BIG BIRD (Choice Specs Revamp)

[Tokyo Tom]

GP [2/2] - Weebl / P Squared

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Sleep Talk / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Choice Specs
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Moltres's combination of unique typing and immense power makes it a valued asset for rain teams. Tied with Tornadus as the most powerful Hurricane user in OU, Moltres is able to 2HKO even Pokemon that resist Flying, such as bulky Rotom-W and offensive Heatran, after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, Moltres's typing gives it the ability to check or threaten many Pokemon that other common rain team Pokemon can't, such as Breloom, Venusaur, Volcarona, Celebi, and Ferrothorn. Moltres can also perform admirably under sun, as no Pokemon besides Heatran can reliably switch into its Fire Blast; to make matters worse for opposing sun teams, Moltres gets many opportunities to switch in against Pokemon commonly found on sun teams, including Ninetales, Volcarona, Forretress, and Venusaur. Hurricane is Moltres's strongest and most reliable attack under the rain and the move it should be using most of the time. Even under the rain, Fire Blast can threaten many of the Steel-types that can tank a Hurricane, as well as always OHKOing Ferrothorn. Fire Blast is also Moltres's most reliable attack under sand and sun and allows Moltres to threaten common sun sweepers such as Venusaur. U-turn allows Moltres to gain momentum for its team as well as deal decent damage to Tyranitar switch-ins. Moltres has two options for its last moveslot; Sleep Talk allows Moltres to absorb sleep-inducing moves from the likes of Breloom, Amoonguss, and Venusaur, whereas Hidden Power Fighting allows Moltres to 2HKO any variant of Tyranitar and deal solid damage to Heatran.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Choice Specs is the optimal item choice because of the huge power it provides and because Moltres should be using Hurricane most of the time anyway. A Modest nature is used to maximize Moltres's power, but Moltres can also use a Timid nature to outspeed Pokemon such as Jolly Mamoswine, Modest Hydreigon, and neutral nature Kyurem-B. However, Moltres will lose out on a lot of power and notably the ability to 2HKO Rotom-W (after Stealth Rock damage) and OHKO Garchomp.

Moltres can use Hidden Power Grass in its fourth moveslot to hit specially defensive Rotom-W hard. Hidden Power Grass also 2HKOes Choice Scarf Tyranitar after Stealth Rock damage and OHKOes Gastrodon. Another alternative, Hidden Power Ground allows Moltres to OHKO any variant of Heatran after Stealth Rock damage.

Politoed is a mandatory teammate for Moltres, providing rain to boost Hurricane's accuracy. Because of Moltres's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, a spinner is also imperative to allow Moltres more longevity. Analytic Starmie is a great option for offensively inclined teams, being able to threaten offensive Pokemon such as Keldeo and Terrakion, which give Moltres trouble, as well as being able to weaken Rotom-W for Moltres. An option for balanced teams, Tentacruel can set Toxic Spikes to wear down common Moltres switch-ins, such as Tyranitar and Chansey, as well as checking Water-types such as Keldeo. In return, Moltres can threaten Pokemon that Starmie and Tentacruel have issues with, such as Celebi, Ferrothorn, and Gastrodon.

Celebi also has great synergy with Moltres, as it can handle the various Water- and Electric-types that can threaten Moltres. It can also use Baton Pass to pass Nasty Plot boosts to Moltres, allowing it to 2HKO almost the entire metagame with +2 Hurricanes. In return, Moltres can threaten the various Bug-, Steel-, and Grass-types that Celebi attracts, namely Scizor and Ferrothorn. Finally, Choice Band Terrakion can freely switch into Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Heatran through Moltres's U-turn and proceed to eliminate them with Close Combat, while Moltres can KO physical walls such as Landorus-T and Jellicent in return. In a similar vein, Dugtrio can come in and trap Tyranitar, Heatran, and Ninetales, but it is much weaker and more unreliable.

 

[Jirachee]

I've used Choice Specs Moltres quite a bit and honestly I don't see why you wouldn't just use max SpA on it. When you go to Moltres you just want to nuke shit with Hurricane. Your spread also misses on quite a few kills that using max SpA guarentees, such as Garchomp for example, which is important considering how common it is, and Moltres can possibly tank a hit from it if it's at full, or nail it with a OHKO in a late game situation when your opponent might try to YOLO. Avoiding the KO from SD Scizor after SR might seem important but in reality it's rarely ever an issue for rains since you'll be running offensive Starmie or Tentacruel with it anyway, which are great checks.

I think you should put a huge emphasis on why you should run Moltres over other Hurricane spammers (mostly Tornadus.) Improving your match up against Sun and swiching into shit like Ferrothorn that can be dicks to rain are a few of them. If your team doesn't really need those, why would you ever use Moltres over Tornadus? It's a pretty good Pokemon, but a niche one.

Also I'm not sure if Tornadus is really a good teammate. The combo sounds neat in theory but it's hard to use in practice since using Moltres + Tornadus compounds the already gaping Electric your weakness your team has. Let's face it, if you're using Moltres you'll have Politoed and one of Starmie or Tentacruel on your team. Adding Tornadus to that leaves your team with 4 electric weaknesses, making it really hard to deal with stuff like Thundurus or Rotom that can either sweep you or steal your momentum.

Also I think you should add a Sub + Will-O-Wisp set! It's one of Moltres's best sets to use and it's not on-site currently. It's pretty unique and it beats a lot of teams. I haven't really used it but I know Funkasaurus and Evuelf love it, if they are willing to help out.

 

[Cicada]

Seconding Jirachee's post about Sub+Wisp, i wonder why it's not on the site yet. What is great about this set is that he can make the weather war easier since it has a good matchup 1v1 against the other Weather Inducers with the burn, while still hitting hard with Hurricane even without investissement and stalling with SubRoost+Pressure. Here's a replay that shows its efficiency against a ttar sand : http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5ou-1610

Also, you can talk about Gastrodon as a good mate for Moltres, since it cockblocks water/elec-types (and has a rock resist!) ; in return, Moltres is able to take on grass-types, giving them a great defensive synergy. This proposition can actually apply on most Grass-types / Lati@s, because of the complementarity of their typings

 

[Weebl]

add/(un)Capitalize
remove
(comments)

check

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Sleep Talk / Hidden Power [Fighting]
item: Choice Specs
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Moltres's combination of unique typing and immense power make it a valued asset for rain teams. Tied with Tornadus as the most powerful Hurricane user in OU, Moltres is able to 2HKO resists even Pokemon that resist Flying, (AC) such as bulky Rotom-W and offensive Heatran, (AC) after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, its Moltres's typing gives it the ability to check or threaten many Pokemon that other rain abusers can't, such as Breloom, Venusaur, Volcarona, Celebi, and Ferrothorn. Moltres can also perform admirably under sun, as nothing no Pokemon besides Heatran can take reliably switch into its Fire Blast; to make matters worse for opposing sun teams, Moltres gets many opportunities to switch in against Pokemon commonly found on sun teams, including Ninetales, Volcarona, Forretress, and Venusaur. Hurricane is Moltres's strongest and most reliable attack under the rain, (RC) and the move it should be using most of the time. Even under the rain, Fire Blast can threaten many of the Steel-types that can tank a Hurricane, as well as always OHKOing Ferrothorn. Fire Blast is also Moltres's most reliable attack under sand and sun and allows Moltres to threaten common sun sweepers such as Venusaur. U-turn allows Moltres to gain momentum for its team as well as deal decent damage to Tyranitar switch-(add hyphen)ins. Moltres has two options for its last moveslot; Sleep Talk allows Moltres to absorb sleep-inducing moves from the likes of Breloom, Amoonguss, and Venusaur, whereas Hidden Power Fighting allows Moltres to 2HKO any variant of Tyranitar and deal solid damage to Heatran.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Choice Specs is the optimum optimal (more standard, more formal, more common in AmE) item choice because of the huge power it provides and because Moltres should be using Hurricane most of the time anyway. A Modest nature is used to maximize Moltres's power, but Moltres can also use a Timid nature to outspeed Pokemon such as Jolly Mamoswine, Modest Hydreigon, and neutral-natured Kyurem-B. However, Moltres will lose out on a lot of power, notably, and notably the ability to 2HKO Rotom-W with (after Stealth Rock damage) (you could use the parentheses) and OHKO Garchomp.</p>

<p>Moltres can use Hidden Power Grass in its fourth moveslot to hit specially defensive Rotom-W hard. Hidden Power Grass also 2HKOs Choice Scarf Tyranitar after Stealth Rock damage and OHKOs Gastrodon. Another alternative, Hidden Power Ground allows Moltres to OHKO any variant of Heatran after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>Politoed is a mandatory teammate for Moltres, providing rain to boost Hurricane's accuracy. Because of Moltres's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, a Rapid Spinner is also imperative to allow Moltres more longevity. Analytic Starmie is a great option for offensively-(remove hyphen)inclined teams, being able to threaten offensive Pokemon such as Keldeo and Terrakion, (AC) which give Moltres trouble, as well as being able to weaken Rotom-W for Moltres. An option for balanced teams, Tentacruel can set Toxic Spikes to wear down common Moltres switch-ins, (AC) such as Tyranitar and Chansey, as well as checking Water-types such as Keldeo. In return, Moltres can threaten Pokemon that Starmie and Tentacruel have issues with, such as Celebi, Ferrothorn, and Gastrodon.</p>

