Copyediting Moltres [QC 2/2 GP 0/2]

Moltres

[OVERVIEW]

Moltres' high Special Attack, powerful STAB coverage, resistance to Double Iron Bash and immunity to Earthquake, and access to useful moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Agility are all extremely desirable attributes. Unfortunately, all of its functions are severely hindered by losing half its health to Stealth Rock every time it switches in. Defensively, although it somewhat checks Melmetal and threatens to ohko it with its fire stab or cripple it with burn, it cannot afford any mispredictions, as Stealth Rock means that being forced out without using Roost can be fatal, while using Roost on Melmetal's Earthquake leaves Moltres in a dangerous predicament. As a result, Zapdos is almost always preferable in terms of defensive utility. Offensively, while it can act as a weaker Mega Charizard Y without taking up the team's mega slot, its lower speed tier if Agility is not set up means that it is even more vulnerable to being forced out, which a pokemon that is four times weak to Stealth Rock really cannot afford.


[SET]

name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Will-o-wisp / Agility
move 3: Agility / Air Slash
move 4: Roost
item: No item
nature: Modest

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Information
========

Fire Blast is Moltres' strongest STAB option, allowing it to ohko Melmetal, potentially ohko Sandslash, and potentially 2hko Alolan Muk and Rhydon after Stealth Rock damage. Will-o-wisp allows Moltres to cripple physical checks like Mega Gyarados, Dragonite, and Mega Aerodactyl that otherwise check Moltres safely. Agility enables Moltres to sweep sufficiently weakened teams, and also outspeed and burn Mega Aerodactyl that attempt to revenge kill it. Roost lets Moltres regain health on predicted switches or against pokémon that cannot adequately threaten it, and can synergize with Will-o-wisp to enable Moltres to use Roost safely against many burned physical attackers. Air Slash can be used over Agility for a decent secondary stab that notably threatens Poliwrath and can help in breaking through Pokemon Moltres would otherwise lose to with its decent flinch chance, especially after boosting its Speed; however, doing so requires forgoing the utility of Will-o-wisp or Agility, which leaves Moltres either blanked by checks like Mega Gyarados or unable to threaten a sweep. A modest nature allows Moltres to hit as hard as possible.

Usage Tips
========

Against teams that do not have Aerodactyl, Moltres can be a fairly safe anti-lead, as it has good matchups with many probable Stealth Rock setters identifiable from team preview such as Sandslash, Nidoqueen, Clefable, Nidoking, and standard Mew. This also allows Moltres to start at full rather than half health, making it far safer to throw off attacks or Will-O-Wisp.

Moltres needs to be extremely careful with when it chooses to come in due to losing half its health to Stealth Rock. Typically its best opportunities to come in are against Melmetal, either by being pivoted in or after a teammate is ko'ed, due to Moltres' ability to burn or OHKO it. Since many common pokemon that avoid the 2hko from Fire Blast are crippled by Will-o-Wisp, many teams may be forced to make an unfavorable 50/50 prediction of whether Moltres will use Fire Blast or Will-o-wisp. Against teams that do have a reliable Moltres switch-in such as Starmie or Chansey, Moltres will need to more aggressively use Roost, as being forced out before healing usually leaves it as little more than a sacrifice. Agility can help with this somewhat by preventing Moltres from being revenge killed, enabling it to burn Mega Aerodactyl and heavily damage or ko the other fast Mega Evolutions.

If Moltres is running both Agility and Air Slash, try to bluff Will-o-wisp as long as possible, as this can deter its checks and improve its effectiveness in the early game. Try to weaken Moltres's checks into the KO range of Fire Blast or Air Slash to enable an agility sweep. Against targets that are not in Fire Blast ko range, it may be worth trying for an Air Slash flinch, which will keep Moltres's sweep going if successful.

While Moltres generally does not want to take status, in some cases it may have to risk taking Toxic on the turn it sets up Agility from pokémon such as Sandslash, Nidoqueen or a weakened Mew, as these targets often provide Moltres its best setup opportunities.

Team Options
========

Mega Beedrill is typically the only Mega Evolution Moltres should be used with, as it benefits having Moltres to bring in on a Melmetal that has switched into its U-turn, and Melmetal's importance in checking Mega Beedrill means that Moltres can use Roost relatively safely as Melmetal will not want to risk staying in. Moltres's presence also may force pokemon such as Poliwrath to take Mega Beedrill's U-turn instead of Melmetal, which Air Slash Moltres appreciates the chip damage on. Utility Alolan Persian can disrupt Stealth Rock setters, chip or toxic pokemon such as Poliwrath and Mega Gyarados, and potentially bring in Moltres with U-turn. Chansey can check Mega Alakazam, Nasty Plot Mew, and Starmie, inflict either toxic poison or paralysis which both can help Moltres wallbreak or sweep, and potentially bring in Moltres with Teleport. Rhydon and Golem are offensive Stealth Rock setters that tend to fit well on the Mega Beedrill teams Moltres is used on, benefitting from being pivoted in with U-turn to have opportunities to set Stealth Rock or use their poweful attacks, and are also good checks to Mega Aerodactyl. Sandslash is an alternative Stealth Rock setter that is a sturdier check to Mega Aerodactyl and can spread chip damage with Toxic to aid a Moltres sweep, but sacrifices the offensive threat provided by Rhydon or Golem.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Moltres could potentially drop both Agility and Air Slash for U-turn, which gives Moltres a way to make progress against Starmie if Moltres is able to hit it with U-turn on the switch, as well as doing decent damage to Chansey. U-turn also improves Moltres's effectiveness as a lead, allowing it to pivot out of some unfavorable lead matchups and notably providing a consistent response to lead Mew, doing enough damage for adamant Mega Beedrill's U-turn to always ohko the following turn. However, once Stealth Rock is up using U-turn on a switch-in will leave Moltres at 1hp the next time it comes in, and being unable to safely use U-turn without having used Roost first is largely counterproductive to a pivoting move. On sets without Agility, Moltres could potentially use a timid nature to outspeed neutral natured base 100s, and positively natured Nidoking and Gyarados, but it is arguable whether that improves the overall matchup with defensive Mew as timid Fire Blast almost never 2hkos Mew, as well as losing out on damage rolls such as the probable 2hko of sassy Alolan Muk, potential ohko of Sandslash, and potential 2hko of Rhydon after Stealth Rock.

Checks and Counters
===================

Stealth Rock: Moltres loses half its health to Stealth Rock, so making sure rocks are up is the most effective way to pressure it, as a Moltres that switches into Stealth Rock and is not able to use Roost before being forced out is essentially a dead Moltres.

Chansey: Moltres does not have room to run either a physical move or Toxic, other than the rare U-turn, so Chansey can wall it consistently, and threaten it with its status move of choice.

Mega Aerodactyl and Starmie: Mega Aerodactyl and Starmie both resist Fire Blast, and outspeed and ohko unboosted Moltres. However, Will-o-wisp can cripple Mega Aerodactyl, or Air Slash can 2hko Starmie after an Agility boost.

Mega Gyarados: Mega Gyarados is at best 3hko'ed by Air Slash, and removes Moltres with either Waterfall or Dragon Tail. However, it is outsped and crippled by Will-o-wisp, and burned adamant Mega Gyarados is not guaranteed to 2hko Moltres with Waterfall so it can potentially be stalled out. Note that the rare jolly Mega Gyarados outspeeds modest Moltres.

Mega Charizard X and Y: Unless Moltres is running both Agility and Air Slash, it cannot break through Mega Charizard X since modest Air Slash never 2hko'es and does not have a flinch chance since Moltres is slower without an Agility boost. If Mega Charizard X has either Toxic or Dragon Tail it will win, and otherwise the matchup will come down to 50/50s and PP stalling, almost always in Mega Charizard X's favor. Although Moltres lacking Agility can outspeed modest Mega Charizard X if it uses a timid nature, the reduced damage output of timid Air Slash means that Moltres will need some luck with Air Slash flinches or damage rolls in order to break through Mega Charizard X's recovery, while it is often 2hko'ed back by modest Dragon Pulse. Moltres's matchup with Mega Charizard Y is similar but somewhat worse, as Agility + Air Slash Moltres will usually need to already be at +2 to beat it and even then will still need decent luck with flinches.

Revenge Killers: Unboosted Moltres is easily ohko'ed by Zapdos and Mega Alakazam after Stealth Rock damage, but both take a lot of damage from Fire Blast so they do not want to switch into it directly, although they can try to switch into a predicted Will-o-wisp. Note that timid Moltres outspeeds neutral natured Zapdos.

Specially bulky water and rock types: While none of these are very common, Omastar easily takes either of Moltres's stabs, does not mind being burned, and can potentially set up on Moltres; Vaporeon and Mega Blastoise are at best 3hko'd by Air Slash and ohko back; and Kabutops and Golem hate being burned but are never 2hko'ed and can ohko back with Rock Slide even when burned.

Snorlax: Snorlax avoids the 2hko from Fire Blast, does not mind being burned if it is running Facade, and at minimum it can use Self Destruct, which Moltres does not generally have the option to switch out of assuming rocks have been set.
 
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(changed tag to qc ready for now, im still confused about Eve's instruction regarding moveset so after that is clarified i will change it back to WIP if needed.)
i have moved Will-o-wisp to be slashed first, partly due to Eve's comment and because i think it is probably more consistent 'overall'.
 
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Moltres

[OVERVIEW]

While Moltres is potentially threatening offensively and useful defensively all of its functions are severely hindered by losing half its health to stealth rock. Defensively, although it somewhat checks melmetal and threatens to ohko it with its fire stab, it cannot afford to switch into the wrong coverage or status move and even if it comes in safely it can be dead if it makes an incorrect prediction since if it is forced out before using roost it can never come back in, so Zapdos is almost always preferable in terms of defensive utility. Offensively, while it is sort of like a weaker Mega Charizard Y, its lower speed tier leaves it outsped and often ohko'ed by common base 100 speed pokemon if it did not have the chance to use roost, so it needs to be very careful with using its damaging moves.

However, Moltres does have a niche with its access to agility, which Charizard does not learn and which Zapdos cannot really use effectively. While Moltres can be quite threatening after a boost, it often needs to make a 50/50 prediction just to set up agility, in addition to the prior damage it needs to successfully sweep or partially sweep, so it tends to be very inconsistent.

In the rare instance that you are able to keep rocks off the field, moltres becomes very useful defensively and much more dangerous offensively, able to spam its attacking moves much more freely and threaten to set up agility multiple times. This is always worth keeping in mind when using moltres, as it may be worth sacrificing a teammate if doing so can keep rocks off the field, or alternatively taking advantage of the pressure it puts on the opponent to set rocks.
This isn't how the Overview is meant to work. It is supposed to consist of a single paragraph, and the last paragraph reads more like Usage Tips anyway. The comparison to Mega Charizard Y is definitely a big deal for Moltres, but Moltres comes with the absolutely massive benefit of not requiring the team's Mega Evolution and therefore has far less opportunity cost.

[SET]
here's what my instruction meant
name: agility cleaner Special Attacker
move 1: Agility
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Will-o-wisp / Air Slash / Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Will-O-Wisp / Agility

move 4: Roost
item: none No item
nature: Modest / Timid
Agility simply isn't all that useful for Moltres and is done better by a variety of Pokemon that don't still lose to several of the things Agility lets them outspeed (Mega Aerodactyl and Starmie are especially noteworthy). Will-O-Wisp, on the other hand, is great for heavily punishing several otherwise safe switchins such as Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Gyarados, Rhydon, and Golem, making playing around Moltres far more risky. A Timid nature is a decent enough option as neutral Speed variants of Mew, Zapdos, and Mega Charizard X aren't all that uncommon, plus you get the jump on Nidoking.

