Gen 1 Fearow [QC 2/2] [GP 1/1]

gastlies

running up that hill
is a Pre-Contributor
[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/
 
Last edited:

Sabelette

from the river to the sea
is a Site Content Manageris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Implement/look over the comments for QC 1/2, additions/removals are me doing a little bit of early GP but I'm not looking that hard.

Addition Removal Comment
(AC) (AH) Add Comma/Add Hyphen, (RC) (RH) Remove Comma/Remove Hyphen


[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 an entire game, blasting opponents with its powerful attacks in the early and middle stages of the game, while also being able to single-handedly clean up a weakened team. Since Fearow is only outsped by Rapidash, anything that switches in will most likely be taking two attacks, making Fearow extremely difficult to switch into safely; it’s always an immediate threat that must be dealt with as swiftly as possible. 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 (might mention being weak to boltbeam here as well as fblast basically being a weakness with that sheer power and burn chance). The recoil damage from Double-Edge also hinders Fearow’s longevity. These factors make Fearow very reliant on its Speed since it can’t afford to take many hits, also making it afraid of Paralysis paralysis, although this is somewhat alleviated thanks to its Normal typing preventing Paralysis paralysis from Body Slam. Fearow is also completely walled by Graveler, and to a lesser extent Omanyte. Both of these Rock-types resist Fearow’s STAB combination and are capable of hitting it back with super-effective damage. This means Fearow requires some team support to make sure the Rock-types are dealt with before it can achieve its destructive potential.

(would mention its crit rate in the overview because that makes any non-rock check liable to get OHKOed or 2HKOed)

[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 you should try to avoid recklessly spamming it since the recoil damage will add up. Drill Peck is slightly weaker, but it lacks recoil and hits Pinsir and Machamp Super-Effectively super effectively, which is very useful since they are two of the most Physically-Bulky 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 Pokemon after minimal chip damage. Hyper Beam also does a lot against bulkier Pokemon, dealing a minimum of 42.8% to Nidoqueeen 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, while more physically-frail Pokemon are put into Hyper Beam range after just one Double-Edge. Agility allows Fearow to outspeed Rapidash, while also negating the speed drop from Paralysis. Agility is most useful in the late-game where Fearow is ready to sweep a weakened team. (again would note its sheer crit rate means that it can potentially 2HKO switch-ins that would normally at least get one hit off or land an OHKO Hyper Beam to turn a situation around, meaning only Omanyte and Graveler are actually somewhat safe from getting obliterated and switching stuff in on predicted Hbeam is terrifying)

Seaking and Staryu are both excellent teammates for Fearow since they are able to switch into Rapidash, Graveler, and Omanyte and force them out, although they both fear Paralysis paralysis from Body Slam. Seaking is a better switch-in compared to Staryu though, since it is bulkier and doesn't mind Body Slam Paralysis paralysis as much due to having 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. Pinsir and Rapidash are also excellent teammates that can 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 (this seems far less relevant for Omanyte? Unless we're hoping to chip away with Sp. Additionally, Pinsir’s Bind and Rapidash’s Fire Spin are also able to get opposing Pokemon into Fearow’s Hyper Beam range, as well as give Fearow a free switch, which is extremely helpful considering Fearow's frailty (I'd mention the free switch before the chip). Machamp is able to comfortably switch into Graveler's Rock Slide, and threatens both Rock Types Rock-types with a powerful Earthquake. Although they are hard to fit on a team, Vileplume and Weepinbell threaten both Graveler and Omanyte with 4x Super-Effective Damage super effective damage, making them great checks to Fearow’s main walls. (potentially worth noting that as Dash is a big issue for Fearow, these also can Stun Spore it if it tries to get in on them and leave Fearow able to tenuously win the one-on-one barring crit/burn/etc. Similarly, Omanyte is probably worth a biref mention as an ally since it walls pretty much the only thing that revenge kills unparalyzed Fearow)

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Double-Edge, Drill Peck, and Hyper beam Beam are required moves for Fearow, so any other option you choose should replace Agility. Mirror Move can be used to punish Nidoqueen’s Blizzard by copying the move and hitting it back with Super-Effective 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, (RC) or just switch out, (RC) 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 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 poison is very low, and a wrong prediction could accidentally make an opposing Pokemon immune to Paralysis paralysis. Lastly, Substitute can be used to ease prediction and punish switches, but Fearow can still be paralyzed while behind a Substitute.

(section is good but I think it's important to clarify all these options are ultra niche and not very good in the intro to this section)

Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock-types**: Graveler and Omanyte can switch into Fearow and take its hits very 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, with Rock Slide doing a minimum of 61.5% and Blizzard doing a minimum of 65.1%.

**Paralysis**: Fearow hates being paralyzed since high speed Speed is one of its most important assets. Because of this, Fearow has to run from Pokemon it would otherwise easily beat, such as Drowzee and Staryu. However, since most Paralysis paralysis spreaders are frail, Fearow can KO them with Hyper Beam if they’ve taken a bit of chip damage.

**Rapidash**: Although it cannot switch into (removed space) Fearow since it is unlikely to survive Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam, Rapidash is able to outspeed Fearow and has a 36.3% chance to 2HKO with Fire Blast but this becomes guaranteed after factoring in Double-Edge recoil. Fire Blast can also burn Fearow, effectively rendering it useless.

**Nidoqueen**: Nidoqueen is able to survive a Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam and hit Fearow super-effectively (RH) with Blizzard. Although it loses to Fearow one-on-one if it switches in, Blizzard will do enough damage such that a teammate can finish Fearow off.

**Sandslash:** Although Rare 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.

(IMO, if we can mention Sandslash, we can mention Arcanine, who has the exact same benchmarks for KOing Fearow as Dash but never gets KOed by Dedge Beam. It's obviously still not an amazing check since it's slower but I think it can have a brief mention alongside Dash with the caveat that it's slower and bulkier.)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Gastlies, 540559]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sabelette, 583793], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 

Gangsta Spongebob

"Mama I'm a Criminal" - Badass Smoking Caterpillar
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributor
Excellent job, most of the small amount of changes are optional or involve Porygon. QC 2/2 when implemented.

Add Remove Comments

[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 an entire game, blasting opponents with its powerful attacks in the early and middle stages of the game, while also being able to single-handedly clean up a weakened team. It can also be used effectively as a lead, dishing out heavy damage from Turn 1. Since Fearow is only outsped by Rapidash, I would mention that Rapidash is the only relevant threat that outspeeds Fearow, though given that Scyther is terrible, this is optional. anything that switches in will most likely be taking two attacks, making Fearow extremely difficult to switch into safely; it’s always an immediate threat that must be dealt with as swiftly as possible. Fearow's high critical hit ratio of 19.53% means that an otherwise-safe switch 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 makes Fearow weak common moves such as Blizzard and Thunderbolt. The recoil damage from Double-Edge also hinders Fearow’s longevity. These factors make Fearow very reliant on its Speed since it can’t afford to take many hits, also making it afraid of paralysis, although this is somewhat alleviated thanks to its Normal typing preventing paralysis from Body Slam. Fearow is also afraid of being burned, so it tends to run away from Fire Blast as well. Fearow is also completely walled by Graveler, and to a lesser extent Omanyte. Both of these Rock-types resist Fearow’s STAB combination and are capable of hitting it back with super-effective damage. This means Fearow requires some team support to make sure the Rock-types are dealt with 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 you should try to avoid recklessly spamming it since the recoil damage will add up. Drill Peck is slightly weaker, but it lacks recoil and hits Pinsir and Machamp super effectively, which is very 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 Pokemon 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, while more physically-frail Pokemon are put into Hyper Beam range after just one Double-Edge. A critical hit Double-Edge ensures almost every Pokemon will be put 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, while also negating the speed drop from Paralysis. Agility is most useful in the late-game where 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, Graveler, and Omanyte and force them out, although they both fear paralysis from Body Slam. Seaking is a better switch-in compared to Staryu though, since it is bulkier and doesn't mind Body Slam paralysis as much due to having 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. Pinsir and Rapidash are also excellent teammates that can use Bind and Fire Spin respectively to get opposing Pokemon into Fearow’s Hyper Beam range, as well as 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, which will make them take chip damage over time, while also decreasing Graveler's damage output. Additionally, Machamp is able to comfortably switch into Graveler's Rock Slide, and threatens both Rock Types with a powerful Earthquake. Ironically, Omanyte is also a good teammate thanks to its ability to switch into a Rapidash 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 that switches into them with Stun Spore, making it much easier for Fearow to handle later in the game. You can't be faulted for being unable to see into the future, but now that Porygon has dropped, it is essential it is mentioned here. Notably mention its good mu against the Rock-types.

[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 though, 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
===================
**Rock-types**: Graveler and Omanyte can switch into Fearow and take its hits very 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, with Rock Slide doing a minimum of 61.5% and Blizzard doing a minimum of 65.1%.

**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 Dragonair, Drowzee, Staryu, and the rare Slowpoke. Mention Porygon here too. Dragonair 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. Mention that a crit Hyper Beam OHKOes every relevant TWave user.

**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, but this becomes guaranteed after factoring in Double-Edge recoil. Fire Blast can also burn Fearow, effectively rendering it useless. The rarer Arcanine is slower than Fearow, but is bulky enough to always survive a Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam. Mention that Arcanine's Fire Blast hits as hard as Rapidash's.

**Nidoqueen**: Nidoqueen is able to survive a Double-Edge followed up 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 such that a teammate can finish Fearow off.

**Sandslash:** Although Rare, Sandslash is able to survive two of Fearow's Double-Edges followed up by Hyper Beam, and it 2HKOs with Rock Slide after factoring in Double-Edge Recoil.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Gastlies, 540559]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sabelette, 583793], [Gangsta Spongebob, 535530]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 

Sabelette

from the river to the sea
is a Site Content Manageris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
GP 1/1

[OVERVIEW]

Fearow’s combination of high Attack, Normal-type STAB, and excellent Speed makes ("combination of" is singular, you can make this change or remove that) it one of the most dangerous physical attackers in the tier. It is a deadly offensive threat throughout an entire the game, blasting opponents with its powerful attacks in the early and middle stages of the game, early- and mid-game and while also being able to single-handedly cleaning up a weakened team. It can also be used effectively as a lead, dishing out heavy damage from the first turn Turn 1. Since the only relevant threat that outspeeds Fearow is Rapidash, anything that switches in will most likely be taking two attacks, making Fearow it extremely difficult to switch into safely; it’s always an immediate threat that must be dealt with as swiftly as possible. 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 makes Fearow is weak to common moves such as Blizzard and Thunderbolt. The recoil damage from Double-Edge's recoil also hinders Fearow’s its longevity. These factors make Fearow is very reliant on its Speed since it can’t afford to take many hits, which also makes making it afraid of paralysis, although this is somewhat alleviated thanks to its though its Normal typing prevents preventing paralysis from Body Slam. Fearow is also afraid of being burned, so it tends to run away from being burned by Fire Blast as well. Fearow is also completely walled by Graveler, (RC) and to a lesser extent Omanyte. Both of these Rock-types resist Fearow’s STAB combination and are capable of hitting it back with super-effective (RH) damage, (AC) so . This means Fearow it requires some team support to make sure the Rock-types are dealt with 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 you should try to avoid recklessly spamming it since the recoil damage will add up. Drill Peck is slightly weaker, but it lacks recoil and hits Pinsir and Machamp super effectively, which is very 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 Pokemon 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, while and more physically-frail Pokemon are put into Hyper Beam range after just one Double-Edge. A critical hit Double-Edge ensures puts almost every Pokemon will be put into Hyper-Beam (RH) KO range, and a Critical 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, (RC) while also negating and negates the speed Speed drop from paralysis Paralysis. Agility is most useful in the late-game where when Fearow is ready to sweep a weakened team.

Seaking and Staryu are both excellent teammates for Fearow, (AC) 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 compared to than Staryu though, since as (repetition) it is bulkier and doesn't mind Body Slam paralysis as much due to having 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 also 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 respectively to get opposing Pokemon into Fearow’s Hyper Beam range, as well as 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, which will make them take chip damage over time, while also decreasing Graveler's damage output. (this is all essentially dex info on how burn works) Additionally, Machamp is able to comfortably switch into Graveler's Rock Slide, (RC) and threatens both Rock-types Types with a powerful Earthquake. Ironically, Omanyte is also a good teammate thanks to its ability to switch into a Rapidash or Arcanine that tries to revenge-kill (RH) 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 it much easier for Fearow to handle later in the game.

[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 though, 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, (RC) 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, while 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; (add semicolon), but this becomes guaranteed after factoring in Double-Edge recoil. Fire Blast can also burn Fearow, effectively rendering it useless. Arcanine is slower than Fearow, (RC) but is bulky enough to always survive a Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam. Arcanine also and does the same amount of damage to Fearow as Rapidash.

**Rock-types**: Graveler and Omanyte can switch into Fearow and take its hits very well. Graveler takes a maximum of 17.2% from Double-Edge, (AC) while Omanyte takes a maximum of 21.9%. Graveler’s Rock Slide and Omanyte’s Blizzard both do massive damage to Fearow, 2HKOing it with Rock Slide doing a minimum of 61.5% and Blizzard doing a minimum of 65.1%.

**Nidoqueen**: Nidoqueen is able to survive a Double-Edge followed up by Hyper Beam and hit Fearow super-effectively (RH) with Blizzard. Although it loses to Fearow one-on-one if it switches in, Blizzard will do enough damage such that for a teammate can to finish Fearow off.

**Sandslash:** Although Rare 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 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/

- Written by: [[Gastlies, 540559]]

- Quality checked by: [[Sabelette, 583793], [Gangsta Spongebob, 535530]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
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