[SET]
name: Swords Dance + 3 Attacks
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Knock Off / Thunder Punch
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb / Protective Pads
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Offensive Swords Dance Blaziken is a vicious wallbreaker and sweeper thanks to its solid STAB combination, coverage options, and flexible item selection. Blaziken's choice of coverage depends on what its team requires: Knock Off is its strongest option against non-Colbur Berry variants of Slowbro, hits Dragapult hard, threatens Galarian Slowking without relying on Flare Blitz, and punishes switch-ins like Landorus-T and Dragonite by removing their items. Thunder Punch lets Blaziken take on bulky Water-types like Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and Pelipper, and hits Slowbro harder than Knock Off after it loses its item. An Adamant nature maximizes Blaziken's damage output, while a Jolly nature lets it outrun Tapu Koko, Dragapult, and Zeraora at +1. Blaziken's item slot offers plenty of flexibility: Air Balloon lets it set up on Landorus-T; Life Orb allows it to cleanly OHKO bulky targets like Clefable and specially defensive Landorus-T after a boost; and Protective Pads is useful for avoiding contact punishment from Zapdos, Garchomp, and Ferrothorn.
Team Options
========
This Blaziken variant is a natural fit on a multitude of offensive structures like offense, bulky offense, hyper offense, and even sun teams, which appreciate its wallbreaking capabilities and the snowball effect that Speed Boost provides. Offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana form a strong partnership with Blaziken, as they can handle bulky Water-types like Toxapex, Slowbro, and Tapu Fini, and can overwhelm shared checks like Zapdos and Dragonite; these Grass-types also provide Knock Off to remove Heavy-Duty Boots from these Pokemon. Rillaboom is especially notable, as it summons Grassy Terrain to weaken the damage that Blaziken takes from Earthquake and let it slowly heal off the recoil damage taken from Flare Blitz and Life Orb. Weavile handles the likes of Slowbro, smashes through Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Hippowdon, revenge kills Dragon-types like Dragonite and Dragapult, and enjoys Blaziken's ability to handle Buzzwole and Steel-types like Melmetal, Ferrothorn, and Flame Body Heatran. Tapu Lele softens checks like Tapu Fini for Blaziken to clean up later in the game and provides Psychic Terrain to deny priority moves like Urshifu-R's Aqua Jet. Choice Scarf variants of Tapu Lele are a notable case, as they also have the benefit of revenge killing Dragon-types like Dragapult, Garchomp, and a boosted Dragonite, and apply heavy pressure on Toxapex with Future Sight. Pivots like Tapu Koko, Tornadus-T, Landorus-T, and Slowbro are also helpful; Tapu Koko and Tornadus-T can bring Blaziken in with a fast Volt Switch and U-turn, while Landorus-T and Slowbro utilize a slow U-turn and Teleport, respectively, to make up for Blaziken's frailty and below-average Speed. Additionally, Slowbro puts heavy pressure on checks like Toxapex and Dragonite with Future Sight, allowing it and Blaziken to overcome them together. Tapu Fini checks Urshifu-R, switches into Scale Shot variants of Garchomp to prevent them from sweeping in a pinch, and summons Misty Terrain, allowing Blaziken to set up more easily without being bothered by status ailments. On hyper offense teams, a dedicated lead like Mew is greatly beneficial, as it can stop entry hazards from being set up with its fast Taunt while setting up hazards of its own. Alolan Ninetales is another good partner for Blaziken, being able to set up Aurora Veil, put an opposing Pokemon to sleep with Hypnosis, or use Encore to lock defensive Pokemon like Clefable and Ferrothorn into non-attacking or resisted moves, allowing Blaziken to take advantage of the setup opportunities provided. Dragon-type sweepers like Garchomp, Dragonite, and Dragapult form a solid core with Blaziken, as they can overwhelm shared checks like Tapu Fini and Slowbro for the other to clean up late-game, and these Dragon-types enjoy the removal of Weavile and Ground-immune Steel-types like Corviknight and Skarmory. On sun teams, Torkoal is a mandatory partner, as the sun it provides turns Flare Blitz into a devastating tool that can cleave through defensive structures with ease. Venusaur is another solid partner on these teams, as it can bowl over Water-types that give Blaziken trouble like Tapu Fini, Urshifu-R, and Slowbro, and forces damage against Ground-types like Landorus-T and shared Dragon-type checks like Dragapult and Dragonite for Blaziken to clean up later and vice versa.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/favmon-garchomp.653095/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slowpoke-fan.617219/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tysonslayer.349443/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user6.105/
name: Swords Dance + 3 Attacks
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Knock Off / Thunder Punch
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb / Protective Pads
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Offensive Swords Dance Blaziken is a vicious wallbreaker and sweeper thanks to its solid STAB combination, coverage options, and flexible item selection. Blaziken's choice of coverage depends on what its team requires: Knock Off is its strongest option against non-Colbur Berry variants of Slowbro, hits Dragapult hard, threatens Galarian Slowking without relying on Flare Blitz, and punishes switch-ins like Landorus-T and Dragonite by removing their items. Thunder Punch lets Blaziken take on bulky Water-types like Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and Pelipper, and hits Slowbro harder than Knock Off after it loses its item. An Adamant nature maximizes Blaziken's damage output, while a Jolly nature lets it outrun Tapu Koko, Dragapult, and Zeraora at +1. Blaziken's item slot offers plenty of flexibility: Air Balloon lets it set up on Landorus-T; Life Orb allows it to cleanly OHKO bulky targets like Clefable and specially defensive Landorus-T after a boost; and Protective Pads is useful for avoiding contact punishment from Zapdos, Garchomp, and Ferrothorn.
Team Options
========
This Blaziken variant is a natural fit on a multitude of offensive structures like offense, bulky offense, hyper offense, and even sun teams, which appreciate its wallbreaking capabilities and the snowball effect that Speed Boost provides. Offensive Grass-types like Rillaboom and Kartana form a strong partnership with Blaziken, as they can handle bulky Water-types like Toxapex, Slowbro, and Tapu Fini, and can overwhelm shared checks like Zapdos and Dragonite; these Grass-types also provide Knock Off to remove Heavy-Duty Boots from these Pokemon. Rillaboom is especially notable, as it summons Grassy Terrain to weaken the damage that Blaziken takes from Earthquake and let it slowly heal off the recoil damage taken from Flare Blitz and Life Orb. Weavile handles the likes of Slowbro, smashes through Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Hippowdon, revenge kills Dragon-types like Dragonite and Dragapult, and enjoys Blaziken's ability to handle Buzzwole and Steel-types like Melmetal, Ferrothorn, and Flame Body Heatran. Tapu Lele softens checks like Tapu Fini for Blaziken to clean up later in the game and provides Psychic Terrain to deny priority moves like Urshifu-R's Aqua Jet. Choice Scarf variants of Tapu Lele are a notable case, as they also have the benefit of revenge killing Dragon-types like Dragapult, Garchomp, and a boosted Dragonite, and apply heavy pressure on Toxapex with Future Sight. Pivots like Tapu Koko, Tornadus-T, Landorus-T, and Slowbro are also helpful; Tapu Koko and Tornadus-T can bring Blaziken in with a fast Volt Switch and U-turn, while Landorus-T and Slowbro utilize a slow U-turn and Teleport, respectively, to make up for Blaziken's frailty and below-average Speed. Additionally, Slowbro puts heavy pressure on checks like Toxapex and Dragonite with Future Sight, allowing it and Blaziken to overcome them together. Tapu Fini checks Urshifu-R, switches into Scale Shot variants of Garchomp to prevent them from sweeping in a pinch, and summons Misty Terrain, allowing Blaziken to set up more easily without being bothered by status ailments. On hyper offense teams, a dedicated lead like Mew is greatly beneficial, as it can stop entry hazards from being set up with its fast Taunt while setting up hazards of its own. Alolan Ninetales is another good partner for Blaziken, being able to set up Aurora Veil, put an opposing Pokemon to sleep with Hypnosis, or use Encore to lock defensive Pokemon like Clefable and Ferrothorn into non-attacking or resisted moves, allowing Blaziken to take advantage of the setup opportunities provided. Dragon-type sweepers like Garchomp, Dragonite, and Dragapult form a solid core with Blaziken, as they can overwhelm shared checks like Tapu Fini and Slowbro for the other to clean up late-game, and these Dragon-types enjoy the removal of Weavile and Ground-immune Steel-types like Corviknight and Skarmory. On sun teams, Torkoal is a mandatory partner, as the sun it provides turns Flare Blitz into a devastating tool that can cleave through defensive structures with ease. Venusaur is another solid partner on these teams, as it can bowl over Water-types that give Blaziken trouble like Tapu Fini, Urshifu-R, and Slowbro, and forces damage against Ground-types like Landorus-T and shared Dragon-type checks like Dragapult and Dragonite for Blaziken to clean up later and vice versa.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/favmon-garchomp.653095/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slowpoke-fan.617219/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tysonslayer.349443/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user6.105/
Last edited:
