake.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As Flareon's Defense is nothing to write home about, a defensive Ground-type such as Donphan or Claydol is a good teammate to take the Rock- and Ground-type attacks aimed at Flareon. Fighting-types, e.g., Hariyama and Hitmontop can also take Rock attacks and don't have a shared Water weakness. A Water-type such as Milotic is also a good partner to combat Fire-types who Flareon can't handle, such as Blaziken. Milotic also checks most Ground- and Rock-types, such as Rhyperior. Since Flareon can outstall bulky Water-types and troublesome walls, Pokemon who love having these out of the way, for example, Azumarill, Feraligatr, and Sceptile, are also good partners.</p>
<p>Flareon is weak to Stealth Rock, so a spinner is valuable to Flareon. Donphan and Claydol are again good choices as they can spin Stealth Rock and Spikes away and also lay Stealth Rock down themselves. Blastoise can take the Water-type attacks that Flareon can't take, such as Azumarill's Waterfall. In return, Flareon's Wish lets Blastoise last longer to spin. Hitmontop can take Rock-type attacks and spin against Ghost-types thanks to Foresight.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>As mentioned, Water-types are good teammates to take Water-type attacks and combat Ground-, Fire-, and Rock-types while Flareon takes Grass-type attacks. Milotic can handle Rhyperior, Blaziken, and Arcanine and can go more offensive with Life Orb since Wish can help keep her healthy. Blastoise is also a good option as he can spin.</p>
<p>A Ground- or Rock-type like Claydol can take on Ground- and Rock-types with ease and set up Stealth Rock to hurt the opponent's team. Claydol may also spin away Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes that hinder Flareon's chances to come in and start stalling. Fighting-types, however, have more synergy and numerous options; Poliwrath, who is immune to Water attacks; Hitmontop, who can spin; and Hariyama, who is bulky, all make good teammates.</p>
<p>Grass-types also take Water-type attacks and in return Flareon absorbs Fire-type attacks while getting a Flash Fire boost. Venusaur, thanks to his Poison-type, absorbs Toxic Spikes on the switch in and attracts Fire attacks while Flareon keeps his health up with Wish. A Swords Dance variant can be a particularly effective partner, as Flareon checks one of Swords Dance Venusaur's biggest counters, Moltres.</p>
<p>As mentioned multiple times before, Flareon counters Moltres and Arcanine without Toxic. SubRoost Moltres and bulky Arcanine with Toxic turn the tables on Flareon, so defensive Altaria with Heal Bell is a good teammate since he can check both and heal status afflictions with Heal Bell.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Flareon's movepool is shallow but he still has some options. Yawn can be used to force the opponent out under the threat of sleep. A mixed attacker with Superpower / Fire Blast / Return / Hidden Power Grass may be used for breaking down walls such as Clefable and Steelix more easily, but is outclassed by Magmortar and Blaziken as they are faster and hit harder. Quick Attack provides priority, but with no STAB and weak Base Power, Return is almost always a better option. Will-O-Wisp burns physical attackers such as Azumarill and Rhyperior who want to hit Flareon on his weaker Defense stat, but Lava Plume still has a good 30% chance to burn switch-ins. You can use Fire Fang and a Careful nature on the Wish set since Flareon's Attack is higher than its Special Attack; you hit Chansey and specially defensive Pokémon such as Registeel harder, but with the low Base Power of Fire Fang and high Defense stats of other counters such as Rhyperior and Donphan, it is a lesser option. Iron Tail also damages Rock-types and doesn't lower your Attack and Defense like Superpower but it has real use out of that. Flareon can use Heal Bell but it's hard to give up one of his other moves and there are better choices such as Chansey and Clefable. Roar is good for shuffling the opponent's team around and stopping stat-uppers.</p>
<p>A Choice Band set lets Flareon hit harder but again is outclassed since Flareon has no good physical STAB outside of Fire Fang. Choice Specs runs off Flareon's lower Special Attack stat, but Overheat can dent any Pokemon who doesn't resist it. A Baton Pass set with Wish, Lava Plume, and either Substitute or Curse could be useful, but Flareon has no real opportunities to set up and is outclassed by Blaziken, who has access to Agility and Swords Dance.</p>
<p>Always max out Flareon's low HP stat and invest in his good SpD for a more defensive set. 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD lets Flareon take most special attacks with ease and survive some physical attacks, such as an Earthquake from Life Orb Venusaur or a Superpower from mixed Blaziken. For more Speed, 140 EVs with a neutral nature allow Flareon to outspeed 4 Speed Milotic and Venusaur, while 168 EVs outspeed 0 Speed Base 85s. However, it is almost always more useful to invest in Flareon's defenses as he already outspeeds some slower walls like Slowbro who don't invest in Speed. </p>
[Counters]
<p>Most Rock- and Ground-types are counters to sets without Hidden Power Grass or Superpower but they need to watch out for a burn from Lava Plume. Bulky Water-types can be outstalled by the standard set but are good counters to the offensive sets. Although not as common, more offensive Water-types such as Calm Mind Slowbro or Life Orb Milotic can 2HKO Flareon with Surf or even OHKO with Hydro Pump. ResTalkers, such as Spiritomb, can just Rest off the poison and stall Flareon out.</p>
<p>Flareon is Stealth Rock weak and has many weaknesses to common types, such as Ground and Water, so getting Stealth Rock and Spikes on the field will severely limit his lifespan.</p>