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Information
========

Agility is the defining move of the set, enabling moltres to outspeed the meta offensively and also protecting it from being forced out by pokemon such as will-o-wisp mew by being able to roost safely against them. Fire Blast allows Moltres to potentially 2hko most neutral targets after rocks, notably Alolan Muk, and some specially frail resistant ones such as Rhydon. Will-o-wisp allows Moltres to cripple Mega Aerodactyl or Gyarados that otherwise check moltres safely, and is also helpful to cripple some other fire resists such as Poliwrath and Dragonite, but it leaves Moltres helpless against Mega Charizard X and to a lesser extent Starmie. Alternatively, Air Slash provides a decent secondary stab along with a useful flinch chance that has good neutral coverage for most fire resists, but it is not even guaranteed to 3hko Mega Gyarados and obviously does not help with Mega Aerodactyl. Roost enables Moltres to sometimes come in multiple times over the course of a match, although it tends to rely on at least one 50/50 prediction to do so safely, and can synergize with Will-o-wisp to give Moltres additional opportunities to use Roost safely. Roost is also crucial against defensive Mew, which cannot outpace moltres's recovery with any of its common attacks (scald has a 6% chance to ohko after rocks), enabling boosted Moltres to successfully 2hko and usually allowing Moltres to even set up in front of a healthy Will-o-wisp or Scald Mew. Moltres should always use a modest nature allowing it to hit as hard as possible, as it would not outspeed anything important with a timid nature.
Rework this to account for the set change

Usage Tips
========

Moltres generally cannot come in and out repeatedly due to losing half its health to stealth rock, but it may have some opportunities to come in early game such as being pivoted into a Melmetal that switched into U-turn, since Melmetal is unlikely to stay in and risk being ohko'ed. If the opponent does not have a sturdy fire resist, it may be best to use Fire Blast rather than over-predicting with Roost or Agility; but be aware that if you are forced out before using Roost you will often be unable to use Moltres for anything more than a sacrifice since it will have 1hp when it comes back in and its speed tier isn't great. If you are running Will-o-wisp and the opponent's best switch-in to fire blast is a physical water, that may be the best option since it covers both Melmetal and the switch-in, and if you successfully burn a physical attacker Moltres can often use Roost on the following turn, outpacing the damage of attacks such as burned Melmetal's Earthquake or burned Poliwrath's Waterfall. Be aware that either chip damage or toxic poison from those pokemon will significantly decrease Moltres's chances of setting up Agility later.

If it does not have opportunities to come in safely throughout the match, Moltres should usually be preserved until it can sweep or make significant impact with an agility boost. Make sure pokemon such as Zapdos and Mega Alakazam that can easily ko Moltres have taken chip damage so that Fire Blast can ohko them after rocks. If running Will-o-wisp, it is okay to set up while the opponent has a healthy Mega Aerodactyl or Gyarados, as if Moltres burns those pokemon it has generally done its job, and particularly when facing a team with Mega Aerodactyl it can be important to set up Agility as otherwise you can only burn it on a direct switch-in. Also burning certain pokemon such as four attacks Melmetal or ground types lacking toxic can allow Moltres to then set up with Agility and/or use Roost safely. If using Air Slash, try to weaken opposing waters to be in Air Slash ko range, and weaken Mega Aerodactyl to be in range of rocks plus Fire Blast, typically by ensuring that it has taken stealth rock damage twice, or alternatively after it has taken rocks damage once you can set up Moltres to force Mega Aerodactyl to come in and take Fire Blast plus stealth rock damage to bring it under 25% health. By keeping Moltres healthy you can thereby deter Mega Aerodactyl from coming in to pick up ko's or use its attacks throughout the match. Against neutral targets that are not in Fire Blast ko range, decide based on the situation whether it is better to deal more damage in one hit with Fire Blast, or to try for an Air Slash flinch which will keep Moltres's sweep going if successful but will significantly deal less damage otherwise.

While Moltres generally does not want to take status, in some cases it may have to risk taking Toxic on the turn it sets up Agility from pokemon such as Sandslash, Nidoqueen or a weakened Mew, as it may not have a safer way to set up agility and it will still have several turns to use its powerful attacks.
This is just way too long, and once again too many paragraphs, but the set changes should help a bit with shortening it. Just cut down on verbosity mostly.

Team Options
========

Mega Beedrill benefits having Moltres to bring in on a Melmetal that has switched into its U-turn, and Melmetal's importance in checking Mega Beedrill means that Moltres can use Roost relatively safely as Melmetal will not want to risk staying in trying to overpredict. Moltres's presence also may force pokemon such as Poliwrath to switch into Mega Beedrill's U-turn instead of Melmetal, which Air Slash Moltres appreciates the chip damage on to be able to sweep later. Utility Alolan Persian can disrupt Stealth Rock setters, chip or toxic pokemon such as Poliwrath and Mega Gyarados, and potentially bring in Moltres with U-turn. [note to QC: I have never used Alolan Persian with Moltres.] sounds good to me Chansey can check Mega Alakazam and Nasty Plot Mew, inflict either toxic poison or paralysis which both can help Moltres to sweep, and potentially bring in Moltres with Teleport. Sandslash can set Stealth Rock and is the sturdiest check available to Mega Aerodactyl. Maybe mention Poliwrath as it can handle Rock-types and Mega Gyarados pretty well

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Moltres could potentially drop Agility for U-turn to be used as more of a defensive pivot like zapdos that has better offensive moves, but U-turn can really only be used when Moltres is at high health and never immediately after it comes in, which is counterproductive to a pivoting move. Flamethrower is really not viable over Fire Blast as it cannot 2hko mew, or pokemon such as Alolan Muk and Rhydon after rocks, and one of the advantages of moltres over Zapdos is its stronger primary stab. Hyper Beam could replace Air Slash to do somewhat more damage in one turn to water types except for Poliwrath, but in addition to the recharge turn ending Moltres's sweep, you are giving up Air Slash's flinch chance, and it could backfire against for example Thunder Wave Starmie, which Hyper Beam does not ohko after rocks and which will get to recover most of the damage back on the recharge turn. These options are just bad and not worth listing. Solar Beam could be worth listing as a gimmicky option that, with good prediction, completely denies Moltres' most common switchins, but obviously has the flaw of being exploitable on its charge turn if you predict incorrectly

Checks and Counters
===================

Stealth Rock: Moltres loses half its health to stealth rock, so making sure rocks are up is the most effective way to pressure it, as a Moltres that switches into rocks and is not able to use Roost before being forced out is essentially a dead Moltres.

Chansey: Moltres does not have room to run either a physical move or Toxic, so chansey can wall it consistently, and threaten it with its status move of choice.

Mega Aerodactyl: Mega Aerodactyl outspeeds unboosted moltres, ohko's it with rock slide even if it is burned, and resists both of Moltres's stab moves, taking 27-32% from fire blast. However, it hates being burned by Will-o-wisp.

Mega Gyarados: Mega Gyarados is at best 3hko'ed by Air Slash, and removes Moltres with either Waterfall or Dragon Tail. It also does not want to be burned.

Starmie: Starmie outspeeds unboosted Moltres, is not 2hko'ed by Fire Blast, and can either ohko Moltres after rocks with its chosen water stab or can paralyze it with Thunder Wave. However, if Moltres has used agility it can 2hko Starmie with Air Slash.

Mega Charizard X: While it is 2hko'd by boosted Air Slash Moltres and cannot outpace Roost recovery unless it is running Dragon Tail, if Moltres is running Will-o-wisp instead of Air Slash it cannot do anything relevant to Mega Charizard X, and at best it will usually run out of roost pp before charizard runs out of attacking pp. Air Slash should be on the vast majority of sets

Specially bulky water and rock types: While none of these are very common, Omastar easily takes either of Moltres's stabs, does not care about burn, and can potentially set up on Moltres; Kabutops does not like burn but can also take either stab and ohko's with rock slide even if it is burned; Vaporeon is at best 3hko'd by Air Slash and ohko's back; and Golem is not 2hko'd by Fire Blast and ohko's with either Rock Slide or Explosion. Mega Blastoise is also specially bulky enough to avoid being 2hko'd by Air Slash and ohko's back.

Snorlax: Snorlax avoids the 2hko from fire blast and at minimum can use Self Destruct, which Moltres does not generally have the option to switch out of assuming rocks have been set.
Let me know via direct messaging if you have any questions, tag me in a post once you're done implementing so I can take another look and give you your QC 1/2
 
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Eve i think it is at least mostly ready for qc now.
the usage tips and checks and counters still feel a bit messy bc it was hard to account for the set variations, in usage tips i was considering deleting either the entire paragraph about agility + air slash or the entire paragraph minus the first sentence, bc making the analysis read more smoothly may be more important than the greater detail provided there, but i left it for now since it is always easy to delete later. in checks and counters i know the mega zard x section is way too long but im not sure what to do about that, idk if you think it is okay to remove the part about timid moltres entirely.

edit ~ i realized i didnt implement solarbeam mention but it doesnt help with starmie since it is faster; is not really needed for m-gyara bc wisp on the switch followed by stalling it with roost is sufficient for sets without twave, not to mention that jolly gyara outspeeds and if gyara has not mega evolved yet it will survive solarbeam after rocks (and still ohko back); is not really needed for rhydon since fire blast potentially 2hkos anyway, and air slash is better for poliwrath. solarbeam does help with various C rank pokemon that are otherwise full stops to moltres (mega slowbro, mega blastoise, vaporeon, neutral speed kabutops, omastar) but idt that is enough to make it viable given the prediction required.
 
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This is pretty much all just making the analysis more succinct
Moltres

[OVERVIEW]

Moltres' high Special Attack, powerful STAB coverage, resistance to both Double Iron Bash and Earthquake, and access to useful moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Agility are all extremely desirable attributes. While Moltres is potentially threatening offensively and useful defensively, Unfortunately, all of its functions are severely hindered by losing half its health to Stealth Rock every time it switches in. Defensively, although it somewhat checks Melmetal and threatens to ohko it with its fire stab or cripple it with burn, it cannot afford any mispredictions, as Stealth Rock mean that being forced out without using Roost can be fatal, while using Roost on Melmetal's Earthquake leaves Moltres in a dangerous predicament. As a result, so Zapdos is almost always preferable in terms of defensive utility. Offensively, while it is sort of like a can act as a weaker Mega Charizard Y without taking up the team's mega slot, its lower speed tier if Agility is not set up means that it is even more vulnerable to being forced out, which a pokemon that is four times weak to Stealth Rock really cannot afford.

[SET]

name: Special Attacker or something else, a name is good
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Will-o-wisp / Agility
move 3: Agility / Air Slash
move 4: Roost
item: none No Item
nature: Modest

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Information
========

Fire Blast is Moltres' strongest STAB option, allowing it allows Moltres to ohko Melmetal and potentially ohko Sandslash, usually 2hko even specially bulky neutral targets such as Alolan Muk after Stealth Rock, and potentially 2hko certain specially frail resistant ones such as Rhydon after Stealth Rock damage. Will-o-wisp allows Moltres to cripple physical checks like Mega Gyarados, Dragonite, and Mega Aerodactyl that otherwise check Moltres safely, and is also the best option against some other fire resistant targets such as Dragonite. Agility enables Moltres to outspeed the metagame after a boost, which can potentially enable it to sweep a sufficiently weakened teams, and also improves its defensive capabilities against pokemon that cannot 2hko it such as Will-o-wisp Mew and lets it outspeed and burn Mega Aerodactyl that attempt to revenge kill it. Roost lets Moltres regain health on predicted switches or against pokemon that cannot adequately threaten it, and can synergize with Will-o-wisp to enable Moltres to use Roost safely against many burned physical attackers. Air Slash can be used over Agility for a decent secondary stab that has good neutral coverage for most fire resists, although it does only slightly more damage than a resisted Fire Blast to targets other than notably threatens Poliwrath. Air Slash can also be run alongside Agility, allowing Moltres to take advantage of Air Slash's flinch chance, enabling Moltres to break through users of recovery moves that can otherwise try to stall it out, and even giving it a chance with a lucky flinch to beat pokemon that otherwise can take a hit and ko back, particularly Starmie and can help in breaking through Pokemon Moltres would otherwise lose to with its decent flinch chance, especially after boosting its Speed; but however, doing so requires forgoing the utility of Will-o-wisp or Agility, which either leaves Moltres unable to do anything significant to blanked by checks like Mega Gyarados and hinders its early game effectiveness generally or unable to threaten a sweep. A modest nature allows Moltres to hit as hard as possible.

Usage Tips
========

Against teams that do not have Aerodactyl, Moltres can be a decent fairly safe anti-lead, as it has excellent matchups with many probable Stealth Rock setters identifiable from team preview such as Sandslash, Nidoqueen, Clefable, and most Nidoking, as well as a decent matchup with defensive and standard Mew in the event Mew is the opponent's Stealth Rock setter. Against teams that do not have Aerodactyl, Moltres is usually a reasonably safe lead, and its matchups are greatly improved in the lead position by starting This also allows Moltres to start at full rather than half health, making it far safer to throw off attacks or Will-O-Wisp.

Outside of being used as a lead, Moltres generally needs to be extremely careful with when it chooses to come in due to losing half its health to Stealth Rock. Typically its best opportunities to come in are against Melmetal, either by being pivoted in or after a teammate is ko'ed, as Moltres then threatens to ohko with Fire Blast, burn it with Will-o-wisp and survive any attack other than the rare Facade or Rock Slide from burned Melmetal after Stealth Rock damage, or use Roost when predicting Melmetal switching out due to Moltres' ability to burn or OHKO it. Since many common pokemon that avoid the 2hko from Fire Blast are crippled by Will-o-Wisp, and because landing either of those moves on Melmetal can be game changing, many teams may not have any reliable switch-in to Moltres and have be forced to make an unfavorable 50/50 prediction of whether Moltres will use Fire Blast or Will-o-wisp. On the other hand, a Against teams that do have a reliable Moltres switch-in to both moves such as Starmie or Chansey, Moltres will need to more aggressively use Roost predicting Melmetal to switch out. Always be aware that if you are , as being forced out before using Roost you will likely be unable to use Moltres for anything healing usually leaves it as little more than a sacrifice since it will have 1hp when it comes back in and its speed tier isn't great. Agility can help with this somewhat by preventing Moltres from being revenge killed, enabling it to burn Mega Aerodactyl before being ko'ed and heavily damage or ko the other fast Mega Evolutions.

If Moltres is dropping Will-o-wisp and running both Agility and Air Slash, try to bluff Will-o-wisp as long as possible, both because Moltres is much easier to switch into without the threat of a burn, and because the opponent may not adequately prioritize preserving a check like Mega Gyarados that only fares decently well against Will-o-wisp sets as this can deter its checks from switching in and improve its effectiveness in the early-game. Try to weaken opposing water types to be in Air Slash ko range, and weaken Mega Aerodactyl to be in range of Stealth Rock plus Fire Blast, typically by ensuring that it has taken Stealth Rock damage twice, or alternatively after it has taken Stealth Rock damage once you can set up Moltres to force Mega Aerodactyl to come in and take Fire Blast plus Stealth Rock damage to bring it under 25% health and prevent it from switching back out Moltres' checks into KO range of Fire Blast or Air Slash with its teammates and Stealth Rock damage in order to enable an Agility sweep. Against neutral targets that are not in Fire Blast ko range, decide based on the situation whether it is better to deal more damage in one hit with Fire Blast, or to try it may be worth trying for an Air Slash flinch which will keep Moltres's sweep going if successful but will significantly deal less damage otherwise.

While Moltres generally does not want to take status, in some cases it may have to risk taking Toxic on the turn it sets up Agility from pokemon such as Sandslash, Nidoqueen or a weakened Mew, as it may not have a safer way to set up Agility and it will still have several turns to use its powerful attacks these targets will often provide its best setup opportunities. This one doesn't really matter, implement if you want

