[OVERVIEW]
Fearow’s combination of high Attack, Normal-type STAB, and excellent Speed make it one of the most dangerous physical attackers in the tier. It is a deadly offensive threat throughout the game, blasting opponents with powerful attacks in the early- and mid-game and single-handedly cleaning up a weakened team. It can also be used effectively as a lead, dishing out heavy damage from the first turn. Since the only relevant threat that outspeeds Fearow is Rapidash, anything that switches in will most likely be taking two attacks, making it extremely difficult to switch into safely. Fearow's high critical hit ratio of 19.53% means that an otherwise-safe switch-in can potentially be put in a dangerous situation. However, Fearow is quite frail, and although its Flying typing offers a nice immunity to Ground-type moves, it doesn’t have any other notable resistances and is weak to common moves such as Blizzard and Thunderbolt. Double-Edge's recoil also hinders its longevity. Fearow is very reliant on its Speed since it can’t afford to take many hits, which also makes it afraid of paralysis, though its Normal typing prevents paralysis from Body Slam. Fearow is also afraid of being burned by Fire Blast. Fearow is completely walled by Graveler and to a lesser extent Omanyte. Both Rock-types resist Fearow’s STAB combination and are capable of hitting it back with super effective damage, so it requires some team support to deal with them before it can achieve its destructive potential.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Double-Edge
move 2: Drill Peck
move 3: Hyper Beam
move 4: Agility
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Double-Edge and Drill Peck are Fearow’s STAB options. Double-Edge is the more powerful of the two, but reckless use will quickly rack up heavy recoil damage. Drill Peck is slightly weaker, but it lacks recoil and hits Pinsir and Machamp super effectively, which is useful since they are two of the most physically bulky Pokemon in the tier. Drill Peck also cleanly 2HKOes Gastly, which would otherwise wall Fearow. Fearow’s Hyper Beam is extremely powerful, dealing a minimum of 73.3% to Drowzee and 81.7% to Staryu, making it an excellent Pokemon to finish off these physically frail foes after minimal chip damage. Hyper Beam also does a lot against bulkier Pokemon, dealing a minimum of 42.8% to Nidoqueen and a minimum of 53.9% to Seaking. Two Double-Edges followed by Hyper Beam is guaranteed to KO every non-resistant Pokemon in the tier aside from the rare Sandslash, and more physically-frail Pokemon are put into Hyper Beam range after just one Double-Edge. A critical hit Double-Edge puts almost every Pokemon into Hyper Beam KO range, and a critical hit Hyper Beam will OHKO most of the tier outright, making switching into a predicted Hyper Beam very risky. Agility allows Fearow to outspeed Rapidash and negates Speed drop from paralysis. Agility is most useful late-game when Fearow is ready to sweep a weakened team.
Seaking and Staryu are both excellent teammates for Fearow, since they are able to switch into Rapidash, Arcanine, Graveler, and Omanyte and force them out, although they both fear paralysis from Body Slam. Seaking is a better switch-in than Staryu though, as it is bulkier and doesn't mind Body Slam paralysis as much thanks to Agility. The Water-types can also switch into Nidoqueen’s Blizzard in dire situations, with a healthy Staryu even beating Nidoqueen one-on-one after switching into Blizzard. Porygon is a fantastic teammate thanks to its ability to switch in to Graveler and Omanyte. Pinsir and Rapidash are also excellent teammates that can use Bind and Fire Spin to get opposing Pokemon into Fearow’s Hyper Beam range and give Fearow a free switch, which is extremely helpful considering Fearow's frailty. They also help Fearow wear down shared checks in Graveler and Omanyte. Pinsir’s Submission does a decent amount of damage to the Rock-types, while Rapidash can potentially burn them with Fire Blast. Additionally, Machamp is able to comfortably switch into Graveler's Rock Slide and threaten both Rock-types with a powerful Earthquake or Submission. Ironically, Omanyte is also a good teammate thanks to its ability to switch into a Rapidash or Arcanine that tries to revenge kill Fearow. Although they are hard to fit on a team, Vileplume and Weepinbell threaten both Graveler and Omanyte with 4x super effective damage, making them great checks to Fearow’s main walls. They can also try to paralyze a Rapidash or Arcanine that switches into them with Stun Spore, making them much easier for Fearow to handle later.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
All four moves in Fearow's standard set are very important, so other options are generally not recommended for Fearow. If you do want to use another option, you should replace Agility since Double-Edge, Drill Peck, and Hyper Beam are much more important. Mirror Move can be used to punish Nidoqueen’s Blizzard by copying the move and hitting it back with super effective damage, but Fearow’s low Special means it actually does less damage than Hyper Beam, and Nidoqueen can use the safer but weaker Thunderbolt or just switch out to render Mirror Move useless. Mirror Move can also be used to let Fearow switch into Nidoqueen and even Graveler’s Earthquakes, then hit them super effectively with Earthquake the next turn. Toxic can be used on a predicted Graveler or Omanyte switch-in to wear it down over the course of a game, making it easier for Fearow to break through. However, the damage from poison is very low, and a wrong prediction could accidentally make an opposing Pokemon immune to paralysis. Lastly, Substitute can be used to ease prediction and punish switches, but Fearow can still be paralyzed while behind a Substitute.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Paralysis**: Fearow hates being paralyzed since high Speed is one of its most important assets. Because of this, Fearow has to run from Pokemon it would otherwise easily beat, such as Porygon, Dragonair, Drowzee, Staryu, and the rare Slowpoke. Dragonair and Porygon in particular can 2HKO Fearow with Blizzard. However, since most paralysis spreaders are frail, Fearow can KO them with Hyper Beam if they’ve taken a bit of chip damage, and a critical hit Hyper Beam OHKOes every Thunder Wave user outright.
**Fire-Types**: Although Rapidash cannot switch into Fearow since it is unlikely to survive Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam, it is able to outspeed Fearow and has a 36.3% chance to 2HKO with Fire Blast; this becomes guaranteed after factoring in Double-Edge recoil. Fire Blast can also burn Fearow, effectively rendering it useless. Arcanine is slower than Fearow but is bulky enough to always survive a Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam and does the same amount of damage as Rapidash.
**Rock-types**: Graveler and Omanyte can switch into Fearow and take its hits well. Graveler takes a maximum of 17.2% from Double-Edge, while Omanyte takes a maximum of 21.9%. Graveler’s Rock Slide and Omanyte’s Blizzard both do massive damage to Fearow, 2HKOing it.
**Nidoqueen**: Nidoqueen is able to survive a Double-Edge followed by Hyper Beam and hit Fearow super effectively with Blizzard. Although it loses to Fearow one-on-one if it switches in, Blizzard will do enough damage for a teammate to finish Fearow off.
**Sandslash:** Although rare, Sandslash is able to survive two of Fearow's Double-Edges followed up by Hyper Beam, and it 2HKOes with Rock Slide after factoring in Double-Edge recoil.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Fearow’s combination of high Attack, Normal-type STAB, and excellent Speed make it one of the most dangerous physical attackers in the tier. It is a deadly offensive threat throughout the game, blasting opponents with powerful attacks in the early- and mid-game and single-handedly cleaning up a weakened team. It can also be used effectively as a lead, dishing out heavy damage from the first turn. Since the only relevant threat that outspeeds Fearow is Rapidash, anything that switches in will most likely be taking two attacks, making it extremely difficult to switch into safely. Fearow's high critical hit ratio of 19.53% means that an otherwise-safe switch-in can potentially be put in a dangerous situation. However, Fearow is quite frail, and although its Flying typing offers a nice immunity to Ground-type moves, it doesn’t have any other notable resistances and is weak to common moves such as Blizzard and Thunderbolt. Double-Edge's recoil also hinders its longevity. Fearow is very reliant on its Speed since it can’t afford to take many hits, which also makes it afraid of paralysis, though its Normal typing prevents paralysis from Body Slam. Fearow is also afraid of being burned by Fire Blast. Fearow is completely walled by Graveler and to a lesser extent Omanyte. Both Rock-types resist Fearow’s STAB combination and are capable of hitting it back with super effective damage, so it requires some team support to deal with them before it can achieve its destructive potential.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Double-Edge
move 2: Drill Peck
move 3: Hyper Beam
move 4: Agility
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Double-Edge and Drill Peck are Fearow’s STAB options. Double-Edge is the more powerful of the two, but reckless use will quickly rack up heavy recoil damage. Drill Peck is slightly weaker, but it lacks recoil and hits Pinsir and Machamp super effectively, which is useful since they are two of the most physically bulky Pokemon in the tier. Drill Peck also cleanly 2HKOes Gastly, which would otherwise wall Fearow. Fearow’s Hyper Beam is extremely powerful, dealing a minimum of 73.3% to Drowzee and 81.7% to Staryu, making it an excellent Pokemon to finish off these physically frail foes after minimal chip damage. Hyper Beam also does a lot against bulkier Pokemon, dealing a minimum of 42.8% to Nidoqueen and a minimum of 53.9% to Seaking. Two Double-Edges followed by Hyper Beam is guaranteed to KO every non-resistant Pokemon in the tier aside from the rare Sandslash, and more physically-frail Pokemon are put into Hyper Beam range after just one Double-Edge. A critical hit Double-Edge puts almost every Pokemon into Hyper Beam KO range, and a critical hit Hyper Beam will OHKO most of the tier outright, making switching into a predicted Hyper Beam very risky. Agility allows Fearow to outspeed Rapidash and negates Speed drop from paralysis. Agility is most useful late-game when Fearow is ready to sweep a weakened team.
