Ubers [ORAS] Blaziken

Thugly Duckling

I play TCG now
QC Checks: Sweep / Problems / Shrang
GP Checks: Winry. / GatoDelFuego



The Pontiac Fiero of Ubers
______________________________


Overview

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Returning to another round of Ubers as the first , and currently only, starter Pokemon to be Uber, Blaziken has become notorious for its immediate strength and fearsome ability to force switches and wallbreak with Swords Dance. However, the shift towards bulky offense is a far cry from the hyper offensive teams that Blaziken fit into in XY, and it just isn't much of a place for a glass cannon like Blaziken to thrive. Newcomers Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence check Blaziken well, and dominance of the heavy weather abilities have stolen away its best wallbreaking tool: five-turn sun. Being prone to all forms of entry hazards and over-reliant on Flare Blitz puts Blaziken on a timer, and its subpar 80 / 80 / 80 bulk as Mega Blaziken means it is not going to last long. Blaziken's best set also takes up a Mega slot, and it suffers quite a bit of opportunity cost in comparison to other Mega Evolutions such as Mega Salamence or Mega Gengar. Despite all of this, Blaziken remains one of the few nightmares of balance and stall, and still packs enough juice to remain a serious threat despite how bulky the metagame has gotten.


Offensive
########
name: Long Live Blaze
move 1: Protect / Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Stone Edge / Knock Off
ability: Speed Boost
item: Blazikenite / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant


Moves
========

Protect is a fantastic move on Blaziken. It not only allows Blaziken to safely Mega Evolve, but it also lets Blaziken rack up Speed boosts and scout the opponent's plays. Swords Dance turns Blaziken into a disgustingly powerful wallbreaker with only a single turn of setup. However, keep note that opportunities to set up are quite limited because of how lackluster Blaziken's bulk is; so for overall consistency, Protect is much-preferred. Flare Blitz is ridiculously strong and is Blaziken's most consistent physical STAB attack. Low Kick is also very powerful and hits most of the metagame as a 120 Base Power move due to how heavy the tier is, and in tandem with Flare Blitz lets Blaziken hit almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage. High Jump Kick is an option over Low Kick in order to OHKO Mega Diancie and to beat the extremely rare Unaware Quagsire. With a Swords Dance boost, Blaziken can even OHKO 56+ Defense Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes with High Jump Kick. Stone Edge is the best coverage move for Blaziken because it provides a way for Blaziken to hit Mega Salamence hard and has other select targets such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and physically defensive Yveltal. Another superb coverage option is Knock Off, as it OHKOes Latias after Stealth Rock and Latios regardless of prior damage and is Blaziken's only way to hit Giratina for considerable damage. In the last slot, Baton Pass can be put to good use. For instance, if Blaziken has grabbed a Swords Dance boost but is face-to-face with a Pokemon it does not have a good type matchup against, such as Primal Groudon, Blaziken can pass its boosts to a more appropriate sweeper for the situation, such as Rayquaza.


Set Details
========

Maximum Attack and Speed investment give Blaziken the immediate strength that it is most well-known for, immediately putting it to work upon entering the battlefield. An Adamant nature should always be used, as it secures some key OHKOs such as those on Latios and Latias with Knock Off and offensive Kyogre with Low Kick. The slashes represent two possible sets; Protect + 3 attacks or Swords Dance + 3 attacks. A set of Swords Dance + Protect + 2 attacks can be used, but Blaziken will miss the coverage against Mega Salamence or the Giratina formes. If the opportunity cost of using Mega Blaziken is too much for one to even consider using it, do realize that Life Orb is a fine replacement over the Blazikenite. The two main concerns of using Life Orb is the added 10% recoil after every landed attack and the more fragile 80 / 70 / 70 bulk, meaning Blaziken will be worn down even faster to Flare Blitz recoil and be even further susceptible to priority attacks. However, normal Blaziken with a Life Orb is, in fact, slightly stronger than Mega Blaziken, and the open Mega slot can vastly expand teambuilding possibilities.


Usage Tips
========

Blaziken has very poor bulk, so it shouldn't be switched into any neutral or powerful resisted attacks. To get it into battle, it is important to double switch or bring it in on something that he has a severe type advantage over, such as Steel-types. If Protect is used, feel free to use it liberally, as it allows Blaziken to gain +1 Speed every turn it is used, effortlessly giving Blaziken offensive momentum and pressuring the opposition. It also has the utility of revealing what the opponent would have done the turn it is used, allowing you to utilize that information to either make your own predictions or to cause your opponent to overthink. However, do note that your opponent can predict a Protect to set up their own Pokemon. Do not mindlessly spam Flare Blitz, as the recoil racks up quickly, especially if Life Orb is used. Your opponent can easily take advantage of this and pile up the recoil damage from Flare Blitz and perhaps Life Orb by luring Flare Blitz with Pokemon that resist Fighting and switching into Fire-type resistances, ultimately causing Blaziken to faint from recoil. To avoid this, it is important to make predictions and capitalize on the switches Blaziken forces. Also, be aware of potential priority users such as Arceus, Rayquaza, and Deoxys-A, as they can make short work of Blaziken before it even gets the chance to do some work.


Team Options
========

Wobbuffet is an outstanding partner to the Swords Dance variant. It can easily trap support Pokemon and provide both Encore support for easy setup opportunities and has access to Safeguard to halt any status users, namely ones with access to Prankster Thunder Wave. Yveltal and other Dark-types work wonders for Blaziken. They can easily check and even dispose of both Lugia and Giratina, two of Blaziken's premier checks. Extreme Killer Arceus is the best offensive partner for Blaziken, mainly because of how much their checks overlap. In this core, Blaziken will heavily dent the opposition and even eliminate some of Arceus's checks, such as Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. With such Pokemon weakened or disposed of, Arceus can more successfully pull off a sweep. A good check to Primal Groudon is mandatory, as Blaziken will need it either removed from battle or weakened significantly; levitating Pokemon such as Latios, Latias, and Landorus-T make for excellent partners, and the latter can even provide Stealth Rock support. Because Blaziken is vulnerable to all forms of entry hazards, Rapid Spin support is highly appreciated. A fantastic user of the move is Forretress, which can provide Spikes and Toxic Spikes support while also being able to get Blaziken into battle unscathed with its slow Volt Switch. Defog support from the likes of Latios and Latias can be appreciated, but keep in mind that Blaziken needs entry hazards on the opponent's side of the field to have an easier time sweeping. Sun support is invaluable to Blaziken, but it is quite difficult to fit on teams because how dominant Primal Groudon is over normal Groudon.


Other Options
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A dedicated Baton Pass set consisting of Baton Pass, Protect, Substitute or Roar, and Flare Blitz with Leftovers and an EV spread of 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature can be used, but it is better done by Scolipede, whose main niche lies in being a Spikes-setting lead. Hidden Power Ice and some Special Attack investment can be used to OHKO Gliscor, Landorus-T, Mega Salamence, and Rayquaza, but has just about no utility outside of that. Shadow Claw can be used on the offensive set to hit Giratina-O a little bit harder than Blaziken would with Knock Off, but the secondary effect of Knock Off and the added Base Power when hitting a Pokemon holding an item will be missed. Earthquake may also be used to OHKO Mega Diancie and Relaxed Groudon after Stealth Rock damage with a Swords Dance boost, but it causes Blaziken to have very redundant type coverage for what it needs to be able to hit in the tier. Hone Claws alongside High Jump Kick is usable in order to guarantee that High Jump Kick always lands, but the immediate power of a Swords Dance boost is much-preferred.


Checks & Counters
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**Giratina**: Giratina is a nightmare for Blaziken. Both formes are immune to Blaziken's Fighting-type STAB moves and resist Flare Blitz, allowing them to comfortably sponge any of Blaziken's attacks bar a boosted Knock Off. They can also hit Blaziken hard with Dragon Tail, phazing it and any boosts that it has acquired. Giratina-O especially poses a threat to Blaziken with its powerful Draco Meteor, Dragon Claw, and Earthquake, even picking off weakened Blaziken with Shadow Sneak.

**Lugia**: If Multiscale is intact, Lugia will wall even a Swords Dance-boosted Blaziken to hell and back. It won't enjoy losing its Leftovers to Knock Off, but it can hit back hard with Aeroblast, phaze out Blaziken with Whirlwind, or Toxic stall while recovering any damage taken with Roost. However, if Lugia switches into Stealth Rock, a boosted Blaziken will plow through it with Stone Edge or Knock Off.

**Primal Groudon**: Defensive Primal Groudon will struggle with the Swords Dance variant, but it can comfortably tank any unboosted hit that Blaziken can throw at it. In return, Primal Groudon can easily dispose of Blaziken with a Ground-type STAB move. But Primal Groudon is easily worn down by entry hazards, and it will fall to a salvo of Low Kicks if it has switched into Stealth Rock too many times.

**Diancie**: Diancie's light weight and Rock typing allow it to take pitiful damage from Low Kick and Flare Blitz, respectively. Disappointingly, Mega Diancie is 2HKOed by Flare Blitz regardless of whether or not it has a Defense-lowering nature, but it can hit Blaziken back with a powerful Earth Power before fainting to repetitive Flare Blitzes. Both Mega and non-Mega Diancie have huge trouble with the rare High Jump Kick, however.

**Mega Salamence**: Mega Salamence will give Blaziken a run for its money, as it can utilize Intimidate before it Mega Evolves to comfortably tank any of Blaziken's STAB attacks. However, it'll succumb to a +1 Stone Edge if it lacks significant bulk investment and has taken Stealth Rock damage.

**Rayquaza**: Rayquaza's severe type advantage over Blaziken allows it to be a decent check, especially because it has Extreme Speed. Even so, if Rayquaza has taken Stealth Rock damage, it will faint to a +2 Flare Blitz or Knock Off, and even to an unboosted Stone Edge.

**Landorus-T**: Landorus-T can keep Blaziken in check with its respectable physical bulk after the Intimidate drop and super effective Earthquake, but it is easily worn down by Stealth Rock and has no reliable recovery to withstand Blaziken's assaults.

**Gyarados**: Non-Mega Gyarados resists both of Blaziken's STAB moves and has Intimidate to back up its physical bulk. It can also play mind games with Blaziken on the turn it Mega Evolves, forcing Blaziken to choose between landing a Low Kick in attempt to predict the Mega Evolution or to go for a Stone Edge in attempt to predict that Gyarados stay unevolved; even switching out entirely can result in a set-up Gyarados. It also threatens Blaziken with its STAB Waterfall or powerful Earthquake, both with the strength to put Blaziken out of the match.

