[SET]
Swords Dance (Blaziken) @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Fighting / Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Protect / Knock Off
[SET COMMENTS]
Blaziken is a niche wallbreaker with high power STAB moves that hit much of the metagame for neutral damage and the potent combination of Swords Dance and Speed Boost to quickly snowball into a sweep. However, it is held back by of its lack of immediate Speed; poor matchup into common physical checks like Pecharunt, Moltres, Zamazenta, and Great Tusk; lack of bulk to successfully set up; and vulnerability to priority. Protect is mainly used to safely activate Speed Boost and dodge revenge kills from Pokemon that would have outsped Blaziken; it also shuts down Lokix's First Impression and can be used alongside Leftovers to maximize healing to offset chip damage, especially from Flare Blitz. Knock Off can be used instead, as it targets common physical blanket checks like Dragonite, Pecharunt, and Moltres to soften them for Blaziken itself and its teammates and OHKOes Dragapult, which can otherwise answer Blaziken in a pinch. Upper Hand is a niche option that shuts down priority from Pokemon like Dragonite, Raging Bolt, and Kingambit, but it requires the Blaziken user to guess correctly and gives up on a more consistent move. Overheat is an option over Flare Blitz on Life Orb sets alongside a Rash nature to lure in and eliminate or cripple physical blanket checks that don't resist Fire like Great Tusk, Pecharunt, and Zamazenta, but it doesn't allow Blaziken to sweep if multiple Pokemon require a full power Overheat to beat, is innaccurate, and doesn't benefit from Swords Dance. Life Orb is the preferred item for more power, allowing Blaziken to OHKO Pokemon like Zapdos, Great Tusk, and Gliscor at +2, but Leftovers can be used for its passive healing, allowing Blaziken to potentially throw out an extra Flare Blitz before getting KOed by recoil, for example, and Air Balloon can be used to gain opportunities to switch into and set up on Ground-types. Tera Fighting powers up Close Combat, securing OHKOs on Alomomola and Zamazenta with Life Orb and a Swords Dance. Tera Ghost gives Blaziken an immunity to Body Press from Zamazenta and Extreme Speed from Dragonite and is especially good for Leftovers variants that cannot OHKO Zamazenta. Adamant is preferable to maximize damage output, with Life Orb Blaziken getting OHKOs on Pokemon like Galarian Weezing, Assault Vest Alomomola, and Dragapult with its STAB moves at +2, but Jolly can be ran instead to outspeed Dragapult at +1 Speed and Speed Booster Energy Iron Valiant at +2.
Blaziken offers very little defensive utility and usually fails to end games due to Flare Blitz's heavy recoil damage and Blaziken's extreme weakness to priority, pushing it out of viability on most team styles. However, it finds a place on some offense teams that appreciate its wallbreaking abilities. Landorus-T can be used to provide Stealth Rock and a switch-in to opposing Great Tusk and Landorus-T. Kingambit is a sweeper that heavily appreciates Blaziken's ability to force heavy chip damage and remove items from physical checks like Moltres, Zamazenta, and Great Tusk that would otherwise stop Kingambit in its tracks. In return, Kingambit can finish the games that Blaziken cannot end, as it's a great sweeper in its own right. Great Tusk is a great teammate that either appreciates Blaziken's Knock Off or supports Blaziken with its own Knock Off while providing Stealth Rock for crucial damage thresholds and checking many priority attackers like Dragonite, Kingambit, and Raging Bolt. Dragonite appreciates Blaziken punching holes in the opposing team to sweep afterwards while being immune to Ground. Blaziken can be used on Aurora Veil teams, as with Life Orb, it doesn't require entry hazards to break through walls, and Blaziken highly appreciates having its bulk doubled, as it makes setup easier and notably allows it to drop Protect for a third attack without too much drawback. Ninetales and Torkoal can synergize with Blaziken by powering up its Flare Blitz to absurd levels, though Blaziken is hard to justify on sun.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kd458.633798/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Swords Dance (Blaziken) @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Fighting / Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Protect / Knock Off
[SET COMMENTS]
Blaziken is a niche wallbreaker with high power STAB moves that hit much of the metagame for neutral damage and the potent combination of Swords Dance and Speed Boost to quickly snowball into a sweep. However, it is held back by of its lack of immediate Speed; poor matchup into common physical checks like Pecharunt, Moltres, Zamazenta, and Great Tusk; lack of bulk to successfully set up; and vulnerability to priority. Protect is mainly used to safely activate Speed Boost and dodge revenge kills from Pokemon that would have outsped Blaziken; it also shuts down Lokix's First Impression and can be used alongside Leftovers to maximize healing to offset chip damage, especially from Flare Blitz. Knock Off can be used instead, as it targets common physical blanket checks like Dragonite, Pecharunt, and Moltres to soften them for Blaziken itself and its teammates and OHKOes Dragapult, which can otherwise answer Blaziken in a pinch. Upper Hand is a niche option that shuts down priority from Pokemon like Dragonite, Raging Bolt, and Kingambit, but it requires the Blaziken user to guess correctly and gives up on a more consistent move. Overheat is an option over Flare Blitz on Life Orb sets alongside a Rash nature to lure in and eliminate or cripple physical blanket checks that don't resist Fire like Great Tusk, Pecharunt, and Zamazenta, but it doesn't allow Blaziken to sweep if multiple Pokemon require a full power Overheat to beat, is innaccurate, and doesn't benefit from Swords Dance. Life Orb is the preferred item for more power, allowing Blaziken to OHKO Pokemon like Zapdos, Great Tusk, and Gliscor at +2, but Leftovers can be used for its passive healing, allowing Blaziken to potentially throw out an extra Flare Blitz before getting KOed by recoil, for example, and Air Balloon can be used to gain opportunities to switch into and set up on Ground-types. Tera Fighting powers up Close Combat, securing OHKOs on Alomomola and Zamazenta with Life Orb and a Swords Dance. Tera Ghost gives Blaziken an immunity to Body Press from Zamazenta and Extreme Speed from Dragonite and is especially good for Leftovers variants that cannot OHKO Zamazenta. Adamant is preferable to maximize damage output, with Life Orb Blaziken getting OHKOs on Pokemon like Galarian Weezing, Assault Vest Alomomola, and Dragapult with its STAB moves at +2, but Jolly can be ran instead to outspeed Dragapult at +1 Speed and Speed Booster Energy Iron Valiant at +2.
Blaziken offers very little defensive utility and usually fails to end games due to Flare Blitz's heavy recoil damage and Blaziken's extreme weakness to priority, pushing it out of viability on most team styles. However, it finds a place on some offense teams that appreciate its wallbreaking abilities. Landorus-T can be used to provide Stealth Rock and a switch-in to opposing Great Tusk and Landorus-T. Kingambit is a sweeper that heavily appreciates Blaziken's ability to force heavy chip damage and remove items from physical checks like Moltres, Zamazenta, and Great Tusk that would otherwise stop Kingambit in its tracks. In return, Kingambit can finish the games that Blaziken cannot end, as it's a great sweeper in its own right. Great Tusk is a great teammate that either appreciates Blaziken's Knock Off or supports Blaziken with its own Knock Off while providing Stealth Rock for crucial damage thresholds and checking many priority attackers like Dragonite, Kingambit, and Raging Bolt. Dragonite appreciates Blaziken punching holes in the opposing team to sweep afterwards while being immune to Ground. Blaziken can be used on Aurora Veil teams, as with Life Orb, it doesn't require entry hazards to break through walls, and Blaziken highly appreciates having its bulk doubled, as it makes setup easier and notably allows it to drop Protect for a third attack without too much drawback. Ninetales and Torkoal can synergize with Blaziken by powering up its Flare Blitz to absurd levels, though Blaziken is hard to justify on sun.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kd458.633798/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
Last edited:
