[OVERVIEW]
Blaziken can potentially be a dangerous sweeper with the combination of Speed Boost and Swords Dance. This is due to its great output with a combination of strong STAB moves, Life Orb, and a solid base 120 Attack stat. Additionally, Blaziken pairs very well with other physical attackers, such as Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence, since they can break down each other's checks and prepare for a sweep. It can even use Baton Pass to switch out and pass its boosts to its teammates. Unfortunately, Blaziken is hindered by four-moveslot syndrome and is heavily crippled by paralysis. Blaziken is also checked by many common Pokemon in the metagame, such as Primal Groudon, Mega Salamence, and Water Arceus, hindering its effectiveness against many teams. Furthermore, without setting up, Blaziken's damage output leaves something to be desired, and due to its bad defensive stats, it cannot sponge hits, thus making it very difficult to set up. Blaziken cannot fit on many builds and really has to be built around in the beginning of the teambuilding process.
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Protect / Swords Dance
move 3: High Jump Kick / Low Kick
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Stone Edge
item: Life Orb
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Naughty / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Flare Blitz is one of Blaziken's main STAB moves, 2HKOing almost every Pokemon that doesn't resist it; while the recoil along with Life Orb recoil does wear down Blaziken very quickly, it is still a necessity. Protect gives Blaziken the ability to gain a Speed boost without taking damage or status, letting it outspeed prominent threats such as Mega Salamence on the next turn. Swords Dance can be used to hit harder, but it is hard to set up and utilize. High Jump Kick is insanely strong against everything that doesn't resist it but is risky when the opponent has a Ghost-type or a Protect user. Notably, it is able to 2HKO most variants of Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock damage, which is significant because wearing down and threatening out Primal Groudon is very important in most matches. Low Kick is an alternative STAB option without the risks of recoil from missing or attacking into protect, but it does little damage to lighter Pokemon like Diancie and less damage in general than High Jump Kick, even against heavy Pokemon like Primal Groudon. However, it is a much safer option and doesn't really miss out on any important 2HKOs that High Jump Kick would get. Hidden Power Ice can be used as a coverage move to clobber Mega Salamence and Landorus-T, while Stone Edge would be mostly used in conjuction with Swords Dance to hit Flying-types like Ho-Oh very hard. Alternatively, Knock Off can be used to pick off Ghost-types and Psychic-types like Giratina-O and Latios, which normally annoy Blaziken immensely. Baton Pass is also an option in the last moveslot to give Blaziken's boosts to a teammate for a sweep.
Set Details
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A Naughty nature is preferred when using Hidden Power Ice so that it gets the most possible damage, while an Adamant nature is preferable when only using physical moves so that Blaziken's defenses aren't weakened. A Naive or Jolly nature can also be used if you want Blaziken to outspeed Mega Gengar and Mewtwo at +1 speed. Full Speed and Attack investment is used to maximize Blaziken's effectiveness as an attacker. Life Orb is chosen over Blazikenite to boost damage output while allowing you to run another Mega Evolution on your team.
Usage Details
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Use Protect to get a free Speed Boost when in against threatening Pokemon, but do not use it against setup sweepers, as free boosts for the opponent is never a good thing. Use Swords Dance on predicted double switches to gain momentum and break down walls. Blaziken is meant to function as a late-game cleaner or a wallbreaker to open up for another physical sweeper. It's very important to get Blaziken into play safely, as it is very frail and already has to deal with so much recoil damage. Therefore, bring it in via a double switch or against a Pokemon that cannot truly threaten Blaziken. Flare Blitz should be used carefully because of the intense recoil it has especially combined with Life Orb. Your opponent may try to bait you into using Flare Blitz to wear Blaziken down, so be wary. Blaziken does force a lot of switches due to its great damage output, so Blaziken can really threaten defensive cores if used correctly. Take advantage of the switches that Blaziken forces through anticipating these switches and picking an option appropriately, such as selecting the correct attack or bringing in another strong wallbreaker to really break down opposing defensive cores. Try not to get statused by Klefki or other pokemon because Blaziken is heavily crippled once it is paralyzed or afflicted by Toxic. Be careful of priority users such as Deoxys-A and Extreme Killer Arceus because they can pick Blaziken off after it incurs recoil damage.
Team Options
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Mega Salamence is a good offensive teammate to wallbreak and is also a solid secondary late-game cleaner. Klefki provides Spikes support to wear down checks and can cripple opposing Pokemon with Thunder Wave or Toxic to help Blaziken clean more easily. Extreme Killer Arceus is an amazing physical sweeper and has great synergy with Blaziken, as they break each other's checks so that one of the two can sweep, much like with Blaziken and Mega Salamence. Xerneas is one of the best setup sweepers in the game and can easily clean up opposing teams once Blaziken has weakened Primal Groudon and other Xerneas checks. Mega Diancie checks Lugia and the Dragon-types that give Blaziken trouble, creating great synergy between the two. Dialga is a great Stealth Rock user that can provide Thunder Wave support and is a great offensive presence that can wear down bulky Pokemon. Primal Groudon provides Stealth Rock and a good offensive teammate to wallbreak, not to mention possible Thunder Wave support.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Blazikenite is an option for those who want Blaziken to be able to outspeed Pokemon such as Deoxys-A at only +1 Speed. However, holding the Mega Stone makes Blaziken weaker than if it holds Life Orb and gives up its team's slot for a Mega Pokemon. Substitute is an option to set up Swords Dance more easily and to be safe from priority attackers, but only further adds to the high residual damage received from Flare Blitz and Life Orb. Toxic is a cool option to break down bulky Pokemon, being able to punish Pokemon such as Giratina-O and Primal Groudon that commonly switch into Blaziken. Focus Sash can be used as an alternative item to be used on a more Baton Pass-oriented set.
Checks and Counters
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**Giratina**: Both formes of Giratina are not threatened by either of Blaziken's STAB moves and are bulky enough to take multiple hits. They can also use Dragon Tail and force Blaziken out making it lose all of its boosts.
**Lugia**: Lugia is an incredibly bulky pokemon that can eat up all of Blaziken's moves consistently. Lugia is slightly annoyed by Knock Off, but it checks Blaziken well regardless.
**Support Arceus Formes**: Arceus formes like Water Arceus and Dragon Arceus do not take super effective damage from Blaziken's STAB moves and can check it fairly easily. They are never 2HKOed and can constantly switch in with no troubles, always forcing Blaziken to switch.
**Primal Groudon**: Primal Groudon is bulky enough to take any one hit from Blaziken while heavily threatening Blaziken with an OHKO from Precipice Blades. Primal Groudon also stops Blaziken from switching in with the fear of Thunder Wave.
**Mega Diancie**: Mega Diancie deters Blaziken's High Jump Kick with Protect and is not hit very hard by Low Kick or any of Blaziken's other moves.
**Ghost Arceus**: Ghost Arceus is immune to Blaziken's Fighting-type STAB, forcing Blaziken to use Flare Blitz and incur recoil damage. Knock Off alone does not 2HKO; committing to Flare Blitz is required.
**Xerneas**: Bulky Rest sets from Xerneas threaten Blaziken heavily due to the fact that they can shrug off Blaziken's attacks and heal off the damage it deals while it incurrs recoil damage in the process.
**Intimidate Users**: Mega Salamence is able to Intimidate Blaziken before it Mega Evolves and is only threatened by the possible Hidden Power Ice. Without Hidden Power Ice, Mega Salamence can set up Dragon Dances on Blaziken and potentially sweep your entire team. Landorus-T is also only threatened by Hidden Power Ice, and it can threaten Blaziken with an OHKO from Earthquake.
**Latios and Latias**: Both Latios and Latias resist Blaziken's STAB moves, but they can be covered with Knock Off if Blaziken is carrying it.
**Priority users**: Priority users such as Deoxys-A or Arceus can pick Blaziken off after Flare Blitz and Life Orb recoil.
**Entry Hazards**: Stealth Rock and Spikes wear down Blaziken very quickly, especially with the recoil damage that Blaziken receives.
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