Pokémon Blaziken

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Pokedex Number: 257
Type: Fire/Fighting
Stats: 80/120/70/110/70/80
Mega Evolution Stats: 80/160/80/130/80/100
Abilities: Blaze, Speed Boost (DW and Mega)

Oh, Blaziken. Banished to Ubers last gen for its powerful attacks and ability, this gen might be a little kinder to it by being a little less kind. With fairies resisting its signature move, a few new mons like Azumarill and Dragalga who resist its STAB combo, a more defensive focus this gen, and the weather nerf, Blaziken doesn't seem so broken anymore. Because of this, my Blaziken sets will apply to both OU and Ubers.

Blaziken did make some gains this gen, though. Thanks to new breeding mechanics, both normal and Mega Blaziken can baton pass speed boosts. Oh yeah, it gets a mega evolution too, that gives Blaziken the speed and lasting power it needs to maximize its potential. Whether in OU or Ubers, Blaziken is set to be a powerful force in the metagame.

The Destroyer
Adamant/Jolly Nature
252 ATK 252 Speed 4 HP

High Jump Kick
Flare Blitz
Swords Dance
Thunderpunch/Stone Edge/Earthquake/Protect
Item: Blazikenite/Life Orb

This is the classic set. You come in on something that can't hurt you, go Mega and Swords Dance on the switch, and proceed to destroy everything with HJK and Flare Blitz. To stay around longer, you're going to want to use HJK as your default move. The accuracy is shaky, but without Flare Blitz recoil you can survive priority moves like Arceus' unboosted extreme speed and OHKO back. The last slot is really up to personal preference and what you need to hit. Thunderpunch is for bulky waters like Azumarill and Slowbro, Stone Edge is for flyers like Salamence and Dragonite that Thunderpunch wouldn't get, and Earthquake is for Aegislash and Dragalga should they become prevalent in Blaziken's metagame. The new generation gave Blaziken some 4MSS, so pick one coverage move and build your team to handle the others.

If you're not dead-set on using another mega like Mawile or Aggron, you want to use the Blazikenite, an Adamant nature, and a coverage move. If your team relies on using another Mega, use Life Orb and Jolly nature/protect to make up for the lost speed. While LO Blaziken needs jolly/protect to outspeed scarfed threats at +1 speed, Mega Blaziken has 100 base speed and can afford to be Adamant. It should be noted that in addition to the extra defenses and lack of LO recoil you get with MegaBlaziken, Adamant MegaBlaziken slightly outdamages LO Jolly Blaziken. You can run this set efficiently without Mega Evolving, but the mega is preferable.

Passing the Blaze
Adamant/Jolly Nature
252 ATK 252 Speed 4 HP

High Jump Kick
Flare Blitz
Baton Pass
Swords Dance/Protect
Item: Blazikenite/Life Orb

Almost the same set as before, only this one's not so much about sweeping solo as it is about Baton Passing attack and speed boosts when it's done dealing the hurt. Again, Blazikenite is preferable, but non-mega is worth another glance here, because not only is Baton Pass + Speed Boost legal thanks to new breeding mechanics, there exists the possibility that the Pokemon you want to pass to has a Mega, like Mewtwo X/Charizard X, Lucario, or Mawile.

Overall Opinion
I'm really excited to use (Mega) Blaziken this gen, either in OU or in Ubers. It's the same speed boosting menace we all know, except in a metagame with Aegislash and Fairies instead of permanent sun.
 

termi

bike is short for bichael
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There's not even a single doubt that Blaziken will be Ubers, now that Speed Boost + Baton Pass is legal as far as I'm concerned. Being able to boost its Attack and Speed to sky-high levels (especially when he's Mega, 100 base speed makes him all the more favorable) within a matter of one turn is something to be really afraid of. Once it pulls off an SD it can kill at least one Pokemon, then once it's weakened (good luck revenging a Pokemon that's at +2 lol) by whatever, it can pass its boosts on to a new candidate, who can finish everything. I really don't see how this gen is less kind to him, fairies resisting fighting and ghosts becoming more viable really won't stop him from wrecking the tier.
 
Even worse, with Mega form his base speed's increase puts him at a position where Scarfers suddenly have to fear a Jolly nature, because if it has that then they can't outspeed. This guy's Ubers almost for sure.
 

SJCrew

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Mega Blaziken doesn't have to run Jolly, as he can get to +2 Speed easily. The only issue Blaziken had with Scarfers last time was that he couldn't get past Scarf Latios +2 Speed if he ran Adamant. It didn't matter, though, because Scarf Latios was straight up garbage when Blaziken was around, and it's going to be next to useless if Fairies become common in OU. Funny thing is, though, that Azumarill is actually a counter now. Last gen, it got OHKOed by HJK on the switch after rocks, but its Fairy/Water typing allows it to resist both of Blaziken's STABs to give it at least one safe switch. That won't matter vs. Mega Blaze though.

We'll see what happens in new OU. Too many variables in the air at the moment.
 
Mega Blaziken doesn't have to run Jolly, as he can get to +2 Speed easily. The only issue Blaziken had with Scarfers last time was that he couldn't get past Scarf Latios +2 Speed if he ran Adamant. It didn't matter, though, because Scarf Latios was straight up garbage when Blaziken was around, and it's going to be next to useless if Fairies become common in OU. Funny thing is, though, that Azumarill is actually a counter now. Last gen, it got OHKOed by HJK on the switch after rocks, but its Fairy/Water typing allows it to resist both of Blaziken's STABs to give it at least one safe switch. That won't matter vs. Mega Blaze though.

We'll see what happens in new OU. Too many variables in the air at the moment.
I didn't know exact specs on the Scarf issue, but that's what I was getting at. Still, just going off what we know now, Blaziken is Uber worthy, and if almost every team is forced to run Azumarril or Jellicent to beat it THAT is an issue.
 
Even though Mega Blaziken essentially outclasses Life Orb Blaziken on physical sets, I do like how regular Blaziken is still really awesome, and so you can afford to run it alongside a different Mega Pokemon if you aren't building a team around Blaziken itself. However, I do think that there is one circumstance where regular Blaziken is worth consideration over its Mega form: mixed sets. Unlike the SD sets, mixed sets focus less on sweeping and more on wallbreaking and luring/killing Blaziken's usual counters, and so the extra speed is less of an issue. In addition, the difference between Mega Blaziken and Blaziken's SpA stats is much less drastic than the difference between their Atk stats, and so the Life Orb boost is that much more significant. In fact, Rash Life Orb Blaziken has about 15.5% more power on the special side than Rash Mega Blaziken, so the power boost is much more worth it here. I suppose you could still run Mega Blaziken for the extra speed and bulk, but when one of your main goals is wall breaking, that 15.5% is a lot of power to lose.

I'm interested to see how Blaziken does this generation. On one hand, it did gain a few more checks. Fighting STAB is a bit less effective than it once was with the new Fairies running around. While Fire STAB is great for knocking out most of them, Azumarill in particular can still take either STAB pretty well while hitting back with a STAB Aqua Jet. Dragalge is one new Pokemon that resists both STABs, and Blaziken might also have to worry about Mega Pinsir's Aerilate Quick Attack and Talonflame's priority Flying STAB, depending on how popular those are. On the other hand, Mega Blaziken essentially acts as Blaziken 2.0 for most sets, making it that much more dangerous. Due to the new breeding mechancs, Blaziken no longer needs to use its Mega form to use Speed Boost + Baton Pass, which was one of the driving factors behind its ban from Dream World OU.

On that note, I'm interested to see what will become of Combusken in the lower tiers. It's a decent enough Pokemon in NU as it is, but just imagine if it could use Baton Pass with Speed Boost. Combusken would be able to do much of what Ninjask can do with Baton Pass, only with much more powerful STABs, no Stealth Rock weakness, and fairly respectable bulk with the Eviolite (252 HP Eviolite Combusken has a little more overall bulk than an offensive Dragonite, not counting Multiscale). Regardless of whether you're using Blaziken in OU, Combusken in NU, or Torchic in LC, being able to do a bunch of damage and Baton Pass a Speed Boost or two whenever your sweep is stopped is priceless.

EDIT @ Below: Fairy doesn't resist Fire.
 
Any Fairy can resist both STABs, and if it's running Baton Pass, that's all it'll have. Xerneas could make a great switch-in, although of course it's up in the air what tiers it'll end up allowed in.
 

Super Mario Bro

All we ever look for
It'll be interesting to see how this guy fares in OU, but I don't know if I'm optimistic about his long-term prospects when it comes to staying that way, considering he can use Baton Pass with Speed Boost now. That pretty much reduces his actual checks to...Aqua Jet Azumarill, and even then, it can really only switch in once.
 

SJCrew

Believer, going on a journey...
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Fire resists Fairy, not the other way around. Blaziken can actually set up on a Pokemon locked into a Fairy move.
 
