Rabia
GP & NU Leader
[OVERVIEW]
Flareon's one of NU's best wallbreakers thanks to its combination of raw strength, good versatility, and useful defensive traits. It can run a mixed set with a very potent Double-Edge to lure in and chunk bulky Water-types and Quick Attack to pick off weakened foes like Pikachu and Huntail. Alternatively, it can go specially offensive to amp up its Fire Blast's damage and give it better odds against Sudowoodo, Relicanth, and Whiscash with Hidden Power Grass or Pelipper with Hidden Power Electric. Flareon's coverage is superb regardless of which set it uses, and teams usually must rely on smart pivoting around its attacks to prevent it from wreaking havoc. Flareon's also hard to revenge kill because most faster attackers can't reliably KO it without significant chip damage. Its defensive prowess also lets it check foes such as Haunter, Bellossom, and Torkoal. The most noticeable downside to Flareon is its reliance on Double-Edge to significantly damage Wailord and Dewgong, and depending on which Hidden Power it uses, varying foes like Pelipper, Whiscash, and Sudowoodo can pose problems. Flareon is also weak to common Water- and Ground-type attacks from Pokemon such as Wailord, Glalie, and Metang, which can make fitting it onto teams difficult.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Double-Edge
move 2: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Electric
move 4: Quick Attack
item: Silk Scarf
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Hasty
evs: 228 Atk / 28 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Silk Scarf Flareon has few reliable answers because of how absurdly strong its Double-Edge is; even Water-types like Wailord and Pelipper are 2HKOed unless they run significant bulk investment. Fire Blast targets Haunter, which otherwise walls this set, as well as Metang and Mawile. On the other hand, Overheat can KO Metang with much less chip damage needed. Hidden Power Grass hits Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Relicanth while offering more damage against Whiscash than Double-Edge. Alternatively, Hidden Power Electric is Flareon's best damaging move for defensive Pelipper. 228 Attack EVs guarantee Flareon's Quick Attack KOes bulkless Diglett after Spikes and ensure Double-Edge 2HKOes offensive Wailord.
Alternatively, Flareon can replace Double-Edge with Return or Silk Scarf with Leftovers for more longevity. Leftovers sets may invest more EVs into Special Attack to improve the Sableye matchup at the cost of damage against Wailord and Dewgong.
Team Options
========
Flareon is fantastic at luring in Water-types and severely weakening them with Double-Edge, making Huntail, Agility Pelipper and Metang, and Pupitar good teammates. Torkoal is also a common switch-in to Flareon, so damaging it supports late-game sweepers like Bellossom, Reversal Raticate, and Agility Metang. To supplement Flareon's wallbreaking prowess, Spikes from Glalie, Roselia, or Cacturne is a must; it synergizes well with Flareon's tendency to force switches and weakens grounded checks like Wailord, Torkoal, and Sableye. Other offensive teammates like Hitmonchan and Haunter are valuable too to weaken shared checks like Pelipper and Sableye, respectively.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Electric
move 3: Substitute / Toxic / Wish
move 4: Baton Pass / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Modest
evs: 8 HP / 84 Def / 192 SpA / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Fire Blast and Hidden Power Grass give Flareon great coverage across the tier; few Pokemon consistently switch into this combination, and those that do struggle to keep up with Flareon's damage if Spikes are up. Instead of Hidden Power Grass, Flareon can run Hidden Power Electric for a better Pelipper matchup, although this compromises its overall coverage. Substitute lets Flareon take advantage of foes like Torkoal, Roselia, and Mawile that can't threaten it with their attacks, and it can use Substitute alongside Baton Pass to guarantee safe entry for its teammates. Alternatively, Toxic helps Flareon beat Fire- and Water-types like Torkoal, opposing Flareon, and Pelipper, whereas Wish helps Flareon check Pokemon such as Haunter and Bellossom throughout the game while supporting teammates like Metang and Chimecho that are prone to being worn down. Flareon can even forgo Hidden Power entirely to run Toxic alongside some combination of Substitute, Baton Pass, Wish, and Protect depending on your team's needs. Keep in mind that Protect should almost always be run alongside Wish or Toxic.
A moveset of Flamethrower / Hidden Power Grass / Overheat / Protect is also possible. Overheat does absurd damage to nonresistant targets like Hitmonchan and Vigoroth, and Protect gives Flareon extra Leftovers recovery while blocking Haunter's and Torkoal's Explosion.
8 HP and 84 Defense EVs prevent Adamant Glalie's Earthquake from OHKOing Flareon, though Soft Sand variants make this a damage roll. 224 Speed EVs let Flareon outspeed Jolly Pupitar. A Petaya or Salac Berry can be considered instead of Leftovers; Substitute makes it easier to activate, and Baton Pass lets Flareon supply a teammate with the boost.
Team Options
========
This set takes a bit more of a supportive approach, taking advantage of Flareon forcing switches to safely set Substitute and pass it to a teammate. Pikachu benefits from Flareon drawing in Water-types for it to KO, whereas Diglett enjoys being safely brought in against Fire-types to trap them. On the other hand, if Flareon has Toxic instead of Baton Pass, it can cripple Water- and Fire-types like Dewgong, Torkoal, and opposing Flareon. This helps Pokemon like Huntail and Bellossom sweep late-game. Naturally, Spikes are great in ADV NU, and Glalie is a fantastic supplier of them that also can take on bulky Water-types like Wailord and Dewgong.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Specially defensive EV spreads with Wish and Baton Pass make Flareon much more secure against foes such as Haunter, Bellossom, and Plusle while keeping it from being too easily trapped by Diglett, although they falter against Water-types such as Wailord and Huntail. Alternatively, physically defensive spreads are workable due to Flareon's fantastic natural special bulk, make it harder for Haunter to pick it off with Explosion, help against Flying-types such as Murkrow and Pidgeot, and ensure Diglett's Earthquake never OHKOes Flareon. A Lum or Chesto Berry makes the Bellossom and Venomoth matchups trivial by cleansing sleep, and the latter has more general use if Flareon opts for Rest. Salac Berry in conjunction with Endure and Flail makes Flareon a potent late-game sweeper if the opponent lacks a priority move user, with Fire Blast and Hidden Power Grass ensuring its coverage remains solid. Curse + Baton Pass with White Herb supports physical powerhouses like Hitmonchan and gives Flareon a way to boost its own Attack, but Curse's Speed drop means you really only have one chance to make this strategy work. Hidden Power Water or Rock offers niche coverage for opposing Fire-types in Torkoal and Flareon, with the latter also hitting Pelipper, although they're generally outclassed. Choice Band lets Flareon net higher KO thresholds than Silk Scarf against foes like Wailord, Chimecho, and Dewgong when using Double-Edge, but this set makes Flareon more trappable and easier to take advantage of.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Defensive Wailord, Pelipper, and Whiscash all easily tank Flareon's Double-Edge, although the latter two must first scout which Hidden Power type it has. Offensive Water-types like Huntail, Octillery, and Crawdaunt take significantly more damage from Flareon's attacks, but they threaten to KO it back. Seadra and Dewgong get special mentions here for being faster than Flareon and KOing it with Hydro Pump and Surf, though the latter needs prior chip damage to do so.
**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo and Relicanth resist Flareon's strongest attacks, and the latter can EV to avoid being OHKOed by Hidden Power Grass. Pupitar can use non-Hidden Power Grass Flareon as setup fodder.
**Torkoal and Sableye**: Torkoal takes a pittance from any attack of Flareon's. If Flareon has Substitute + Toxic, though, it's wholly walled unless running a niche attack like Rock Slide. Meanwhile, Sableye can shut down mixed Flareon because it can stall Flareon out of Fire Blast PP, but it falls flat against special attacking sets.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
- Quality checked by: [[Bughouse, 52547], [ArcticBreeze, 437400]]
- Grammar checked by: [[deetah, 297659]]
Flareon's one of NU's best wallbreakers thanks to its combination of raw strength, good versatility, and useful defensive traits. It can run a mixed set with a very potent Double-Edge to lure in and chunk bulky Water-types and Quick Attack to pick off weakened foes like Pikachu and Huntail. Alternatively, it can go specially offensive to amp up its Fire Blast's damage and give it better odds against Sudowoodo, Relicanth, and Whiscash with Hidden Power Grass or Pelipper with Hidden Power Electric. Flareon's coverage is superb regardless of which set it uses, and teams usually must rely on smart pivoting around its attacks to prevent it from wreaking havoc. Flareon's also hard to revenge kill because most faster attackers can't reliably KO it without significant chip damage. Its defensive prowess also lets it check foes such as Haunter, Bellossom, and Torkoal. The most noticeable downside to Flareon is its reliance on Double-Edge to significantly damage Wailord and Dewgong, and depending on which Hidden Power it uses, varying foes like Pelipper, Whiscash, and Sudowoodo can pose problems. Flareon is also weak to common Water- and Ground-type attacks from Pokemon such as Wailord, Glalie, and Metang, which can make fitting it onto teams difficult.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Double-Edge
move 2: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Electric
move 4: Quick Attack
item: Silk Scarf
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Hasty
evs: 228 Atk / 28 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Silk Scarf Flareon has few reliable answers because of how absurdly strong its Double-Edge is; even Water-types like Wailord and Pelipper are 2HKOed unless they run significant bulk investment. Fire Blast targets Haunter, which otherwise walls this set, as well as Metang and Mawile. On the other hand, Overheat can KO Metang with much less chip damage needed. Hidden Power Grass hits Rock-types such as Sudowoodo and Relicanth while offering more damage against Whiscash than Double-Edge. Alternatively, Hidden Power Electric is Flareon's best damaging move for defensive Pelipper. 228 Attack EVs guarantee Flareon's Quick Attack KOes bulkless Diglett after Spikes and ensure Double-Edge 2HKOes offensive Wailord.
Alternatively, Flareon can replace Double-Edge with Return or Silk Scarf with Leftovers for more longevity. Leftovers sets may invest more EVs into Special Attack to improve the Sableye matchup at the cost of damage against Wailord and Dewgong.
Team Options
========
Flareon is fantastic at luring in Water-types and severely weakening them with Double-Edge, making Huntail, Agility Pelipper and Metang, and Pupitar good teammates. Torkoal is also a common switch-in to Flareon, so damaging it supports late-game sweepers like Bellossom, Reversal Raticate, and Agility Metang. To supplement Flareon's wallbreaking prowess, Spikes from Glalie, Roselia, or Cacturne is a must; it synergizes well with Flareon's tendency to force switches and weakens grounded checks like Wailord, Torkoal, and Sableye. Other offensive teammates like Hitmonchan and Haunter are valuable too to weaken shared checks like Pelipper and Sableye, respectively.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Electric
move 3: Substitute / Toxic / Wish
move 4: Baton Pass / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Modest
evs: 8 HP / 84 Def / 192 SpA / 224 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Fire Blast and Hidden Power Grass give Flareon great coverage across the tier; few Pokemon consistently switch into this combination, and those that do struggle to keep up with Flareon's damage if Spikes are up. Instead of Hidden Power Grass, Flareon can run Hidden Power Electric for a better Pelipper matchup, although this compromises its overall coverage. Substitute lets Flareon take advantage of foes like Torkoal, Roselia, and Mawile that can't threaten it with their attacks, and it can use Substitute alongside Baton Pass to guarantee safe entry for its teammates. Alternatively, Toxic helps Flareon beat Fire- and Water-types like Torkoal, opposing Flareon, and Pelipper, whereas Wish helps Flareon check Pokemon such as Haunter and Bellossom throughout the game while supporting teammates like Metang and Chimecho that are prone to being worn down. Flareon can even forgo Hidden Power entirely to run Toxic alongside some combination of Substitute, Baton Pass, Wish, and Protect depending on your team's needs. Keep in mind that Protect should almost always be run alongside Wish or Toxic.
A moveset of Flamethrower / Hidden Power Grass / Overheat / Protect is also possible. Overheat does absurd damage to nonresistant targets like Hitmonchan and Vigoroth, and Protect gives Flareon extra Leftovers recovery while blocking Haunter's and Torkoal's Explosion.
8 HP and 84 Defense EVs prevent Adamant Glalie's Earthquake from OHKOing Flareon, though Soft Sand variants make this a damage roll. 224 Speed EVs let Flareon outspeed Jolly Pupitar. A Petaya or Salac Berry can be considered instead of Leftovers; Substitute makes it easier to activate, and Baton Pass lets Flareon supply a teammate with the boost.
Team Options
========
This set takes a bit more of a supportive approach, taking advantage of Flareon forcing switches to safely set Substitute and pass it to a teammate. Pikachu benefits from Flareon drawing in Water-types for it to KO, whereas Diglett enjoys being safely brought in against Fire-types to trap them. On the other hand, if Flareon has Toxic instead of Baton Pass, it can cripple Water- and Fire-types like Dewgong, Torkoal, and opposing Flareon. This helps Pokemon like Huntail and Bellossom sweep late-game. Naturally, Spikes are great in ADV NU, and Glalie is a fantastic supplier of them that also can take on bulky Water-types like Wailord and Dewgong.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Specially defensive EV spreads with Wish and Baton Pass make Flareon much more secure against foes such as Haunter, Bellossom, and Plusle while keeping it from being too easily trapped by Diglett, although they falter against Water-types such as Wailord and Huntail. Alternatively, physically defensive spreads are workable due to Flareon's fantastic natural special bulk, make it harder for Haunter to pick it off with Explosion, help against Flying-types such as Murkrow and Pidgeot, and ensure Diglett's Earthquake never OHKOes Flareon. A Lum or Chesto Berry makes the Bellossom and Venomoth matchups trivial by cleansing sleep, and the latter has more general use if Flareon opts for Rest. Salac Berry in conjunction with Endure and Flail makes Flareon a potent late-game sweeper if the opponent lacks a priority move user, with Fire Blast and Hidden Power Grass ensuring its coverage remains solid. Curse + Baton Pass with White Herb supports physical powerhouses like Hitmonchan and gives Flareon a way to boost its own Attack, but Curse's Speed drop means you really only have one chance to make this strategy work. Hidden Power Water or Rock offers niche coverage for opposing Fire-types in Torkoal and Flareon, with the latter also hitting Pelipper, although they're generally outclassed. Choice Band lets Flareon net higher KO thresholds than Silk Scarf against foes like Wailord, Chimecho, and Dewgong when using Double-Edge, but this set makes Flareon more trappable and easier to take advantage of.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Defensive Wailord, Pelipper, and Whiscash all easily tank Flareon's Double-Edge, although the latter two must first scout which Hidden Power type it has. Offensive Water-types like Huntail, Octillery, and Crawdaunt take significantly more damage from Flareon's attacks, but they threaten to KO it back. Seadra and Dewgong get special mentions here for being faster than Flareon and KOing it with Hydro Pump and Surf, though the latter needs prior chip damage to do so.
**Rock-types**: Sudowoodo and Relicanth resist Flareon's strongest attacks, and the latter can EV to avoid being OHKOed by Hidden Power Grass. Pupitar can use non-Hidden Power Grass Flareon as setup fodder.
**Torkoal and Sableye**: Torkoal takes a pittance from any attack of Flareon's. If Flareon has Substitute + Toxic, though, it's wholly walled unless running a niche attack like Rock Slide. Meanwhile, Sableye can shut down mixed Flareon because it can stall Flareon out of Fire Blast PP, but it falls flat against special attacking sets.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
- Quality checked by: [[Bughouse, 52547], [ArcticBreeze, 437400]]
- Grammar checked by: [[deetah, 297659]]
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