[OVERVIEW]
With Chandelure's tremendous Special Attack and STAB attacks, it can hit the entire tier for at least neutral damage, barring Incineroar. Chandelure, donning a Choice Specs, easily breaks through would-be checks like Diancie and Alolan Muk. However, with Choice Scarf, it becomes a dangerous revenge killer that’s able to check setup sweepers like Munkidori and Mienshao. Chandelure also learns Trick, which allows it to cripple walls and bulky setup sweepers alike such as Umbreon, Incineroar, and Cresselia. However, Chandelure has to deal with being extremely weak to entry hazards, limiting its opportunities to switch in. On top of that, Chandelure itself is quite easily revenge killed due to faster Choice Scarf users that are able to threaten it with their own STAB moves or through coverage moves like Flygon, Mienshao, and Meloetta.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Energy Ball
move 4: Trick / Overheat
item: Choice Specs
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Grass / Fire
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Fire Blast is preferred to 2HKO Alolan Muk as to not let it switch in safely, but Flamethrower can be used to be more accurate. Energy Ball hits Fire-type checks such as Swampert and Diancie. Trick cripples walls like Umbreon and Incineroar, but Overheat allows Chandelure to overwhelm Incineroar and Assault Vest users like Alolan Muk and Meloetta over the course of a battle. Tera Grass allows Chandelure to take a Ground- or Water-type attack in a pinch while boosting its Energy Ball, but Tera Fire can be used to give it insane breaking power.
Chandelure has issues with switching in, so Pokemon that can pivot like Mienshao, Flygon, and Dragalge pair well, drawing in defensive Psychic-, Grass-, and Steel-types such as Galarian Slowbro, Vileplume, and Copperajah for Chandelure to prey on. With Trick crippling specially defensive foes like Alolan Muk and Umbreon, a partner that can take advantage of this like Munkidori or Cresselia helps with overwhelming these shared checks. Pairing Chandelure with Fighting-types like Mienshao, Gallade, and Scrafty helps it take on Dark-types like Incineroar and Alolan Muk, which it tends to struggle against. With how vulnerable Chandelure is to entry hazards, it pairs greatly with hazards removal from Talonflame, Tsareena, and Tentacruel. Vileplume, Wo-Chien, and Tsareena are great teammates for Chandelure, as they check the Ground- and Water-types that scare it out like Flygon, Basculegion, and Inteleon; on top of that, the former two teammates can spread paralysis with Stun Spore.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Energy Ball
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Grass / Fire
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Fire Blast gives Chandelure a powerful STAB Fire-type attack, but Flamethrower can be run for a more accurate move. Energy Ball hits Fire-resistant Pokemon like Diancie, Vaporeon, and Swampert. Trick cripples walls and bulky setup sweepers like Alolan Muk and Scrafty. When backed into a corner, Tera Grass lets Chandelure take a Water- or Ground-type attack and boosts its Energy Ball, but Tera Fire can help it clean more easily.
With how Chandelure fails to do much of anything versus Dark-types like Incineroar and Alolan Muk, partners that can overwhelm, chip away at, or cripple these Pokemon are vital. So, pair Chandelure with teammates like Munkidori, Klefki, and Meloetta. Chandelure's middling Speed means more common opposing Choice Scarf users like Mienshao, Flygon, and Hisuian Typhlosion will easily outspeed and OHKO it. Placing Chandelure on a hyper offense team with Sticky Web support from Galvantula and setup sweepers like Breloom, Drednaw, and Gallade helps it circumvent its disappointing Speed tier and provides it tons of wallbreakers to help it clean weakened teams in the end-game. Chandelure's weakness to being worn down by entry hazards stops it from revenge killing as often as it would want to, so teammates like Tsareena, Talonflame, and Tentacruel are crucial.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
With a moveset of Will-O Wisp / Pain Split / Energy Ball / Hex, an EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe, and a Bold nature, Chandelure, with Heavy-Duty Boots, can become an effective physical wall, spreading burns on the opposing team quite easily; however, most things it would want to check typically carry super effective coverage in Knock Off. Heavy-Duty Boots Chandelure can also run Flame Charge or Trailblaze to pick off weakened threats and sweep with its boosted Speed. Chandelure can run Hex on a status spreading team; however, it must give up a powerful STAB attack, coverage, or Trick to do so. Choice Scarf Chandelure can run Memento on a hyper offense team to try to aid its teammates in setting up once it becomes useless. Chandelure can also run Heavy-Duty Boots or Air Balloon to circumvent its entry hazards weakness and Ground-type weakness, respectively. If it runs these, though, it becomes noticeably weaker and slower.
Checks and Counters
====
**Dark-types**: Dark-types are a pain for Chandelure mostly because they tend to be able to take one attack and retaliate with a Knock Off. Specifically, Incineroar is quite problematic, since it resists all of Chandelure's attacks and is quite specially defensive, but due its to lack of recovery and entry hazards weakness, Incineroar can be chipped over the course of a game and taken advantage of with Trick, giving Chandelure its Heavy-Duty Boots.
**Ghost-types**: While Chandelure is able to beat Ghost-types like Basculegion, Brambleghast, and Hisuian Typhlosion offensively, it struggles to switch into and take priority attacks from the former two, and more often that not, it will get outsped and KOed by the latter two.
**Revenge Killers**: With Chandelure's middling Speed, even with Choice Scarf, it is quite easily revenge killed by faster threats. Most notably, faster Choice Scarf users like Flygon and Mienshao threaten Chandelure through their super effective STAB attacks or coverage, respectively.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stories.400664/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rabia.336073/
Last edited:
