Blaziken

dragonboy52

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[Overview]

<p>With the addition of Dream World, Blaziken receives an excellent ability in Speed Boost, which turns it into a potent offensive threat. Its amazing offensive typing makes it a great choice to lead with, just watch out for common rain teams in the VGC 2012 metagame. However, Blaziken works best with sun support, as it can wreak havoc with its sun-boosted Fire-type STAB. With weather teams being so common in this metagame, Blaziken's dual STABs allow it to hit hail and sandstorm starters as well as bulky Steel-types, such as Bronzong and Metagross, for super effective damage, paving the way for its teammates to set up weather of their own and sweep.</p>

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Sky Uppercut / Hi Jump Kick
move 3: Rock Slide / Shadow Claw
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant / Jolly
ability: Speed Boost
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>The initial goal is to use Protect on turn one, which provides a free turn for Blaziken's Speed Boost ability to activate, allowing it to outspeed a large number of threats. Flare Blitz is Blaziken's strongest STAB, and dents hail teams and Fire-weak Pokemon such as, Metagross and Abomasnow. Hi Jump Kick can be used for secondary STAB, but because many Pokemon in the VGC metagame carry Protect, Sky Uppercut is preferred for its reliability. Rock Slide and Shadow Claw provide extra coverage; the former hits Fire and Flying-types for super effective damage, while the latter covers Ghost-types. However, Rock Slide is generally the better option because it hits both opposing Pokemon simultaneously and has a nifty flinch rate as well.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>An Adamant nature is preferred over Jolly because Speed Boost increases Blaziken's Speed, reducing the need to use a +Speed nature. Blaziken can also OHKO Abamosnow and Tyranitar that do not carry a Chople Berry, two very common Pokemon in the VGC 2012 metagame. If you wish to use a mixed set, an alternative EV spread of 252 Atk / 48 SpA / 208 Spe can be used with Hidden Power Ice or Hidden Power Electric; Hidden Power Ice can 2HKO Garchomp even if it holds Yache Berry, while Hidden Power Electric can 2HKO Wacan Berry Gyarados.</p>

<p>Ninetales is certainly one of the best teammates Blaziken could ask for, as it has the ability to summon permanent sun. A max Attack, sun-boosted Flare Blitz can OHKO or 2HKO almost every Pokemon in the metagame, including those that resist it. As Blaziken has a lot of trouble with rain teams, Ferrothorn makes an excellent teammate; it can take all the Water-type attacks aimed at Blaziken and retaliate with a powerful STAB Power Whip. Sunny Day users are also good teammates. Priority support is very helpful as well; Weavile is a good teammate in this case.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Blaziken has a few other options to consider. A special set with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe is a viable option. Choice Band is an item to consider if you feel Blaziken's Attack isn't high enough, but it is not nearly as good as Life Orb. Fire Gem can be used to fire off a single powerful Flare Blitz which can OHKO almost everything that does not resist it, if used in the sun. Swords Dance can surprise opponents expecting Protect on turn 1; Blaziken will be at +2 Attack and +1 Speed at the end of the turn. Work Up is another setup move to consider, as it works well on a mixed set. Brave Bird is an option for additional coverage, but the recoil damage can bring Blaziken down fast. Lastly, Sunny Day can be used to activate the sun, but Ninetales does this job better.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Blaziken doesn't have many counters if it's used in the sun because sun-boosted Flare Blitz will 2HKO almost all Pokemon in the tier, including Pokemon that resist it. Bulky Water-types can take a hit in the rain easily and OHKO back with their STAB moves. Rain teams in general check Blaziken very well. When not used in the sun, Blaziken has a few hard counters such as Jellicent and Gliscor; they can take any of its attacks and proceed to KO Blaziken with a super effective move. Trick Room users, such as Reuniclus, take down Blaziken with ease, as they canuse its high Speed to their advantage and KO it with a powerful move.</p>
 
High Jump Kick is iffy in my opinion. With Protect virtually on every Pokemon, if Blaziken misses, then it loses 50% of its HP right there, and it's not very bulky either. Low Kick would be a good substitute.

I don't see what Fire Gem + Flare Blitz does. If it were Heat Wave, then it'd make sense, but I don't think Blaziken reaches any KOs with Fire Gem then it would with Life Orb.

Rock Slide > Stone Edge. And Shadow Claw's type coverage is terrible.
 
Eraddd said:
High Jump Kick is iffy in my opinion. With Protect virtually on every Pokemon, if Blaziken misses, then it loses 50% of its HP right there, and it's not very bulky either. Low Kick would be a good substitute.
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Isn't Low Kick an egg move? If so, it's incompatible with Speed Boost iirc (unless Females have been released, last I checked it was Male-only)
 
Hunter Of The Dark said:
Isn't Low Kick an egg move? If so, it's incompatible with Speed Boost iirc (unless Females have been released, last I checked it was Male-only)
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It is an egg move, so I would recommend using Sky Uppercut since it is the next best fighting move after Low Kick.
 
This analysis isn't ready for QC yet, so the author might easily be making huge changes to it before they have it ready for examination, and might already be making any changes that you suggest. Please do not post in a placeholder thread until the author denotes that it is ready for checking. Any issues can easily be fixed when the time comes.
 
Seems like this Pokemon would be thwomped against a Trick Room team.

One counter I can think of: 252 HP 0 Defense Rhyperior with Solid Rock can also take a Life Orb boosted Hi Jump Kick, and OHKO back with Earthquake or Rock Slide (assuming Rhyperior isn't killed by Blaziken's teammate first).
 
blaziken can go mixed, and it can work pretty darn good. Also I'm pretty sure you don't want max speed. You can take speed ev's and move them to hp for bulk. Just get enough speed ev's to outrun pokemon X after a speed boost.
 
Starmetroid said:
Why not try non DW Blaziken on a tailwind team? I bet most opponents wouldn't see that coming.
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Without Speed Boost, Blaziken is basically a slower but stronger Infernape which can't really take hits any better than the ape. To me you'd have to make the case for non-DW Blaziken over Infernape.
 
What would be the benefit of using non-Speed Boost Blaziken over DW Blaziken? It gets Baton Pass wooooooooo

I'll edit this with some comments later today.

EDIT: OK you should definitely try a special set. Special is cool because Tyranitar is the biggest stop to most sun teams outside of Politoed, and Blaziken easily OHKOes it, while retaining that incredibly powerful Fire Blast/Flamethrower, and of course boosting Speed every turn is annoying and really hard to stop. 0 Atk Brick Break OHKOes non-Chople Tyranitar easily. Something like Fire Blast / Brick Break / Hidden Power Grass / Protect with 48 Atk / 252 SpA / 208 Spe to outspeed scarfchomp at +2 Speed and do some more damage with Brick Break. Hidden Power Grass hits Rhyperior for an OHKO, but HP Ice is also cool for KOing Chomp, although most have Yache.

EDIT2: In addition, the physical set you have there is kinda weird. First of all, the EVs should be 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe, not 4 Speed. Take Rock Slide and Shadow Claw out, since sun-boosted Flare Blitz hits Gyarados and other Flying-types much harder than even a super effective Rock Slide, 2HKOing with Fake Out or priority support; similarly, NVE sun-boosted Flare Blitz hits only slightly softer than SE Shadow Claw, making it pretty redundant as well, since sun-boosted Flare Blitz easily 2HKOes Jellicent while Jelli can't do much in return. Hidden Power Electric, however, hits Gyarados for an easy 2HKO, even with an Adamant nature and Wacan on Gyara, while HP Ice can take out Garchomp with some Fake Out or priority support (you can use 252 Atk / 48 SpA / 208 Spe here to do more damage with Hidden Power). HJK should be mentioned more prominently in AC, since with Adamant and LO, it OHKOes Chople Terrakion and a fuckton of other stuff without Flare Blitz's recoil, although it of course has the crippling side effect.

EDIT: OK I am a complete idiot because Blaziken cannot learn Superpower with Speed Boost!
 
there still should be a bukier set for him. I don't think you should be running 252, 252. I'll edit as soon as I finad how much speed ev's are actualy needed to outspeed positive base 115's after speed boost.
 
Refer to my previous post, and just use 208 Speed EVs to outspeed Scarfchomp. Even with a significant amount of investment, Blaziken's not taking many hits.
 
It should be noted that Blaziken, along with all the other starters with DW abilities, are somewhat hard to obtain as they were released through a special event only given to japan (correct me if im wrong)
 
Dez Moines said:
It should be noted that Blaziken, along with all the other starters with DW abilities, are somewhat hard to obtain as they were released through a special event only given to japan (correct me if im wrong)
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That is correct. On that note, with team preview you won't be able to tell immediately if it's a DW Blaziken, you'll know the instant it's sent out into the field due to the name/nickname that it's likely a DW Blaziken (Japanese nicknames are limited to 5 characters, and Japanese roman characters use a larger font than NA/Europe roman characters).

On a side note, if you see a Speed Boost Blaziken that's not Japanese, it's a hack.

For counters, Paralysis shuts down Speed Boost, although after enough turns it will still max out its speed to the equivalent of +1 (if it survives that long). Also, it's a rare strategy, but Feint + any SE attack can shut down Blaziken before it can get started.
 
I agree that blaziken should have a mixed set, however a physical set should be mentioned as well. I also think hjk should only be in other options because it really is more harm than good unless you are an excellent predicter. mentioning it in ac like cosmicexplorer said is fine too though.

I don't really like the idea of fire gem with flare blitz because it just means that one flare blitz will give extra recoil and I don't believe it gets any additional ko's (correct me if I'm wrong though)
 
Its dual STABs also allows it to hit many common Steel- and Normal- types such as Bronzong and Blissey for super-effective damage

^change this to just steel types and metagross

mention that weakness to a ton of spread attacks and lack of an insanely powerful spread attack kindof hold it back from being a large threat

put flare blitz in first slot, most reliable, most powerful in sun.

havent had a ton of experience with it, good job on analysis. qc 2 / 2 after changes
 
Jellicent doesn't really counter Blaziken in the sun, where Fire Blast / Flare Blitz 2HKOes and Jellicent has no way to significantly damage it in return. In fact, that applies to just about every Water-type, since Blaziken has its Fighting STAB to do damage to stuff besides Jelli. Fun fact: NVE sun-boosted Fire Blast / Flare Blitz is only 5 BP less powerful than a super effective Night Slash.
 
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dragonboy52 said:
[Overview]

</p> (< Remove slash) With the recent addition of the Dream World, Blaziken receives an excellent ability in Speed Boost. Blaziken's amazing typing makes it an excellent Pokemon a great choice to lead with on any team, except Rain teams, in the VGC 2012 metagame. Blaziken works well in on Sun teams; when Blaziken is paired with sun, it becomes a very powerful offensive threat. With weather teams being so common in this metagame, Blaziken's dual STABs allows it to hit hail and sandstorm beginners starters for super effective damage, (< Comma) paving the way for its teammates to set-up weather of their own, (< Comma) and its STABs allows it to hit many common Steel-types such as Bronzong and Metagross for super-effective super effective damage. Unfortunately, though, Blaziken doesn't have a high Attack stat. (What the...) However, when Blaziken is put paired with sun, it becomes a very powerful offensive Pokemon.</p>

[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Sky Uppercut / High Hi Jump Kick
move 3: Rock Slide / Shadow Claw
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant / Jolly
ability: Speed Boost
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

</p> (< Remove slash) The main initial goal of this set is to use Protect on turn one, which increases Blaziken's speed, thanks to it's ability, Speed Boost. This lets Blaziken outpace many Pokemon after. provides a free turn for Blaziken's Speed Boost ability to activate, and allows it to outspeed a high number of threats. Flare Blitz is Blaziken's strongest STAB, and that dents Hail teams and Fire-weak Pokemon such as Metagross and Abomasnow. High Hi Jump Kick is a powerful STAB move but, since because many Pokemon in the VGC metagame carry the move Protect, Sky Uppercut is Blaziken's most reliable Fighting-type STAB move. Rock Slide hits opposing Fire- and Flying-types while Shadow Claw hits Ghost-types. Rock Slide is generally the better option because it hits two both opposing Pokemon simultaneously, while Shadow Claw can hit only one. Rock Slide also has a nifty chance of flinching opposing Pokemon. Life Orb gives Blaziken an attack boost.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Adamant is preferred over Jolly because Speed Boost increases Blaziken's Speed, reducing the need to use a +Speed nature. Blaziken can also OHKO Abamosnow and Tyranitar's without that do not carry a Chople Berry, two very common Pokemon in the VGC 2012 metagame. If you wish to use a mixed set, an alternative EV spread of 252 Atk / 48 SpA / 208 Spe can be used with Hidden Power Ice or Hidden Power Electric. ; (< Semicolon) Hidden Power Ice can 2HKO Garchomp, even if it is holding a Yache berry. while Hidden Power Electric can 2HKO a Wacan Berry Gyrados Gyarados.</p>

<p>As for teammates, Ninetales is certainly one of the best teammates Blaziken could ask for, (< Comma) as it has the ability to bring up summon/cast/call forth permanent sun. (Pick one.) A max attack Attack, sun boosted Flare Blitz, from Blaziken, can 2HKO or OHKO almost all every Pokemon in the metagame, including Pokemon those that resist it. Since As Blaziken has a lot of trouble with Rain rain teams, Ferrothorn makes an excellent teammate. It can take all of hits aimed at Blaziken and retaliate with a powerful STAB Power Whip. Sunny Day users are also good teammates.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A mixed spread with an EV spread of 192 Atk / 252 SpA / 64 Spe can be used. A special set with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe is also a viable option. Choice Band is an item to consider, though, but it is not nearly as good as Life Orb. Fire Gem is a very good item that can be used to fire of off a single powerful Flare Blitz. Swords Dance is another excellent move that can be used. If used on turn 1, Blaziken will be at +2 Attack and +1 Speed at the end of the turn. Work Up can work well on a mixed set, while Swords Dance works well on the physical set. Brave Bird can be used more for added type coverage, but it's not recommended. Lastly, Sunny Day can be used.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Blaziken in the sun doesn't have many counters because of the fact that a sun boosted Flare Blitz 2HKOes almost all Pokemon, including those who resist it. Though Although, bulky waters can take a hit and possibly OHKO back with a STAB, super effective move. When not used in the sun, Blaziken has a few counters such as Jellicent and Gliscor. They can take any hit and then proceed to taking it out KO Blaziken with a super effective STAB move. Rain teams also to do the job of walling Blaziken quite well as rain decreases the power of Fire moves, making Blaziken not so much of a threat. Trick Room teams can take down Blaziken, (< Comma) since as they can outpace Blaziken in Trick Room and possible OHKO back KO with a powerful move.</p>
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There were a LOT of little errors in this. Stuff like omitting entire words. Please be careful when writing or implementing GP checks dragonboy.

Proofreading...

I really think that this needs to be fleshed out a lot more. Dargonboy, you haven't really explained why, especially in Other Options. I tried to bulk it up a little, but I'm no VCG expert, so I'm probably not the best person for the job. I'll finalize this GP check, and you should implement it, if only for the errors I found.
 
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