[AAA] Moltres

[MZ]

QC: -Grim, LaxLapras, Motherlove
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack, P Squared
[OVERVIEW]

Moltres is an excellent Pokemon thanks to its ability to fulfill many roles with both offensive and defensive sets. It has a very useful typing that allows it to check Steel-, Fairy-, Grass-, and Fighting-types quite well and two high-powered STAB moves backed up by decent coverage and excellent Special Attack. On the defensive side, Moltres comes with solid bulk and access to Will-O-Wisp, Defog, and Roost; it is also a very solid check to Shaymin-S, and it can pivot around foes with U-turn. However, Moltres has a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock if not using Magic Guard and has a fair amount of competition from other Fire-types such as Heatran, which also fulfills multiple roles but does not come with a weakness to Stealth Rock and has a different set of resistances.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hidden Power Water / Sleep Talk
item: Choice Specs
ability: Gale Wings
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Hurricane is an incredibly strong priority STAB move backed by perfect accuracy under rain. Fire Blast hits Steel-types lacking Flash Fire or Primordial Sea that resist Hurricane, although it is weaker under rain. U-turn allows Moltres to pivot on predicted counters such as Diancie, and Hidden Power Water hits Rock-types that resist Moltres's STAB moves and has boosted power under rain. Sleep Talk can also be used to make Moltres a sleep absorber if its team lacks a decent check to sleep move users such as Breloom.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature backed by Choice Specs allow Moltres to hit as hard as possible, while maximum Speed investment lets it outspeed as much as possible when not using Hurricane. Gale Wings gives Moltres priority on Hurricane so that it can KO faster foes such as Latios before they can attack.

Usage Tips
========

Moltres should ideally be brought in under rain so that Hurricane has perfect accuracy and Hidden Power Water is boosted. Moltres is still usable out of the rain as a strong attacker; it should just be wary of Hurricane misses. Moltres is best used as a late-game cleaner, as there are simply too many common threats that can prevent it from effectively wallbreaking. Use Hurricane unless specifically predicting a bulky Pokemon that resists it and that will be hit harder by a coverage move to switch in. U-turn in conjunction with entry hazards and Pursuit or Magnet Pull support can help to wear down Flash Fire Steel-types that wall Moltres, so use it when predicting a counter to switch in.

Team Options
========

This set fits best on rain teams, so Swift Swim sweepers such as Hoopa and Mega Swampert and rain setters such as Drizzle Zapdos and Rotom-W should be paired with Moltres. Lead rain-setting Deoxys-S is notable, as it provides both rain and entry hazard support to wear down foes, although other entry hazard setters are also appreciated. Entry hazard removal from Pokemon such as the aforementioned Zapdos and Latios is important to avoid having Moltres lose half of its health when switching in. Magic Bounce users such as Mew can also help with this. Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar and Magnet Pull users such as Suicune can be brought in after using U-turn to trap Moltres's counters.

[SET]
name: Offensive Defog
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Defog
move 4: Roost / U-turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast and Hurricane are Moltres's main STAB moves to hit Grass-, Fighting-, Steel-, and Bug-type foes, although Air Slash can be used to avoid missing Hurricane. Defog removes entry hazards to support Moltres's teammates, and Roost improves Moltres's longevity, allowing it to switch into weaker attackers multiple times. U-turn can be used to pivot out of predicted counters.

Set Details
========

Magic Guard prevents Moltres from taking damage from Stealth Rock as well as allowing it to use Life Orb without taking recoil. Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment helps to outspeed foes and hit them as hard as possible. A Timid nature increases Moltres's Speed further, and it is used despite lowering the power of U-turn, which is used primarily for pivoting purposes and is still weak without an Attack-decreasing nature. Life Orb increases Moltres's power without any drawback.

Usage Tips
========

Attempt to use free turns to remove entry hazards with Defog, but be careful of Defiant users predicting it and getting a free Attack boost from Moltres. Hurricane is Moltres's safest attack to use, as Fire Blast can provide a free switch in for Flash Fire foes. Use U-turn when predicting counters to come in to rack up damage more quickly. If relying on Moltres to check offensive threats such as Lucario, keep it at a high amount of health with Roost.

Team Options
========

Moltres should be used with teammates that require Stealth Rock removed to be effective, such as Charizard and Staraptor. Electric- and Water-type checks such as Ferrothorn and Breloom are useful to cover Moltres's main weaknesses. Moltres also appreciates bulky teammates such as Diancie and Skarmory to fall back on when forced out by faster Pokemon or users of priority attacks such as Latios and Braviary. Gale Wings sweepers such as Honchkrow and Staraptor appreciate the entry hazard support as well as Moltres's wallbreaking support; however, they do stack weaknesses to Electric and Rock. Pursuit trappers and Magnet Pull users such as Honchkrow and Manectric help to weaken or eliminate Moltres's checks and counters.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Roost
move 3: Defog
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Will-O-Wisp helps Moltres cripple foes and dissuade physically offensive Pokemon such as Tyranitar from switching in. Roost allows Moltres to recover off damage, while Defog removes entry hazards for its teammates. Flamethrower is a reliable STAB move to give Moltres some offensive presence, although Air Slash can be used to not be hard-walled by Flash Fire users such as Ferrothorn.

Set Details
========

Magic Guard allows Moltres to avoid taking damage from Stealth Rock, making it much more effective at removing it with Defog. The HP and Defense EVs allow Moltres to avoid the 2HKO from Adamant Life Orb Tough Claws Lucario's Close Combat, while the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to more reliably take on most special attackers in general. Leftovers provides extra passive recovery.

Usage Tips
========

Moltres can only take on certain strong attackers such as Lucario if it is at a sufficient amount of HP, so keep it healthy by using Roost frequently. Using Will-O-Wisp a lot is a good way to wear down opposing teams by spreading burns, and in particular it helps to wear down Primordial Sea switch-ins. Use free turns to remove entry hazards with Defog.

