Blaziken
Status: Done. Ready for QC checks.
QC Approved: [2/2] panamaxis, Eo Ut Mortus.
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[Overview]
<p>With excellent 120 / 110 mixed offensive stats and a good movepool, Blaziken has always had the potential to wreck opposing teams.
Holding him back has always been his poor base 80 Speed, relegating him to the UU tier last generation. This generation Blaziken has hit the jackpot in the form of one of the best abilities in the game, Speed Boost. With a good movepool including Swords Dance and powerful STAB attacks in Hi Jump Kick and Flare Blitz, Blaziken is now rightly regarded as one of the most fearsome sweepers in the metagame.</p>
<p>
Fast Choice Scarf users and priority moves will be Blaziken's biggest checks. Even after one Speed Boost, Blaziken sits at a maximum of 426 Speed and is outsped by Choice Scarf users with a base Speed of 81 or more. Blaziken is also vulnerable to priority
attacks from the likes of
Conkeldurr, as his poor 80 / 70 / 70 defenses and Life Orb recoil guarantee that he will not be living for too long. Still, underestimate Blaziken at your own peril; if given the chance to set up, he can tear entire teams apart.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Hi Jump Kick / Sky Uppercut
move 3: Flare Blitz / Blaze Kick
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Life Orb
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With its Fire / Fighting typing, Blaziken can easily come in on walls like Blissey and Nattorei and force a switch, giving it the opportunity to set up Swords Dance.
After that, Blaziken can proceed to wreck the opposition's team with its dual STABs and Stone Edge
, netting Blaziken excellent neutral coverage.</p>
<p>Blaze Kick can be considered over Flare
Blitz since the recoil damage from Flare Blitz and Life Orb will cause Blaziken's early demise. However, Flare Blitz has a good chance of OHKOing Gliscor after a Swords Dance boost assuming
he's running an Adamant nature. Hi Jump Kick is a high-risk,
high-return move, since Blaziken will lose half his health if the attack is rendered ineffective. For this reason Sky Uppercut might be a safer option. Life Orb is the preferred item choice as it helps Blaziken net some crucial OHKOs on Pokemon such as Gyarados.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Wide Lens can be used instead of Life Orb for increased accuracy, but this comes at the cost of some crucial OHKOs. 252 EVs are invested in Attack to maximise the power of Blaziken's physical attacks
. A Jolly nature helps you outrun Lucario (with a neutral nature and maximum Speed) before a Speed Boost, and afterwards base 130 Pokemon such as Jolteon and Aerodactyl.</p>
<p>Rock Slide can be used for slightly higher accuracy
in lieu of an OHKO on Physically Defensive Burungeru after a Swords Dance.</p>
<p>Blaziken finds it difficult to deal with Bulky Waters such as Burungeru, Slowbro
, and Unaware Quagsire
—particularly the latter. As such, it is advisable to have a teammate to deal with these Pokemon[/COLOR]and
, thus[color=
red"],[/color] make it easier for Blaziken to sweep. A
mixed stallbreaker such as Sazandora is an excellent sweeping partner for Blaziken.</p>
[SET]
name: MixKen
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hi Jump Kick
move 3: Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Stone Edge / Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Rash / Naive
evs: 60 Atk / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With his excellent mixed offensive stats, Blaziken can be an effective mixed stallbreaker. Fire Blast and Hi Jump Kick are Blaziken's STAB moves
and have great neutral coverage between them. Both Hidden Power Ice and Hidden power Electric are good options for the 3rd moveslot. Hidden Power Ice hits Garchomp, Salamence
, and Gliscor hard, OHKOing all of them
. Hidden Power Electric damages Slowbro who can easily sponge Blaziken's physical moves with its huge base Defense.</p>
<p>Stone Edge is required to 2HKO Burungeru, who can otherwise wall this set.
However, If Burungeru can be dealt with easily by Blaziken's teammates, Protect can be used instead to scout the opponent's move and obtain a Speed boost.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Since Blaziken is meant to be a mixed wallbreaker, his EVs are split between Attack and Special Attack. 196 Speed EVs are required to outspeed Jolly Tyranitar with 252 Speed EVs. 252 EVs are put in Special Attack to maximise the power of Fire Blast and Hidden Power. The remaining EVs are put in Attack.</p>
<p>A Naive nature can be used to outspeed Jolteon and Aerodactyl after a Speed boost. However, since these Pokemon are uncommon in the current metagame, running a Rash nature for the Special Attack boost would be the better choice.</p>
<p>In general, Blaziken has problems dealing with bulky waters
—especially Burungeru. Burungeru is never OHKOed by any of Blaziken's unboosted attacks, can heal off damage taken with Recover, and
can OHKO Blaziken with STAB Surf. A priority Taunt user such as Borutorosu can aid Blaziken by shutting down Burungeru.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Protect and Swords Dance / Claw Sharpen can be run on the same set, but then you will have space only for Hi Jump Kick and Flare Blitz. However, this
gives him the chance to get boosts in both Attack and Speed, making it much easier for Blaziken to achieve a sweep.</p>
<p>Fire Punch is a viable alternative over Flare Blitz
if you do not like the accuracy of Blaze Kick or the recoil damage of Flare Blitz.
In doing so, Blaziken will lose a lot of power in return for slightly higher accuracy.</p>
<p>
Blaziken also has access to ThunderPunch and Baton Pass which, unfortunately, are illegal with Speed Boost. A mixed set with Cheer Up is also viable, but Blaziken is better off as a mixed stall breaker than a mixed boosting sweeper.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Wish support will give Blaziken a second chance to set up and sweep in case he lost a lot of health to recoil damage on his first attempt. Blissey and Vaporeon are both great candidates for this role. Vaporeon also
recovers HP from the Water-type attacks Blaziken is weak to.</p>
<p>
Having entry hazards on the field is crucial to Blaziken's success as they help him achieve many important OHKOs and 2HKOs. Deoxys-S, Nattorei
, and Skarmory are all good options for laying entry hazards.</p>
[Counters]
<p>In general, Blaziken has trouble with Bulky Waters. Slowbro
, with its huge base Defense
, can comfortably take any of Blaziken's attacks barring Hidden Power Electric and
in return OHKOes Blaziken with STAB Surf. Unaware Quagsire can also deal with Blaziken well
, negating Blaziken's Attack boosts
as well as taking all of Blaziken's unboosted attacks
with ease. Burungeru deserves a mention
—with a 252 HP / 252 Def EV spread it can take all of Blaziken's unboosted attacks barring Shadow Claw
and OHKOes him with Surf. However, Stone Edge after a Swords Dance boost will OHKO Burungeru.</p>
<p>Choice Band Azumarill is a great check to Blaziken
. A STAB, super effective Aqua Jet will bypass all Speed Boosts which Blaziken might have obtained and OHKO him. However, Azumarill will be OHKOed if it switches in on Hi Jump Kick from
an Adamant Blaziken. Bulk Up Roobushin can take all of Blaziken's unboosted attacks at full health and
then OHKO him with a Drain Punch followed by a Mach Punch.</p>