Seaking and Staryu are both excellent teammates for Fearow, since they are able to switch into Rapidash, Arcanine, Graveler, and Omanyte and force them out, although they both fear paralysis from Body Slam. Seaking is a better switch-in than Staryu though, as it is bulkier and doesn't mind Body Slam paralysis as much thanks to Agility. The Water-types can also switch into Nidoqueen’s Blizzard in dire situations, with a healthy Staryu even beating Nidoqueen one-on-one after switching into Blizzard. Porygon is a fantastic teammate thanks to its ability to switch in to Graveler and Omanyte. Pinsir and Rapidash are also excellent teammates that can use Bind and Fire Spin to get opposing Pokemon into Fearow’s Hyper Beam range and give Fearow a free switch, which is extremely helpful considering Fearow's frailty. They also help Fearow wear down shared checks in Graveler and Omanyte. Pinsir’s Submission does a decent amount of damage to the Rock-types, while Rapidash can potentially burn them with Fire Blast. Additionally, Machamp is able to comfortably switch into Graveler's Rock Slide and threaten both Rock-types with a powerful Earthquake or Submission. Ironically, Omanyte is also a good teammate thanks to its ability to switch into a Rapidash or Arcanine that tries to revenge kill Fearow. Although they are hard to fit on a team, Vileplume and Weepinbell threaten both Graveler and Omanyte with 4x super effective damage, making them great checks to Fearow’s main walls. They can also try to paralyze a Rapidash or Arcanine that switches into them with Stun Spore, making them much easier for Fearow to handle later.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
All four moves in Fearow's standard set are very important, so other options are generally not recommended for Fearow. If you do want to use another option, you should replace Agility since Double-Edge, Drill Peck, and Hyper Beam are much more important. Mirror Move can be used to punish Nidoqueen’s Blizzard by copying the move and hitting it back with super effective damage, but Fearow’s low Special means it actually does less damage than Hyper Beam, and Nidoqueen can use the safer but weaker Thunderbolt or just switch out to render Mirror Move useless. Mirror Move can also be used to let Fearow switch into Nidoqueen and even Graveler’s Earthquakes, then hit them super effectively with Earthquake the next turn. Toxic can be used on a predicted Graveler or Omanyte switch-in to wear it down over the course of a game, making it easier for Fearow to break through. However, the damage from poison is very low, and a wrong prediction could accidentally make an opposing Pokemon immune to paralysis. Lastly, Substitute can be used to ease prediction and punish switches, but Fearow can still be paralyzed while behind a Substitute.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Paralysis**: Fearow hates being paralyzed since high Speed is one of its most important assets. Because of this, Fearow has to run from Pokemon it would otherwise easily beat, such as Porygon, Dragonair, Drowzee, Staryu, and the rare Slowpoke. Dragonair and Porygon in particular can 2HKO Fearow with Blizzard. However, since most paralysis spreaders are frail, Fearow can KO them with Hyper Beam if they’ve taken a bit of chip damage, and a critical hit Hyper Beam OHKOes every Thunder Wave user outright.
**Fire-Types**: Although Rapidash cannot switch into Fearow since it is unlikely to survive Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam, it is able to outspeed Fearow and has a 36.3% chance to 2HKO with Fire Blast; this becomes guaranteed after factoring in Double-Edge recoil. Fire Blast can also burn Fearow, effectively rendering it useless. Arcanine is slower than Fearow but is bulky enough to always survive a Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam and does the same amount of damage as Rapidash.
**Rock-types**: Graveler and Omanyte can switch into Fearow and take its hits well. Graveler takes a maximum of 17.2% from Double-Edge, while Omanyte takes a maximum of 21.9%. Graveler’s Rock Slide and Omanyte’s Blizzard both do massive damage to Fearow, 2HKOing it.
**Nidoqueen**: Nidoqueen is able to survive a Double-Edge followed by Hyper Beam and hit Fearow super effectively with Blizzard. Although it loses to Fearow one-on-one if it switches in, Blizzard will do enough damage for a teammate to finish Fearow off.
**Sandslash:** Although rare, Sandslash is able to survive two of Fearow's Double-Edges followed up by Hyper Beam, and it 2HKOes with Rock Slide after factoring in Double-Edge recoil.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Last edited:
