Gen 2 GSC NU Flareon [DONE]

[BeeOrSomething]

[OVERVIEW]

Flareon makes its name as by far the best Pokemon that learns both Growth and Baton Pass in NU, becoming a powerful support piece for facilitating strong special attackers. Flareon also has incredible attacking stats itself, allowing it to function as a powerful wallbreaker, whether it be with Growth sets or mixed sets. Flareon also has an amazing Special Defense stat and a resistance to Fire, allowing it to check Pokemon such as Xatu, Magnemite, and Ninetales when using a RestTalk set. However, Flareon is very frail physically and is weak to Rock, Ground, and Water, all very common attacking types; strong STAB-boosted Normal attacks and Weezing's Sludge Bomb also deal significant damage. Flareon is also quite slow, sitting at only base 65 Speed, leaving it susceptible to being revenge killed by a variety of threats like Stantler, Dugtrio, and Dewgong. Flareon can also be difficult to justify putting on teams, as Pokemon like Magmar, Weezing, and Stantler often tend to be better choices for the purpose of wallbreaking without dedicated team support, while Ninetales and Rapidash are usually preferred as RestTalk Fire-types for their much higher Speed stat and better physical bulk allowing them to check threats like Weezing.

[SET]
name: Growth Pass
move 1: Growth
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Double-Edge
move 4: Baton Pass
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower to give Flareon more use mid-game when it cannot set up a Growth safely, since Fire Blast can 2HKO important targets, such as Xatu and Stantler, that Flamethrower cannot. Hidden Power Grass targets Octillery and Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Graveler, but Double-Edge allows Flareon to threaten Ninetales—which uses Roar sometimes to counter Baton Pass—and also out-damages Hidden Power Grass against Octillery and Chinchou before a Growth boost. It also does not significantly lower Flareon's DVs like Hidden Power Grass does. However, it comes at the cost of not being able to significantly damage Rock-types like Graveler in the short term. Flareon should aim to use Baton Pass after using Growth once or twice and give those boosts to powerful special attackers early-game to break holes, then re-entering the battle again later on to launch powerful Fire Blasts or even execute a second Growth Pass.

Team Options
========

The prime candidate for receiving a Growth Pass from Flareon is Dewgong, specifically the 3 attacks + Protect variant. This set is extremely efficient at shredding through multiple pokemon on the opponent’s team, as it has perfect coverage, and Dewgong is difficult to take down quickly due to it being so bulky and having Protect to gain extra recovery from Leftovers. However, it lacks the damage to be able to function effectively without a Growth Pass from Flareon. Dual screens Dragonair is another valuable partner, facilitating a much easier setup early-game while preventing the common Pineco lead from safely using Spikes. Xatu is also an amazing Growth recipient, gaining the power it needs to 2HKO targets such as Octillery and 3HKO bulkier walls like Wigglytuff while also not being vulnerable to Fighting-types like Dewgong is. Hidden Power Electric Octillery also makes for a fantastic Growth recipient, as Octillery is able to grab many 2HKOs when at +1, and it can even 3HKO Dewgong. Magmar can also work as a solid Growth recipient with its incredibly powerful Fire Blasts and superb coverage, though it can be difficult to successfully pass to, as it shares the same weaknesses as Flareon. Wigglytuff can even be a fine Growth recipient due to its great bulk and incredible array of coverage, including Ice Beam, Thunder, and Fire Blast.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is essential over Flamethrower, as this set wants all the power it can get without Growth. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical move, primarily being able to 3HKO Octillery and Ninetales. RestTalk grants Flareon great longevity, making it a solid check to Xatu and letting it counter Ninetales, other Flareon that lack a physical attack, Magnemite, and Magmar without Hidden Power Ground, letting Flareon effortlessly use them to fire off attacks. RestTalk also significantly reduces Flareon's vulnerability to status, no longer being afraid of paralysis from Magnemite's Thunder, Gloom's Stun Spore, or Toxic poison from Ninetales and Pineco. RestTalk also allows Flareon to fully utilize the high power of Double-Edge without fearing its recoil damage.

Team Options
========

Pineco is RestTalk Flareon's favorite partner, setting Spikes to wear down Rock-types like Sudowoodo and giving threats like Octillery, Dewgong, and Stantler a much more difficult time switching into Flareon. Octillery is another very important partner, taking on the Sudowoodo, Dugtrio, and Graveler that would otherwise use Flareon to their advantage, as well as being able to duel other Octillery if it has Hidden Power Electric. Curse Porygon can accomplish similar feats as Octillery, switching into Sudowoodo and Graveler and appreciating Flareon's ability to handle Ninetales, Magnemite, and Gloom. Dugtrio assists with Sudowoodo and enjoys RestTalk Flareon's pairing with Pineco and efficiency at chipping Octillery and Dewgong. Xatu and Fearow can switch into Dugtrio's Earthquake and are good teammates of Flareon's for similar reasons to Dugtrio; Fearow, especially when paired with Toxic Pineco, makes for a great core with Flareon that repeatedly forces Sudowoodo and Graveler in and wears them down with repeated hits and Spikes or poison, respectively. Flareon can also be a decent switch-in to opposing Magnemite for Xatu and Fearow. Sudowoodo makes for a solid combo with Flareon, as it tends to use Self-Destruct on Octillery, Dewgong, or some other bulky wall like Wigglytuff, eliminating a potential stopgap to Flareon so that it can cause havoc easier; Sudowoodo also prevents Fearow and Persian from revenge killing Flareon and can Self-Destruct on Dugtrio. Weezing can accomplish similar feats, and Flareon can check Xatu and Ninetales for Weezing.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

An All-Out Attacking set with Fire Blast, Double-Edge, either Hidden Power Ground or Hidden Power Water, and of Baton Pass or Protect can be used to give Flareon maximum immediate coverage and additional utility for pivoting or additional Leftovers recovery. However, RestTalk tends to outclass this set, because, while it cannot immediately force significant damage unto Rock-types like Graveler and Sudowoodo, it is significantly sturdier in the long term and is much more resilient to status. Substitute can be used on the Growth Pass set to block status and give a temporary wall to whatever Flareon chooses to Baton Pass to, but it comes at the cost of coverage and can be difficult to pull off successfully.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Octillery takes little damage from Fire Blast and has a chance to dodge a 3HKO from both Double-Edge and Hidden Power Grass, especially if it has Ice Beam rather than Hidden Power Electric, always uses RestTalk to significantly improve its longevity, and hits back hard with an incredibly powerful 105 base Special Attack STAB Surf. However, it is slower than Flareon and is 3HKOed by Double-Edge while not OHKOing in return with Surf, even after Flareon takes recoil damage, so it is very quickly forced to use Rest if switching into Double-Edge; it also means that if Flareon uses Growth as Octillery switches in, it can safely Baton Pass the Growth boost out to something not weak to Water, such as Dewgong. Dewgong itself outspeeds and can either 2HKO Flareon with Surf or use Encore on Flareon's use of Growth, forcing it to switch out, though it takes significantly more damage from Fire Blast due to its part Ice typing. Chinchou also outspeeds Flareon and hits it hard, but its Special Attack stat is so low that Surf cannot 2HKO even Hidden Power Grass variants of Flareon from full health, and Chinchou takes massive damage from all of Double-Edge, Hidden Power Ground, and Hidden Power Grass.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is much faster than Flareon and can hit it with Earthquake for upwards of 90% of its health or use Flareon switching out of battle to set up a Substitute. However, Dugtrio is slammed by Flareon, being 2HKOed by most of its moves, and thus cannot switch directly into it more than once unless on a predicted use of Growth or Protect. The Reflect that Growth Pass Flareon is often paired with also prevents Dugtrio from beating it, though Dugtrio can still use Screech, which will even carry over when Flareon uses Baton Pass.

**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo resists both Fire and Normal and is bulky enough both physically and specially to where the occasional Hidden Power Ground cannot 3HKO without Spikes, and Flareon needs to use Growth to 2HKO with Hidden Power Grass. Sudowoodo meanwhile can boost up with Curse, hit Flareon hard with either Rock Slide or Earthquake, and even use Self-Destruct, preventing any safe usage of Baton Pass. Graveler and Pupitar are much rarer and take signficantly more damage from Hidden Power Grass, with Graveler even being OHKOed without any boosts, but they are sufficient answers to Flareon sets without Hidden Power Grass, especially since Graveler has Explosion, and Pupitar has Screech to disrupt any Growth Pass antics.

**Faster Physical Attackers**: Stantler, Fearow, Persian, Primeape, Hitmonlee, and Kingler all outspeed and hit Flareon incredibly hard with their STAB moves or super effective coverage. Rapidash uses Double-Edge and Magmar occasionally uses Hidden Power Ground, both of which also deal significant damage to Flareon. However, none of these Pokemon want to switch into Flareon in fear of Fire Blast or Double-Edge, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass as they switch in.

**Status**: If not running RestTalk, poison is quite harmful, as Flareon wants to preserve its health as much as possible to be able to come into battle multiple times and take hits from faster Pokemon before attacking. Paralysis is also ruinous, as Flareon needs to be able to outspeed as much as possible, and any full paralysis is extremely detrimental, as Flareon needs to be spending the turns it gets doing something productive, especially if attempting to execute a Growth Pass. Sleep, while much rarer, flat out puts Flareon out of commission. All three status effects are also often dished out by prime targets for Flareon's entry, such as Ninetales's Toxic, Gloom's Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb, or even Sleep Powder, and Magnemite's Thunder, making it risky to try to switch into them when not running RestTalk.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/beeorsomething.583728/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/juoean.486979/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tea-guzzler.577920/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/

 

[BeeOrSomething]

ready for qc

 

[MrSoup]

[OVERVIEW]

Flareon makes its name as by far the best Pokemon that learns both Growth and Baton Pass in nu, becoming a powerful support piece for facilitating strong Special Attackers. Flareon also has incredible attacking stats itself, having 130 Physical Attack and 95 Special Attack, allowing it to function as a powerful breaker, whether it be with Growth sets or Mixed sets. Flareon also has an amazing Special Defense stat of 110 and a resistance to Fire, making it very difficult for faster Special Attackers like Xatu and Magmar to revenge kill it. However, Flareon is very frail physically and is weak to Rock, Ground, and Water, all very common attacking types (maybe mention strong normal stabs). Flareon is also quite slow, sitting at only base 65 Speed, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing from a variety of threats like Stantler, Dugtrio, and Dewgong. Flareon can also be difficult to justify putting on teams, as Pokemon like Magmar, Weezing, and Stantler often tend to be better choices for the purpose of wallbreaking without dedicated team support.

[SET]
name: Growth Pass
move 1: Growth
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Double-Edge
move 4: Baton Pass
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower to give Flareon more use mid-game when it cannot set up a Growth safely, as well as do maximum damage after setting up successfully it scores some important 2hkos on important targets that flame doesn't, like xatu and stantler. Hidden Power Grass targets Octillery and Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Graveler, but Double-Edge deals far more immediate damage to Ninetales —which uses Roar sometimes to prevent Baton Passes— and even out-damages Hidden Power Grass against Octillery and Chinchou before a Growth boost; it also does not significantly lower Flareon's DVs like Hidden Power Grass does. Flareon should aim to use Baton Pass after using Growth once or twice and give those boosts to powerful Special Attackers early on in the game to break holes, then enter the battle again later on to launch powerful Fire Blasts or even execute a Growth Pass a second time.

Team Options
========

The prime candidate for receiving a Growth Pass from Flareon is Dewgong, specifically the 3 attacks + Protect variant. This set is extremely efficient at shredding through multiple pokemon on the opponent’s team as the coverage perfectly stacks up against the tier but lacks the power to break (or something like that), but it needs a Growth Pass from Flareon to function. Dual Screens Dragonair is another crucial partner, facilitating a much easier setup early on in the game while still threatening pineco. Xatu is also an amazing Growth recipient, gaining the power it needs to 2HKO targets such as Octillery and 3HKO bulkier walls like Wigglytuff while also not being vulnerable to Fighting-types like Dewgong is. Hidden Power Electric Octillery also makes for a fantastic Growth recipient, as Octillery is able to grab many 2HKOes when at +1 and even be able to 3HKO Dewgong. Magmar can also work as a solid Growth recipient with its incredibly powerful Fire Blasts and superb coverage, though it can be difficult to successfully pass to it as it shares the same weaknesses as Flareon. Wigglytuff can even be a fine Growth recipient due to its great bulk and incredible array of super-effective coverage, including Ice Beam, Thunder, and Fire Blast.

[SET]
name: Mixed
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Shadow Ball
move 4: Baton Pass / Protect
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is essential over Flamethrower as this set needs all the power it can get without Growth as an option to boost Special Attack. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical hit, mainly targeting Octillery but also being a generally good move to use in most scenarios. Hidden Power Ground chips Rock-types such as Sudowoodo for solid damage and additionally hits Chinchou and other Fire-types harder than Double-Edge while also not causing recoil damage, but it comes at the cost of reducing Flareon's DVs and can potentially give a free switch to Fearow and Xatu. Shadow Ball has a guaranteed 2HKO on Xatu and is 100% accurate, whereas Fire Blast is a roll and has a 15% chance to miss, however Shadow Ball generally has minimal use outside of Xatu and preserving DVs. Baton Pass makes for a solid final move choice, allowing Flareon to scout for opposing switches safely and gain momentum by bringing in a powerful breaker such as Stantler without them taking damage. Protect can be used instead to improve upon Flareon's individual breaking prowess, providing additional Leftovers recovery as well as scouting the opponent's intentions and completely blocking any Explosions or Self-Destructs that may be used. it seems pretty apparent that moves 3/4 are nice but don't do much to help flareon wallbreak. consider adding rest talk here as extra options. It's fantastic at breaking balance structures and dents the rocks with its powerful fireblasts.

Team Options
========

Pineco is the most important partner for this set, as Spikes are essential to making Mixed Flareon as deadly as it is, namely significantly reducing the safety in switching Octillery or a physical threat like Stantler or Sudowoodo into Flareon. Octillery assists Flareon greatly defensively, taking on Sudowoodo and Dugtrio as well as opposing Fire-types if Flareon is not in good enough shape to take them on itself. Chinchou is also an amazing teammate, hard countering Octillery and Dewgong, which can be problems for Flareon if it chooses the wrong move to use as Octillery or Dewgong switch into it. Dugtrio appreciates Flareon's prowess at wearing down opposing Octillery and Dewgong and tendency to be paired with Spikes so that it has an easier time cleaning late in the game, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass to switch to Dugtrio on an incoming Sudowoodo or Ninetales. Sudowoodo makes for a solid pairing with Mixed Flareon, as it tends to use Self-Destruct on Octillery and Dewgong or some other bulky wall like Wigglytuff, eliminating a potential stopgap to Flareon so that it can cause havoc easier; Sudowoodo also prevents Fearow and Persian from revenge killing Flareon and can blow up on Dugtrio weezing does this too while flareon can check xatu. Xatu and Fearow are both immune to Ground, preventing Dugtrio from revenge killing; both of these Pokemon, along with other powerful breakers like Stantler and Magmar, also appreciate Flareon spreading damage and being able to bring them in safely on predicted switches through the use of Baton Pass.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute can be used on the Growth Pass set to block status and give a temporary wall to whatever Flareon chooses to Baton Pass to, but it comes at the cost of coverage and can be difficult to pull off successfully. Hidden Power Grass can be used over Hidden Power Ground on the Mixed set in order to hit Rock-types harder, especially Graveler and Pupitar, but it worsens Flareon's Physical Defense even more than Hidden Power Ground and means Flareon has to use the weaker and recoil-causing Double-Edge vs opposing Fire-types. Roar can be used in the fourth slot on the Mixed set to shuffle Spikes damage, reveal more information about the opponent's team, and prevent setup, but it is very prediction-reliant and generally Flareon would rather spend most of its turns using an attacking move. Sunny Day and Growth can also be used in the last slot on the Mixed set to jack up the damage of Fire Blast, but Baton Pass and Protect generally tend to be more useful and they have the same issue as Roar of Flareon usually preferring to use its turns to attack. A RestTalk set with Fire Blast and Double-Edge as its attacking moves can be used to make Flareon be a much more powerful version of RestTalk Rapidash, however Flareon is far slower and much physically frailer than Rapidash. talked abt this earlier. true abt dash so use your own discretion. dash better vs offense flareon better vs balance

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Octillery takes little damage from Fire Blast and has a chance to dodge a 3HKO from both Double-Edge and Hidden Power Grass, especially if it is Ice Beam rather than Hidden Power Electric, always uses RestTalk to significantly improve upon its longevity, and hits back hard with an incredibly powerful 105 base Special Attack Surf. However, it is slower than Flareon, meaning it can be chipped into range of two consecutive Double-Edges or Hidden Power Grasses on the switch, especially with spikes on the field; it also means that if Flareon uses Growth as Octillery switches in, it can safely Baton Pass the Growth boost out to something not weak to Water, such as Dewgong. Dewgong itself outspeeds and either 2HKOes Flareon with Surf or uses Encore on Flareon's usage of Growth, forcing it to switch out, though it takes significantly more damage from Fire Blast due to being part Ice-type. Chinchou also outspeeds Flareon and hits it hard, but its Special Attack stat is so low that even STAB-boosted Surf cannot 2HKO even Hidden Power Grass variants from full health, and Chinchou takes massive damage from all of Double-Edge, Hidden Power Ground, and Hidden Power Grass.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is much faster than Flareon and can hit it with Earthquake for upwards of 90% of its health or use Flareon switching out of battle to set up a Substitute. However, Dugtrio is slammed by Flareon, being 2HKOed by most of its moves, and thus cannot switch directly into it more than once unless on a predicted usage of Growth or Protect. The Reflect that Growth Pass Flareon is often paired with also prevents Dugtrio from beating it, though Dugtrio can still use Screech which will even carry over when Flareon uses Baton Pass.

**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo resists both Fire and Normal and is bulky enough on both sides of the the attacking spectrum to where Hidden Power Ground cannot 3HKO without spikes and Flareon needs to use Growth to 2HKO with Hidden Power Grass. Sudowoodo meanwhile can boost up with Curse, hit Flareon hard with either Rock Slide or Earthquake, and even use Self-Destruct, preventing any safe usage of Baton Pass. Graveler and Pupitar are much rarer and take signficantly more damage from Hidden Power Grass, with Graveler even being OHKOed without any boosts, but are sufficient answers to Flareon sets without Hidden Power Grass, especially since Graveler has Explosion and Pupitar has Screech to disrupt any Growth Pass antics.

**Faster Physical Attackers**: Stantler, Fearow, Persian, Primeape, Hitmonlee, and Kingler all outspeed and hit Flareon incredibly hard with their STAB moves or super-effective coverage. Rapidash often uses Double-Edge and Magmar occasionally uses Hidden Power Ground, both of which also deal significant damage to Flareon. However, none of these Pokemon want to switch into Flareon in fear of Fire Blast or Double-Edge, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass as they switch in.

**Status**: Poison is incredibly crippling, as Flareon wants to preserve its health as much as possible to be able to come into battle multiple times and take hits from faster Pokemon before attacking. Paralysis is also ruinous, as Flareon needs to be able to outspeed as much as possible and any full paralysis is extremely detrimental as Flareon needs to be spending its turns doing something productive. Sleep, while much rarer, just flat out puts Flareon out of commission since most of the time it will not be using a RestTalk set. All three status effects are also often dished out by prime targets for Flareon's entry, such as Ninetales' Toxic, Gloom's Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb, or even Sleep Powder, and Magnemite's Thunder, making it risky to try to switch into them.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/beeorsomething.583728/
Quality checked by:


Grammar checked by:

good not much to change bee

 

[BeeOrSomething]

good not much to change bee

implemented

also moved RestTalk from the bottom of "Other Options" to the top as I felt it was the most notable out of all the other options

 

[BeeOrSomething]

added RestTalk as an official set above the All-Out Attacker set as per the request of Esta/the reservation index, removed from other options
sorry soup

 

[juoean]

comments are optional unless otherwise specified

[OVERVIEW]

Flareon makes its name as by far the best Pokemon that learns both Growth and Baton Pass in NU, becoming a powerful support piece for facilitating strong Special Attackers. Flareon also has incredible attacking stats itself, having 130 Physical Attack and 95 Special Attack, allowing it to function as a powerful breaker, whether it be with Growth sets or Mixed sets. Flareon also has an amazing Special Defense stat of 110 and a resistance to Fire, allowing it to check Pokemon such as Xatu, Magnemite and Ninetales with a rest talk set. up to u but i feel like thats a better thing to focus on here, as flareon is not difficult to revenge kill. & obv feel free to alter which mons u want to focus on it checking from those listed above. making it very difficult for faster Special Attackers like Xatu and Magmar to revenge kill it. However, Flareon is very frail physically and is weak to Rock, Ground, and Water, all very common attacking types; strong STAB-boosted Normal attacks and Weezing's Sludge Bomb since rest talk is one of the sets listed in the analysis now, and the biggest thing that flareon is giving up in comparison to ninetales is weezing checking. could either mention weezing here, or below, or both, or just in the second set description section, idk whatever you think. also deal significant damage. Flareon is also quite slow, sitting at only base 65 Speed, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing from a variety of threats like Stantler, Dugtrio, Chinchou is maybe worth mentioning and Dewgong. Flareon can also be difficult to justify putting on teams, as Pokemon like Magmar, Weezing, and Stantler often tend to be better choices for the purpose of wallbreaking without dedicated team support, while Ninetales may be preferred as a Rest Talk user due to its better physical bulk allowing it to check threats such as Weezing again up to you if u think this is worth specifying here.

[SET]
name: Growth Pass
move 1: Growth
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Double-Edge
move 4: Baton Pass
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower to give Flareon more use mid-game when it cannot set up a Growth safely, since Fire Blast can 2HKO important targets such as Xatu and Stantler that Flamethrower cannot; Fire Blast also far outdamages Flamethrower once Flareon has successfully set up with Growth. Hidden Power Grass targets Octillery and Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Graveler, but Double-Edge deals far more immediate damage to allows Flareon to threaten maybe is better wording Ninetales —which uses Roar sometimes to prevent Baton Passes— and even also out-damages Hidden Power Grass against Octillery and Chinchou before a Growth boost; it also does not significantly lower Flareon's DVs like Hidden Power Grass does but comes at the cost of coverage for Rock types. Flareon should aim to use Baton Pass after using Growth once or twice and give those boosts to powerful Special Attackers early on in the game to break holes, then enter the battle again later on to launch powerful Fire Blasts or even execute a Growth Pass a second time.

Team Options
========

The prime candidate for receiving a Growth Pass from Flareon is Dewgong, specifically the 3 attacks + Protect variant. This set is extremely efficient at shredding through multiple pokemon on the opponent’s team as it has perfect coverage and Dewgong is difficult to take down quickly due to it being so bulky and having Protect to gain extra Leftovers recovery, but it lacks the damage to be able to function effectively without a Growth Pass from Flareon. However, +1 Dewgong can still struggle to break through an opposing Rest Talk Dewgong as +1 Hidden Power Grass almost never 3HKOs without a critical hit thanks to Dewgong's phenomenal special bulk. idk if this should be mentioned in this analysis or only the dewgong recipient analysis, but it is something u should consider if you are building a growthpass team. Dual Screens Dragonair is another crucial valuable maybe is better wording, crucial suggests that it is mandatory partner, facilitating a much easier setup early on in the game while preventing the common Pineco lead from safely using Spikes. Xatu is also an amazing Growth recipient, gaining the power it needs to 2HKO targets such as Octillery and 3HKO bulkier walls like Wigglytuff while also not being vulnerable to Fighting-types like Dewgong is. Hidden Power Electric Octillery also makes for a fantastic Growth recipient, as Octillery is able to grab many 2HKOes when at +1 and even be able to 3HKO Dewgong. Magmar can also work as a solid Growth recipient with its incredibly powerful Fire Blasts and superb coverage, though it can be difficult to successfully pass to it as it shares the same weaknesses as Flareon. Wigglytuff can even be a fine Growth recipient due to its great bulk and incredible array of super-effective coverage, including Ice Beam, Thunder, and Fire Blast.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is essential over Flamethrower as this set wants all the power it can get without Growth as an option to boost Special Attack. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical hit, primarily being able to 3HKO Octillery and Ninetales. RestTalk grants Flareon great longevity, making it a solid check to Xatu and letting it counter Ninetales, other Flareon that lack a Physical Attack, Magnemite, and Magmar without Hidden Power Ground, letting Flareon effortlessly use them to generate offense. Note that unlike Ninetales, Flareon is not a very good check to Weezing, as Sludge Bomb 3HKOs. again up to you if u think that is best to mention here or somewhere else. RestTalk also significantly reduces Flareon's vulnerability to status, no longer being afraid of paralysis from Magnemite's Thunder and Gloom's Stun spore or Toxic poison from Ninetales and Pineco. idk if u want to mention healing off dedge recoil, which can add up very quickly due to flare's high attack and shitty hp.

Team Options
========

Pineco is RestTalk Flareon's favorite partner, setting Spikes to wear down Rock-types like Sudowoodo and giving threats like Octillery, Dewgong, and Stantler a much more difficult time switching into Flareon. Octillery is another very important partner, taking on the Sudowoodo, Dugtrio, and Graveler that would otherwise use Flareon to their advantage, as well as being able to duel other Octillery if it has Hidden Power Electric. imo curse Porygon is one of if the best partners for Flareon, being the best Graveler check in the tier, while Flareon can cover Porygon's vulnerability to Magnemite as well as stun spore from grasses, and uses any of those mons to generate offense. Porygon doesn't really need help vs Chinchou, the electric type that Flareon cannot check, since chinch is nearly 2HKOd by unboosted dedge it really has no time to be Thunder fishing vs pory, and pory can at least semi-help with flare's stantler weakness. Dugtrio assists with Sudowoodo and enjoys RestTalk Flareon's pairing with Pineco and efficiency at chipping Octillery and Dewgong. i dont rly agree with this one, they are duplicative in threatening magnemite and ninetales/magmar, which are the biggest reasons for using stalk flare. they also have negative synergy against chinchou, you are increasing your vulnerability to normal offense, octillery already loses to a healthy flareon 1v1 if it switches into double edge so its not really chipping a shared check in that sense. dewgong synergy is valid but there are too many other problems with this pairing imo. team options is very subjective ofc tho so its up to you. Xatu and Fearow can switch into Dugtrio's Earthquake and are good teammates of Flareon's for similar reasons to Dugtrio; Fearow, especially when paired with Toxic Pineco, makes for a great core with Flareon that repeatedly forces Sudowoodo and Graveler in and wears them down with repeated hits and Spikes or poison, respectively. Flareon can also check Magnemite for Fearow/Xatu. Sudowoodo makes for a solid combo with Flareon, as it tends to use Self-Destruct on Octillery and Dewgong or some other bulky wall like Wigglytuff, eliminating a potential stopgap to Flareon so that it can cause havoc easier; Sudowoodo also prevents Fearow and Persian from revenge killing Flareon and can blow up on Dugtrio. Weezing can accomplish similar feats, and Flareon can check Xatu and Ninetales for Weezing.

[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Shadow Ball
move 4: Baton Pass / Protect
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

The increased power of Fire Blast compared to Flamethrower is essential without Growth for boosting Special Attack or RestTalk for being able to stick around throughout the course of a game. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical hit, mainly targeting Octillery but also being a generally good move to use in most scenarios. Hidden Power Ground chips Rock-types such as Sudowoodo for solid damage and additionally hits Chinchou and other Fire-types harder than Double-Edge while also not causing recoil damage, but it comes at the cost of reducing Flareon's DVs and potentially giving a free switch to Fearow and Xatu. Shadow Ball has a guaranteed 2HKO on Xatu and is 100% accurate, whereas Fire Blast is a roll and has a 15% chance to miss, however Shadow Ball generally has minimal use outside of hitting Xatu and preserving DVs shadow ball seems pretty pointless to me? rest talk Flareon already is a great xatu check, running shadow ball + protect/bp makes your xatu mu worse than if u were just using stalk. Baton Pass makes for a solid final move choice, allowing Flareon to scout for opposing switches safely and gain momentum by bringing in a powerful breaker such as Stantler without them taking damage. Protect can be used instead to improve upon Flareon's individual breaking prowess, providing additional Leftovers recovery as well as scouting the opponent's intentions and completely blocking any usage of Explosion or Self-Destruct that attempt to eliminate Flareon or one of its teammates.
do what you think with this set but im very not convinced about these third and fourth slots, i feel like this really should just be stalk instead most of the time, but if i did want to run a hidden power i feel like id rather hp water/grass to actually ohko graveler instead of doing a tiny bit of extra damage in comparison to fire blast which alr does 32% min to grav. sudo ofc takes fblast a bit better, but it is still 23-27% with fblast vs 32-36% with hp ground not rly a big improvement to justify no stalk. pupitar is probably the best reasoning for hp ground since water doesnt ohko anyway (72-85%) while ground does 44% min. and if u want to improve your matchup vs fires, then obv run stalk not hp ground. dry pass to maintain momentum could be okay but then what is the point of the mediocre coverage move in the third slot instead of dry passing vs those switchins -> just run growth pass instead. idk if body slam could be a consideration to do decent damage without recoil while having a paralysis chance against all the faster stuff, and eg chinchou usually dies to bslam into dedge after spikes. zap cannon, exists ig lol. overall j dont see that much reason for this set tho, other than maybe luring graveler for a ohko since revealing dedge would otherwise imply no hp grass.


Team Options
========

Pineco is the most important partner for this set, as Spikes are essential to making Flareon as deadly as it is, namely significantly reducing the safety in switching Octillery or a physical threat like Stantler or Sudowoodo into Flareon. Octillery assists Flareon greatly defensively, taking on Sudowoodo and Dugtrio as well as opposing Fire-types if Flareon is not in good enough shape to take them on itself. Chinchou is also an amazing teammate, hard countering Octillery and Dewgong, which can be problems for Flareon if it chooses the wrong move to use as Octillery or Dewgong switch into it. Dugtrio appreciates Flareon's prowess at wearing down opposing Octillery and Dewgong and tendency to be paired with Spikes so that it has an easier time cleaning late in the game, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass to switch to Dugtrio on an incoming Sudowoodo or Ninetales. Sudowoodo and Weezing can explode on a threat to Flareon like Octillery, Dewgong, Wigglytuff, or Dugtrio, and help to stop revenge attempts from Persian or Fearow. Xatu and Fearow are both immune to Ground, preventing Dugtrio from revenge killing; both of these Pokemon, along with other powerful breakers like Stantler and Magmar, also appreciate Flareon spreading damage and being able to bring them in safely on predicted switches through the use of Baton Pass. (no comments since idk what the point of this set is)

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute can be used on the Growth Pass set to block status and give a temporary wall to whatever Flareon chooses to Baton Pass to, but it comes at the cost of coverage and can be difficult to pull off successfully. Hidden Power Grass or Water can be used over Hidden Power Ground on the All-Out Attacker set in order to hit Rock-types harder, especially Graveler and Pupitar, but it worsens Flareon's Physical Defense even more than Hidden Power Ground and means Flareon has to use the weaker and recoil-causing Double-Edge vs opposing Fire-types. Roar can be used in the fourth slot on the All-Out Attacker set to shuffle Spikes damage, reveal more information about the opponent's team, and prevent setup, but it is very prediction-reliant and generally Flareon would rather spend most of its turns using an attacking move. Sunny Day and Growth can also be used in the last slot on the All-Out Attacker set to jack up the damage of Fire Blast sunny day can flip the dewgong matchup, if you want to mention sunny day i think thatd be the reason for it., but Baton Pass and Protect generally tend to be more useful and they have the same issue as Roar of Flareon usually preferring to use its turns to attack.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Octillery takes little damage from Fire Blast and has a chance to dodge a 3HKO from both Double-Edge idk if a .8% chance is rly worth mentioning, tho it rises to a 27% chance if its ice beam oct and Hidden Power Grass, especially if it has Ice Beam rather than Hidden Power Electric, always uses RestTalk to significantly improve upon its longevity, and hits back hard with an incredibly powerful 105 base Special Attack STAB Surf. However, it is slower than Flareon, is 3HKOd by Double-Edge and does not OHKO with Surf even after recoil so it will lose 1v1 if it switches into Double-Edge against a healthy Flareon not sure if this is what you were trying to say, feel free to use your own wording ofc but i didnt understand the way this was written meaning it can be chipped into range of two consecutive usages of Double-Edge or Hidden Power Grass on the switch, especially with spikes on the field; it also means that if Flareon uses Growth as Octillery switches in, it can safely Baton Pass the Growth boost out to something not weak to Water, such as Dewgong. Dewgong itself outspeeds and can either 2HKO Flareon with Surf or use Encore on Flareon's usage of Growth, forcing it to switch out, though it takes significantly more damage from Fire Blast due to being part Ice-type while also having a decent matchup against common growth recipients. i dont really like this wording, Dewgong takes less from Fblast than octillery does from Dedge, and fblast is unfavorable to 3HKO gong even before factoring accuracy. also id think maybe mentioning dewgong first is better as it is a much better Flareon check, whereas Octillery is really just a soft check due to losing 1v1 if it switches into the wrong move. Chinchou also outspeeds Flareon and hits it hard, but its Special Attack stat is so low that Surf cannot 2HKO even Hidden Power Grass variants of Flareon from full health, and Chinchou takes massive damage from all of Double-Edge, Hidden Power Ground, and Hidden Power Grass.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is much faster than Flareon and can hit it with Earthquake for upwards of 90% of its health or use Flareon switching out of battle to set up a Substitute. However, Dugtrio is slammed by Flareon, being 2HKOed by most of its moves, and thus cannot switch directly into it more than once unless on a predicted usage of Growth or Protect. The Reflect that Growth Pass Flareon is often paired with also prevents Dugtrio from beating it, though Dugtrio can still use Screech which will even carry over when Flareon uses Baton Pass.

**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo resists both Fire and Normal and is bulky enough on both sides of the the attacking spectrum to where Hidden Power Ground cannot 3HKO without Spikes and Flareon needs to use Growth to 2HKO with Hidden Power Grass. Sudowoodo meanwhile can boost up with Curse, hit Flareon hard with either Rock Slide or Earthquake, and even use Self-Destruct, preventing any safe usage of Baton Pass. Graveler and Pupitar are much rarer maybe update this @ calling graveler rare and take signficantly more damage from Hidden Power Grass, with Graveler even being OHKOed without any boosts, but are sufficient answers to Flareon sets without Hidden Power Grass, especially since Graveler has Explosion and Pupitar has Screech to disrupt any Growth Pass antics. but again graveler takes a lot from fblast

**Faster Physical Attackers**: Stantler, Fearow, Persian, Primeape, Hitmonlee, and Kingler all outspeed and hit Flareon incredibly hard with their STAB moves or super-effective coverage. Rapidash often (surely dedge is mandatory, otherwise it is just a bad ninetales) uses Double-Edge and Magmar occasionally uses Hidden Power Ground, both of which also deal significant damage to Flareon. However, none of these Pokemon want to switch into Flareon in fear of Fire Blast or Double-Edge, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass as they switch in.
maybe consider organizing sections differently, i think stantler is more comparable to dugtrio in how big of a problem it is for flareon, probably fearow too. vs persian/lee which dont 2hko or primeape which is so inconsistent, those are not problems for fearow to the degree that stantler dug fearow are. or alternatively you could just include dugtrio here if u dont think the 2hkos vs 3hkos need to be distinguished. Kingler avoids the 3HKO from either fblast or dedge so it might fit better in a different section, either with waters or rock types maybe?

**Status**: Poison is incredibly crippling, as Flareon wants to preserve its health as much as possible to be able to come into battle multiple times and take hits from faster Pokemon before attacking. Paralysis is also ruinous, as Flareon needs to be able to outspeed as much as possible and any full paralysis is extremely detrimental as Flareon needs to be spending the turns it gets doing something productive. Sleep, while much rarer, just flat out puts Flareon out of commission. All three status effects are also often dished out by prime targets for Flareon's entry, such as Ninetales' Toxic, Gloom's Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb, or even Sleep Powder, and Magnemite's Thunder, making it risky to try to switch into them. However, RestTalk Flareon has none of these issues.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/beeorsomething.583728/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/

Grammar checked by:

only 'mandatory' changes is adding something somewhere about rest talk checking magnemite, and something somewhere @ stalk flareon not checking weezing unlike ninetales. as long as those are addressed in some way this is qc 2/2 (or i can j confirm qc 2/2 after edits if thats easier.)

 

[BeeOrSomething]

comments are optional unless otherwise specified



only 'mandatory' changes is adding something somewhere about rest talk checking magnemite, and something somewhere @ stalk flareon not checking weezing unlike ninetales. as long as those are addressed in some way this is qc 2/2 (or i can j confirm qc 2/2 after edits if thats easier.)

implemented

 

[juoean]

qc 2/2, gp ready!

 

[BeeOrSomething]

GP Team

 

[Tea Guzzler]

add remove comment (ac) = add comma

flareon

[OVERVIEW]

Flareon makes its name as by far the best Pokemon that learns both Growth and Baton Pass in NU, becoming a powerful support piece for facilitating strong Special Attackers special attackers. Flareon also has incredible attacking stats itself, having 130 Physical Attack and 95 Special Attack, allowing it to function as a powerful breaker wallbreaker, whether it be with Growth sets or Mixed mixed sets. Flareon also has an amazing Special Defense stat of 110 and a resistance to Fire, allowing it to check Pokemon such as Xatu, Magnemite, and Ninetales when using a RestTalk set. However, Flareon is very frail physically and is weak to Rock, Ground, and Water, all very common attacking types; strong STAB-boosted Normal attacks and Weezing's Sludge Bomb also deal significant damage. Flareon is also quite slow, sitting at only base 65 Speed, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing from being revenge killed by a variety of threats like Stantler, Dugtrio, and Dewgong. Flareon can also be difficult to justify putting on teams, as Pokemon like Magmar, Weezing, and Stantler often tend to be better choices for the purpose of wallbreaking without dedicated team support, while Ninetales and Rapidash are usually preferred as a RestTalk Fire-type types for their much higher Speed stat and better physical bulk allowing them to check threats like Weezing.

[SET]
name: Growth Pass
move 1: Growth
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Double-Edge
move 4: Baton Pass
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower to give Flareon more use mid-game when it cannot set up a Growth safely, since Fire Blast can 2HKO important targets such as Xatu and Stantler that Flamethrower cannot; Fire Blast also far outdamages Flamethrower once Flareon has successfully set up with Growth. Hidden Power Grass targets Octillery and Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Graveler, but Double-Edge allows Flareon to threaten Ninetales —which uses Roar sometimes to prevent counter Baton Passes Pass— and also out-damages Hidden Power Grass against Octillery and Chinchou before a Growth boost;. (change semi-colon to period) it It also does not significantly lower Flareon's DVs like Hidden Power Grass does. However, it comes at the cost of not being able to significantly damage Rock-types like Graveler in the short term. Flareon should aim to use Baton Pass after using Growth once or twice and give those boosts to powerful Special Attackers early on in the game special attackers early-game to break holes, then enter the battle again later on to launch powerful Fire Blasts or even execute a Growth Pass a second time.

Team Options
========

The prime candidate for receiving a Growth Pass from Flareon is Dewgong, specifically the 3 attacks + Protect variant. This set is extremely efficient at shredding through multiple pokemon on the opponent’s team, (ac) as it has perfect coverage, (ac) and Dewgong is difficult to take down quickly due to it being so bulky and having Protect to gain extra Leftovers recovery, but . However, (change first comma to period, add comma after however) it lacks the damage to be able to function effectively without a Growth Pass from Flareon. Dual Screens screens Dragonair is another valuable partner, facilitating a much easier setup early on in the game early-game while preventing the common Pineco lead from safely using Spikes. Xatu is also an amazing Growth recipient, gaining the power it needs to 2HKO targets such as Octillery and 3HKO bulkier walls like Wigglytuff while also not being vulnerable to Fighting-types like Dewgong is. Hidden Power Electric Octillery also makes for a fantastic Growth recipient, as Octillery is able to grab many 2HKOes when at +1 and even be able to can even 3HKO Dewgong. Magmar can also work as a solid Growth recipient with its incredibly powerful Fire Blasts and superb coverage, though it can be difficult to successfully pass to it, (ac) as it shares the same weaknesses as Flareon. Wigglytuff can even be a fine Growth recipient due to its great bulk and incredible array of super-effective coverage, including Ice Beam, Thunder, and Fire Blast.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is essential over Flamethrower as this set wants all the power it can get without Growth as an option to boost Special Attack. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical hit move, primarily being able to 3HKO Octillery and Ninetales. RestTalk grants Flareon great longevity, making it a solid check to Xatu and letting it counter Ninetales, other Flareon that lack a Physical Attack physical attack, Magnemite, and Magmar without Hidden Power Ground, letting Flareon effortlessly use them to generate offense deal damage. RestTalk also significantly reduces Flareon's vulnerability to status, no longer being afraid of paralysis from Magnemite's Thunder and , (ac) Gloom's Stun spore or Spore, (ac) and Toxic poison from Ninetales and Pineco. RestTalk also allows Flareon to fully utilize the high power of Double-Edge without regret despite its poor HP stat, as it can heal off recoil damage at any moment. fearing its recoil damage.

Team Options
========

Pineco is RestTalk Flareon's favorite partner, setting Spikes to wear down Rock-types like Sudowoodo and giving threats like Octillery, Dewgong, and Stantler a much more difficult time switching into Flareon. Octillery is another very important partner, taking on the Sudowoodo, Dugtrio, and Graveler that would otherwise use Flareon to their advantage, as well as being able to duel other Octillery if it has Hidden Power Electric. Curse Porygon can accomplish similar feats as Octillery, switching into Sudowoodo and Graveler and appreciating Flareon's ability to handle Ninetales, Magnemite, and Gloom. Dugtrio assists with Sudowoodo and enjoys RestTalk Flareon's pairing with Pineco and efficiency at chipping Octillery and Dewgong. Xatu and Fearow can switch into Dugtrio's Earthquake and are good teammates of Flareon's for similar reasons to Dugtrio; Fearow, especially when paired with Toxic Pineco, makes for a great core with Flareon that repeatedly forces Sudowoodo and Graveler in and wears them down with repeated hits and Spikes or poison, respectively. Flareon can also be a decent switch-in to opposing Magnemite for Xatu and Fearow. Sudowoodo makes for a solid combo with Flareon, as it tends to use Self-Destruct on Octillery and , (ac) Dewgong, (ac) or some other bulky wall like Wigglytuff, eliminating a potential stopgap to Flareon so that it can cause havoc easier; Sudowoodo also prevents Fearow and Persian from revenge killing Flareon and can blow up Self-Destruct on Dugtrio. Weezing can accomplish similar feats, and Flareon can check Xatu and Ninetales for Weezing.

[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Water
move 4: Baton Pass / Protect
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

The increased power of Fire Blast compared to Flamethrower is essential without Growth for boosting Special Attack or RestTalk for being able allowing Flareon to stick around throughout the course of a game. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical hit move, mainly targeting Octillery but also being a generally good move to use in most scenarios. Hidden Power Ground chips Rock-types such as Sudowoodo for solid damage and additionally hits Chinchou and other Fire-types harder than Double-Edge while also not causing recoil damage, crucially 2HKOing . (change comma to period) It crucially 2HKOes Rapidash with Spikes up and being is very favored to 2HKO Magmar without Spikes, though it can potentially giving a free switch to Fearow and Xatu, though and it only does a little more damage to Graveler than Fire Blast. Hidden Power Water can be used instead to deal far more damage to Graveler and Pupitar, even landing a an OHKO on Graveler, as well as doing extra chip more damage to Sudowoodo compared to Hidden Power Ground,; (comma to semi-colon) however, (ac) it still does less damage than Double-Edge to other Fire-types and means losing out on the benefits of Hidden Power Ground. Baton Pass makes for a solid final move choice, allowing Flareon to scout for opposing switches safely and gain momentum by bringing in a powerful wallbreaker such as Stantler without them taking damage. Protect can be used instead to improve upon Flareon's individual wallbreaking prowess, providing additional Leftovers recovery as well as scouting the opponent's intentions and completely blocking any usage of Explosion or Self-Destruct that attempt attempts to eliminate Flareon or one of its teammates.

Team Options
========

Pineco is the most important partner for this set, as Spikes are essential to making Flareon as deadly as it is, namely significantly reducing the safety in switching Octillery or a physical threat like Stantler or Sudowoodo into Flareon. Octillery assists Flareon greatly defensively, taking on Sudowoodo and Dugtrio as well as opposing Fire-types if Flareon is not in good enough shape to take them on itself. Chinchou is also an amazing teammate, hard countering hard-countering Octillery and Dewgong, which can be problems for Flareon if it chooses the wrong move to use as Octillery or Dewgong switch into it. Dugtrio appreciates Flareon's prowess at wearing down opposing Octillery and Dewgong and tendency to be paired with Spikes so that it who is "it" here has an easier time cleaning late in the game late-game, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass to switch to Dugtrio on an incoming Sudowoodo or Ninetales. Sudowoodo and Weezing can explode on a threat to Flareon like Octillery, Dewgong, Wigglytuff, or Dugtrio, and they help to stop revenge killing attempts from Persian or and Fearow. Xatu and Fearow are both immune to Ground, preventing Dugtrio from revenge killing Flareon; both of these Pokemon, along with other powerful breakers like Stantler and Magmar, also appreciate Flareon spreading damage and being able to bring them in safely on predicted switches through the use of Baton Pass.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute can be used on the Growth Pass set to block status and give a temporary wall to whatever Flareon chooses to Baton Pass to, but it comes at the cost of coverage and can be difficult to pull off successfully. Roar can be used in the fourth slot on the All-Out Attacker set to shuffle for Spikes damage, reveal more information about the opponent's team, and prevent setup, but it is very prediction-reliant and generally Flareon would rather spend most of its turns using an attacking move. Sunny Day and Growth can also be used in the last slot on the All-Out Attacker set to jack up the damage of Fire Blast, and Sunny Day additionally makes the Dewgong matchup far more doable for Flareon, but Baton Pass and Protect generally tend to be more useful, (ac) and they have the same issue as Roar of Flareon usually preferring to use its turns to attack.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Octillery takes little damage from Fire Blast and has a chance to dodge a 3HKO from both Double-Edge and Hidden Power Grass, especially if it has Ice Beam rather than Hidden Power Electric, always uses RestTalk to significantly improve upon its longevity, and hits back hard with an incredibly powerful 105 base Special Attack STAB Surf. However, it is slower than Flareon and is 3HKOed by Double-Edge while not OHKOing in return with Surf even after Flareon takes recoil damage, so it is very quickly forced to use Rest if switching into a Double-Edge; it also means that, (ac) if Flareon uses Growth as Octillery switches in, it can safely Baton Pass the Growth boost out to something not weak to Water, such as Dewgong. Dewgong itself outspeeds and can either 2HKO Flareon with Surf or use Encore on Flareon's usage of Growth, forcing it to switch out, though it takes significantly more damage from Fire Blast due to being part Ice-type. Chinchou also outspeeds Flareon and hits it hard, but its Special Attack stat is so low that Surf cannot 2HKO even Hidden Power Grass variants of Flareon from full health, and Chinchou takes massive damage from all of Double-Edge, Hidden Power Ground, and Hidden Power Grass.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is much faster than Flareon and can hit it with Earthquake for upwards of 90% of its health or use Flareon switching out of battle to set up a Substitute. However, Dugtrio is slammed by Flareon, being 2HKOed by most of its moves, and thus cannot switch directly into it more than once unless on a predicted usage of Growth or Protect. The Reflect that Growth Pass Flareon is often paired with also prevents Dugtrio from beating it, though Dugtrio can still use Screech which will even carry over when Flareon uses Baton Pass.

**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo resists both Fire and Normal and is bulky enough on both sides of the the attacking spectrum both physically and specially to where Hidden Power Ground cannot 3HKO without Spikes and Flareon needs to use Growth to 2HKO with Hidden Power Grass. Sudowoodo meanwhile can boost up with Curse, hit Flareon hard with either Rock Slide or Earthquake, and even use Self-Destruct, preventing any safe usage of Baton Pass. Graveler and Pupitar are much rarer and take signficantly more damage from Hidden Power Grass, with Graveler even being OHKOed without any boosts, but are sufficient answers to Flareon sets without Hidden Power Grass, especially since Graveler has Explosion and Pupitar has Screech to disrupt any Growth Pass antics.

**Faster Physical Attackers physical attackers**: Stantler, Fearow, Persian, Primeape, Hitmonlee, and Kingler all outspeed and hit Flareon incredibly hard with their STAB moves or super-effective super effective coverage. Rapidash also uses Double-Edge and Magmar occasionally uses Hidden Power Ground, both of which also deal significant damage to Flareon. However, none of these Pokemon want to switch into Flareon in fear of Fire Blast or Double-Edge, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass as they switch in.

**Status**: Poison is incredibly crippling, as Flareon wants to preserve its health as much as possible to be able to come into battle multiple times and take hits from faster Pokemon before attacking. Paralysis is also ruinous, as Flareon needs to be able to outspeed as much as possible and any full paralysis is extremely detrimental, (ac) as Flareon needs to be spending the turns it gets doing something productive. Sleep, while much rarer, just flat out puts Flareon out of commission. All three status effects are also often dished out by prime targets for Flareon's entry, such as Ninetales' Ninetales's Toxic, Gloom's Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb, or even Sleep Powder, and Magnemite's Thunder, making it risky to try to switch into them. However, RestTalk Flareon has none of these issues.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/beeorsomething.583728/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/juoean.486979/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tea-guzzler.577920/

gp 1/2

 

[BeeOrSomething]

add remove comment (ac) = add comma

flareon

[OVERVIEW]

Flareon makes its name as by far the best Pokemon that learns both Growth and Baton Pass in NU, becoming a powerful support piece for facilitating strong Special Attackers special attackers. Flareon also has incredible attacking stats itself, having 130 Physical Attack and 95 Special Attack, allowing it to function as a powerful breaker wallbreaker, whether it be with Growth sets or Mixed mixed sets. Flareon also has an amazing Special Defense stat of 110 and a resistance to Fire, allowing it to check Pokemon such as Xatu, Magnemite, and Ninetales when using a RestTalk set. However, Flareon is very frail physically and is weak to Rock, Ground, and Water, all very common attacking types; strong STAB-boosted Normal attacks and Weezing's Sludge Bomb also deal significant damage. Flareon is also quite slow, sitting at only base 65 Speed, leaving it susceptible to revenge killing from being revenge killed by a variety of threats like Stantler, Dugtrio, and Dewgong. Flareon can also be difficult to justify putting on teams, as Pokemon like Magmar, Weezing, and Stantler often tend to be better choices for the purpose of wallbreaking without dedicated team support, while Ninetales and Rapidash are usually preferred as a RestTalk Fire-type types for their much higher Speed stat and better physical bulk allowing them to check threats like Weezing.

[SET]
name: Growth Pass
move 1: Growth
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Double-Edge
move 4: Baton Pass
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower to give Flareon more use mid-game when it cannot set up a Growth safely, since Fire Blast can 2HKO important targets such as Xatu and Stantler that Flamethrower cannot; Fire Blast also far outdamages Flamethrower once Flareon has successfully set up with Growth. Hidden Power Grass targets Octillery and Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Graveler, but Double-Edge allows Flareon to threaten Ninetales —which uses Roar sometimes to prevent counter Baton Passes Pass— and also out-damages Hidden Power Grass against Octillery and Chinchou before a Growth boost;. (change semi-colon to period) it It also does not significantly lower Flareon's DVs like Hidden Power Grass does. However, it comes at the cost of not being able to significantly damage Rock-types like Graveler in the short term. Flareon should aim to use Baton Pass after using Growth once or twice and give those boosts to powerful Special Attackers early on in the game special attackers early-game to break holes, then enter the battle again later on to launch powerful Fire Blasts or even execute a Growth Pass a second time.

Team Options
========

The prime candidate for receiving a Growth Pass from Flareon is Dewgong, specifically the 3 attacks + Protect variant. This set is extremely efficient at shredding through multiple pokemon on the opponent’s team, (ac) as it has perfect coverage, (ac) and Dewgong is difficult to take down quickly due to it being so bulky and having Protect to gain extra Leftovers recovery, but . However, (change first comma to period, add comma after however) it lacks the damage to be able to function effectively without a Growth Pass from Flareon. Dual Screens screens Dragonair is another valuable partner, facilitating a much easier setup early on in the game early-game while preventing the common Pineco lead from safely using Spikes. Xatu is also an amazing Growth recipient, gaining the power it needs to 2HKO targets such as Octillery and 3HKO bulkier walls like Wigglytuff while also not being vulnerable to Fighting-types like Dewgong is. Hidden Power Electric Octillery also makes for a fantastic Growth recipient, as Octillery is able to grab many 2HKOes when at +1 and even be able to can even 3HKO Dewgong. Magmar can also work as a solid Growth recipient with its incredibly powerful Fire Blasts and superb coverage, though it can be difficult to successfully pass to it, (ac) as it shares the same weaknesses as Flareon. Wigglytuff can even be a fine Growth recipient due to its great bulk and incredible array of super-effective coverage, including Ice Beam, Thunder, and Fire Blast.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is essential over Flamethrower as this set wants all the power it can get without Growth as an option to boost Special Attack. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical hit move, primarily being able to 3HKO Octillery and Ninetales. RestTalk grants Flareon great longevity, making it a solid check to Xatu and letting it counter Ninetales, other Flareon that lack a Physical Attack physical attack, Magnemite, and Magmar without Hidden Power Ground, letting Flareon effortlessly use them to generate offense deal damage. RestTalk also significantly reduces Flareon's vulnerability to status, no longer being afraid of paralysis from Magnemite's Thunder and , (ac) Gloom's Stun spore or Spore, (ac) and Toxic poison from Ninetales and Pineco. RestTalk also allows Flareon to fully utilize the high power of Double-Edge without regret despite its poor HP stat, as it can heal off recoil damage at any moment. fearing its recoil damage.

Team Options
========

Pineco is RestTalk Flareon's favorite partner, setting Spikes to wear down Rock-types like Sudowoodo and giving threats like Octillery, Dewgong, and Stantler a much more difficult time switching into Flareon. Octillery is another very important partner, taking on the Sudowoodo, Dugtrio, and Graveler that would otherwise use Flareon to their advantage, as well as being able to duel other Octillery if it has Hidden Power Electric. Curse Porygon can accomplish similar feats as Octillery, switching into Sudowoodo and Graveler and appreciating Flareon's ability to handle Ninetales, Magnemite, and Gloom. Dugtrio assists with Sudowoodo and enjoys RestTalk Flareon's pairing with Pineco and efficiency at chipping Octillery and Dewgong. Xatu and Fearow can switch into Dugtrio's Earthquake and are good teammates of Flareon's for similar reasons to Dugtrio; Fearow, especially when paired with Toxic Pineco, makes for a great core with Flareon that repeatedly forces Sudowoodo and Graveler in and wears them down with repeated hits and Spikes or poison, respectively. Flareon can also be a decent switch-in to opposing Magnemite for Xatu and Fearow. Sudowoodo makes for a solid combo with Flareon, as it tends to use Self-Destruct on Octillery and , (ac) Dewgong, (ac) or some other bulky wall like Wigglytuff, eliminating a potential stopgap to Flareon so that it can cause havoc easier; Sudowoodo also prevents Fearow and Persian from revenge killing Flareon and can blow up Self-Destruct on Dugtrio. Weezing can accomplish similar feats, and Flareon can check Xatu and Ninetales for Weezing.

[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Water
move 4: Baton Pass / Protect
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

The increased power of Fire Blast compared to Flamethrower is essential without Growth for boosting Special Attack or RestTalk for being able allowing Flareon to stick around throughout the course of a game. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical hit move, mainly targeting Octillery but also being a generally good move to use in most scenarios. Hidden Power Ground chips Rock-types such as Sudowoodo for solid damage and additionally hits Chinchou and other Fire-types harder than Double-Edge while also not causing recoil damage, crucially 2HKOing . (change comma to period) It crucially 2HKOes Rapidash with Spikes up and being is very favored to 2HKO Magmar without Spikes, though it can potentially giving a free switch to Fearow and Xatu, though and it only does a little more damage to Graveler than Fire Blast. Hidden Power Water can be used instead to deal far more damage to Graveler and Pupitar, even landing a an OHKO on Graveler, as well as doing extra chip more damage to Sudowoodo compared to Hidden Power Ground,; (comma to semi-colon) however, (ac) it still does less damage than Double-Edge to other Fire-types and means losing out on the benefits of Hidden Power Ground. Baton Pass makes for a solid final move choice, allowing Flareon to scout for opposing switches safely and gain momentum by bringing in a powerful wallbreaker such as Stantler without them taking damage. Protect can be used instead to improve upon Flareon's individual wallbreaking prowess, providing additional Leftovers recovery as well as scouting the opponent's intentions and completely blocking any usage of Explosion or Self-Destruct that attempt attempts to eliminate Flareon or one of its teammates.

Team Options
========

Pineco is the most important partner for this set, as Spikes are essential to making Flareon as deadly as it is, namely significantly reducing the safety in switching Octillery or a physical threat like Stantler or Sudowoodo into Flareon. Octillery assists Flareon greatly defensively, taking on Sudowoodo and Dugtrio as well as opposing Fire-types if Flareon is not in good enough shape to take them on itself. Chinchou is also an amazing teammate, hard countering hard-countering Octillery and Dewgong, which can be problems for Flareon if it chooses the wrong move to use as Octillery or Dewgong switch into it. Dugtrio appreciates Flareon's prowess at wearing down opposing Octillery and Dewgong and tendency to be paired with Spikes so that it who is "it" here has an easier time cleaning late in the game late-game, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass to switch to Dugtrio on an incoming Sudowoodo or Ninetales. Sudowoodo and Weezing can explode on a threat to Flareon like Octillery, Dewgong, Wigglytuff, or Dugtrio, and they help to stop revenge killing attempts from Persian or and Fearow. Xatu and Fearow are both immune to Ground, preventing Dugtrio from revenge killing Flareon; both of these Pokemon, along with other powerful breakers like Stantler and Magmar, also appreciate Flareon spreading damage and being able to bring them in safely on predicted switches through the use of Baton Pass.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Substitute can be used on the Growth Pass set to block status and give a temporary wall to whatever Flareon chooses to Baton Pass to, but it comes at the cost of coverage and can be difficult to pull off successfully. Roar can be used in the fourth slot on the All-Out Attacker set to shuffle for Spikes damage, reveal more information about the opponent's team, and prevent setup, but it is very prediction-reliant and generally Flareon would rather spend most of its turns using an attacking move. Sunny Day and Growth can also be used in the last slot on the All-Out Attacker set to jack up the damage of Fire Blast, and Sunny Day additionally makes the Dewgong matchup far more doable for Flareon, but Baton Pass and Protect generally tend to be more useful, (ac) and they have the same issue as Roar of Flareon usually preferring to use its turns to attack.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Octillery takes little damage from Fire Blast and has a chance to dodge a 3HKO from both Double-Edge and Hidden Power Grass, especially if it has Ice Beam rather than Hidden Power Electric, always uses RestTalk to significantly improve upon its longevity, and hits back hard with an incredibly powerful 105 base Special Attack STAB Surf. However, it is slower than Flareon and is 3HKOed by Double-Edge while not OHKOing in return with Surf even after Flareon takes recoil damage, so it is very quickly forced to use Rest if switching into a Double-Edge; it also means that, (ac) if Flareon uses Growth as Octillery switches in, it can safely Baton Pass the Growth boost out to something not weak to Water, such as Dewgong. Dewgong itself outspeeds and can either 2HKO Flareon with Surf or use Encore on Flareon's usage of Growth, forcing it to switch out, though it takes significantly more damage from Fire Blast due to being part Ice-type. Chinchou also outspeeds Flareon and hits it hard, but its Special Attack stat is so low that Surf cannot 2HKO even Hidden Power Grass variants of Flareon from full health, and Chinchou takes massive damage from all of Double-Edge, Hidden Power Ground, and Hidden Power Grass.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is much faster than Flareon and can hit it with Earthquake for upwards of 90% of its health or use Flareon switching out of battle to set up a Substitute. However, Dugtrio is slammed by Flareon, being 2HKOed by most of its moves, and thus cannot switch directly into it more than once unless on a predicted usage of Growth or Protect. The Reflect that Growth Pass Flareon is often paired with also prevents Dugtrio from beating it, though Dugtrio can still use Screech which will even carry over when Flareon uses Baton Pass.

**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo resists both Fire and Normal and is bulky enough on both sides of the the attacking spectrum both physically and specially to where Hidden Power Ground cannot 3HKO without Spikes and Flareon needs to use Growth to 2HKO with Hidden Power Grass. Sudowoodo meanwhile can boost up with Curse, hit Flareon hard with either Rock Slide or Earthquake, and even use Self-Destruct, preventing any safe usage of Baton Pass. Graveler and Pupitar are much rarer and take signficantly more damage from Hidden Power Grass, with Graveler even being OHKOed without any boosts, but are sufficient answers to Flareon sets without Hidden Power Grass, especially since Graveler has Explosion and Pupitar has Screech to disrupt any Growth Pass antics.

**Faster Physical Attackers physical attackers**: Stantler, Fearow, Persian, Primeape, Hitmonlee, and Kingler all outspeed and hit Flareon incredibly hard with their STAB moves or super-effective super effective coverage. Rapidash also uses Double-Edge and Magmar occasionally uses Hidden Power Ground, both of which also deal significant damage to Flareon. However, none of these Pokemon want to switch into Flareon in fear of Fire Blast or Double-Edge, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass as they switch in.

**Status**: Poison is incredibly crippling, as Flareon wants to preserve its health as much as possible to be able to come into battle multiple times and take hits from faster Pokemon before attacking. Paralysis is also ruinous, as Flareon needs to be able to outspeed as much as possible and any full paralysis is extremely detrimental, (ac) as Flareon needs to be spending the turns it gets doing something productive. Sleep, while much rarer, just flat out puts Flareon out of commission. All three status effects are also often dished out by prime targets for Flareon's entry, such as Ninetales' Ninetales's Toxic, Gloom's Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb, or even Sleep Powder, and Magnemite's Thunder, making it risky to try to switch into them. However, RestTalk Flareon has none of these issues.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/beeorsomething.583728/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/juoean.486979/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tea-guzzler.577920/

gp 1/2

implemented

 

[BeeOrSomething]

Update: after hindsight, the All-Out Attacking Flareon set is not worthy of a main set considering its minimal tournament usage. I consulted Estarossa, and he said it's still fine to condense it into an Other Options mention, so I did.

 

[ken]

2/2 GP Team done
add remove comment

2/2 yay

[OVERVIEW]

Flareon makes its name as by far the best Pokemon that learns both Growth and Baton Pass in NU, becoming a powerful support piece for facilitating strong special attackers. Flareon also has incredible attacking stats itself, allowing it to function as a powerful wallbreaker, whether it be with Growth sets or mixed sets. Flareon also has an amazing Special Defense stat and a resistance to Fire, allowing it to check Pokemon such as Xatu, Magnemite, and Ninetales when using a RestTalk set. However, Flareon is very frail physically and is weak to Rock, Ground, and Water, all very common attacking types; strong STAB-boosted Normal attacks and Weezing's Sludge Bomb also deal significant damage. Flareon is also quite slow, sitting at only base 65 Speed, leaving it susceptible to being revenge killed by a variety of threats like Stantler, Dugtrio, and Dewgong. Flareon can also be difficult to justify putting on teams, as Pokemon like Magmar, Weezing, and Stantler often tend to be better choices for the purpose of wallbreaking without dedicated team support, while Ninetales and Rapidash are usually preferred as RestTalk Fire-types for their much higher Speed stat and better physical bulk allowing them to check threats like Weezing.

[SET]
name: Growth Pass
move 1: Growth
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Double-Edge
move 4: Baton Pass
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower to give Flareon more use mid-game when it cannot set up a Growth safely, since Fire Blast can 2HKO important targets, (ac) such as Xatu and Stantler, (ac) that Flamethrower cannot. Hidden Power Grass targets Octillery and Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Graveler, but Double-Edge allows Flareon to threaten removed a space after Ninetales Ninetales—which uses Roar sometimes to counter Baton Pass—and removed a space before and also out-damages Hidden Power Grass against Octillery and Chinchou before a Growth boost. It also does not significantly lower Flareon's DVs like Hidden Power Grass does. However, it comes at the cost of not being able to significantly damage Rock-types like Graveler in the short term. Flareon should aim to use Baton Pass after using Growth once or twice and give those boosts to powerful special attackers early-game to break holes, then enter re-entering the battle again later on to launch powerful Fire Blasts or even execute a second Growth Pass a second time.

Team Options
========

The prime candidate for receiving a Growth Pass from Flareon is Dewgong, specifically the 3 attacks + Protect variant. This set is extremely efficient at shredding through multiple pokemon on the opponent’s team, as it has perfect coverage, and Dewgong is difficult to take down quickly due to it being so bulky and having Protect to gain extra recovery from Leftovers recovery. However, it lacks the damage to be able to function effectively without a Growth Pass from Flareon. Dual screens Dragonair is another valuable partner, facilitating a much easier setup early-game while preventing the common Pineco lead from safely using Spikes. Xatu is also an amazing Growth recipient, gaining the power it needs to 2HKO targets such as Octillery and 3HKO bulkier walls like Wigglytuff while also not being vulnerable to Fighting-types like Dewgong is. Hidden Power Electric Octillery also makes for a fantastic Growth recipient, as Octillery is able to grab many 2HKOes 2HKOs when at +1, (ac) and it can even 3HKO Dewgong. Magmar can also work as a solid Growth recipient with its incredibly powerful Fire Blasts and superb coverage, though it can be difficult to successfully pass to it, as it shares the same weaknesses as Flareon. Wigglytuff can even be a fine Growth recipient due to its great bulk and incredible array of coverage, including Ice Beam, Thunder, and Fire Blast.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is essential over Flamethrower, (ac) as this set wants all the power it can get without Growth. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical move, primarily being able to 3HKO Octillery and Ninetales. RestTalk grants Flareon great longevity, making it a solid check to Xatu and letting it counter Ninetales, other Flareon that lack a physical attack, Magnemite, and Magmar without Hidden Power Ground, letting Flareon effortlessly use them to fire off attacks. RestTalk also significantly reduces Flareon's vulnerability to status, no longer being afraid of paralysis from Magnemite's Thunder, Gloom's Stun Spore, or Toxic poison from Ninetales and Pineco. RestTalk also allows Flareon to fully utilize the high power of Double-Edge without fearing its recoil damage.

Team Options
========

Pineco is RestTalk Flareon's favorite partner, setting Spikes to wear down Rock-types like Sudowoodo and giving threats like Octillery, Dewgong, and Stantler a much more difficult time switching into Flareon. Octillery is another very important partner, taking on the Sudowoodo, Dugtrio, and Graveler that would otherwise use Flareon to their advantage, as well as being able to duel other Octillery if it has Hidden Power Electric. Curse Porygon can accomplish similar feats as Octillery, switching into Sudowoodo and Graveler and appreciating Flareon's ability to handle Ninetales, Magnemite, and Gloom. Dugtrio assists with Sudowoodo and enjoys RestTalk Flareon's pairing with Pineco and efficiency at chipping Octillery and Dewgong. Xatu and Fearow can switch into Dugtrio's Earthquake and are good teammates of Flareon's for similar reasons to Dugtrio; Fearow, especially when paired with Toxic Pineco, makes for a great core with Flareon that repeatedly forces Sudowoodo and Graveler in and wears them down with repeated hits and Spikes or poison, respectively. Flareon can also be a decent switch-in to opposing Magnemite for Xatu and Fearow. Sudowoodo makes for a solid combo with Flareon, as it tends to use Self-Destruct on Octillery, Dewgong, or some other bulky wall like Wigglytuff, eliminating a potential stopgap to Flareon so that it can cause havoc easier; Sudowoodo also prevents Fearow and Persian from revenge killing Flareon and can Self-Destruct on Dugtrio. Weezing can accomplish similar feats, and Flareon can check Xatu and Ninetales for Weezing.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

An All-Out Attacking set with Fire Blast, Double-Edge, either Hidden Power Ground or Hidden Power Water, and one of Baton Pass and or believe you mean one or the other here Protect can be used to give Flareon maximum immediate coverage and additional utility for pivoting or additional Leftovers recovery. However, RestTalk tends to outclass this set, as because, (ac) while it cannot immediately force significant damage unto Rock-types like Graveler and Sudowoodo, it is significantly sturdier in the long term and is much more resilient to status. Substitute can be used on the Growth Pass set to block status and give a temporary wall to whatever Flareon chooses to Baton Pass to, but it comes at the cost of coverage and can be difficult to pull off successfully.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Octillery takes little damage from Fire Blast and has a chance to dodge a 3HKO from both Double-Edge and Hidden Power Grass, especially if it has Ice Beam rather than Hidden Power Electric, always uses RestTalk to significantly improve upon its longevity, and hits back hard with an incredibly powerful 105 base Special Attack STAB Surf. However, it is slower than Flareon and is 3HKOed by Double-Edge while not OHKOing in return with Surf, (ac) even after Flareon takes recoil damage, so it is very quickly forced to use Rest if switching into a Double-Edge; it also means that (rc) if Flareon uses Growth as Octillery switches in, it can safely Baton Pass the Growth boost out to something not weak to Water, such as Dewgong. Dewgong itself outspeeds and can either 2HKO Flareon with Surf or use Encore on Flareon's usage use of Growth, forcing it to switch out, though it takes significantly more damage from Fire Blast due to being part Ice-type its part Ice typing. Chinchou also outspeeds Flareon and hits it hard, but its Special Attack stat is so low that Surf cannot 2HKO even Hidden Power Grass variants of Flareon from full health, and Chinchou takes massive damage from all of Double-Edge, Hidden Power Ground, and Hidden Power Grass.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is much faster than Flareon and can hit it with Earthquake for upwards of 90% of its health or use Flareon switching out of battle to set up a Substitute. However, Dugtrio is slammed by Flareon, being 2HKOed by most of its moves, and thus cannot switch directly into it more than once unless on a predicted usage use of Growth or Protect. The Reflect that Growth Pass Flareon is often paired with also prevents Dugtrio from beating it, though Dugtrio can still use Screech, (ac) which will even carry over when Flareon uses Baton Pass.

**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo resists both Fire and Normal and is bulky enough both physically and specially to where Hidden Power Ground cannot 3HKO without Spikes, (ac) and Flareon needs to use Growth to 2HKO with Hidden Power Grass. Sudowoodo meanwhile can boost up with Curse, hit Flareon hard with either Rock Slide or Earthquake, and even use Self-Destruct, preventing any safe usage of Baton Pass. Graveler and Pupitar are much rarer and take signficantly more damage from Hidden Power Grass, with Graveler even being OHKOed without any boosts, but they are sufficient answers to Flareon sets without Hidden Power Grass, especially since Graveler has Explosion, (ac) and Pupitar has Screech to disrupt any Growth Pass antics.

**Faster physical attackers Physical Attackers**: Stantler, Fearow, Persian, Primeape, Hitmonlee, and Kingler all outspeed and hit Flareon incredibly hard with their STAB moves or super effective coverage. Rapidash uses Double-Edge and Magmar occasionally uses Hidden Power Ground, both of which also deal significant damage to Flareon. However, none of these Pokemon want to switch into Flareon in fear of Fire Blast or Double-Edge, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass as they switch in.