**Ho-Oh**: Stone Edge mauls Ho-Oh, but with a physically defensive set, Ho-Oh can wall even a boosted Blaziken on the condition that it lacks Stone Edge and Stealth Rock is clear of the field.

**Arceus-Ghost**: An immunity to Low Kick helps Arceus-Ghost, but it will take a big chunk of damage from Flare Blitz if it lacks significant Defense investment. However, after the recoil received from Flare Blitz, Blaziken will be in KO range of Arceus-Ghost's powerful Judgement.

**Fairy, Psychic, and Poison Arceus**: Fairy, Psychic, and Poison Arceus resist Low Kick, but they'll take a huge number from Flare Blitz unless they have significant Defense and HP investment. However, after Flare Blitz recoil, Blaziken is put into OHKO range of Fairy Arceus and Poison Arceus's powerful Judgement, wheras Psychic Arceus OHKOes Blaziken with Psyshock or Judgement regardless of prior damage. Poison Arceus also experiences great opportunity cost from being completely helpless against Primal Groudon unless it carries Calm Mind and Earth Power; but by that measure, Poison Arceus would no longer be capable of checking Blaziken because it then eschews power for bulk.

**Water Arceus**: Water Arceus's resistance to Flare Blitz is a great benefit for it, but it will easily fall to a volley of Low Kicks, especially after entry hazard damage. Although it fares poorly against Primal Groudon, Water Arceus threatens Blaziken with an OHKO from its Water-type Judgment.

**Entry Hazards**: Blaziken is prone to all forms of entry hazards and is forced out by quite a few things depending on what coverage it runs, forcing Blaziken to be further worn down by entry hazards each time it switches in.

**Strong Priority Attacks**: Strong priority users such as Extreme Killer Arceus, Deoxys-A, and Rayquaza effectively provide damage control to Blaziken's parade, picking it off after some prior damage or hitting it first to force a faint from Flare Blitz recoil.

Karate Bird

Overview
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+ With Speed Boost, he is nearly impossible to revenge kill without a priority attack
+ Incredible STAB combo and has impressive and immediate power
+ Becomes an incredible wallbreaker with Swords Dance
+ Forces a ton of switches
- The Heavy Weathers steal away 5 turn sunlight, one of his best wallbreaking tools
- Prone to all forms of entry hazards, and has underwhelming 80/80/80 bulk in Mega forms which faces fierce competition from other members of the tier
- Newcomers Primal Groudon, Soul Dew Lati@s, and Mega-Salamence discourage his usage
- The metagame shift towards Bulky Offense does not help him either


Offensive
########
name: Offensive
move 1: Protect / Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Stone Edge / Knock Off
ability: Speed Boost
item: Blazikenite / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant


Moves
========

  • Protect allows Blaziken to safely Mega-Evolve, scout, and rack up Speed boosts
  • Swords Dance turns Blaziken into a formidable wallbreaker, but opportunities to set-up are quite limited because of how lackluster Blaziken's bulk is. So keep note that for overall consistency, Protect is much rather preferred
  • Flare Blitz is ridiculously strong and is Blaziken’s most consistent physical STAB attack
  • Low Kick is also stupidly powerful and hits most of the metagame as a 120 base power move due to how heavy the tier is, and in tandem with Flare Blitz Blaziken is granted excellent coverage
  • High Jump Kick is an option over Low Kick in order to OHKO Mega Diancie and to beat the extremely rare Unaware Quagsire. Notably, with a Swords Dance boost Blaziken can OHKO 56+ Defense Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes
  • Stone Edge provides a way to hit Mega-Salamence hard, and has other select targets such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Physically Defensive Yveltal
  • Knock Off OHKOs Latias after Stealth Rock and Latios regardless of prior damage, and is Blaziken’s only way to hit Giratina for considerable damage
  • In the last slot Baton Pass can also be put to good use. For instance, if Blaziken has grabbed a Swords Dance boost but is face-to-face with something he does not have a type advantage over such as Primal Groudon; Blaziken can pass its boosts to a more appropriate sweeper for the situation, like Rayquaza


Set Details
========

  • Maximum Attack and Speed investment give Blaziken the immediate strength that it is most well known for
  • The slashes represent two possible sets; Protect+3 attacks or Swords+3 attacks. A set of Swords Dance+Protect+2 attacks can be used, but Blaziken will miss the coverage against Mega-Salamence or the Giratina formes
  • An Adamant nature should always be used as it secures some key OHKOs such as those on the Lati twins with Knock Off and Kyogre with Low Kick
  • Life Orb Blaziken is actually slightly stronger than Mega-Blaziken, and also frees up the Mega slot


Usage Tips
========

  • Blaziken has very poor bulk, so it shouldn’t be switched into any neutral or powerful resisted attacks. To get it into battle, it is important to double switch or bring it in on something that he has a severe type-advantage over
  • If Protect is used, feel free to use it liberally as it allows Blaziken to gain +1 from Speed Boost to gain offensive momentum. It also has the utility of seeing what the opponent would have done the turn Protect was used, and this allows you to utilize that information to either make your own predictions or to cause your opponent to overthink
  • Do not mindlessly spam Flare Blitz as the recoil racks up quickly, especially if Life Orb is used. Your opponent can easily take advantage of this and pile up the residual damage from Flare Blitz and perhaps Life Orb by switching in Fire-type resistances, ultimately causing Blaziken to faint itself from recoil. To avoid this, it is important to make predictions and capitalize on the switches Blaziken forces
  • Be aware of potential priority users such as Arceus, Rayquaza, and Deoxys-A


Team Options
========

  • Wobbuffet is an outstanding partner to the Swords Dance variant, as it can provide both Encore support for easy set-up opportunities and Safeguard to halt any status users, namely ones with Prankster Thunder Wave
  • Yveltal and other Dark-Types work wonders for Blaziken. They can easily check and even dispose of both Lugia and Giratina, two of Blaziken’s premiere checks
  • Extreme Killer Arceus is the best offensive partner for Blaziken, mainly because of how much their checks overlap. In this core, Blaziken will heavily dent the opposition and even eliminate some of Arceus’ checks, such as Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. With such Pokemon weakened or disposed of, Arceus can more successfully pull of a sweep
  • A good check to Primal Groudon is mandatory, as Blaziken will need it either removed from battle or weakened; so levitating Pokemon such as the Lati twins and Landorus-T make excellent partners, and the latter even provides Stealth Rock support
  • Since Blaziken is prone to all forms of entry hazards, Rapid Spin support is highly appreciated. A fantastic user of the move is Forretress, who can provide Spikes and Toxic Spikes while also being able to get Blaziken into battle unscathed with its slow Volt Switch. Defog support from the likes of the Lati twins can be appreciated, but keep in mind that Blaziken needs hazards on the opponent’s side of the field to have an easier time sweeping
  • Sun support is invaluable to Blaziken, but it is quite difficult to fit on teams because how predominate Primal Groudon is over normal Groudon


Other Options
########

  • A dedicated Baton Pass set consisting of Baton Pass/Protect/Substitute or Roar/Flare Blitz with an EV spread of 12 HP / 244 Attack / 252 Spe and a Jolly Nature can be used, but it is better done by Scolipede whose main niche lies in being a Spikes-setting lead
  • Hidden Power Ice and some Special Attack investment can be used on the offensive set to OHKO Gliscor, Landorus-T, Mega-Salamence, and Rayquaza, but has just about no utility outside that
  • Shadow Claw can be used on the offensive set to hit Giratina-O a little bit harder than it would with Knock Off, but the secondary-effects of Knock Off and the added base power when hitting a Pokemon holding an item will be missed
  • Hone Claws alongside High Jump Kick is usable in order to guarantee that High Jump Kick always lands, but the immediate power of a Swords Dance boost is much rather preferred


Checks & Counters
########

  • Giratina formes
  • Lugia
  • Primal Groudon
  • Mega-Salamence
  • Landorus-Therian
  • Arceus-Fairy
  • Arcues-Ghost
  • Arceus-Psychic
  • Arceus-Water
  • Latias
  • Diancie and Mega-Diancie
  • Mega-Altaria
  • Entry hazards
  • Strong priority attacks
 
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Thugly Duckling

I play TCG now
Is bp even worth it when there are better users such as scolipede?
Blaziken can hit nearly every Taunt users hard with Flare Blitz, unlike Scolipede. I personally don't use the set but an offensive BP user seems to have a niche on offensively oriented teams.
 
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Minority

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I would put Mega Diancie and Arceus-Psychic in C&C and remove Quagsire since the consensus is that it sucks. I guess you could also put Latias somewhere near the bottom since it can survive Knock Off and OHKO back, although that is only for a last resort.
 

shrang

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Mostly looks pretty good. Just get rid of the Baton Pass set, though, it's just... not worth it. I mean, having Roar is pretty cool stop phazing but there isn't much reason to run it over Scolipede. Just put the set into OO and give it its own little saying "Blaziken can run a Baton Pass set, with options X, Y and Z but for the most part Scolipede is a better Baton Passer" or something.

Do that and I'll approve.
 

SparksBlade

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Thugly Duckling said:
Low Kick is also stupidly powerful and hits most of the metagame as a 120 base power move
although it would be the mistake of the reader, this statement could be rather misleading w/o the explanation that most ubers are heavy. MOST. Not all, like mega diancie and few others. Idk it just would be convenient imo.
I think Mega Altaria should also be mentioned in checks and counters as well, and physically defensive ho-oh when lacking stone edge.
 

Thugly Duckling

I play TCG now
Mostly looks pretty good. Just get rid of the Baton Pass set, though, it's just... not worth it. I mean, having Roar is pretty cool stop phazing but there isn't much reason to run it over Scolipede. Just put the set into OO and give it its own little saying "Blaziken can run a Baton Pass set, with options X, Y and Z but for the most part Scolipede is a better Baton Passer" or something.

Do that and I'll approve.
I concur with shrang that BP should be moved to OO
Done, ready for checks.
although it would be the mistake of the reader, this statement could be rather misleading w/o the explanation that most ubers are heavy. MOST. Not all, like mega diancie and few others. Idk it just would be convenient imo.
I think Mega Altaria should also be mentioned in checks and counters as well, and physically defensive ho-oh when lacking stone edge.
I'll specify Ho-Oh as a check to non-stone edge variants once I write the paragraphs, because Stone Edge is practically standard on Blaziken now. I'll include the 'heavy tier' part as well, thanks for mentioning that :) I'm not going to mention Mega-Altaria because it really sucks lol.
 
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SparksBlade

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i only brought up altaria cos it's c- on the rankings, which i think is worth a mention, but if you and qc dont feel like it then np
 

PROBLEMS

AHEAD OF HIS TIME
Still worth mentioning bp IMO as last slot filler on the main set to passing to team mates like Ray and Groudon can be game changing but ill agree this is ready, good work.

Qc 2/3
 

Thugly Duckling

I play TCG now
Still worth mentioning bp IMO as last slot filler on the main set to passing to team mates like Ray and Groudon can be game changing
Strange, I was thinking the same thing today. I'll mention Baton Pass as a third slash or in set details as soon as I can, let me know which one it would be better placed in.

EDIT: Never mind, i added baton pass in Moves
 
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Minority

Numquam Vincar
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I would condense the intro and the C&C section. As it is now the intro is way longer than it needs to be, and has superfluous information. As for C&C, I would try to group similar types of threats together so that there isn't a really long list of individual threats.
 

Thugly Duckling

I play TCG now
I would condense the intro and the C&C section. As it is now the intro is way longer than it needs to be, and has superfluous information. As for C&C, I would try to group similar types of threats together so that there isn't a really long list of individual threats.
I can't really group threats together in the C&C section since Blaziken literally scrambles its checks depending on what moves it runs, so entering things in groups such as "bulky waters" or "arceus forms" would be quite vague.
 

shrang

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However, Blaziken has been nerfed significantly in ORAS. The tier shift towards Bulky Offense is a far cry from the hyper-offensive environment that Blaziken adapted to in XY, and it just isn't much of a place for a glass cannon like Blaziken to thrive.
XY was a Hyper Offensive environment? How did we have a massive suspect test where people wailed about how broken Gothitelle was in a Hyper Offensive metagame? :P Anyway, probably just get rid of that bit - "more splashable checks to Blaziken, eg Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence" is good enough. Take out Latias from that sentence you have btw, I'll explain in my C&C section.

Most of this was pretty good. The things which I think could be improved are in the Checks and Counters:
- Arceus formes can be lumped together IMO. Ghost/Psychic/Fairy resist Low Kick and Water resists Flare Blitz. If you're going to mention Waterceus, you could probably mention Poisonceus that also got crapped on by P Donner's entrance.
- Giratina: Also add the Giratina-O has stuff like Shadow Force, EQ or Draco Meteor to OHKO Blaziken too, as well as Shadow Sneak to pick off weakened ones.
- Get rid of Latias IMO. Unboosted Knock off OHKOs 252/0 Latias like >50% of the time. I guess she does better if it has Stone Edge, but it's really really iffy. She isn't taking Flare Blitzes well either. Funnily enough Mega Latias actually wrecks Blaziken's face.

Fix these and I'll approve.
 
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Thugly Duckling

I play TCG now
XY was a Hyper Offensive environment? How did we have a massive suspect test where people wailed about how broken Gothitelle was in a Hyper Offensive metagame? :P Anyway, probably just get rid of that bit - "more splashable checks to Blaziken, eg Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence" is good enough.
I'll change it to this: "The tier shift towards Bulky Offense is a far cry from the hyper-offensive teams that Blaziken fit into in XY"

Arceus formes can be lumped together IMO. Ghost/Psychic/Fairy resist Low Kick and Water resists Flare Blitz. If you're going to mention Waterceus, you could probably mention Poisonceus that also got crapped on by P Donner's entrance.
I'll distinguish Arceus-Ghost separately as a check since it has a significant edge over the other forms because of its immunity to Fighting, and I'll group the ones with similar resistances together; as well as adding Arceus-Poison.

Giratina: Also add the Giratina-O has stuff like Shadow Force, EQ or Draco Meteor to OHKO Blaziken too, as well as Shadow Sneak to pick off weakened ones.
Originally I thought about adding Gira-O's ability to OHKO back with its STABs, but it got really wordy. But since you mention it, I'll add it.

Get rid of Latias IMO. Unboosted Knock off OHKOs 252/0 Latias like >50% of the time. I guess she does better if it has Stone Edge, but it's really really iffy. She isn't taking Flare Blitzes well either. Funnily enough Mega Latias actually wrecks Blaziken's face.
I'll remove Latias.

~

This is ready for the last check :]
 

shrang

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I'll change it to this: "The tier shift towards Bulky Offense is a far cry from the hyper-offensive teams that Blaziken fit into in XY"
Eeeeeeh, I'm still not very comfortable with that since it kind of implies that HO teams were either common/good (also Blaze was used on more than just HO teams), but whatever, I'm not really going to make a fuss of it.

qc approved 3/3
 
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Winry

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Overview
########

Ever since its fateful release in 2002, Blaziken has been one of the most recognizable of the Generation III Pokemon. Whether it was from watching him kick Charizard’s ass in the anime or being the only well trained Pokemon in your first playthrough roster of the Ruby and Sapphire versions; Blaziken has been appraised for not only its incredible design, but also for its impressive strength and highly potent STAB combo. Generation V was the golden age for Blaziken - he hit the Game Freak lottery and struck it rich with the Dream World ability Speed Boost, which ultimately became the deciding factor of banning him from the BW OU metagame and into the history books as the very first and currently only starter Pokemon to ever be Uber.
(It's a nice read but it's fluff and doesn't belong in an analysis)
In XY, (AC) Blaziken was buffed even further, and was given an even faster and stronger Mega Evolution that is nearly impossible to revenge kill without a strong priority attack. In this metagame, Blaziken became notorious for his its ("Blaziken" can be both plural and singular; for this reason, we don't use gendered pronouns unless the Pokemon can only be one gender) immediate strength and fearsome ability to force switches and wallbreak with Swords Dance, and was a serious threat that every team needed to prepare for.

However, Blaziken has been nerfed significantly in ORAS. The tier shift towards bulky offense is a far cry from the hyper-offensive teams that Blaziken fit into in XY, and it just isn't much of a place for a glass cannon like Blaziken to thrive. Newcomers such as Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence (remove hyphen) have effectively lengthened his its list of splashable checks, and dominance of the heavy weather abilities have stolen away his its best wallbreaking tool: five-turn (add hyphen) sun. Being prone to all forms of entry hazards and over-reliant on Flare Blitz puts Blaziken on a timer, and his its subpar 80 / 80 / 80 (add spaces between numbers) bulk in Mega forme means he it is not one that is meant going to last long. Blaziken's (regular apostrophes > curly apostrophes) best set also takes up a Mega slot, and he it suffers quite a bit of opportunity cost in comparison to other Megas Evolutions such as Mega Salamence or Mega Gengar (remove hyphens). Despite all of this, Blaziken still shines out as an absolute wrecking ball. He It remains to be one of the few nightmares of balance and stall, and still packs enough juice to remain a serious threat despite how bulky the metagame has gotten. Play Blaziken to his its strengths, and this Blazin' Kickin' Chicken will not disappoint you.


Offensive
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name: Long Live the Blaze
move 1: Protect / Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Stone Edge / Knock Off
ability: Speed Boost
item: Blazikenite / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant


Moves
========

Protect is a fantastic move on Blaziken. It not only allows him it to safely Mega Evolve (remove hyphen), but it also lets him it rack up Speed boosts and scout the opponent's plays. Swords Dance turns Blaziken into a disgustingly powerful wallbreaker, shortening his its list of checks with only a single turn of setup (remove hyphen). However, keep note that opportunities to set up (remove hyphen, add space) are quite limited because of how lackluster Blaziken's bulk is; so for overall consistency, Protect is much rather preferred. Flare Blitz is ridiculously strong and is Blaziken's most consistent physical STAB attack. Low Kick is also stupidly powerful and hits most of the metagame as a 120 Base Power move due to how heavy the tier is, and, (AC) in tandem with Flare Blitz, (AC) Blaziken is granted excellent coverage, (AC) hitting almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage. High Jump Kick is an option over Low Kick in order to OHKO Mega Diancie and to beat the extremely rare Unaware Quagsire. Notably, (RC) With a Swords Dance boost, (AC) Blaziken can OHKO 56+ Defense Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes with it Low Kick. Stone Edge is the best coverage move for Blaziken since because (since refers to time) it provides a way for Blaziken to hit Mega Salamence (remove hyphen) hard, (RC) and has other select targets such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and physically defensive Yveltal. Another superb coverage option is Knock Off, as it OHKOes (when you're using OHKO as a verb, it's spelled with an e. If you're saying like, "It scores many OHKOs" there's no e) Latias after Stealth Rock and Latios regardless of prior damage, (RC) and is Blaziken's only way to hit Giratina for considerable damage. In the last slot, Baton Pass can also be put to good use. For instance, if Blaziken has grabbed a Swords Dance boost but is face-to-face with a Pokemon he it does not have a good type match-up against, (AC) such as Primal Groudon;, (semi -> comma) Blaziken can pass its boosts to a more appropriate sweeper for the situation, like Rayquaza.


Set Details
========

Maximum Attack and Speed investment give Blaziken the immediate strength that he it is most well known for, immediately putting him it to work upon entering the battlefield. An Adamant nature should always be used, (AC) as it secures some key OHKOes such as those on the Lati twins Latios and Latias with Knock Off and offensive Kyogre with Low Kick. The slashes represent two possible sets; Protect + 3 (add spaces) attacks or Swords Dance + 3 (add spaces and full name of move) attacks. A set of Swords Dance + Protect + 2 (spaces) attacks can be used, but Blaziken will miss the coverage against Mega Salamence (remove hyphen) or the Giratina formes. If the opportunity cost of using Blaziken's Mega forme is too much for one to even consider using him it, do realize that Life Orb is a fine replacement over the Blazikenite. The two main concerns of using Life Orb is the added 10% recoil after every landed attack and the more fragile 80 / 70 / 70 (add spaces) bulk of regular forme, meaning Blaziken will die even faster to Flare Blitz recoil and be even further susceptible to priority attacks, two already prevalent issues with Mega Blaziken (remove hyphen). However, normal Blaziken with a Life Orb is, (AC) in fact, (AC) slightly stronger than Mega Blaziken (remove hyphen), and the open Mega slot can vastly expand teambuilding possibilities.