<p>Celebi also has great synergy with Moltres, as it can handle the various Water- and Electric-types that can threaten Moltres. It can also use Baton Pass to pass Nasty Plot boosts to Moltres, allowing it to 2HKO almost the entire metagame with +2 Hurricane at +2. In return, Moltres can threaten the various Bug-, Steel-, and Grass-types that Celebi attracts, namely Scizor and Ferrothorn. Finally, Choice Band Terrakion can get free switch-ins to freely switch into Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Heatran through Moltres's U-turn and proceed to eliminate them with Close Combat, while Moltres can KO physical walls such as Landorus-T and Jellicent in return. In a similar vein, Dugtrio can come in and trap Tyranitar, Heatran, and Ninetales, but it is much weaker and more unreliable.</p>

GP 1/2

 

[dhelmise]

add
remove
comment

amcheck

worked over Weebl's check

amcheck

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Sleep Talk / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Choice Specs
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Moltres's combination of unique typing and immense power make it a valued asset for rain teams. Tied Being tied with Tornadus as for the most powerful Hurricane user in OU, Moltres is able to 2HKO even Pokemon that resist Flying, such as bulky Rotom-W and offensive Heatran, after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, Moltres's typing gives it the ability to check or threaten many Pokemon that other rain abusers can't, such as Breloom, Venusaur, Volcarona, Celebi, and Ferrothorn. Moltres can also perform admirably under sun, as no Pokemon besides Heatran can reliably switch into its Fire Blast; to make matters worse for opposing sun teams, Moltres gets many opportunities to switch in against Pokemon commonly found on sun teams, including Ninetales, Volcarona, Forretress, and Venusaur. Hurricane is Moltres's strongest and most reliable attack under the rain and the move it should be using most of the time. Even under the rain, Fire Blast can threaten many of the Steel-types that can tank a Hurricane, as well as always OHKOing OHKOes Ferrothorn. Fire Blast is also Moltres's most reliable attack under sand and sun and allows Moltres to threaten common sun sweepers such as Venusaur. U-turn allows Moltres to gain momentum for its team, (AC) as well as and it can deal decent damage to Tyranitar switch-ins. Moltres has two options for its last moveslot; Sleep Talk allows Moltres to absorb sleep-inducing moves from the likes of Breloom, Amoonguss, and Venusaur, whereas Hidden Power Fighting allows Moltres to 2HKO any variant of Tyranitar and deal solid damage to Heatran.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Choice Specs is the optimal item choice because of the huge power it provides and because Moltres should be using Hurricane most of the time anyway. A Modest nature is used to maximize Moltres's power, but Moltres it can also use a Timid nature to outspeed Pokemon such as Jolly Mamoswine, Modest Hydreigon, and neutral-natured Kyurem-B. However, Moltres will lose out on a lot of power and notably the ability to 2HKO Rotom-W (after Stealth Rock damage) and OHKO Garchomp.</p>

<p>Moltres can use Hidden Power Grass in its fourth moveslot to hit specially defensive Rotom-W hard. Hidden Power Grass also 2HKOs Choice Scarf Tyranitar after Stealth Rock damage and OHKOs Gastrodon. Another alternative, (RC) Hidden Power Ground is another choice, (AC) as it allows Moltres to OHKO any variant of Heatran after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>Politoed is a mandatory teammate for Moltres, providing as it provides rain to boost Hurricane's accuracy. Because of Moltres's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, a Rapid Spinner is also imperative to allow Moltres more longevity. Analytic Starmie is a great option for offensively inclined teams, being as it is able to threaten offensive Pokemon such as Keldeo and Terrakion, (RC) which that give Moltres trouble, as well as being able to weaken Rotom-W for Moltres. An option for balanced teams, (RC) Tentacruel can set Toxic Spikes to wear down common Moltres switch-ins, such as Tyranitar and Chansey, as well as checking Water-types such as Keldeo, (AC) making it a good option for balanced teams. In return, Moltres can threaten Pokemon that Starmie and Tentacruel have issues with, such as Celebi, Ferrothorn, and Gastrodon.</p>

