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Overview
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Chandelure cements its place in UU as one of the most fearsome special-attacking wallbreakers. Sporting a high base 145 Special Attack and fantastic dual STAB attacks in Shadow Ball and Fire Blast, Chandelure has very few switch-ins in UU. However, the introduction of Hydreigon and Mega Houndoom to the tier really hurt Chandelure's viability, as they both resist its STAB moves and the latter can freely set up on a Choice-locked Fire Blast. Chandelure also has a relatively average base 80 Speed stat, which causes it to be outsped by common threats such as Nidoking, Krookodile and Hydreigon. Also, while its typing and ability are fantastic in granting it 3 immunities, Chandelure still has the problem of being Pursuit-trapped by Pokemon like Krookodile. However, even with its problems, Chandelure continues to be one of the best wallbreakers in the tier and should always be considered when building a team.
Substitute + Calm Mind
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name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Flamethrower / Fire Blast
move 4: Shadow Ball
ability: Flash Fire
item: Leftovers
evs: 112 HP / 140 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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Substitute is used in order to avoid status and also to reliably set up on Pokemon such as Aromatisse, Florges, and Blissey, all of which are unable to break Chandelure's Substitute. Calm Mind boosts Chandelure's Special Attack to insane levels, making it capable of OHKOing the majority of the tier after a couple of boosts. Flamethrower is a reliable STAB move with decent power and, more importantly, higher PP than Fire Blast, an important factor in beating Blissey one-on-one. Fire Blast can be used for greater power but is generally an inferior option. Shadow Ball rounds out Chandelure's near perfect STAB combination and can help in Calm Mind wars due its secondary effect of dropping Special Defense.
Set Details
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The given spread allows Chandelure to never have it's Substitute broken by 4 Special Attack Florges and Pokemon such as Aromatisse. It also allows Chandelure to survive an unboosted Dark Pulse from Hydreigon after Stealth Rock with a Calm Mind boost and a Life-Orb boosted Dark Pulse without Stealth Rock after a Calm Mind boost. A Timid nature lets it outspeed Adamant Lucario and KO it with Flamethrower before it has the chance to hit Chandelure with a Crunch and it can also get the jump on neutral -natured base 90 Speed Pokemon such as Roserade. The rest of the EVs go into Special Attack, which allows Chandelure to 2HKO max HP Mega Blastoise after a Calm Mind boost with Shadow Ball.
Usage Tips
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Try to set up Chandelure on Pokemon that you know cannot touch it; such Pokemon include Blissey, Florges, Aromatisse, and Pokemon Choice-locked into Fire-, Fighting-, and Normal-type moves. Be wary of Toxic from these Pokemon, though, as being badly poisoned completely ruins Calm Mind Chandelure. Continue boosting until you see fit to basically OHKO the entire enemy team. Against offensive teams, use Substitute as a means to force the opponent into an aggressive move such as Dark Pulse with Hydreigon and switch out or attack accordingly.
Team Options
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Chandelure works great on teams as a win condition, so having support built around it is always nice. Toxic Spikes are amazing in conjunction with Substitute + Calm Mind, and Roserade just so happens to deal with bulky Water-types that can be annoying to beat in Calm Mind wars, such as Suicune. Having something to keep hazards off your side of the field is vital to Chandelure's success, so Rapid Spin users such as Mega Blastoise and Donphan and Defog users such as Crobat, Empoleon, and Mega Aerodactyl make great teammates.
Choice Specs
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name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Hidden Power Fighting / Energy Ball
move 4: Trick / Overheat
ability: Flash Fire
item: Choice Specs
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Modest / Timid
Moves
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Fire Blast and Shadow Ball provide a fantastic STAB combination. Hidden Power Fighting lets Chandelure hit Houndoom, Hydreigon, and Snorlax for super effective damage. Energy Ball lets Chandelure dispose of bulky Water-types such as Swampert, Suicune, and Mega Blastoise while also nailing things like Rhyperior and Hippowdon for super effective damage. Trick is useful for crippling walls such as Blissey, which would otherwise wall the set, and Overheat can be used as an alternative in the last slot over Trick in order to further accentuate Chandelure's incredibly high Special Attack; however, Fire Blast is usually strong enough in most scenarios and doesn't result in -2 Special Attack.
Set Details
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The given EV spread lets Chandelure hit as hard as possible and outspeed as much as possible. Timid can be run over Modest in order to outspeed Adamant Lucario and Adamant Krookodile, but more often than not, the extra power is more ideal.
Usage Tips
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Click Fire Blast or Shadow Ball and watch the opposing team's Pokemon faint. If they have certain switch-ins such as Hydreigon or Houndoom, try to nail them with Hidden Power Fighting , otherwise you're going to be clicking the STAB moves 90% of the time. Also, be careful when using Trick, as a Chandelure without any item is less effective so you want to try to keep your item for as long as possible unless it is worth the loss of boosted power.
Team Options
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Rapid Spin or Defog support from Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl or Starmie is appreciated, as Chandelure is weak to Stealth Rock and susceptible to all forms of entry hazards. This set really appreciates Sticky Web support from Shuckle or Galvantula, as Chandelure's low Speed can hold it back against offensive teams. Likewise, it also appreciates Stealth Rock and Spikes support to pressure its counters and to cause more damage in general, so Rapid Spin may be more ideal than Defog for this reason.
Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Energy Ball / Trick
move 4: Trick / Memento
ability: Flash Fire
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Timid / Modest
Moves
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Chandelure's STAB attacks get good coverage and let it revenge kill a variety of threats such as Jirachi, Shaymin, Roserade, and Alakazam. Energy Ball hits bulky Water-types harder than any of the moves on the set. Trick is a bit more useful on this set, as Choice Scarf Chandelure can have trouble dealing with dedicated special walls without it and also isn't inconvenienced in the offense department if it loses its item. Memento can be useful for giving setup opportunities to a teammate, especially one that sets up on Chandelure's counters.
Set Details
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Maximum Speed investment and a Timid nature are used here, as this set's primary role is that of a revenge killer, but Modest can be used at the cost of being slower than Jolly Mega Aerodactyl. Maximum Special Attack investment lets it hit as hard as possible, scoring OHKOs on prominent threats such as Crobat and Nidoking.
Usage Tips
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Choice Scarf Chandelure makes for a good revenge killer thanks to its high power and great STAB combination, which allows it to revenge kill a variety of threats. As such, it should usually not be switching into attacks in order to keep it healthy for when it is needed. In addition to being a good revenge killer, Chandelure can also clean very effectively against weakened offensive teams, especially if it manages to get a Flash Fire boost from Pokemon such as Victini.
Team Options
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Fighting-types such as Mienshao work well with Chandelure, as the majority of its counters are weak to Fighting. Because it needs to switch in and out often to do its job effectively, Choice Scarf Chandelure really needs hazard removal support in order to function well. Teammates that appreciate Memento support such as Mega Absol, Lucario, and Infernape all make for good partners to Chandelure.
Other Options
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Chandelure has a variety of options that it can use as opposed to its standard movesets. A Substitute + Will-O-Wisp + Taunt set is a pretty fantastic stallbreaker and can beat a lot of Chandelure's would-be counters such as Hydreigon and Blissey. Infiltrator allows Chandelure to hit Pokemon through Substitute but is generally an inferior ability to Flash Fire. Life Orb with Substitute and Pain Split was also a set used quite a lot last generation, but has fallen out of favor now because it can't even reliably beat Blissey without running out of Fire Blast PP first.
Checks & Counters
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**Hydreigon**: Hydreigon resists almost all of Chandelure's moves and can hit back with a super effective STAB Dark Pulse. Life Orb sets can also roost off the damage inflicted by Chandelure.
**Flash Fire users**: Flash Fire users such as Houndoom, Arcanine, and opposing Chandelure are all immune to Chandelure's main STAB attack, but the latter two have to be wary of Shadow Ball.
**Special Walls**: Special walls such as Snorlax, Diancie, and Porygon2 can eat any hit from Chandelure and fire back with Earthquake, Diamond Storm, and Shadow Ball, respectively, although none of them enjoy being crippled by Trick.
**Pursuit Trapping**: Faster Pursuit trappers such as Krookodile can revenge kill Chandelure after it has gotten a KO, especially if it locks itself into anything other than Energy Ball.
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