Usage Tips
========

Blaziken has very poor bulk, so it shouldn't be switched into any neutral or powerful resisted attacks. To get it into battle, it is important to double switch or bring it in on something that he has a severe type (remove hyphen) advantage over, such as Steel-types (add hyphen). If Protect is used, feel free to use it liberally, (AC) as it allows Blaziken to gain +1 Speed from his its ability every turn it is used, effortlessly giving him it offensive momentum and pressuring the opposition. It also has the utility of revealing what the opponent would have done the turn it is used, allowing you to utilize that information to either make your own predictions or to cause your opponent to overthink. Do not mindlessly spam Flare Blitz, (AC) as the recoil racks up quickly, especially if Life Orb is used. Your opponent can easily take advantage of this and pile up the recoil damage from Flare Blitz and perhaps Life Orb by luring Flare Blitz with Fighting-type resists and switching into Fire-type resistances, ultimately causing Blaziken to faint himself from recoil. To avoid this, it is important to make predictions and capitalize on the switches Blaziken forces. Also, be aware of potential priority users such as Arceus, Rayquaza, and Deoxys-A, (AC) as they can make short work of Blaziken before he it even gets the chance to do some work.


Team Options
========

Wobbuffet is an outstanding partner to the Swords Dance variant. It can easily trap support Pokemon and providing both Encore support for easy setup (remove hyphen) opportunities and has access to Safeguard to halt any status users, namely ones with access to Prankster Thunder Wave. Yveltal and other Dark-types work wonders for Blaziken. They can easily check and even dispose of both Lugia and Giratina, two of Blaziken's premiere checks. Extreme Killer Arceus is the best offensive partner for Blaziken, mainly because of how much their checks overlap. In this core, Blaziken will heavily dent the opposition and even eliminate some of Arceus' checks, such as Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn. With such Pokemon weakened or disposed of, Arceus can more successfully pull off a sweep. A good check to Primal Groudon is mandatory, as Blaziken will need it either removed from battle or weakened significantly; so levitating Pokemon such as the Lati twins Latios, (AC) Latias, (AC) and Landorus-T make for excellent partners, the latter can even providing Stealth Rock support. Since Because Blaziken is prone to all forms of entry hazards, Rapid Spin support is highly appreciated. A fantastic user of the move is Forretress, who which (because Pokemon aren't people, which or that is preferred over who, depending on context) can provide Spikes and Toxic Spikes support while also being able to get Blaziken into battle unscathed with its slow Volt Switch. Defog support from the likes of the Lati twins Latios and Latias can be appreciated, but keep in mind that Blaziken needs entry hazards on the opponent's side of the field to have an easier time sweeping. Sun support is invaluable to Blaziken, but it is quite difficult to fit on teams because how predominate Primal Groudon is over normal Groudon.


Other Options
########

A dedicated Baton Pass set consisting of Baton Pass, (AC) /Protect, (AC) and /Substitute or Roar and /Flare Blitz with Leftovers and an EV spread of 12 HP / 244 Attack Atk / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature can be used, but it is better done by Scolipede, (AC) whose main niche lies in being a Spikes-setting lead. Hidden Power Ice and some Special Attack investment can be used on the offensive set to OHKO Gliscor, Landorus-T, Mega-Salamence, and Rayquaza, but has just about no utility outside of that. Shadow Claw can be used on the offensive set to hit Giratina-O a little bit harder than it would with Knock Off, but the secondary effect (remove hyphen) of Knock Off and the added Base Power when hitting a Pokemon holding an item will be missed. Earthquake may also be used to OHKO Mega Diancie (remove hyphen) and Relaxed Groudon after Stealth Rock damage with a Swords Dance boost, but it causes Blaziken to have very redundant type coverage (remove hyphen) for what it needs to be able to hit in the tier. Hone Claws alongside High Jump Kick is usable in order to guarantee that High Jump Kick always lands, but the immediate power of a Swords Dance boost is much rather preferred.


Checks & Counters
########

**Giratina**: Giratina is a nightmare for Blaziken. Both formes are immune to Blaziken's Fighting-type STAB moves and resist Flare Blitz, allowing them to comfortably sponge any of Blaziken's attacks bar a boosted Knock Off. They can also hit Blaziken hard with Dragon Tail, phazing him it and any boosts that he it has acquired. Giratina-O especially poses a threat to Blaziken with its powerful Draco Meteor, Dragon Claw, and Earthquake; even picking off weakened Blaziken with Shadow Sneak.

**Lugia**: If Multiscale is intact, Lugia will wall even a Swords Dance-boosted Blaziken to hell and back. It won't enjoy losing its Leftovers to Knock Off, but it can hit back hard with Aeroblast, phaze out Blaziken with Whirlwind, or Toxic stall while recovering any damage taken with Roost. However, if Lugia switches into Stealth Rock;, (semi -> comma) a boosted Blaziken will plow through it with Stone Edge or Knock Off.

**Primal Groudon**: Defensive Primal Groudon will struggle with the Swords Dance variant, but it can comfortably tank any unboosted hit that Blaziken can throw at it. In return, Primal Groudon can easily dispose of Blaziken with a Ground-type STAB move. But even still, (RC) Primal Groudon is easily worn down by entry hazards, and it will fall to a salvo of Low Kicks if it has switched into Stealth Rock too many times.

**Diancie**: Diancie's light weight and Rock typing (remove hyphen) allows it to take pitiful damage from Low Kick and Flare Blitz, respectively. Disappointingly, her it Mega forme is 2HKOed by Flare Blitz regardless of whether or not she it has a Defense-lowering nature;, (semi -> comma) but she it can hit Blaziken back with a powerful Earth Power before fainting to repetitive Flare Blitzs. Both formes have huge trouble with the rare High Jump Kick, however.

**Mega-Salamence**: Mega Salamence (remove hyphen) will give Blaziken a run for his its money, as it can utilize Intimidate before it Mega Evolves to comfortably tank any of Blaziken's STAB attacks; but, it'll succumb to a +1 Stone Edge if it lacks significant bulk investment and has taken Stealth Rock damage.

**Rayquaza**: In a similar vain to Mega Salamence, Rayquaza's severe type advantage over Blaziken allows it to be a decent check to him, especially since because it has Extreme Speed. Even so, if Rayquaza has taken Stealth Rock damage, (AC) it will faint to a +2 Flare Blitz or Knock Off, (RC) and even to an unboosted Stone Edge.

**Landorus-Therian**: Landorus-Therian can keep Blaziken in check with its respectable physical bulk after the Intimidate drop and super effective (remove hyphen) Earthquake, but he it is easily worn down by Stealth Rock and has no reliable recovery to withstand Blaziken's assaults.

**Gyarados**: Unevolved Non-Mega Gyarados resists both of Blaziken's STABs moves, (RC) and has Intimidate to back up its physical bulk. It can also play mind games with Blaziken on the turn it Mega Evolves (remove hyphen), forcing Blaziken to coin-flip choose between landing a Low Kick in attempt to predict the Mega evolve Evolution or to go for a Stone Edge in attempt to predict that Gyarados stay unevolved; even switching out entirely can result in a set-up Gyarados. It also threatens Blaziken with its STAB Waterfall or powerful Earthquake, both with the strength to put Blaziken out of the match.

**Ho-Oh**: Stone Edge mauls it; Ho-Oh, (AC) but with a physically defensive spread, (AC) Ho-Oh can wall even a boosted Blaziken on the condition that it lacks Stone Edge and Stealth Rock is clear off the field.

**Arceus-Ghost**: An immunity to Low Kick helps it Arceus-Ghost, but it will take a big chunk of damage from Flare Blitz if it lacks significant Defense investment; however, after the recoil received from Flare Blitz, (AC) Blaziken will be in KO range of Arceus-Ghost's powerful Judgement.

**Arceus-Fairy, Psychic, and Poison**: All three of these Arceus formes resist Low Kick, but they'll take a huge number from Flare Blitz unless they have significant Defense and HP investment. However, after Flare Blitz recoil, (AC) Blaziken is put into OHKO (remove hyphen) range of Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Poison's powerful Judgement, whilst Arceus-Psychic OHKOes Blaziken with Psyshock or Judgement regardless of prior damage. Arceus-Poison also experiences great opportunity cost from being completely helpless against Primal Groudon unless it carries Calm Mind and Earth Power; but by that measure, (AC) Arceus-Poison would no longer be capable of checking Blaziken.

**Arceus-Water**: Arceus-Water's resistance to Flare Blitz is a great benefit for it, but it will easily fall to a volley of Low Kicks, especially after entry hazard damage. It threatens Blaziken with an OHKO from His its Water-type Judgement, but its opportunity cost of being a free switch-in to Primal Groudon deters it from even being usable; yet alone a Blaziken check.

**Entry hazards**: Blaziken is prone to all forms of entry hazards and is forced out by quite a few things depending on what coverage he it runs; forcing Blaziken to be further worn down by entry hazards each time he it switches in.

**Strong priority attacks**: Strong priority users such as Extreme Killer Arceus, Deoxys-A, and the aforementioned Rayquaza effectively provide damage control to Blaziken's parade, picking him it off after some prior damage or hitting him early it first to force a faint from Flare Blitz recoil.


1/2
 
Last edited:

Thugly Duckling

I play TCG now
Winry. can you explain a little bit more on why the intro I originally had can't be in the analysis? I think it fits quite well, as it has a neat nostalgic feel to it that references the time when the original RSE games were released, just how the ORAS games do too. I think its only fair too since some other analyses get a fluffy intro, such as Arceus-Normal, which gets a slew of capital "h" 'hes' and 'hims', as well as the obligatory "Dare not incur Arceus's divine wrath, or else the consequences shall be severe and merciless, and life shall become but an evanescent wisp" phrase. If Arceus gets to have fluff... why not Blaziken?
 
xy's arceus analyses typically strayed away from the whole intro thing that was done in bw (and it was only for arceus analyses) due to c&c moving towards removing as much fluff as possible and keeping the analyses clear and to the point, making it easier to digest for readers. arceus-normal was the only exception (iirc) in xy probably since, well, its the original form and shrang (who wrote it) felt it deserved such a thing. i doubt oras analyses will be handled any differently but you can always ask the c&c leaders of their opinions of the idea.
 

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