[SET]
Choice Band (Gouging Fire) @ Choice Band
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 88 HP / 168 Atk / 252 Spe or 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Raging Fury
- Flare Blitz / Heat Crash
- Dragon Claw / Outrage
- Earthquake
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Gouging Fire combines a bevy of powerful STAB options with high Attack, a respectable Speed tier, a fantastic typing both offensively and defensively, and solid mixed bulk to excel as a wallbreaker, especially on sun teams. Flare Blitz is as consistently powerful as Raging Fury without the drawback of preventing Gouging Fire from switching out for two to three turns after using it, but it instead compromises Gouging Fire’s bulk with its recoil damage, which can add up quickly if Gouging Fire is forced to take damage from entry hazards or possible revenge killers like Kingambit and Booster Energy Iron Valiant; Heat Crash has no harsh drawbacks, and is just as powerful as Raging Fury and Flare Blitz against light targets like Ogerpon-W and Hatterene, but it is a very weak move against heavier targets like Great Tusk and Dondozo. Dragon Claw is a reasonably safe secondary STAB option that OHKOes Dragapult and 2HKOes bulkier Dragon-types like Raging Bolt, Dragonite, and opposing Gouging Fire; Outrage is Gouging Fire's strongest attack against Dondozo outside of a sun-boosted Tera Fire Raging Fury, and the boost in power over Dragon Claw is enough to OHKO virtually all Dragon-types, but it shares all of Raging Fury's drawbacks and has the added downside of being blocked by Fairy-types like Iron Valiant and Enamorus and Tera Fairy users like Garganacl, granting them a free turn to set up or attack. Gouging Fire can also afford to forego its Dragon-type STAB move in favor of running all three of Raging Fury, Flare Blitz, and Heat Crash; despite their redundant coverage, the three moves cover one another's drawbacks well, and Gouging Fire's damage output with sun active more than makes up for it, although this makes it far more reliant on sun's uptime. Lastly, Earthquake OHKOes Flash Fire Heatran and hits Garganacl, Raging Bolt, and opposing Gouging Fire super effectively. Tera Fire doubles down on Gouging Fire's extremely high damage output by boosting its sun-boosted Fire-type STAB moves to mind-boggling levels, effortlessly OHKOing even Fire-resistant threats like Dragapult while 2HKOing the vast majority of the tier with Raging Fury or Flare Blitz. 168 Attack EVs with maximum Speed investment and a Jolly nature allow Gouging Fire to gain a Speed boost from Protosynthesis, letting Gouging Fire outspeed faster offensive threats like Kyurem and Dragapult to serve as both a strong wallbreaker and a great late-game cleaner on sun teams at the cost of being very weather-reliant; however, a standard EV spread of maximum Attack and Speed investment allows Gouging Fire to function effectively without relying entirely on sun and lets it gain an Attack boost from Protosynthesis, giving it enough power to 2HKO Dragonite through Multiscale and Alomomola with a sun-boosted Raging Fury or Flare Blitz. A Jolly nature is still preferred on these variants to outspeed Gholdengo, Hisuian Samurott, and Great Tusk, but an Adamant nature allows Gouging Fire to accomplish the unparalleled feat of outright 2HKOing Dondozo with a sun-boosted Tera Fire Raging Fury or Flare Blitz; at this point, only Heatran, Pelipper, and bulky variants of opposing Gouging Fire are capable of switching its sun-boosted Fire-type attacks and surviving the next attack.
Choice Band Gouging Fire should be run on sun teams, which facilitate its incredible wallbreaking capabilities by boosting its powerful Fire-type attacks and activating Protosynthesis to either greatly improve its matchup against faster offensive teams or further boost its damage output to destroy slower, bulkier teams. As such, Torkoal is a mandatory teammate; it can also set up Stealth Rock to make Gouging Fire even more difficult to switch into and use Rapid Spin in a pinch to remove opposing entry hazards that cut into Gouging Fire's longevity. Gouging Fire is extremely vulnerable to entry hazards, especially if it is running Flare Blitz, and Torkoal alone cannot reliably remove entry hazards; strong hazard control from other sun staples like Great Tusk, Iron Treads, and Hatterene is mandatory to ensure that Gouging Fire remains healthy enough to effectively wallbreak or sweep. Healing Wish Hatterene in particular is a stellar teammate, since it can give Gouging Fire a second chance to wallbreak or sweep after it has racked up significant recoil damage from Flare Blitz. Choice Specs Walking Wake forms a terrifying offensive core with Gouging Fire; both can choose between Speed-boosting and damage-boosting Protosynthesis EV spreads, which makes them incredibly unpredictable on team preview. Walking Wake's massive special damage can overwhelm physically bulky Fire-resistant threats like Dondozo, Heatran, and opposing Gouging Fire, while Gouging Fire's unparalleled physical damage output tears through special walls like Blissey and Assault Vest Galarian Slowking, and Walking Wake can even use Flip Turn to grant Gouging Fire a safe point of entry against these threats and a free opportunity to obliterate something with a boosted Raging Fury. Raging Bolt is another excellent teammate; Gouging Fire's ability to wear down or eliminate Ground-types like Landorus-T, Great Tusk, and Gliscor gives Raging Bolt many opportunities to sweep with Calm Mind late-game, while Raging Bolt pressures bulky Water-types like Dondozo, Alomomola, and Tera Water Garganacl, and its powerful Thunderclap handles faster offensive threats like Tera Flying Roaring Moon, Choice Scarf Enamorus, and opposing Walking Wake. Choice Band Roaring Moon is another solid teammate for Gouging Fire, as the duo can overwhelm physical walls like Dondozo, physically defensive Great Tusk, and Gliscor, and the former can utilize U-turn to grant the latter safe points of entry. Kingambit appreciates Gouging Fire's ability to eliminate physical walls like Skarmory and Corviknight, and its powerful Sucker Punch can handle faster threats like Booster Energy Iron Boulder and Deoxys-S that can revenge kill Gouging Fire. Chlorophyll Hisuian Lilligant is a great teammate for its ability to immediately threaten Dondozo, Alomomola, and Tera Water Garganacl with a powerful Solar Blade while outspeeding virtually the entire metagame, including threats that can outspeed and revenge kill a weakened Gouging Fire like Deoxys-S, Booster Energy Iron Boulder and Iron Valiant, and +1 Roaring Moon. In return, Gouging Fire can greatly threaten Skarmory and Gholdengo, which Hisuian Lilligant struggles immensely against. Lastly, Venusaur is a decent alternative to Hisuian Lilligant that greatly appreciates Gouging Fire's ability to handle Blissey and Galarian Slowking for it; however, its worse Speed tier leaves it unable to outspeed Booster Energy Iron Boulder, even after Chlorophyll.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/dreadfury.408271/
Quality Checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zastra.558636/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/setsusetsuna.548068/
Grammar Checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Choice Band (Gouging Fire) @ Choice Band
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 88 HP / 168 Atk / 252 Spe or 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Raging Fury
- Flare Blitz / Heat Crash
- Dragon Claw / Outrage
- Earthquake
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Gouging Fire combines a bevy of powerful STAB options with high Attack, a respectable Speed tier, a fantastic typing both offensively and defensively, and solid mixed bulk to excel as a wallbreaker, especially on sun teams. Flare Blitz is as consistently powerful as Raging Fury without the drawback of preventing Gouging Fire from switching out for two to three turns after using it, but it instead compromises Gouging Fire’s bulk with its recoil damage, which can add up quickly if Gouging Fire is forced to take damage from entry hazards or possible revenge killers like Kingambit and Booster Energy Iron Valiant; Heat Crash has no harsh drawbacks, and is just as powerful as Raging Fury and Flare Blitz against light targets like Ogerpon-W and Hatterene, but it is a very weak move against heavier targets like Great Tusk and Dondozo. Dragon Claw is a reasonably safe secondary STAB option that OHKOes Dragapult and 2HKOes bulkier Dragon-types like Raging Bolt, Dragonite, and opposing Gouging Fire; Outrage is Gouging Fire's strongest attack against Dondozo outside of a sun-boosted Tera Fire Raging Fury, and the boost in power over Dragon Claw is enough to OHKO virtually all Dragon-types, but it shares all of Raging Fury's drawbacks and has the added downside of being blocked by Fairy-types like Iron Valiant and Enamorus and Tera Fairy users like Garganacl, granting them a free turn to set up or attack. Gouging Fire can also afford to forego its Dragon-type STAB move in favor of running all three of Raging Fury, Flare Blitz, and Heat Crash; despite their redundant coverage, the three moves cover one another's drawbacks well, and Gouging Fire's damage output with sun active more than makes up for it, although this makes it far more reliant on sun's uptime. Lastly, Earthquake OHKOes Flash Fire Heatran and hits Garganacl, Raging Bolt, and opposing Gouging Fire super effectively. Tera Fire doubles down on Gouging Fire's extremely high damage output by boosting its sun-boosted Fire-type STAB moves to mind-boggling levels, effortlessly OHKOing even Fire-resistant threats like Dragapult while 2HKOing the vast majority of the tier with Raging Fury or Flare Blitz. 168 Attack EVs with maximum Speed investment and a Jolly nature allow Gouging Fire to gain a Speed boost from Protosynthesis, letting Gouging Fire outspeed faster offensive threats like Kyurem and Dragapult to serve as both a strong wallbreaker and a great late-game cleaner on sun teams at the cost of being very weather-reliant; however, a standard EV spread of maximum Attack and Speed investment allows Gouging Fire to function effectively without relying entirely on sun and lets it gain an Attack boost from Protosynthesis, giving it enough power to 2HKO Dragonite through Multiscale and Alomomola with a sun-boosted Raging Fury or Flare Blitz. A Jolly nature is still preferred on these variants to outspeed Gholdengo, Hisuian Samurott, and Great Tusk, but an Adamant nature allows Gouging Fire to accomplish the unparalleled feat of outright 2HKOing Dondozo with a sun-boosted Tera Fire Raging Fury or Flare Blitz; at this point, only Heatran, Pelipper, and bulky variants of opposing Gouging Fire are capable of switching its sun-boosted Fire-type attacks and surviving the next attack.
Choice Band Gouging Fire should be run on sun teams, which facilitate its incredible wallbreaking capabilities by boosting its powerful Fire-type attacks and activating Protosynthesis to either greatly improve its matchup against faster offensive teams or further boost its damage output to destroy slower, bulkier teams. As such, Torkoal is a mandatory teammate; it can also set up Stealth Rock to make Gouging Fire even more difficult to switch into and use Rapid Spin in a pinch to remove opposing entry hazards that cut into Gouging Fire's longevity. Gouging Fire is extremely vulnerable to entry hazards, especially if it is running Flare Blitz, and Torkoal alone cannot reliably remove entry hazards; strong hazard control from other sun staples like Great Tusk, Iron Treads, and Hatterene is mandatory to ensure that Gouging Fire remains healthy enough to effectively wallbreak or sweep. Healing Wish Hatterene in particular is a stellar teammate, since it can give Gouging Fire a second chance to wallbreak or sweep after it has racked up significant recoil damage from Flare Blitz. Choice Specs Walking Wake forms a terrifying offensive core with Gouging Fire; both can choose between Speed-boosting and damage-boosting Protosynthesis EV spreads, which makes them incredibly unpredictable on team preview. Walking Wake's massive special damage can overwhelm physically bulky Fire-resistant threats like Dondozo, Heatran, and opposing Gouging Fire, while Gouging Fire's unparalleled physical damage output tears through special walls like Blissey and Assault Vest Galarian Slowking, and Walking Wake can even use Flip Turn to grant Gouging Fire a safe point of entry against these threats and a free opportunity to obliterate something with a boosted Raging Fury. Raging Bolt is another excellent teammate; Gouging Fire's ability to wear down or eliminate Ground-types like Landorus-T, Great Tusk, and Gliscor gives Raging Bolt many opportunities to sweep with Calm Mind late-game, while Raging Bolt pressures bulky Water-types like Dondozo, Alomomola, and Tera Water Garganacl, and its powerful Thunderclap handles faster offensive threats like Tera Flying Roaring Moon, Choice Scarf Enamorus, and opposing Walking Wake. Choice Band Roaring Moon is another solid teammate for Gouging Fire, as the duo can overwhelm physical walls like Dondozo, physically defensive Great Tusk, and Gliscor, and the former can utilize U-turn to grant the latter safe points of entry. Kingambit appreciates Gouging Fire's ability to eliminate physical walls like Skarmory and Corviknight, and its powerful Sucker Punch can handle faster threats like Booster Energy Iron Boulder and Deoxys-S that can revenge kill Gouging Fire. Chlorophyll Hisuian Lilligant is a great teammate for its ability to immediately threaten Dondozo, Alomomola, and Tera Water Garganacl with a powerful Solar Blade while outspeeding virtually the entire metagame, including threats that can outspeed and revenge kill a weakened Gouging Fire like Deoxys-S, Booster Energy Iron Boulder and Iron Valiant, and +1 Roaring Moon. In return, Gouging Fire can greatly threaten Skarmory and Gholdengo, which Hisuian Lilligant struggles immensely against. Lastly, Venusaur is a decent alternative to Hisuian Lilligant that greatly appreciates Gouging Fire's ability to handle Blissey and Galarian Slowking for it; however, its worse Speed tier leaves it unable to outspeed Booster Energy Iron Boulder, even after Chlorophyll.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/dreadfury.408271/
Quality Checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zastra.558636/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/setsusetsuna.548068/
Grammar Checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
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