[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 8-9 points
**Overview**: Florges is an affordable bulky Fairy-type with incredibly high Special Defense, allowing it to serve as an effective special wall. It is typically used as a Wish passer, especially since very few Pokemon can effectively 2HKO it. Despite that, it tends to be very passive, lacking coverage to hit Pokemon that resist Fairy, and it's easy for many foes to freely set up on it. It's also generally outclassed by other Fairy-types that can offer more offensive pressure, phazing, and utility.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Wall**: Even without Special Defense investment, Florges can effortlessly take hits from many of the metagame's strongest special wallbreakers. It can invest in Defense to make it hard for physical wallbreakers to beat it as well. It typically uses Wish + Protect to keep it and its teammates healthy, and Moonblast can force out foes that are not resistant to Fairy.
**Setup Sweeper**: With Calm Mind and a decent Special Attack stat, Florges can be a solid late-game setup sweeper that can catch opponents off guard. This typically works best with Tera, however, since it typically needs extra coverage given from Tera Blast.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Moonblast, Draining Kiss, Alluring Voice
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind
**Utility Moves**: Wish, Protect, Synthesis, Trick
**Coverage**: Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Grass Knot, Chilling Water, Pollen Puff, Psychic, Psychic Noise, Stored Power
Niche Moves
========
**Misty Explosion**: Misty Explosion lets Florges deal lots of damage to a foe while knocking itself out, allowing a teammate to enter the field safely.
**Endeavor**: Florges can take hits easily without risk of being KOed, allowing Endeavor to effectively chip at foes that it normally wouldn't be able to damage.
**Charm**: Charm lets Florges weaken physically offensive Pokemon, especially setup sweepers that can freely set up on it. It can also allow Florges to use Calm Mind more easily.
**Light Screen**: Although Florges can't pair it with Reflect, Light Screen is valuable when its teammates are weak against special wallbreakers and want opportunities to survive hits or set up.
Common Items
========
**Leftovers**: Leftovers keeps Florges healthy, especially against special wallbreakers that don't deal much damage regardless. Leftovers also synergizes well with Protect, which Florges runs frequently.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots is ideal against opponents with entry hazard setters, allowing Florges to switch in without worrying about additional chip damage.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry lets Florges survive against certain attacks that would normally 2HKO it, allowing it to safely deal damage or use Wish.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Scarf**: With Choice Scarf, Florges can catch faster foes off guard, but it is mainly used alongside Trick to cripple bulky Steel- and Poison-types that normally wall it.
**Rocky Helmet**: Although its Defense isn't as high as its Special Defense, Florges can be physically bulky with Rocky Helmet to punish physical wallbreakers and U-turn users.
**Eject Button**: Florges can easily survive against special attacks and pivot moves, allowing it to pivot and safely bring in a teammate that has more of an offensive presence.
**Red Card**: Florges can typically survive attacks from setup sweepers, allowing Red Card to force them out.
**Resistance Berry**: Many offensive Dragon- and Dark-types have super effective coverage against Florges, so resistance Berries can bait them and allow Florges to KO them in return.
**Choice Specs**: Similar to Choice Scarf, Florges can use Trick against walls to trap them into one move. It also lets Florges deal an unexpectedly large amount of damage to foes that are not expecting it.
Tera
========
Florges is a decent secondary Tera Captain if no other options are better. It benefits from defensive Tera types like Tera Water and Steel if its Fairy typing isn't necessary. It can also become a more effective setup sweeper with Tera types such as Tera Ground and Fighting, allowing it to hit Steel- and Poison-types that normally wall it with Tera Blast. It can also use Tera Grass to actually benefit from Flower Veil, which benefits Calm Mind sets by making them immune to poison. That being said, it's still generally outclassed by higher-priced Tera Captains, so it should not be the main choice in every matchup.
Draft Strategy
========
Florges is generally drafted as a budget Fairy-type that can act as a solid wall. Its main goal in matchups is typically to check special wallbreakers and provide Wish support to its teammates. That being said, it has lots of checks and counters, and it is generally outclassed by many other Fairy-types.
**Ground-types**: Florges struggles against Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-types, so pairing it with strong Ground-types like Great Tusk, Landorus-T, and Sandy Shocks is ideal. It can also hard switch to these Pokemon on turns where its counters are expected to switch in against it.
**Physically Defensive Teammates**: Florges likes being paired with physically defensive teammates that can handle physical walls that it struggles against. Pokemon like Metagross, Zapdos, and Archaludon handle this role well. They also strongly benefit from Florges's ability to Wish pass, especially if they lack recovery themselves.
**Entry Hazard Setters / Removers**: Florges typically brings in specific checks, so setting entry hazards punishes them for switching in. Hazard-setting teammates such as Glimmora, Gliscor, and Overqwil are effective in this role. It also appreciates hazard removers such as Iron Treads, Terapagos, and Talonflame, since they allow it to run items other than Heavy-Duty Boots.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel- and Fire-types**: Florges cannot effectively damage Steel- and Fire-type Pokemon, and it can often take lots of damage in return. Pokemon like Scizor, Heatran, and Ceruledge can effortlessly wall Florges and even set up on it.
**Poison-types**: Although Florges has Psychic-type moves to hit Poison-types, it generally does not want to fit them on its sets. Additionally, many Poison-type Pokemon like Galarian Slowking, Revavroom, and Muk take little damage from its Psychic-type coverage regardless.
**Taunt / Encore**: Taunt stops Florges from using Wish and its other utility moves, keeping it and its teammates weakened. Encore locks it into only using a specific move, allowing foes to easily set up on it or position themselves better.
**Physically Offensive Pokemon**: Physically offensive Pokemon like Gouging Fire, Ogerpon, and Palafin can break through Florges's much lower Defense stat. Since it wants to stay healthy to effectively Wish pass, they can often force it out, allowing free turns to set up.
**Substitute**: Due to Florges's predictability, foes can easily set a Substitute up against it, especially if they resist Moonblast. This gives foes free turns to safely set up.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf2.608304/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 8-9 points
**Overview**: Florges is an affordable bulky Fairy-type with incredibly high Special Defense, allowing it to serve as an effective special wall. It is typically used as a Wish passer, especially since very few Pokemon can effectively 2HKO it. Despite that, it tends to be very passive, lacking coverage to hit Pokemon that resist Fairy, and it's easy for many foes to freely set up on it. It's also generally outclassed by other Fairy-types that can offer more offensive pressure, phazing, and utility.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Wall**: Even without Special Defense investment, Florges can effortlessly take hits from many of the metagame's strongest special wallbreakers. It can invest in Defense to make it hard for physical wallbreakers to beat it as well. It typically uses Wish + Protect to keep it and its teammates healthy, and Moonblast can force out foes that are not resistant to Fairy.
**Setup Sweeper**: With Calm Mind and a decent Special Attack stat, Florges can be a solid late-game setup sweeper that can catch opponents off guard. This typically works best with Tera, however, since it typically needs extra coverage given from Tera Blast.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Moonblast, Draining Kiss, Alluring Voice
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind
**Utility Moves**: Wish, Protect, Synthesis, Trick
**Coverage**: Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Grass Knot, Chilling Water, Pollen Puff, Psychic, Psychic Noise, Stored Power
Niche Moves
========
**Misty Explosion**: Misty Explosion lets Florges deal lots of damage to a foe while knocking itself out, allowing a teammate to enter the field safely.
**Endeavor**: Florges can take hits easily without risk of being KOed, allowing Endeavor to effectively chip at foes that it normally wouldn't be able to damage.
**Charm**: Charm lets Florges weaken physically offensive Pokemon, especially setup sweepers that can freely set up on it. It can also allow Florges to use Calm Mind more easily.
**Light Screen**: Although Florges can't pair it with Reflect, Light Screen is valuable when its teammates are weak against special wallbreakers and want opportunities to survive hits or set up.
Common Items
========
**Leftovers**: Leftovers keeps Florges healthy, especially against special wallbreakers that don't deal much damage regardless. Leftovers also synergizes well with Protect, which Florges runs frequently.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots is ideal against opponents with entry hazard setters, allowing Florges to switch in without worrying about additional chip damage.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry lets Florges survive against certain attacks that would normally 2HKO it, allowing it to safely deal damage or use Wish.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Scarf**: With Choice Scarf, Florges can catch faster foes off guard, but it is mainly used alongside Trick to cripple bulky Steel- and Poison-types that normally wall it.
**Rocky Helmet**: Although its Defense isn't as high as its Special Defense, Florges can be physically bulky with Rocky Helmet to punish physical wallbreakers and U-turn users.
**Eject Button**: Florges can easily survive against special attacks and pivot moves, allowing it to pivot and safely bring in a teammate that has more of an offensive presence.
**Red Card**: Florges can typically survive attacks from setup sweepers, allowing Red Card to force them out.
**Resistance Berry**: Many offensive Dragon- and Dark-types have super effective coverage against Florges, so resistance Berries can bait them and allow Florges to KO them in return.
**Choice Specs**: Similar to Choice Scarf, Florges can use Trick against walls to trap them into one move. It also lets Florges deal an unexpectedly large amount of damage to foes that are not expecting it.
Tera
========
Florges is a decent secondary Tera Captain if no other options are better. It benefits from defensive Tera types like Tera Water and Steel if its Fairy typing isn't necessary. It can also become a more effective setup sweeper with Tera types such as Tera Ground and Fighting, allowing it to hit Steel- and Poison-types that normally wall it with Tera Blast. It can also use Tera Grass to actually benefit from Flower Veil, which benefits Calm Mind sets by making them immune to poison. That being said, it's still generally outclassed by higher-priced Tera Captains, so it should not be the main choice in every matchup.
Draft Strategy
========
Florges is generally drafted as a budget Fairy-type that can act as a solid wall. Its main goal in matchups is typically to check special wallbreakers and provide Wish support to its teammates. That being said, it has lots of checks and counters, and it is generally outclassed by many other Fairy-types.
**Ground-types**: Florges struggles against Steel-, Poison-, and Fire-types, so pairing it with strong Ground-types like Great Tusk, Landorus-T, and Sandy Shocks is ideal. It can also hard switch to these Pokemon on turns where its counters are expected to switch in against it.
**Physically Defensive Teammates**: Florges likes being paired with physically defensive teammates that can handle physical walls that it struggles against. Pokemon like Metagross, Zapdos, and Archaludon handle this role well. They also strongly benefit from Florges's ability to Wish pass, especially if they lack recovery themselves.
**Entry Hazard Setters / Removers**: Florges typically brings in specific checks, so setting entry hazards punishes them for switching in. Hazard-setting teammates such as Glimmora, Gliscor, and Overqwil are effective in this role. It also appreciates hazard removers such as Iron Treads, Terapagos, and Talonflame, since they allow it to run items other than Heavy-Duty Boots.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel- and Fire-types**: Florges cannot effectively damage Steel- and Fire-type Pokemon, and it can often take lots of damage in return. Pokemon like Scizor, Heatran, and Ceruledge can effortlessly wall Florges and even set up on it.
**Poison-types**: Although Florges has Psychic-type moves to hit Poison-types, it generally does not want to fit them on its sets. Additionally, many Poison-type Pokemon like Galarian Slowking, Revavroom, and Muk take little damage from its Psychic-type coverage regardless.
**Taunt / Encore**: Taunt stops Florges from using Wish and its other utility moves, keeping it and its teammates weakened. Encore locks it into only using a specific move, allowing foes to easily set up on it or position themselves better.
**Physically Offensive Pokemon**: Physically offensive Pokemon like Gouging Fire, Ogerpon, and Palafin can break through Florges's much lower Defense stat. Since it wants to stay healthy to effectively Wish pass, they can often force it out, allowing free turns to set up.
**Substitute**: Due to Florges's predictability, foes can easily set a Substitute up against it, especially if they resist Moonblast. This gives foes free turns to safely set up.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jscurf2.608304/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