Team Options
========

Mega Beedrill is typically the only Mega Evolution Moltres should be used with, as it benefits having Moltres to bring in on a Melmetal that has switched into its U-turn, and Melmetal's importance in checking Mega Beedrill means that Moltres can use Roost relatively safely as Melmetal will not want to risk staying in trying to overpredict. Moltres's presence also may force pokemon such as Poliwrath to take Mega Beedrill's U-turn instead of Melmetal, which Air Slash Moltres appreciates the chip damage on. Utility Alolan Persian can disrupt Stealth Rock setters, chip or toxic pokemon such as Poliwrath and Mega Gyarados, and potentially bring in Moltres with U-turn. [note to QC: I have never used Alolan Persian with Moltres.] Chansey can check Mega Alakazam, Nasty Plot Mew, and Starmie, inflict either toxic poison or paralysis which both can help Moltres wallbreak or sweep, and potentially bring in Moltres with Teleport. Rhydon and Golem are offensive Stealth Rock setters that tend to fit well on the Mega Beedrill teams Moltres is used on, benefitting from being pivoted in with U-turn to have opportunities to set Stealth Rock or use their poweful attacks, and are also good checks to Mega Aerodactyl. Sandslash is an alternative Stealth Rock setter that is a sturdier check to Mega Aerodactyl and can spread chip damage with Toxic to aid a Moltres sweep, but sacrifices the offensive threat provided by Rhydon or Golem.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Moltres could potentially drop both Agility and Air Slash for U-turn, which gives Moltres a way to make progress against Starmie if Moltres is able to hit it with U-turn on the switch, as well as doing decent damage to Chansey. U-turn also improves Moltres's effectiveness as a lead, allowing it to pivot out of some unfavorable lead matchups and notably providing a consistent response to lead Mew, doing enough damage for adamant Mega Beedrill's U-turn to always ohko the following turn. However, once Stealth Rock is up using U-turn on a switch-in will leave Moltres at 1hp the next time it comes in, and being unable to safely use U-turn without having used Roost first is largely counterproductive to a pivoting move. On sets without Agility, Moltres could potentially use a timid nature to outspeed neutral natured base 100s, particularly Zapdos, and positively natured Nidoking and Gyarados, but it is arguable whether that improves the overall matchup with defensive Mew as timid Fire Blast almost never 2hkos Mew, as well as losing out on damage rolls such as the probable 2hko of sassy Alolan Muk, potential ohko of Sandslash, and potential 2hko of Rhydon after Stealth Rock.

Checks and Counters
===================

Stealth Rock: Moltres loses half its health to Stealth Rock, so making sure rocks are up is the most effective way to pressure it, as a Moltres that switches into Stealth Rock and is not able to use Roost before being forced out is essentially a dead Moltres.

Chansey: Moltres does not have room to run either a physical move or Toxic, other than the rare U-turn, so Chansey can wall it consistently, and threaten it with its status move of choice.

Mega Aerodactyl: Mega Aerodactyl outspeeds unboosted Moltres, ohkoes it with Rock Slide, and resists both of Moltres's stab moves, taking 27-32% from Fire Blast. However, it hates being burned by Will-o-wisp.

Starmie: Starmie outspeeds unboosted Moltres, is not 2hko'ed by Fire Blast and has recovery, and can ohko Moltres after Stealth Rock with its chosen water stab. However, if Moltres is running both Agility and Air Slash it can 2hko Starmie at +2.

Mega Gyarados: Mega Gyarados is at best 3hko'ed by Air Slash, and removes Moltres with either Waterfall or Dragon Tail. However, it does not want to be burned and if it switches into Will-o-wisp, adamant Mega Gyarados is not guaranteed to 2hko with Waterfall when burned. Note that the rare jolly Mega Gyarados outspeeds modest Moltres.

Mega Charizard X and Y: Unless Moltres is running both Agility and Air Slash, it cannot break through Mega Charizard X since modest Air Slash never 2hko'es and does not have a flinch chance since Moltres is slower without an Agility boost. If Mega Charizard X has either Toxic or Dragon Tail it will win, and otherwise the matchup will come down to 50/50s and PP stalling, almost always in Mega Charizard X's favor. Although Moltres lacking Agility can outspeed modest Mega Charizard X if it uses a timid nature, the reduced damage output of timid Air Slash means that Moltres will need some luck with Air Slash flinches or damage rolls in order to break through Mega Charizard X's recovery, while it is often 2hko'ed back by modest Dragon Pulse. Moltres's matchup with Mega Charizard Y is similar but somewhat worse, as Agility + Air Slash Moltres will usually need to already be at +2 to beat it and even then will still need decent luck with flinches.

Revenge Killers: Unboosted Moltres is easily ohko'ed by Zapdos and Mega Alakazam after Stealth Rock, but both take a lot of damage from Fire Blast so do not want to switch into it directly. They can, however, try to switch into a predicted Will-o-wisp. Note that timid Moltres outspeeds neutral natured Zapdos.

Specially bulky water and rock types: While none of these are very common, Omastar easily takes either of Moltres's stabs, does not mind being burned, and can potentially set up on Moltres; Kabutops does not like burn but can also take either stab and ohko's with rock slide even if it is burned; Vaporeon is at best 3hko'd by Air Slash and ohko's back; and Golem is not 2hko'd by Fire Blast and ohko's with either Rock Slide or Explosion. Mega Blastoise is also specially bulky enough to avoid being 2hko'd by Air Slash and ohko's back. maybe aero, gyara and starmie could go here too? we've got a lot of sections lol

Snorlax: Snorlax avoids the 2hko from Fire Blast, does not mind being burned if it is running Facade, and at minimum it can use Self Destruct, which Moltres does not generally have the option to switch out of assuming rocks have been set.
QC 1/2
 
implemented. (for now i kept the mention in the set information that fire blast potentially ohko's sandslash-k, it is important for the lead matchup, and is notable since there are very few pokemon in the tier that can ohko sandslash-k and deny it rocks. and sandslash-k is always the rocks setter on any team that it is on so there is no concern about misidentifying the opponent's rocks setter from preview, which further benefits Moltres as a potential lead against those teams. if you still want me to remove it i will but i wanted to elaborate why i think that should be there.) everything else is implemented.

@c&c i combined m-aero and starmie sections for now. i could maybe group them together in the revenge killers section? with a note that starmie can switch in directly, and that it and m-aero both resist fire blast so are obstacles to an agility sweep.
grouping m-gyara with omastar seems a lil weird as m-gyara is very prominent in the tier but rly not a very good check to wisp sets, while oma is the best check there is but is pretty irrelevant in the tier. but maybe it could work, ill think about it / try out different restructurings. (also idk if kabutops is rly worth mentioning at all? i dont think ive seen anyone use it as a rocks setter since, long before the m-gar ban lol.)
 
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read all of discussion, mon isnt that good but im satisfied this is the optimal set and right supporting paragraphs, QC 2/2, you can change the thread title and category now and i'll give it to a GPer
 

Eve

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Hey look who it is. AM GP check (Lumari said she'll approve this later)! This has a few changes that verge on being QC but that's fine in this case hehe

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[OVERVIEW]

Moltres' Moltres's high Special Attack, powerful STAB coverage, resistance to Double Iron Bash, (AC) and immunity to Earthquake, and access to useful moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Agility are all extremely desirable attributes. Unfortunately, all of its functions are Moltres is severely hindered by losing half its health to Stealth Rock every time it switches in. Defensively, (RC) Although it somewhat checks Moltres can switch in against Melmetal and threatens threaten to OHKO it with its Fire STAB attacks or cripple it with burn, it cannot afford any mispredictions, as Stealth Rock means that being forced out without using Roost can be fatal, while using Roost on Melmetal's as Melmetal uses Earthquake leaves Moltres in a dangerous predicament position. As a result, Zapdos is almost always preferable in terms of defensive utility. Offensively, while it Moltres can act as a weaker Mega Charizard Y without taking up the team's Mega slot, its lower unboosted Speed tier if Agility is not set up means that it is even more vulnerable to being forced out, which a Pokemon that is four times weak to Stealth Rock really cannot afford.

[SET]

name: Special Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Will-O-Wisp / Agility
move 3: Agility / Air Slash
move 4: Roost
item: No Item
nature: Modest

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Information
========

Fire Blast is Moltres' Moltres's strongest STAB option move, allowing it to ohko capable of OHKOing Melmetal, potentially ohko occasionally OHKOing Sandslash, and potentially 2hko 2HKOing Alolan Muk and Rhydon after Stealth Rock damage. Will-O-Wisp allows Moltres to cripple physical checks Pokemon like Mega Gyarados, Dragonite, and Mega Aerodactyl that otherwise check Moltres safely. Agility enables Moltres to sweep sufficiently weakened teams, (RC) and also outspeed and burn Mega Aerodactyl that attempt to revenge kill it. Roost lets Moltres regain health on predicted switches or against pokémon Pokemon that cannot adequately threaten it, and it can synergize with Will-O-Wisp to enable Moltres to use Roost gain health safely against many burned physical attackers. Air Slash can be used over Agility for provide a decent secondary STAB move that notably threatens Poliwrath and can help in breaking through Pokemon Moltres would otherwise lose to Moltres bypass its checks with its decent flinch chance, especially after boosting its Speed; however, doing so requires forgoing the utility of Will-O-Wisp or Agility, which leaves Moltres either blanked by checks like Mega Gyarados or unable to threaten a sweep. A Modest nature allows Moltres to hit as hard as possible.

Usage Tips
========

Against teams that do not have Aerodactyl, Moltres can be a fairly safe anti-lead, as it has good matchups with many probable Stealth Rock setters identifiable from team preview such as Sandslash, Nidoqueen, Clefable, Nidoking, and standard Mew. This also allows Moltres to start at full rather than half health, making it far safer to throw off attacks or Will-O-Wisp.

Moltres needs to be extremely careful with when it chooses to come in played carefully due to losing half its health to Stealth Rock. Typically its best opportunities to come in are against Melmetal, either by being pivoted via pivot support in or after a teammate is ko'ed KOed, due to Moltres' Moltres's ability to burn or OHKO it. Since many common Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Fire Blast are crippled by Will-O-Wisp, many teams may be forced to make an unfavorable 50/50 prediction of whether Moltres will use Fire Blast or Will-O-Wisp. Against teams that do have a reliable Moltres switch-in, (AC) such as Starmie or Chansey, Moltres will need to more aggressively use Roost, as being forced out before healing usually leaves it as little more than a sacrifice. Agility can help with this somewhat by preventing Moltres from being revenge killed, enabling it to burn Mega Aerodactyl and heavily damage or KO the other fast Mega Evolutions.

If Moltres is running both Agility and Air Slash, try to bluff Will-O-Wisp as long as possible, as this can deter its checks and improve its effectiveness in the early-game (AH). Try to weaken Moltres's checks into the KO range of Fire Blast or Air Slash to enable an Agility sweep. Against targets that are not in Fire Blast KO range, it may be worth trying for an Air Slash flinch, which will keep Moltres's sweep going if successful.

While Moltres generally does not want to take status be statused, in some cases it may have to risk taking Toxic on the turn it sets up Agility from pokémon such as Sandslash, Nidoqueen or a weakened Mew, as these targets often provide Moltres its best setup opportunities.

Team Options
========

Mega Beedrill is typically the only Mega Evolution Moltres should be used with, as it benefits from having Moltres to bring switch in on a versus Melmetal that has switched switch into its U-turn, providing Moltres with a relatively safe opportunity to use Roost or attack as the opposing Melmetal must be preserved to check Mega Beedrill. and Melmetal's importance in checking Mega Beedrill means that Moltres can use Roost relatively safely as Melmetal will not want to risk staying in. Moltres's presence also may force pokemon such as Poliwrath to take Mega Beedrill's U-turn instead of Melmetal, which Air Slash Moltres appreciates the chip damage on. Utility Alolan Persian can disrupt Stealth Rock setters, chip away at or Toxic pokemon such as Poliwrath and Mega Gyarados, and potentially bring in Moltres with U-turn. Chansey can check Mega Alakazam, Nasty Plot Mew, and Starmie, inflict either toxic poison or paralysis which both can help Moltres wallbreak or sweep, and potentially bring in Moltres in safely with Teleport. Rhydon and Golem are offensive Stealth Rock setters that tend to fit well on the Mega Beedrill teams Moltres is used on, benefitting from being pivoted in with U-turn to have opportunities to set Stealth Rock or use their poweful attacks, and are also good checks to Mega Aerodactyl. Sandslash is an alternative Stealth Rock setter that is a sturdier check to Mega Aerodactyl and can spread chip damage with Toxic to aid a Moltres sweep, but sacrifices the offensive threat provided by Rhydon or Golem.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]

Other Options
=============

Moltres could potentially use U-turn instead of drop both Agility and or Air Slash for U-turn, which gives Moltres a way to make progress against Starmie if Moltres is able to hit it with U-turn hits Starmie hard on the switch, (RC) as well as doing and does decent damage to Chansey. U-turn also improves Moltres's effectiveness as a lead, allowing it to pivot out of some unfavorable lead matchups and notably providing a consistent response to lead Mew, doing enough damage for Adamant Mega Beedrill's U-turn to always OHKO the following turn. However, once Stealth Rock is up, (RC) using U-turn on a switch-in twice without healing will leave Moltres at 1hp the next time it comes in, and being unable to safely use U-turn without having used Roost first is largely counterproductive to a pivoting move. On sets without Agility, Moltres could potentially use a Timid nature to outspeed neutral natured base 100s, (RC) and positively natured Nidoking and Gyarados, but it is arguable whether that improves the overall matchup with defensive Mew as Timid Fire Blast almost never 2hkos 2HKOes defensive Mew anyway, (RC) as well as losing and Timid Moltres loses out on several other damage rolls, (RC) such as the probable 2HKO of Sassy Alolan Muk, potential OHKO of Sandslash, and potential 2HKO of Rhydon after Stealth Rock.


Checks and Counters This section is too long; I've condensed similar C&Cs into grouped sections and removed excess detail
===================

**Stealth Rock**: Moltres loses half its health to Stealth Rock, so making sure rocks are the entry hazard is set up is the most effective way to pressure it, as a Moltres that switches into Stealth Rock and is not able to use Roost before being forced out is essentially a dead Moltres.

**Chansey and Snorlax**: Moltres does not have room to run either a physical move or Toxic, other than the rare U-turn, so Chansey can wall it consistently, (RC) and threaten it with its status move of choice. Snorlax avoids the 2hko from Fire Blast and doesn't even fear being burned if it is running Facade.

**Mega Aerodactyl and Starmie**: Mega Aerodactyl and Starmie both resist Fire Blast, and outspeed unboosted Moltres, (AC) and OHKO unboosted Moltres it. However, Will-O-Wisp can cripple Mega Aerodactyl, or and Air Slash can 2HKO Starmie after an Agility boost.

Mega Gyarados **Bulky Fire-resistant Pokemon**: Mega Blastoise and Vaporeon are at best 3HKOed by Air Slash and can OHKO Moltres with their Water STAB moves. Mega Gyarados is at best 3hko'ed 3HKOed by Air Slash, (RC) and removes Moltres with either Waterfall or Dragon Tail. However, unless Mega Gyarados has a Jolly nature, (AC) it is can be outsped and crippled by Will-O-Wisp, and burned adamant Mega Gyarados is not guaranteed to 2hko Moltres with Waterfall so it can potentially be stalled out. Note that the rare jolly Mega Gyarados outspeeds modest Moltres. The rare Kabutops and Golem hate being burned, but neither is 2HKOed by Moltres and both can OHKO with Rock Slide, even when burned.

**Mega Charizard X and Y**: Unless Moltres is running both Agility and Air Slash, it cannot break through standard Mega Charizard X since modest Air Slash never 2hko'es 2HKOes it and does not have a flinch chance since Moltres is slower without an Agility boost cannot make faster Pokemon flinch. If Mega Charizard X has either Toxic or Dragon Tail it will win, and otherwise the matchup will come down to 50/50s and PP stalling, almost always in Mega Charizard X's favor. Although Moltres lacking Agility can outspeed modest Mega Charizard X if it uses a timid nature, the reduced damage output of timid Air Slash means that Moltres will need some luck with Air Slash flinches or damage rolls in order to break through Mega Charizard X's recovery, while it is often 2hko'ed back by modest Dragon Pulse. Moltres's matchup with Mega Charizard Y is similar, (AC) but somewhat worse, (RC) as Agility + Air Slash Moltres will usually need to already be at +2 to beat it and even then will still need decent luck with flinches thanks to its greater special bulk and higher damage output.

**Revenge Killers**: Unboosted Moltres is easily ohko'ed by Zapdos and Mega Alakazam after Stealth Rock damage, but both take a lot of damage from neither can afford switching in on a Fire Blast so they do not want to switch into it directly, although they can try to switch into a predicted Will-o-wisp. Note that Timid Moltres outspeeds neutral natured Zapdos.

Specially bulky water and rock types: While none of these are very common, Omastar easily takes either of Moltres's stabs, does not mind being burned, and can potentially set up on Moltres; Vaporeon and Mega Blastoise are at best 3hko'd by Air Slash and ohko back; and Kabutops and Golem hate being burned but are never 2hko'ed and can ohko back with Rock Slide even when burned.

Snorlax: Snorlax avoids the 2hko from Fire Blast, does not mind being burned if it is running Facade, and at minimum it can use Self Destruct, which Moltres does not generally have the option to switch out of assuming rocks have been set
.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[juoean, 486979]]
- Quality checked by: [[Eve, 375272], [Collette, 520031]]

- Grammar checked by: [Lumari, 232216], [, ]]
 
Last edited:

Lumari

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^ went over this as eve was working on it yea and the changes i made should be good to count as the second check, feel free to mark this as done with my credit when above is implemented
 

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