**Status**: If not running RestTalk, poison is quite harmful, as Flareon wants to preserve its health as much as possible to be able to come into battle multiple times and take hits from faster Pokemon before attacking. Paralysis is also ruinous, as Flareon needs to be able to outspeed as much as possible, (ac) and any full paralysis is extremely detrimental, as Flareon needs to be spending the turns it gets doing something productive, especially if attempting to execute a Growth pass Pass. Sleep, while much rarer, just flat out puts Flareon out of commission. All three status effects are also often dished out by prime targets for Flareon's entry, such as Ninetales's Toxic, Gloom's Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb, or even Sleep Powder, and Magnemite's Thunder, making it risky to try to switch into them when not running RestTalk.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/beeorsomething.583728/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/juoean.486979/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tea-guzzler.577920/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/

 

[BeeOrSomething]

2/2 GP Team done
add remove comment

2/2 yay

[OVERVIEW]

Flareon makes its name as by far the best Pokemon that learns both Growth and Baton Pass in NU, becoming a powerful support piece for facilitating strong special attackers. Flareon also has incredible attacking stats itself, allowing it to function as a powerful wallbreaker, whether it be with Growth sets or mixed sets. Flareon also has an amazing Special Defense stat and a resistance to Fire, allowing it to check Pokemon such as Xatu, Magnemite, and Ninetales when using a RestTalk set. However, Flareon is very frail physically and is weak to Rock, Ground, and Water, all very common attacking types; strong STAB-boosted Normal attacks and Weezing's Sludge Bomb also deal significant damage. Flareon is also quite slow, sitting at only base 65 Speed, leaving it susceptible to being revenge killed by a variety of threats like Stantler, Dugtrio, and Dewgong. Flareon can also be difficult to justify putting on teams, as Pokemon like Magmar, Weezing, and Stantler often tend to be better choices for the purpose of wallbreaking without dedicated team support, while Ninetales and Rapidash are usually preferred as RestTalk Fire-types for their much higher Speed stat and better physical bulk allowing them to check threats like Weezing.

[SET]
name: Growth Pass
move 1: Growth
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Double-Edge
move 4: Baton Pass
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower to give Flareon more use mid-game when it cannot set up a Growth safely, since Fire Blast can 2HKO important targets, (ac) such as Xatu and Stantler, (ac) that Flamethrower cannot. Hidden Power Grass targets Octillery and Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Graveler, but Double-Edge allows Flareon to threaten removed a space after Ninetales Ninetales—which uses Roar sometimes to counter Baton Pass—and removed a space before and also out-damages Hidden Power Grass against Octillery and Chinchou before a Growth boost. It also does not significantly lower Flareon's DVs like Hidden Power Grass does. However, it comes at the cost of not being able to significantly damage Rock-types like Graveler in the short term. Flareon should aim to use Baton Pass after using Growth once or twice and give those boosts to powerful special attackers early-game to break holes, then enter re-entering the battle again later on to launch powerful Fire Blasts or even execute a second Growth Pass a second time.

Team Options
========

The prime candidate for receiving a Growth Pass from Flareon is Dewgong, specifically the 3 attacks + Protect variant. This set is extremely efficient at shredding through multiple pokemon on the opponent’s team, as it has perfect coverage, and Dewgong is difficult to take down quickly due to it being so bulky and having Protect to gain extra recovery from Leftovers recovery. However, it lacks the damage to be able to function effectively without a Growth Pass from Flareon. Dual screens Dragonair is another valuable partner, facilitating a much easier setup early-game while preventing the common Pineco lead from safely using Spikes. Xatu is also an amazing Growth recipient, gaining the power it needs to 2HKO targets such as Octillery and 3HKO bulkier walls like Wigglytuff while also not being vulnerable to Fighting-types like Dewgong is. Hidden Power Electric Octillery also makes for a fantastic Growth recipient, as Octillery is able to grab many 2HKOes 2HKOs when at +1, (ac) and it can even 3HKO Dewgong. Magmar can also work as a solid Growth recipient with its incredibly powerful Fire Blasts and superb coverage, though it can be difficult to successfully pass to it, as it shares the same weaknesses as Flareon. Wigglytuff can even be a fine Growth recipient due to its great bulk and incredible array of coverage, including Ice Beam, Thunder, and Fire Blast.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Double-Edge
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
Item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Fire Blast is essential over Flamethrower, (ac) as this set wants all the power it can get without Growth. Double-Edge is Flareon's strongest neutral physical move, primarily being able to 3HKO Octillery and Ninetales. RestTalk grants Flareon great longevity, making it a solid check to Xatu and letting it counter Ninetales, other Flareon that lack a physical attack, Magnemite, and Magmar without Hidden Power Ground, letting Flareon effortlessly use them to fire off attacks. RestTalk also significantly reduces Flareon's vulnerability to status, no longer being afraid of paralysis from Magnemite's Thunder, Gloom's Stun Spore, or Toxic poison from Ninetales and Pineco. RestTalk also allows Flareon to fully utilize the high power of Double-Edge without fearing its recoil damage.

Team Options
========

Pineco is RestTalk Flareon's favorite partner, setting Spikes to wear down Rock-types like Sudowoodo and giving threats like Octillery, Dewgong, and Stantler a much more difficult time switching into Flareon. Octillery is another very important partner, taking on the Sudowoodo, Dugtrio, and Graveler that would otherwise use Flareon to their advantage, as well as being able to duel other Octillery if it has Hidden Power Electric. Curse Porygon can accomplish similar feats as Octillery, switching into Sudowoodo and Graveler and appreciating Flareon's ability to handle Ninetales, Magnemite, and Gloom. Dugtrio assists with Sudowoodo and enjoys RestTalk Flareon's pairing with Pineco and efficiency at chipping Octillery and Dewgong. Xatu and Fearow can switch into Dugtrio's Earthquake and are good teammates of Flareon's for similar reasons to Dugtrio; Fearow, especially when paired with Toxic Pineco, makes for a great core with Flareon that repeatedly forces Sudowoodo and Graveler in and wears them down with repeated hits and Spikes or poison, respectively. Flareon can also be a decent switch-in to opposing Magnemite for Xatu and Fearow. Sudowoodo makes for a solid combo with Flareon, as it tends to use Self-Destruct on Octillery, Dewgong, or some other bulky wall like Wigglytuff, eliminating a potential stopgap to Flareon so that it can cause havoc easier; Sudowoodo also prevents Fearow and Persian from revenge killing Flareon and can Self-Destruct on Dugtrio. Weezing can accomplish similar feats, and Flareon can check Xatu and Ninetales for Weezing.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

An All-Out Attacking set with Fire Blast, Double-Edge, either Hidden Power Ground or Hidden Power Water, and one of Baton Pass and or believe you mean one or the other here Protect can be used to give Flareon maximum immediate coverage and additional utility for pivoting or additional Leftovers recovery. However, RestTalk tends to outclass this set, as because, (ac) while it cannot immediately force significant damage unto Rock-types like Graveler and Sudowoodo, it is significantly sturdier in the long term and is much more resilient to status. Substitute can be used on the Growth Pass set to block status and give a temporary wall to whatever Flareon chooses to Baton Pass to, but it comes at the cost of coverage and can be difficult to pull off successfully.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Octillery takes little damage from Fire Blast and has a chance to dodge a 3HKO from both Double-Edge and Hidden Power Grass, especially if it has Ice Beam rather than Hidden Power Electric, always uses RestTalk to significantly improve upon its longevity, and hits back hard with an incredibly powerful 105 base Special Attack STAB Surf. However, it is slower than Flareon and is 3HKOed by Double-Edge while not OHKOing in return with Surf, (ac) even after Flareon takes recoil damage, so it is very quickly forced to use Rest if switching into a Double-Edge; it also means that (rc) if Flareon uses Growth as Octillery switches in, it can safely Baton Pass the Growth boost out to something not weak to Water, such as Dewgong. Dewgong itself outspeeds and can either 2HKO Flareon with Surf or use Encore on Flareon's usage use of Growth, forcing it to switch out, though it takes significantly more damage from Fire Blast due to being part Ice-type its part Ice typing. Chinchou also outspeeds Flareon and hits it hard, but its Special Attack stat is so low that Surf cannot 2HKO even Hidden Power Grass variants of Flareon from full health, and Chinchou takes massive damage from all of Double-Edge, Hidden Power Ground, and Hidden Power Grass.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is much faster than Flareon and can hit it with Earthquake for upwards of 90% of its health or use Flareon switching out of battle to set up a Substitute. However, Dugtrio is slammed by Flareon, being 2HKOed by most of its moves, and thus cannot switch directly into it more than once unless on a predicted usage use of Growth or Protect. The Reflect that Growth Pass Flareon is often paired with also prevents Dugtrio from beating it, though Dugtrio can still use Screech, (ac) which will even carry over when Flareon uses Baton Pass.

**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo resists both Fire and Normal and is bulky enough both physically and specially to where Hidden Power Ground cannot 3HKO without Spikes, (ac) and Flareon needs to use Growth to 2HKO with Hidden Power Grass. Sudowoodo meanwhile can boost up with Curse, hit Flareon hard with either Rock Slide or Earthquake, and even use Self-Destruct, preventing any safe usage of Baton Pass. Graveler and Pupitar are much rarer and take signficantly more damage from Hidden Power Grass, with Graveler even being OHKOed without any boosts, but they are sufficient answers to Flareon sets without Hidden Power Grass, especially since Graveler has Explosion, (ac) and Pupitar has Screech to disrupt any Growth Pass antics.

**Faster physical attackers Physical Attackers**: Stantler, Fearow, Persian, Primeape, Hitmonlee, and Kingler all outspeed and hit Flareon incredibly hard with their STAB moves or super effective coverage. Rapidash uses Double-Edge and Magmar occasionally uses Hidden Power Ground, both of which also deal significant damage to Flareon. However, none of these Pokemon want to switch into Flareon in fear of Fire Blast or Double-Edge, and Flareon can also use Baton Pass as they switch in.

**Status**: If not running RestTalk, poison is quite harmful, as Flareon wants to preserve its health as much as possible to be able to come into battle multiple times and take hits from faster Pokemon before attacking. Paralysis is also ruinous, as Flareon needs to be able to outspeed as much as possible, (ac) and any full paralysis is extremely detrimental, as Flareon needs to be spending the turns it gets doing something productive, especially if attempting to execute a Growth pass Pass. Sleep, while much rarer, just flat out puts Flareon out of commission. All three status effects are also often dished out by prime targets for Flareon's entry, such as Ninetales's Toxic, Gloom's Stun Spore, Sludge Bomb, or even Sleep Powder, and Magnemite's Thunder, making it risky to try to switch into them when not running RestTalk.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/beeorsomething.583728/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/juoean.486979/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tea-guzzler.577920/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/

implemented! ready for upload