[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 9-11 points
**Overview**: Moltres’s stats coupled with its great defensive typing create a neat defensive profile that can also threaten foes. Access to Will-O-Wisp and Flame Body means it can spread burn, while U-turn enables it to act as a pivot. Moltres’s high Special Attack allows it to deal consistent damage even on bulky sets, and Roost can keep it healthy throughout the game. However, it heavily relies on Heavy-Duty Boots or team support to negate damage from Stealth Rock. Its average Speed also makes it struggle against faster threats.
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Pivot**: Moltres's typing allows it to come in on a great number of attacks. It can take a hit and in return threaten a burn or use U-turn to grant its team momentum. Heavy-Duty Boots is virtually always required for this set to be effective.
**Offensive Pivot**: Moltres's good attacking stats combined with its access to high-powered STAB moves in Fire Blast and Hurricane make it a solid offensive pivot. Its power can further be heightened by Choice Specs if necessary, but Heavy-Duty Boots is often imperative.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Hurricane, Flare Blitz, Brave Bird, Overheat, Air Slash
**Setup Moves**: Agility, Flame Charge
**Utility Moves**: U-turn, Roost, Will-O-Wisp, Roar, Substitute
**Coverage**: Scorching Sands, Ancient Power
Niche Moves
========
**Solar Beam**: Solar Beam can be used to break through Water- and Rock-type Pokemon that would normally hamper Moltres. It can be used under sun or once with Power Herb.
**Tailwind**: Access to Tailwind means that Moltres can help its team with speed control. Tailwind also allows Moltres to act as a fast wallbreaker for the few turns it is up.
**Fire Spin**: Moltres can trap foes or guarantee a favorable pivot using Fire Spin.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: This is by far the most common item on Moltres due to its massive weakness to Stealth Rock and should always be used unless it needs a different item to function.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Scarf**: With a Choice Scarf, Moltres outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame, allowing it to act as a potent wallbreaker or revenge killer.
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs requires more team support as Moltres isn't exactly fast; however, it makes up for it by letting Moltres punch significant holes in the opposing team without completely sacrificing its use as a pivot, as U-turn is a very Choice item-friendly move.
Tera
========
Moltres should not be drafted with the intent to make it a Tera Captain, as it has solid typing already, but it can make some use of Tera. Tera Steel is a great all-around option for defensive sets, letting Moltres resist Stealth Rock and making it neutral against Water and Electric. Tera Grass is an option to mitigate Moltres's weaknesses to Water and Electric. Lastly, Tera Ground gives it a STAB move to hit the only type that naturally resists its STAB combination, Rock, and can also give it free turns against Electric-type moves.
Draft Strategy
========
Moltres is most commonly used as a support Pokemon, meaning it can be drafted to fit on many types of teams. Drafts should not be planned around it, but it will almost always fulfill its role by spreading burn, pivoting in offensive threats, or becoming an offensive threat itself.
**Knock Off Absorbers**: Moltres loves its item, whatever it is. Therefore, having allies that can safely absorb Knock Off is of great help. Fighting- and Fairy-types are the most common examples, but Dark-types are also solid options. Great Tusk, Iron Hands, and Iron Valiant come to mind specifically, as Moltres can also enable them.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Moltres loves entry hazard control, as it opens up its more niche items. Iron Treads, Great Tusk, and Tsareena are great partners, as they can also help beat the Electric- and Rock-types that threaten Moltres.
**Wallbreakers**: Moltres's role as a pivot allows it to get its hard-hitting allies in safely. Raging Bolt is a particularly good option, as it resists two of Moltres's more common weaknesses.
**Setup Sweepers**: Spreading burn around means that Moltres can enable potent setup sweepers. Combining this with the ability to pivot them in safely can lead to game-ending sweeps. Iron Valiant, Latios, Latias, and Gouging Fire all love the ability to get a single free boost to sweep.
**Rock- and Water-type Answers**: Moltres struggles offensively and defensively with Rock- and Water-types, so teammates that can deal with them are greatly appreciated. Grass-types such as Rillaboom, Serperior, and Meowscarada are able to offensively threaten both. Defensive answers include Archuladon and Hisuian Goodra, which form excellent defensive cores with Moltres.
Checks and Counters
========
**Knock Off**: Moltres needs Heavy-Duty Boots to function because of its massive Stealth Rock weakness, especially since it commonly wants to come in repeatedly, so losing its item severely hampers its capabilities.
**Rock-types**: Rock-types resist Moltres's STAB combination and in return threaten to OHKO it.
**Electric- and Water-types**: Electric- and Water-types both resist one of Moltres's STAB types and can threaten it in return for super effective damage. Faster threats such as Greninja, Zapdos, and Walking Wake also threaten to OHKO it.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/twentytwan.610572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/abriel.473082/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 9-11 points
**Overview**: Moltres’s stats coupled with its great defensive typing create a neat defensive profile that can also threaten foes. Access to Will-O-Wisp and Flame Body means it can spread burn, while U-turn enables it to act as a pivot. Moltres’s high Special Attack allows it to deal consistent damage even on bulky sets, and Roost can keep it healthy throughout the game. However, it heavily relies on Heavy-Duty Boots or team support to negate damage from Stealth Rock. Its average Speed also makes it struggle against faster threats.
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Pivot**: Moltres's typing allows it to come in on a great number of attacks. It can take a hit and in return threaten a burn or use U-turn to grant its team momentum. Heavy-Duty Boots is virtually always required for this set to be effective.
**Offensive Pivot**: Moltres's good attacking stats combined with its access to high-powered STAB moves in Fire Blast and Hurricane make it a solid offensive pivot. Its power can further be heightened by Choice Specs if necessary, but Heavy-Duty Boots is often imperative.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Hurricane, Flare Blitz, Brave Bird, Overheat, Air Slash
**Setup Moves**: Agility, Flame Charge
**Utility Moves**: U-turn, Roost, Will-O-Wisp, Roar, Substitute
**Coverage**: Scorching Sands, Ancient Power
Niche Moves
========
**Solar Beam**: Solar Beam can be used to break through Water- and Rock-type Pokemon that would normally hamper Moltres. It can be used under sun or once with Power Herb.
**Tailwind**: Access to Tailwind means that Moltres can help its team with speed control. Tailwind also allows Moltres to act as a fast wallbreaker for the few turns it is up.
**Fire Spin**: Moltres can trap foes or guarantee a favorable pivot using Fire Spin.
Common Items
========
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: This is by far the most common item on Moltres due to its massive weakness to Stealth Rock and should always be used unless it needs a different item to function.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Scarf**: With a Choice Scarf, Moltres outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame, allowing it to act as a potent wallbreaker or revenge killer.
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs requires more team support as Moltres isn't exactly fast; however, it makes up for it by letting Moltres punch significant holes in the opposing team without completely sacrificing its use as a pivot, as U-turn is a very Choice item-friendly move.
Tera
========
Moltres should not be drafted with the intent to make it a Tera Captain, as it has solid typing already, but it can make some use of Tera. Tera Steel is a great all-around option for defensive sets, letting Moltres resist Stealth Rock and making it neutral against Water and Electric. Tera Grass is an option to mitigate Moltres's weaknesses to Water and Electric. Lastly, Tera Ground gives it a STAB move to hit the only type that naturally resists its STAB combination, Rock, and can also give it free turns against Electric-type moves.
Draft Strategy
========
Moltres is most commonly used as a support Pokemon, meaning it can be drafted to fit on many types of teams. Drafts should not be planned around it, but it will almost always fulfill its role by spreading burn, pivoting in offensive threats, or becoming an offensive threat itself.
**Knock Off Absorbers**: Moltres loves its item, whatever it is. Therefore, having allies that can safely absorb Knock Off is of great help. Fighting- and Fairy-types are the most common examples, but Dark-types are also solid options. Great Tusk, Iron Hands, and Iron Valiant come to mind specifically, as Moltres can also enable them.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Moltres loves entry hazard control, as it opens up its more niche items. Iron Treads, Great Tusk, and Tsareena are great partners, as they can also help beat the Electric- and Rock-types that threaten Moltres.
**Wallbreakers**: Moltres's role as a pivot allows it to get its hard-hitting allies in safely. Raging Bolt is a particularly good option, as it resists two of Moltres's more common weaknesses.
**Setup Sweepers**: Spreading burn around means that Moltres can enable potent setup sweepers. Combining this with the ability to pivot them in safely can lead to game-ending sweeps. Iron Valiant, Latios, Latias, and Gouging Fire all love the ability to get a single free boost to sweep.
**Rock- and Water-type Answers**: Moltres struggles offensively and defensively with Rock- and Water-types, so teammates that can deal with them are greatly appreciated. Grass-types such as Rillaboom, Serperior, and Meowscarada are able to offensively threaten both. Defensive answers include Archuladon and Hisuian Goodra, which form excellent defensive cores with Moltres.
Checks and Counters
========
**Knock Off**: Moltres needs Heavy-Duty Boots to function because of its massive Stealth Rock weakness, especially since it commonly wants to come in repeatedly, so losing its item severely hampers its capabilities.
**Rock-types**: Rock-types resist Moltres's STAB combination and in return threaten to OHKO it.
**Electric- and Water-types**: Electric- and Water-types both resist one of Moltres's STAB types and can threaten it in return for super effective damage. Faster threats such as Greninja, Zapdos, and Walking Wake also threaten to OHKO it.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/twentytwan.610572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/abriel.473082/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