<p>Celebi also has great synergy with Moltres, as it can handle the various Water- and Electric-types that can threaten Moltres. It can also use Baton Pass to pass Nasty Plot boosts to Moltres, allowing it to 2HKO almost the entire metagame with +2 Hurricane (either "a +2 Hurricane" or "+2 Hurricanes"). In return, Moltres can threaten the various Bug-, Steel-, and Grass-types that Celebi attracts, namely Scizor and Ferrothorn. Finally, Choice Band Terrakion can freely switch into Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Heatran through Moltres's U-turn and proceed to eliminate them with Close Combat, while Moltres can KO physical walls such as Landorus-T and Jellicent in return. In a similar vein, Dugtrio can come in and trap Tyranitar, Heatran, and Ninetales, but it is much weaker and more unreliable.</p>

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

I would like to point out but I don't think the ability really needed either because that is pretty much the only ability Moltres can run.

 

[P Squared]

GP 2/2

Hide

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Sleep Talk / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Choice Specs
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Moltres's combination of unique typing and immense power makes (combination makes) it a valued asset for rain teams. Tied with Tornadus as the most powerful Hurricane user in OU, Moltres is able to 2HKO even Pokemon that resist Flying, such as bulky Rotom-W and offensive Heatran, after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, Moltres's typing gives it the ability to check or threaten many Pokemon that other rain abusers can't, such as Breloom, Venusaur, Volcarona, Celebi, and Ferrothorn. Moltres can also perform admirably under sun, as no Pokemon besides Heatran can reliably switch into its Fire Blast; to make matters worse for opposing sun teams, Moltres gets many opportunities to switch in against Pokemon commonly found on sun teams, including Ninetales, Volcarona, Forretress, and Venusaur. Hurricane is Moltres's strongest and most reliable attack under the rain and the move it should be using most of the time. Even under the rain, Fire Blast can threaten many of the Steel-types that can tank a Hurricane, as well as always OHKOing Ferrothorn. Fire Blast is also Moltres's most reliable attack under sand and sun and allows Moltres to threaten common sun sweepers such as Venusaur. U-turn allows Moltres to gain momentum for its team as well as deal decent damage to Tyranitar switch-ins. Moltres has two options for its last moveslot; Sleep Talk allows Moltres to absorb sleep-inducing moves from the likes of Breloom, Amoonguss, and Venusaur, whereas Hidden Power Fighting allows Moltres to 2HKO any variant of Tyranitar and deal solid damage to Heatran.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Choice Specs is the optimal item choice because of the huge power it provides and because Moltres should be using Hurricane most of the time anyway. A Modest nature is used to maximize Moltres's power, but Moltres can also use a Timid nature to outspeed Pokemon such as Jolly Mamoswine, Modest Hydreigon, and neutral-natured Kyurem-B. However, Moltres will lose out on a lot of power and notably the ability to 2HKO Rotom-W (after Stealth Rock damage) and OHKO Garchomp.</p>

<p>Moltres can use Hidden Power Grass in its fourth moveslot to hit specially defensive Rotom-W hard. Hidden Power Grass also 2HKOes Choice Scarf Tyranitar after Stealth Rock damage and OHKOes Gastrodon. Another alternative, Hidden Power Ground allows Moltres to OHKO any variant of Heatran after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>Politoed is a mandatory teammate for Moltres, providing rain to boost Hurricane's accuracy. Because of Moltres's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, a Rapid Spinner is also imperative to allow Moltres more longevity. Analytic Starmie is a great option for offensively inclined teams, being able to threaten offensive Pokemon such as Keldeo and Terrakion, which give Moltres trouble, as well as being able to weaken Rotom-W for Moltres. An option for balanced teams, Tentacruel can set Toxic Spikes to wear down common Moltres switch-ins, such as Tyranitar and Chansey, as well as checking Water-types such as Keldeo. In return, Moltres can threaten Pokemon that Starmie and Tentacruel have issues with, such as Celebi, Ferrothorn, and Gastrodon.</p>

<p>Celebi also has great synergy with Moltres, as it can handle the various Water- and Electric-types that can threaten Moltres. It can also use Baton Pass to pass Nasty Plot boosts to Moltres, allowing it to 2HKO almost the entire metagame with +2 Hurricane. In return, Moltres can threaten the various Bug-, Steel-, and Grass-types that Celebi attracts, namely Scizor and Ferrothorn. Finally, Choice Band Terrakion can freely switch into Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Heatran through Moltres's U-turn and proceed to eliminate them with Close Combat, while Moltres can KO physical walls such as Landorus-T and Jellicent in return. In a similar vein, Dugtrio can come in and trap Tyranitar, Heatran, and Ninetales, but it is much weaker and more unreliable.</p>

 

[dhelmise]

GP 2/2

Hide

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Sleep Talk / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Choice Specs
ability: Pressure
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Moltres's combination of unique typing and immense power makes (combination makes) it a valued asset for rain teams. Tied with Tornadus as the most powerful Hurricane user in OU, Moltres is able to 2HKO even Pokemon that resist Flying, such as bulky Rotom-W and offensive Heatran, after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, Moltres's typing gives it the ability to check or threaten many Pokemon that other rain abusers can't, such as Breloom, Venusaur, Volcarona, Celebi, and Ferrothorn. Moltres can also perform admirably under sun, as no Pokemon besides Heatran can reliably switch into its Fire Blast; to make matters worse for opposing sun teams, Moltres gets many opportunities to switch in against Pokemon commonly found on sun teams, including Ninetales, Volcarona, Forretress, and Venusaur. Hurricane is Moltres's strongest and most reliable attack under the rain and the move it should be using most of the time. Even under the rain, Fire Blast can threaten many of the Steel-types that can tank a Hurricane, as well as always OHKOing Ferrothorn. Fire Blast is also Moltres's most reliable attack under sand and sun and allows Moltres to threaten common sun sweepers such as Venusaur. U-turn allows Moltres to gain momentum for its team as well as deal decent damage to Tyranitar switch-ins. Moltres has two options for its last moveslot; Sleep Talk allows Moltres to absorb sleep-inducing moves from the likes of Breloom, Amoonguss, and Venusaur, whereas Hidden Power Fighting allows Moltres to 2HKO any variant of Tyranitar and deal solid damage to Heatran.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Choice Specs is the optimal item choice because of the huge power it provides and because Moltres should be using Hurricane most of the time anyway. A Modest nature is used to maximize Moltres's power, but Moltres can also use a Timid nature to outspeed Pokemon such as Jolly Mamoswine, Modest Hydreigon, and neutral-natured Kyurem-B. However, Moltres will lose out on a lot of power and notably the ability to 2HKO Rotom-W (after Stealth Rock damage) and OHKO Garchomp.</p>

<p>Moltres can use Hidden Power Grass in its fourth moveslot to hit specially defensive Rotom-W hard. Hidden Power Grass also 2HKOes Choice Scarf Tyranitar after Stealth Rock damage and OHKOes Gastrodon. Another alternative, Hidden Power Ground allows Moltres to OHKO any variant of Heatran after Stealth Rock damage.</p>

<p>Politoed is a mandatory teammate for Moltres, providing rain to boost Hurricane's accuracy. Because of Moltres's crippling Stealth Rock weakness, a Rapid Spinner is also imperative to allow Moltres more longevity. Analytic Starmie is a great option for offensively inclined teams, being able to threaten offensive Pokemon such as Keldeo and Terrakion, which give Moltres trouble, as well as being able to weaken Rotom-W for Moltres. An option for balanced teams, Tentacruel can set Toxic Spikes to wear down common Moltres switch-ins, such as Tyranitar and Chansey, as well as checking Water-types such as Keldeo. In return, Moltres can threaten Pokemon that Starmie and Tentacruel have issues with, such as Celebi, Ferrothorn, and Gastrodon.</p>

<p>Celebi also has great synergy with Moltres, as it can handle the various Water- and Electric-types that can threaten Moltres. It can also use Baton Pass to pass Nasty Plot boosts to Moltres, allowing it to 2HKO almost the entire metagame with +2 Hurricane. In return, Moltres can threaten the various Bug-, Steel-, and Grass-types that Celebi attracts, namely Scizor and Ferrothorn. Finally, Choice Band Terrakion can freely switch into Pokemon such as Tyranitar and Heatran through Moltres's U-turn and proceed to eliminate them with Close Combat, while Moltres can KO physical walls such as Landorus-T and Jellicent in return. In a similar vein, Dugtrio can come in and trap Tyranitar, Heatran, and Ninetales, but it is much weaker and more unreliable.</p>

http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/big-bird-choice-specs-revamp-gp-1-2.3531924/#post-6120584 smh

 

[P Squared]

i didn't think those changes were very necessary :(

 

[Tokyo Tom]

I would like to point out but I don't think the ability really needed either because that is pretty much the only ability Moltres can run.

I mean, p. sure that's just how the standard analysis format is supposed to go w/ regards to the set, I didn't mention it anywhere else.

I implemented P Squared's check because I think Rhythms's AM check needs to be approved first, right (thanks for the check anyway, though!). This is ready for upload Jukain (along w/ ScarfTran)

 

[Oglemi]

big uploaded