On that note, I'm interested to see what will become of Combusken in the lower tiers. It's a decent enough Pokemon in NU as it is, but just imagine if it could use Baton Pass with Speed Boost. Combusken would be able to do much of what Ninjask can do with Baton Pass, only with much more powerful STABs, no Stealth Rock weakness, and fairly respectable bulk with the Eviolite (252 HP Eviolite Combusken has a little more overall bulk than an offensive Dragonite, not counting Multiscale). Regardless of whether you're using Blaziken in OU, Combusken in NU, or Torchic in LC, being able to do a bunch of damage and Baton Pass a Speed Boost or two whenever your sweep is stopped is priceless.
I'd like the idea if Scolopede wasn't around to do the job better and with more support potential. Combusken AND Scolopede on the same team, however, seems like it could be an interesting group if your team focuses on something slow and strong (like Avalugg, or Rhyperior, or Aggron/Mega Aggron or something)
 
I'd like the idea if Scolopede wasn't around to do the job better and with more support potential. Combusken AND Scolopede on the same team, however, seems like it could be an interesting group if your team focuses on something slow and strong (like Avalugg, or Rhyperior, or Aggron/Mega Aggron or something)
Well, I'm mainly speaking of NU here. Speed Boost Scolipede is nothing short of great, so I imagine it would rise to a higher tier. In that case, Combusken and Ninjask would be the only Speed Pass options left in any tiers lower than the one occupied by Scolipede. Even if Scolipede and Combusken both end up in NU, Combusken might still have a niche here or there due to its particular typing and STABs, but I'm mainly banking on the assumption that Scolipede will be at least RU or higher and thus not give Combusken competition.
 
Well, I'm mainly speaking of NU here. Speed Boost Scolipede is nothing short of great, so I imagine it would rise to a higher tier. In that case, Combusken and Ninjask would be the only Speed Pass options left in any tiers lower than the one occupied by Scolipede. Even if Scolipede and Combusken both end up in NU, Combusken might still have a niche here or there due to its particular typing and STABs, but I'm mainly banking on the assumption that Scolipede will be at least RU or higher and thus not give Combusken competition.
Fair play, though I don't want to see RU where the two of them can prep the many, MANY slow but strong physical attackers for a full on sweep.
 
I think the important question here is there anything that can effectively phaze this monster? The regular SD set has counters and checks depending on what moves it runs, but the baton pass makes this all the more threatening, you think you have it pinned down and then all those boosts go on something else. The only hard checks that can phaze that I can think of are Giratina and Lugia...
 
I think the important question here is there anything that can effectively phaze this monster? The regular SD set has counters and checks depending on what moves it runs, but the baton pass makes this all the more threatening, you think you have it pinned down and then all those boosts go on something else. The only hard checks that can phaze that I can think of are Giratina and Lugia...
An then it Baton Passes to Espeon who Baton Passes to something else :P

(Well, unless they use Dragon Tail instead of a status phazing move)
 
On the whole Adamant vs Jolly question, I am reminded of something someone once said about Ninjask when gen 3 came out (I am paraphrasing here):

When gen 3 came out, it was theorymoned that you shouldn't waste investment in speed on Ninjask, who was not only stupidly fast, but got faster every turn. We soon realized though the reason to run max speed, it was not to outspeed other Pokemon, but to outspeed other Ninjasks.
I think you will find your Blaziken at a disadvantage against other Blaziken if you run Adamant.
 

Haruno

Skadi :)
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Remind me again bar baton pass and "longevity", what megablaze has over standard speed boost LO blaze?
 
My theory was that Non-Mega Blaziken needs Jolly to outpace faster scarfers at +1 and +2. Mega Blaziken needs Adamant for the damage output and doesn't need the speed from Jolly. Besides, if it's Blaziken vs Blaziken, the one who's been out the longest is going to win anyway.

Remind me again bar baton pass and "longevity", what megablaze has over standard speed boost LO blaze?
The added speed. It means that Blaziken can run Adamant over Jolly and still outpade scarfed mons at +1 and +2 who wouldn't outspeed it before. Adamant MegaBlaziken is as powerful as LO Jolly Blaziken but faster. That plus the longevity from no LO recoil and the increases defenses is very important
 

AccidentalGreed

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Remind me again bar baton pass and "longevity", what megablaze has over standard speed boost LO blaze?
On top of my head, nothing else, really aside from increased Speed (allows you to outrun Scarf Latios and Chlorophyll users). Mega Blaziken's just there if you want to use Baton Pass with Blaze Blaziken, or if you'd like to use Speed Boost Blaziken without LO revoil (it's only slightly weaker than normal LO, iirc). That passive damage CAN add up.
 

Haruno

Skadi :)
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
The added speed. It means that Blaziken can run Adamant over Jolly and still outpade scarfed mons at +1 and +2 who wouldn't outspeed it before. Adamant MegaBlaziken is as powerful as LO Jolly Blaziken but faster. That plus the longevity from no LO recoil and the increases defenses is very important
There is nothing relevant that adamant blaze can't outspeed at +2 that megablaze can though.......
 
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