Team Options
========

Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock such as Dragonite and Multiscale users such as Altaria appreciate Moltres's entry hazard removal. Electric- and Water-type checks such as Motor Drive Manaphy and Volt Absorb Slowbro are appreciated, as these two types of Pokemon can easily switch into Moltres. Pokemon that can switch into Rock-type moves such as Hippowdon and Chesnaught are also appreciated, although most Pokemon carrying Rock-type coverage cannot safely switch into Moltres due to Will-O-Wisp. Moltres can be set up on by Dragon-types such as Latios and Mega Charizard X, so teammates such as Ferrothorn and Unaware Suicune are useful. Frail setup sweepers like Lucario appreciate Moltres's ability to spread burns to provide more setup opportunities.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

A wallbreaking set using Desolate Land and Choice Specs is possible due to Moltres's extreme power under harsh sunlight and excellent coverage, but it has heavy competition from Heatran and requires very reliable entry hazard removal support. Offensive sets with Primordial Sea help to check Fire-types and give perfect accuracy to Hurricane, but they leave Moltres with a severe weakness to Stealth Rock; Moltres goes better with teammates that can set rain for it. Life Orb + Sheer Force boosts the power of both Hurricane and Fire Blast significantly, but again, it leaves Moltres severely weak to Stealth Rock and its Fire Blast is still weaker than Choice Specs Fire Blast under harsh sunlight. Hurricane can be used on Desolate Land sets, but it only has 50% accuracy under harsh sunlight. Flame Charge is a potential filler move on Moltres's offensive sets, but Moltres is still very vulnerable to priority moves. Toxic Orb is a possibility on defensive Moltres to avoid being put to sleep or paralyzed, but Leftovers is still the preferred item for extra recovery.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Rock-types**: Moltres can be easily OHKOed by Rock-type attackers such as Tyranitar and Diancie, and it must be careful predicting around them with Choice sets, as they resist both of its STAB attacks. However, most Rock-types lack recovery outside of the occasional Poison Heal, so offensive sets can eventually wear them down, especially if Moltres catches them with Grass-type coverage on the switch in.

**Strong Attackers**: Dedicated special wallbreakers such as Latios and Gengar can OHKO offensive Moltres sets or break through defensive Moltres, while strong physical attackers such as Landorus fare better versus defensive sets thanks to its lower physical bulk. However, most strong attackers cannot switch into offensive sets or survive a Hurricane from Gale Wings Moltres, and physical attackers must be wary of switching into Will-O-Wisp from defensive Moltres.

**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock greatly reduces the longevity of non-Magic Guard sets, forcing Moltres to lose 50% of its health upon switching in.

**Water-types**: Although most Water-types are poor switch-ins to Hurricane, they are capable of pivoting into a Fire-type attack and KOing Moltres with their super effective STAB moves. Defensive Moltres is setup fodder for Water-types such as Manaphy and Suicune.

**Electric-types**: Mega Manectric and Raikou are easily capable of OHKOing Moltres and resist Hurricane, making them good checks to Gale Wings Moltres. Zapdos can take Hurricane or Air Slash from Moltres, although non-Primordial Sea variants cannot switch into Fire Blast.

**Flash Fire Pokemon**: Flash Fire users such as Doublade and Ferrothorn totally wall Moltres's defensive set and can pivot into offensive Moltres's Fire Blast to set up either Swords Dance or entry hazards on it. Flash Fire Landorus is also an excellent check, as it outspeeds Moltres and OHKOes with Stone Edge, although it cannot survive a Gale Wings Hurricane. Flash Fire Steel-types must also be wary of Moltres pivoting into a Magnet Pull teammate with U-turn.

 

[MZ]

Copied the stuff from Snaquaza's skeleton and added motherlove's suggestion of 76 defense on defensive to take on tough claws lucario, as well as adding air slash instead of hurricane on desolate land because it's 50% accurate so why. I also added offensive magic guard defog since both -Grim and I thought it was good enough to be a full set. Hopefully 4 sets doesnt take too long

 

[Martin]

Just a knitpick (sorry ik this is still WIP), but Primordial Sea would completely negate its fire-type moves. You probably meant Drizzle when mentioning it in OO (honestly as someone who's used the set I think that it's better than Primordial Sea on Moltres because its never in for enough turns for the extemsion to matter and it means that it can still use Fire Blast reasonably well), but you should fix that if the correct ability is listed. Either way mention Drizzle though.

 

[MZ]

Merry christmas, here's a 4 set analysis waiting for you
I know the last set is really bare but I honestly couldn't think of anything good, it's really self-sufficient and obvious how to use

 

[Grim]

For rain sweeper mention that there are situations when a stronger Fire Blast is better than an accurate Hurricane, that hazards + u-turn wears down checks such as FF Steels and stuff and especially works well with Pursuit trappers such as CB TTar and Krow (also mention in TO). Mention it works best as a late game cleaner (or wallbreaker earlier but common stuff walls it) but needs to watch out with health because strong priority will kill especially with the rocks weakness. Also mention entry hazard + rain leads like Deoxys-S in TO.

For sun breaker again mention pursuit trappers for shit like FF Doublade and U-turning into them in UT. Also mention fast special cleaners in TO and in UT how they support each other and stuff.

For offensive Magic Guard, seriously put more stuff into UT lol, even the standard obvious tips we all know and that you already wrote 3 times above are better than just removing hazards with Defog. In TO, Pursuit and Magnet Pull users, special cleaners, switch in to rock types, electric immunity, hazard setters, etc etc

Also I think the set order should be changed to rain Gale Wings > Offensive MG > Defensive MG > Desolate Land. At least offensive MG should be higher and defensive lower, for the rest they're all about the same in viability.

Do that and 1/3.

Edit: Tbh I actually doubt the viability of Desolate Land, it just seems like a much worse Heatran to me as Flying STAB does nothing for it and its typing is so much worse.

 

[MZ]

did, changed the set order to that since it seems better

 

[MZ]

motherlove LaxLapras maybe one of you guys can check this since the old qc members havent?

 

[Laxpras]

You should mention that fire blast is significantly weakened in the rain. TBH I don't really see this as a rain set as much as just a more unique gale wings set. I think you should have choice specs / Life Orb, if not even putting life orb as the preferred item. If you really want it to be seen as a rain threat, hp water should be an option, as it also hits rock, but gets a rain boost as well. It also hits flash fire steel types at least a little bit. Mention magnet pull users as a good mon to uturn into on a flash fire steel switchin.

Gale wings should be emphasized as team option for offensive defog. Not only does it benefit from SR removal, but having another strong flying attack paired with moltres can make holes in the opposing team.

Lucario can run stone edge and ohko Moltres. Not common, but worth mentioning. Not a pure counter.
Air slash should be an alternative to flamethrower, so its not hard walled by flash fire.

I agree with Grim that the desolate land set is just really not that viable. Heatran, or even special victini or something like typhlosion seem all around better.

Mention flash fire steels as check/counter.
Mention poison heal mons as check/counter. Suicune and snorlax, as well as others, can beat it.

After this then 2/3

 

[MZ]

You should mention that fire blast is significantly weakened in the rain. TBH I don't really see this as a rain set as much as just a more unique gale wings set. I think you should have choice specs / Life Orb, if not even putting life orb as the preferred item. If you really want it to be seen as a rain threat, hp water should be an option, as it also hits rock, but gets a rain boost as well. It also hits flash fire steel types at least a little bit. Mention magnet pull users as a good mon to uturn into on a flash fire steel switchin.

Gale wings should be emphasized as team option for offensive defog. Not only does it benefit from SR removal, but having another strong flying attack paired with moltres can make holes in the opposing team.

Lucario can run stone edge and ohko Moltres. Not common, but worth mentioning. Not a pure counter.
Air slash should be an alternative to flamethrower, so its not hard walled by flash fire.

I agree with Grim that the desolate land set is just really not that viable. Heatran, or even special victini or something like typhlosion seem all around better.

Mention flash fire steels as check/counter.
Mention poison heal mons as check/counter. Suicune and snorlax, as well as others, can beat it.

After this then 2/3

Rain is absolutely a separate set, and specs is the main focus so I really don't like LO. Also not convinced that Poison Heal mons need their own section, they can do alright against defensive moltres which can just pivot out of them anyway and don't do exceptionally well against offensive sets. Did the rest, moved desolate land to OO and added flash fire mons to C&C, and will begin writing this up. If other QC agree on the changes I didn't like lmk and I'll implement but it does go against what grim had me implement. Will start writing
edit: did it already

 

[Laxpras]

Rain is absolutely a separate set, and specs is the main focus so I really don't like LO. Also not convinced that Poison Heal mons need their own section, they can do alright against defensive moltres which can just pivot out of them anyway and don't do exceptionally well against offensive sets. Did the rest, moved desolate land to OO and added flash fire mons to C&C, and will begin writing this up. If other QC agree on the changes I didn't like lmk and I'll implement but it does go against what grim had me implement. Will start writing
edit: did it already

Fair disagreement with rain, i just don't like weakenening your own stab that severely.
However I don't see your point with PH mons. Snorlax will switchin every time and get a curse up on moltres without fearing really anything

 

[motherlove]

Other qc said most of the stuff si I'm just left with the nitpicking

-Overview
When you talk about his typing, mention its resistance to grass since moltres resists the grass / fire coverage and isn’t 2hkoes by tinted seed flare after the drop.
When you mention the moves I would mention u-turn as it’s something moltres’ competitors don’t have and is a great move overall.
“and has a fair amount of competition from other fire types such as Heatran” there are a bunch of other fire types who have multiple roles and give moltres tough competition like victini, volc rotom and stuff.

-Rain sweeper
Usage tips: “U-Turn can help to wear down Flash Fire Steel-types that wall Moltres, especially in conjunction with entry hazards and Pursuit or Magnet Pull support to trap foes.” I don’t like how you phrased this, it sounds like u-turn is actually dealing damage, which it isn’t. Maybe say “U-Turn in conjunction with entry hazards and Pursuit or Magnet Pull support can help to wear down Flash Fire Steel-types that wall Moltres”

-Offensive Defog
Usage tips: I would mention that u-turn is useful for scouting defiant / competitive pokemons.
Team option: “Moltres appreciates bulky teammates such as Skarmory and Diancie to fall back on when forced out by faster or priority-abusing attackers such as Latios or Braviary.” skarmory absolutely does not switch on latios. If anything say diancie / skarmory to take latios / braviary.

-Defensive
Set details: 2 cc from lucario is more powerful than cc + espeed so say “The HP and Defense EVs allows Moltres to avoid the 2hko from Adamant Life Orb Tough Claws Lucario's Close Combat”
I would mention toxic orb as it’s a good option to avoid sleep and para considering sleep is more common in aaa. Maybe “Leftovers is the preffered item as it provides extra passive recovery. But toxic orb can be used to work as a status absorber."
Usage tips: Will-o-wisp doesn’t care about primasea so it’s actually a good way to wear them down.
Team options: “Rock switchins such as Diancie or Skarmory are also appreciated” don’t you have any better example like hippo, chesnaugh or something because neither skarm or diancie is switching on ttar.

-Checks and Counters
Move sr up the list imo as it's moltres' biggest fear after rock types.

After that qc 3/3.

 

[MZ]

Implemented, I just don't know about moving SR 2 up on the list bc 2 sets are totally immune to it which would make it feel weird to put above strong attackers. moved above water types though

 

[Haund]

amcheck add remove comments etc

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[OVERVIEW]

Moltres is an excellent Pokemon thanks to its ability to fulfill many rolls roles with both offensive and defensive sets. Moltres has a very useful typing which that allows it to check Steel-, Fairy-, (AC) Grass-, and Fighting-types quite well, (RC) and two high-powered (add hyphen) STAB moves backed up by decent coverage and excellent Special Attack. On the defensive side, Moltres comes with solid bulk and access to Will-O-Wisp, Defog, and Roost. Moltres is also a very solid check to Shaymin-S Shkymin-Sky, and it can pivot around foes with U-turn. However, Moltres has a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock if not using Magic Guard and has a fair amount of competition from other Fire-types such as Heatran, which also fulfills multiple roles but does not come with a weakness to Stealth Rock and has a different set of resistances.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hidden Power Water / Sleep Talk
item: Choice Specs
ability: Gale Wings
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Hurricane is an incredibly strong priority STAB move backed by perfect accuracy under rain. Fire Blast hits Steel-types lacking Flash Fire or Primordial Sea which that resist Hurricane, although it is weaker under rain. U-turn allows Moltres to pivot on predicted counters such as Diancie, and Hidden Power Water hits Rock-types which that resist Moltres's STAB moves and has boosted power under rain. Sleep Talk can also be used for to make Moltres a sleep absorber if Moltres's its team lacks a decent check to sleep-inducing users Pokemon ("user" is related to a move generally) such as Breloom.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature backed by Choice Specs allows Moltres to hit as hard as possible, while maximum Speed investment lets it outspeed as much as possible when not using Hurricane. Gale Wings gives Moltres priority on Hurricane so that it can KO faster foes such as Latios before they can attack.

Usage Tips
========

Moltres should ideally be brought in under rain so that Hurricane has perfect accuracy and Hidden Power Water is boosted. Moltres is still usable out of the rain as a strong attacker; (SC) it is just susceptible to missing Hurricane. Moltres is best used as a late-game (add hyphen) cleaner, as there are simply too many common threats which that can check it to prevent it from effectively wallbreaking for rain offense. Use Hurricane unless specifically predicting a bulky Pokemon that resists it resist which and that will be hit harder than a by coverage move. U-turn in conjunction with entry hazards and Pursuit or Magnet Pull support can help to wear down Flash Fire Steel-types that wall Moltres, so use it when predicting a counter to switch in.

Team Options
========

This set fits best on rain teams, so Swift Swim sweepers such as Hoopa and Mega Swampert and rain setters such as Drizzle Zapdos or Rotom-Wash should be paired with Moltres. Lead rain-setting (add hyphen) Deoxys-Speed is notable, as it provides both rain and entry hazard support to wear down foes, although other entry hazard setters are also appreciated. Entry hazard removal from Pokemon such as the aforementioned Zapdos or and Latios is important to avoid having Moltres from lose losing half of its health when switching in up switch-in. Magic Bounce users such as Mew can also help with this. Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar and Magnet Pull users such as Suicune help can be brought in after using U-turn to trap Moltres's counters on the U-Turn.

[SET]
name: Offensive Defog
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Defog
move 4: Roost / U-Turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast and Hurricane are Moltres's main STAB moves to hit Grass-, Fighting, Steel-, and Bug-type foes, although Air Slash can be used to avoid missing Hurricane. Defog removes entry hazards to support Moltres's teammates, and Roost improves Moltres's longevity, allowing it to switch into weaker attackers multiple times. U-turn can be used to pivot out of predicted counters.

Set Details
========

Magic Guard prevents Moltres from taking damage from Stealth Rock, (RC) as well as allowing it to use Life Orb without taking recoil. Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment help to outspeed and hit foes as hard as possible. A Timid nature increases Moltres's Speed further, and it is used despite lowering the power of U-turn, (AC) which as it is used primarily for pivoting purposes and is still weak without an Attack-decreasing nature. Life Orb increases Moltres's power without any drawback.

Usage Tips
========

Attempt to use free turns to remove entry hazards with Defog, but be careful of foes predicting the Defog it and getting off a free attack boost on Moltres (I assume you're talking about Defiant? If so, it would be nice to at least mention it). Hurricane is Moltres's safest attack to use, as Fire Blast can provide a free switch-in (add hyphen) for Flash Fire foes. Use U-turn when predicting counters to come in to rack up damage more quickly. If relying on Moltres to check offensive threats such as Lucario, keep it at a high amount of health with Roost.

Team Options
========

Moltres should be used with teammates that require Stealth Rock removed to be effective, (AC) such as Charizard and Staraptor. Electric- and Water-type checks such as Ferrothorn and Breloom are useful to combat Moltres's main weaknesses. Moltres appreciates bulky teammates such as Diancie and Skarmory to fall back on when forced out by faster or priority-abusing users of priority attacks attackers such as Latios or and Braviary. Gale Wings sweepers such as Honchkrow or and Staraptor both appreciate the entry hazard support and also Moltres's wallbreaking support; (SC) However, they do stack weaknesses to Electric and Rock. Pursuit trappers and Magnet Pull users such as Honchkrow or and Manectric help to weaken or eliminate Moltres's checks and
counters.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-o-Wisp
move 2: Roost
move 3: Defog
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Will-O-Wisp helps Moltres cripple foes and dissuade physically offensive Pokemon such as Tyranitar from switching in. Roost allows Moltres to recover off damage, while Defog removes entry hazards for its teammates. Flamethrower is a reliable STAB move to that gives Moltres some offensive presence, although Air Slash can be used to not be hard walled by Flash Fire users such as Ferrothorn.

Set Details
========

Magic Guard allows Moltres to avoid taking damage from Stealth Rock, making it much more effective at removing it with Defog. The HP and Defense EVs allows Moltres to avoid the 2HKO from Adamant Life Orb Tough Claws Lucario's Close Combat, while the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to more reliably take on most special attackers in general. Leftovers provides extra passive recovery.

Usage Tips
========

Moltres can only take on certain strong attackers such as Lucario if it is at a sufficient amount of HP, so keep it healthy by using Roost frequently. Using Will-O-Wisp a lot is a good way to wear down opposing teams by spreading burns status, and in particular it helps to wear down Primordial Sea switch-ins (add hyphen). Use free turns to remove entry hazards with Defog.

Team Options
========

Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock such as Dragonite or Multiscale users such as Altaria appreciate the entry hazard removal support. Electric- and Water-type checks such as Motor Drive Manaphy or and Volt Absorb Slowbro are appreciated, (AC) as these two types of Pokemon can easily switch into Moltres is easy switchin fodder for most Pokemon of those two types. Pokemon that can switch into Rock-types switchins such as Hippowdon or Chesnaught are also appreciated, although most Pokemon carrying Rock-type coverage cannot safely switch into Moltres thanks due to Will-O-Wisp. Moltres can be set up on by Dragon-types such as Latios or Mega Charizard X, so teammates such as Ferrothorn or Unaware Suicune are useful. Frail setup sweepers like Lucario appreciate Moltres's ability to spread burns to provide more setup opportunities.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

A Desolate Land Choice Specs wallbreaking set is possible due to Moltres's extreme power under harsh sunlight and excellent coverage, but it has heavy competition from Heatran and requires very reliable entry hazard removal support. Primordial Sea Offensive sets with Primordial Sea help to check Fire-types and give perfect accuracy on to Hurricane, but they leave Moltres with a severe weakness to Stealth Rock; Moltres goes better with teammates which that can set rain for it. Life Orb + Sheer Force boosts the power of both Hurricane and Fire Blast significantly, but again it leaves Moltres severely weak to Stealth Rock and is still weaker than Choice Specs Fire Blast under harsh sunlight Desolate Land. Hurricane can be used on Desolate Land sets, but it only has 50% accuracy under heavy harsh (not sure if "heavy" is accepted as well tbh) sunlight. Flame Charge is a potential filler on Moltres's offensive sets, but Moltres is still very vulnerable to priority moves. Toxic Orb is a possibility on defensive Moltres to avoid being slept put to sleep or paralyzed, but Leftovers is still the preferred item for extra recovery.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Rock-types**: Moltres can be easily OHKOed by Rock-type attackers such as Tyranitar or and Diancie, and it must be careful predicting around them with Choice sets, (AC) as they resist both of its STAB attacks. However, most Rock-types lack recovery outside of the occasional Poison Heal, so offensive sets can eventually wear them down, especially if Moltres catches them with Grass-type coverage on the switch-in.

**Strong Attackers**: Dedicated special wallbreakers such as Latios or and Gengar can OHKO offensive Moltres sets or break through defensive Moltres, while strong physical attackers such as Landorus-I fare better versus defensive sets thanks to its lower physical defense. However, most strong attackers cannot switch into offensive sets or survive a Hurricane from Gale Wings Moltres, and physical attackers must be wary of switching into Will-O-Wisp from defensive Moltres.

**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock greatly reduces the survivability of non-Magic Guard sets, forcing it Moltres to lose 50% of its health upon switching in.

**Water-types**: Although most Water-types are poor switch-ins (add hyphen) to Hurricane, they are capable of pivoting into a Fire-type attack and (OH?)KOing Moltres with their super effective STAB moves. Defensive Moltres is setup fodder for Water-types such as Manaphy or and Suicune.

**Electric-types**: Mega Manectric and Raikou are easily capable of (OH?)KOing Moltres and resist Hurricane, making them good checks to Gale Wings Moltres. Zapdos can take Hurricane or Air Slash from Moltres, although non-Primordial Sea variants cannot switch into Fire Blast. (period)

**Flash Fire Pokemon**: Flash Fire users such as Doublade and Ferrothorn totally wall Moltres's defensive set and can pivot into offensive Moltres's Fire Blast to either set up either Swords Dance or entry hazards on it. Flash Fire Landorus-I is also an excellent check, (AC) as it outspeeds Moltres and OHKOes with Stone Edge, although it cannot survive a Gale Wings Hurricane. Flash Fire Steel-types must also be wary of Moltres pivoting into a Magnet Pull teammate with U-turn.

 

[Lumari]

good work Haund, esp. on not making unnecessary subjective changes! the only pointer i can give you would be to keep some eye on the flow within paragraphs (mostly talking about the overview here, which had pretty much all of its sentences starting with "Moltres + verb", which read clunky). minor stuff otherwise.

Haund: add remove comments etc
TDP: add / fix remove comments (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/2

amcheck with additions and a couple comments

[OVERVIEW]

Moltres is an excellent Pokemon thanks to its ability to fulfill many rolls roles with both offensive and defensive sets. Moltres It has a very useful typing which that allows it to check Steel-, Fairy-, (AC) Grass-, and Fighting-types quite well, (RC) and two high-powered (add hyphen) STAB moves backed up by decent coverage and excellent Special Attack. On the defensive side, Moltres comes with solid bulk and access to Will-O-Wisp, Defog, and Roost; (SC) Moltres it is also a very solid check to Shaymin-S Shkymin-Sky, and it can pivot around foes with U-turn. However, Moltres has a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock if not using Magic Guard and has a fair amount of competition from other Fire-types such as Heatran, which also fulfills multiple roles but does not come with a weakness to Stealth Rock and has a different set of resistances.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hidden Power Water / Sleep Talk
item: Choice Specs
ability: Gale Wings
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Hurricane is an incredibly strong priority STAB move backed by perfect accuracy under rain. Fire Blast hits Steel-types lacking Flash Fire or Primordial Sea which that resist Hurricane, although it is weaker under rain. U-turn allows Moltres to pivot on predicted counters such as Diancie, and Hidden Power Water hits Rock-types which that resist Moltres's STAB moves and has boosted power under rain. Sleep Talk can also be used for to make Moltres a sleep absorber if Moltres's its team lacks a decent check to sleep-inducing users Pokemon ("user" is related to a move generally) (I'm not really sure what you're getting at really, and if it is what I think it is then this isn't really solving the problem either because the moves induce sleep, not the Pokemon. Just make it "sleep move users" and it should be fine) such as Breloom.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature backed by Choice Specs allows Moltres to hit as hard as possible, while maximum Speed investment lets it outspeed as much as possible when not using Hurricane. Gale Wings gives Moltres priority on Hurricane so that it can KO faster foes such as Latios before they can attack.

Usage Tips
========

Moltres should ideally be brought in under rain so that Hurricane has perfect accuracy and Hidden Power Water is boosted. Moltres is still usable out of the rain as a strong attacker; (SC) it is just susceptible prone (prone sorta works here, but better is to just rephrase it entirely to something like "it should just be wary of Hurricane misses" or w/e; either way, the problem is "susceptible" here, but I have some trouble up coming with the exact one-word change you're looking for) to missing Hurricane. Moltres is best used as a late-game (add hyphen) cleaner, as there are simply too many common threats which that can check it to prevent it from (ok. little bit risky as far as content goes, but it seems alright) effectively wallbreaking for rain offense. Use Hurricane unless specifically predicting a bulky Pokemon that resists it resist which and that will be hit harder than a by coverage move to switch in. U-turn in conjunction with entry hazards and Pursuit or Magnet Pull support can help to wear down Flash Fire Steel-types that wall Moltres, so use it when predicting a counter to switch in.

Team Options
========

This set fits best on rain teams, so Swift Swim sweepers such as Hoopa (Hoopa-U?) and Mega Swampert and rain setters such as Drizzle Zapdos or and Rotom-Wash should be paired with Moltres. Lead rain-setting (add hyphen) Deoxys-Speed is notable, as it provides both rain and entry hazard support to wear down foes, although other entry hazard setters are also appreciated. Entry hazard removal from Pokemon such as the aforementioned (hm nah, I think there's not much of a problem with that one here... guess it's not required, but it does seem functional) Zapdos or and Latios is important to avoid having Moltres from lose losing half of its health when switching in up switch-in. Magic Bounce users such as Mew can also help with this. Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar and Magnet Pull users such as Suicune help can be brought in after using U-turn to trap Moltres's counters on the U-Turn. (ok)

[SET]
name: Offensive Defog
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Defog
move 4: Roost / U-turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast and Hurricane are Moltres's main STAB moves to hit Grass-, Fighting, Steel-, and Bug-type foes, although Air Slash can be used to avoid missing Hurricane. Defog removes entry hazards to support Moltres's teammates, and Roost improves Moltres's longevity, allowing it to switch into weaker attackers multiple times. U-turn can be used to pivot out of predicted counters.

Set Details
========

Magic Guard prevents Moltres from taking damage from Stealth Rock, (RC) as well as allowing it to use Life Orb without taking recoil. Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment helps to outspeed foes and hit foes them ("outspeed as hard as possible" was implied, which you don't want) as hard as possible. A Timid nature increases Moltres's Speed further, and it is used despite lowering the power of U-turn, (AC) which as it (ok) is used primarily for pivoting purposes and is still weak without an Attack-decreasing nature. Life Orb increases Moltres's power without any drawback.

Usage Tips
========

Attempt to use free turns to remove entry hazards with Defog, but be careful of foes predicting the Defog it and getting off a free Attack boost on Moltres (I assume you're talking about Defiant? If so, it would be nice to at least mention it). (ya, in that case foes -> Defiant users please) Hurricane is Moltres's safest attack to use, as Fire Blast can provide a free switch-in (add hyphen) (actually no hyphen... hyphenated switch-in is a Pokemon, the movement of switching into the battlefield gets no hyphen. I recently added some note clarifying that into the standards so go check that out imo) for Flash Fire foes. Use U-turn when predicting counters to come in to rack up damage more quickly. If relying on Moltres to check offensive threats such as Lucario, keep it at a high amount of health with Roost.

Team Options
========

Moltres should be used with teammates that require Stealth Rock removed to be effective, (AC) such as Charizard and Staraptor. Electric- and Water-type checks such as Ferrothorn and Breloom are useful to combat cover (eh, you don't directly "combat" the weaknesses, you combat the Pokemon representing them, and this is the easiest fix) Moltres's main weaknesses. Moltres also appreciates bulky teammates such as Diancie and Skarmory to fall back on when forced out by faster or priority-abusing users of priority attacks attackers (or just "priority attackers") such as Latios or and Braviary. Gale Wings sweepers such as Honchkrow or and Staraptor both appreciate the entry hazard support and also as well as Moltres's wallbreaking support; (SC) however, they do stack weaknesses to Electric and Rock. Pursuit trappers and Magnet Pull users such as Honchkrow or and Manectric help to weaken or eliminate Moltres's checks and
counters.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Roost
move 3: Defog
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Will-O-Wisp helps Moltres cripple foes and dissuade physically offensive Pokemon such as Tyranitar from switching in. Roost allows Moltres to recover off damage, while Defog removes entry hazards for its teammates. Flamethrower is a reliable STAB move to that gives (nah, "to" is fine, after all that's why you're running it) Moltres some offensive presence, although Air Slash can be used to not be hard-walled (add hyphen) by Flash Fire users such as Ferrothorn.

Set Details
========

Magic Guard allows Moltres to avoid taking damage from Stealth Rock, making it much more effective at removing it with Defog. The HP and Defense EVs allows Moltres to avoid the 2HKO from Adamant Life Orb Tough Claws Lucario's Close Combat, while the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to more reliably take on most special attackers in general. Leftovers provides extra passive recovery.

Usage Tips
========

Moltres can only take on certain strong attackers such as Lucario if it is at a sufficient amount of HP, so keep it healthy by using Roost frequently. Using Will-O-Wisp a lot is a good way to wear down opposing teams by spreading burns status, and in particular it helps to wear down Primordial Sea switch-ins (add hyphen). Use free turns to remove entry hazards with Defog.

Team Options
========

Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock such as Dragonite or and Multiscale users such as Altaria appreciate the Moltres's entry hazard removal support. Electric- and Water-type checks such as Motor Drive Manaphy or and Volt Absorb Slowbro are appreciated, (AC) as these two types of Pokemon can easily switch into Moltres is easy switchin fodder for most Pokemon of those two types. Pokemon that can switch into Rock-types switchins (probs "Rock-type moves", and I don't think "Rock-type switch-ins" is wrong, because "Charizard switch-ins" is perf. fine too) such as Hippowdon or and Chesnaught are also appreciated, although most Pokemon carrying Rock-type coverage cannot safely switch into Moltres thanks due to Will-O-Wisp. Moltres can be set up on by Dragon-types such as Latios or Mega Charizard X, so teammates such as Ferrothorn or and Unaware Suicune are useful. Frail setup sweepers like Lucario appreciate Moltres's ability to spread burns to provide more setup opportunities.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

A Desolate Land Choice Specs wallbreaking set using Desolate Land and Choice Specs (or at least add a plus sign between Desolate Land and Choice Specs, but in this particular case that's still too clunky) is possible due to Moltres's extreme power under harsh sunlight and excellent coverage, but it has heavy competition from Heatran and requires very reliable entry hazard removal support. Primordial Sea Offensive sets with Primordial Sea help to check Fire-types and give perfect accuracy on to Hurricane, but they leave Moltres with a severe weakness to Stealth Rock; Moltres goes better with teammates which that can set rain for it. Life Orb + Sheer Force boosts the power of both Hurricane and Fire Blast significantly, but again, (AC) it leaves Moltres severely weak to Stealth Rock and is still weaker than Choice Specs Fire Blast under harsh sunlight Desolate Land. Hurricane can be used on Desolate Land sets, but it only has 50% accuracy under heavy harsh (not sure if "heavy" is accepted as well tbh) (hmmm idts, not sure but the weather effect does have an official name so yeah, afaik "harsh" is the way to go) sunlight. Flame Charge is a (if you add this, also add "move" after "filler") potential filler on Moltres's offensive sets, but Moltres is still very vulnerable to priority moves. Toxic Orb is a possibility on defensive Moltres to avoid being slept put to sleep or paralyzed, but Leftovers is still the preferred item for extra recovery.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Rock-types**: Moltres can be easily OHKOed by Rock-type attackers such as Tyranitar or and Diancie, and it must be careful predicting around them with Choice sets, (AC) as they resist both of its STAB attacks. However, most Rock-types lack recovery outside of the occasional Poison Heal, so offensive sets can eventually wear them down, especially if Moltres catches them with Grass-type coverage on the switch in. (remove hyphen)

**Strong Attackers**: Dedicated special wallbreakers such as Latios or and Gengar can OHKO offensive Moltres sets or break through defensive Moltres, while strong physical attackers such as Landorus-I fare better versus defensive sets thanks to its lower physical defense bulk. (or plain "Defense" cause that's the stat name) However, most strong attackers cannot switch into offensive sets or survive a Hurricane from Gale Wings Moltres, and physical attackers must be wary of switching into Will-O-Wisp from defensive Moltres.

**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock greatly reduces the survivability longevity (that's just not what "survivability" means) of non-Magic Guard sets, forcing it Moltres to lose 50% of its health upon switching in.

**Water-types**: Although most Water-types are poor switch-ins (add hyphen) to Hurricane, they are capable of pivoting into a Fire-type attack and (OH?)KOing Moltres with their super effective STAB moves. Defensive Moltres is setup fodder for Water-types such as Manaphy or and Suicune.

**Electric-types**: Mega Manectric and Raikou are easily capable of (OH?)KOing Moltres and resist Hurricane, making them good checks to Gale Wings Moltres. Zapdos can take Hurricane or Air Slash from Moltres, although non-Primordial Sea variants cannot switch into Fire Blast. (period)

**Flash Fire Pokemon**: Flash Fire users such as Doublade and Ferrothorn totally wall Moltres's defensive set and can pivot into offensive Moltres's Fire Blast to either set up either (ya!) Swords Dance or entry hazards on it. Flash Fire Landorus-I is also an excellent check, (AC) as it outspeeds Moltres and OHKOes with Stone Edge, although it cannot survive a Gale Wings Hurricane. Flash Fire Steel-types must also be wary of Moltres pivoting into a Magnet Pull teammate with U-turn.

 

[MZ]

someday i will stop blatantly failing at or vs and for no reason. but this is implemented

 

[P Squared]

GP 2/2

implement carefully please and thanks, you left in tags and stuff that was marked pink or red above

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[OVERVIEW]

Moltres is an excellent Pokemon thanks to its ability to fulfill many roles with both offensive and defensive sets. It has a very useful typing which that allows it to check Steel-, Fairy-, Grass-, and Fighting-types quite well and two high-powered STAB moves backed up by decent coverage and excellent Special Attack. On the defensive side, Moltres comes with solid bulk and access to Will-O-Wisp, Defog, and Roost; it is also a very solid check to Shaymin-S, and it can pivot around foes with U-turn. However, Moltres has a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock if not using Magic Guard and has a fair amount of competition from other Fire-types such as Heatran, which also fulfills multiple roles but does not come with a weakness to Stealth Rock and has a different set of resistances.

[SET]
name: Rain Sweeper
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hidden Power Water / Sleep Talk
item: Choice Specs
ability: Gale Wings
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Hurricane is an incredibly strong priority STAB move backed by perfect accuracy under rain. Fire Blast hits Steel-types lacking Flash Fire or Primordial Sea that resist Hurricane, although it is weaker under rain. U-turn allows Moltres to pivot on predicted counters such as Diancie, and Hidden Power Water hits Rock-types that resist Moltres's STAB moves and has boosted power under rain. Sleep Talk can also be used for to make Moltres a sleep absorber if its team lacks a decent check to sleep move users such as Breloom.

Set Details
========

Maximum Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature backed by Choice Specs allow Moltres to hit as hard as possible, while maximum Speed investment lets it outspeed as much as possible when not using Hurricane. Gale Wings gives Moltres priority on Hurricane so that it can KO faster foes such as Latios before they can attack.

Usage Tips
========

Moltres should ideally be brought in under rain so that Hurricane has perfect accuracy and Hidden Power Water is boosted. Moltres is still usable out of the rain as a strong attacker; it should just be wary of Hurricane misses. Moltres is best used as a late-game cleaner, as there are simply too many common threats that can prevent it from effectively wallbreaking. Use Hurricane unless specifically predicting a bulky Pokemon that resists it and that will be hit harder by a coverage move to switch in. U-turn in conjunction with entry hazards and Pursuit or Magnet Pull support can help to wear down Flash Fire Steel-types that wall Moltres, so use it when predicting a counter to switch in.

Team Options
========

This set fits best on rain teams, so Swift Swim sweepers such as Hoopa and Mega Swampert and rain setters such as Drizzle Zapdos and Rotom-W should be paired with Moltres. Lead rain-setting Deoxys-S is notable, as it provides both rain and entry hazard support to wear down foes, although other entry hazard setters are also appreciated. Entry hazard removal from Pokemon such as the aforementioned Zapdos and Latios is important to avoid having Moltres lose half of its health when switching in. Magic Bounce users such as Mew can also help with this. Pursuit trappers such as Tyranitar and Magnet Pull users such as Suicune can be brought in after using U-turn to trap Moltres's counters.

[SET]
name: Offensive Defog
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Defog
move 4: Roost / U-turn
item: Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fire Blast and Hurricane are Moltres's main STAB moves to hit Grass-, Fighting-, Steel-, and Bug-type foes, although Air Slash can be used to avoid missing Hurricane. Defog removes entry hazards to support Moltres's teammates, and Roost improves Moltres's longevity, allowing it to switch into weaker attackers multiple times. U-turn can be used to pivot out of predicted counters.

Set Details
========

Magic Guard prevents Moltres from taking damage from Stealth Rock as well as allowing it to use Life Orb without taking recoil. Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment helps to outspeed foes and hit them as hard as possible. A Timid nature increases Moltres's Speed further, and it is used despite lowering the power of U-turn, (AC) (but keep the comma) which is used primarily for pivoting purposes and is still weak without an Attack-decreasing nature. Life Orb increases Moltres's power without any drawback.

Usage Tips
========

Attempt to use free turns to remove entry hazards with Defog, but be careful of Defiant users predicting it and getting off a free Attack boost on from Moltres. Hurricane is Moltres's safest attack to use, as Fire Blast can provide a free switch in for Flash Fire foes. Use U-turn when predicting counters to come in to rack up damage more quickly. If relying on Moltres to check offensive threats such as Lucario, keep it at a high amount of health with Roost.

Team Options
========

Moltres should be used with teammates that require Stealth Rock removed to be effective, such as Charizard and Staraptor. Electric- and Water-type checks such as Ferrothorn and Breloom are useful to cover Moltres's main weaknesses. Moltres also appreciates bulky teammates such as Diancie and Skarmory to fall back on when forced out by faster Pokemon or users of priority attacks such as Latios and Braviary. Gale Wings sweepers such as Honchkrow and Staraptor appreciate the entry hazard support as well as Moltres's wallbreaking support; (add semicolon) however, they do stack weaknesses to Electric and Rock. Pursuit trappers and Magnet Pull users such as Honchkrow and Manectric help to weaken or eliminate Moltres's checks and (remove line break) counters.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Roost
move 3: Defog
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Will-O-Wisp helps Moltres cripple foes and dissuade physically offensive Pokemon such as Tyranitar from switching in. Roost allows Moltres to recover off damage, while Defog removes entry hazards for its teammates. Flamethrower is a reliable STAB move to give Moltres some offensive presence, although Air Slash can be used to not be hard-walled by Flash Fire users such as Ferrothorn.

Set Details
========

Magic Guard allows Moltres to avoid taking damage from Stealth Rock, making it much more effective at removing it with Defog. The HP and Defense EVs allow Moltres to avoid the 2HKO from Adamant Life Orb Tough Claws Lucario's Close Combat, while the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to more reliably take on most special attackers in general. Leftovers provides extra passive recovery.

Usage Tips
========

Moltres can only take on certain strong attackers such as Lucario if it is at a sufficient amount of HP, so keep it healthy by using Roost frequently. Using Will-O-Wisp a lot is a good way to wear down opposing teams by spreading burns, and in particular it helps to wear down Primordial Sea switch-ins. Use free turns to remove entry hazards with Defog.

Team Options
========

Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock such as Dragonite and Multiscale users such as Altaria appreciate Moltres's entry hazard removal. Electric- and Water-type checks such as Motor Drive Manaphy and Volt Absorb Slowbro are appreciated, as these two types of Pokemon can easily switch into Moltres is. Pokemon that can switch into Rock-type moves such as Hippowdon and Chesnaught are also appreciated, although most Pokemon carrying Rock-type coverage cannot safely switch into Moltres due to Will-O-Wisp. Moltres can be set up on by Dragon-types such as Latios or and Mega Charizard X, so teammates such as Ferrothorn and Unaware Suicune are useful. Frail setup sweepers like Lucario appreciate Moltres's ability to spread burns to provide more setup opportunities.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

A wallbreaking set using Desolate Land and Choice Specs is possible due to Moltres's extreme power under harsh sunlight and excellent coverage, but it has heavy competition from Heatran and requires very reliable entry hazard removal support. Offensive sets with Primordial Sea help to check Fire-types and give perfect accuracy to Hurricane, but they leave Moltres with a severe weakness to Stealth Rock; Moltres goes better with teammates that can set rain for it. Life Orb + Sheer Force boosts the power of both Hurricane and Fire Blast significantly, but again, it leaves Moltres severely weak to Stealth Rock and its Fire Blast is still weaker than Choice Specs Fire Blast under harsh sunlight. Hurricane can be used on Desolate Land sets, but it only has 50% accuracy under harsh sunlight. Flame Charge is a potential filler move on Moltres's offensive sets, but Moltres is still very vulnerable to priority moves. Toxic Orb is a possibility on defensive Moltres to avoid being put to sleep or paralyzed, but Leftovers is still the preferred item for extra recovery.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Rock-types**: Moltres can be easily OHKOed by Rock-type attackers such as Tyranitar and Diancie, and it must be careful predicting around them with Choice sets, as they resist both of its STAB attacks. However, most Rock-types lack recovery outside of the occasional Poison Heal, so offensive sets can eventually wear them down, especially if Moltres catches them with Grass-type coverage on the switch in.

**Strong Attackers**: Dedicated special wallbreakers such as Latios and Gengar can OHKO offensive Moltres sets or break through defensive Moltres, while strong physical attackers such as Landorus fare better versus defensive sets thanks to its lower physical bulk. However, most strong attackers cannot switch into offensive sets or survive a Hurricane from Gale Wings Moltres, and physical attackers must be wary of switching into Will-O-Wisp from defensive Moltres.

**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock greatly reduces the longevity of non-Magic Guard sets, forcing Moltres to lose 50% of its health upon switching in.

**Water-types**: Although most Water-types are poor switch-ins to Hurricane, they are capable of pivoting into a Fire-type attack and KOing Moltres with their super effective STAB moves. Defensive Moltres is setup fodder for Water-types such as Manaphy and Suicune.

**Electric-types**: Mega Manectric and Raikou are easily capable of OHKOing Moltres and resist Hurricane, making them good checks to Gale Wings Moltres. Zapdos can take Hurricane or Air Slash from Moltres, although non-Primordial Sea variants cannot switch into Fire Blast.

**Flash Fire Pokemon**: Flash Fire users such as Doublade and Ferrothorn totally wall Moltres's defensive set and can pivot into offensive Moltres's Fire Blast to set up either Swords Dance or entry hazards on it. Flash Fire Landorus is also an excellent check, as it outspeeds Moltres and OHKOes with Stone Edge, although it cannot survive a Gale Wings Hurricane. Flash Fire Steel-types must also be wary of Moltres pivoting into a Magnet Pull teammate with U-turn.

 

[MZ]

sorry, will be more careful
unfixable (are you still the only person who uploads?)

 

[skies]

sorry, will be more careful
unfixable (are you still the only person who uploads?)

eevee does too but he sucks

 

[skies]

uploaded btw