I'm probably not doing this right, seeing as it's my first time, so I'd appreciate it if anyone could let me know if I've made an error with something.
[OVERVIEW]
[SET]
name: Tailwinding Kamikaze Bird
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Tailwind
move 4: Quick Guard
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
Evs: 4 HP/ 244 Attack/ 4 Defense/ 4 Special Defense/ 252 Speed
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Checks and Counters
===================
[OVERVIEW]
- Talonflame gets the ability Gale Wings, giving all it's Flying-type moves priority,
- Talonflame has access to priority Tailwind, which allows it to support its teammates and allow them to outspeed opposing Pokemon.
- It has also has access to Quick Guard, giving his teammates support against Fake Out and Prankster Pokemon.
- It can hit hard with Gale Wings STAB Brave Bird and STAB Flare Blitz.
- It has very little bulk.
- It is incredibly fast.
- It has mediocre Attack.
[SET]
name: Tailwinding Kamikaze Bird
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Tailwind
move 4: Quick Guard
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
Evs: 4 HP/ 244 Attack/ 4 Defense/ 4 Special Defense/ 252 Speed
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Brave Bird is Talonflame’s main attacking move, being a high base power STAB Priority move, which hits many things hard on the physical side.
- Flare Blitz is Talonflame’s other attacking option, also being a high base power STAB move, which is boosted by Harsh Sun created by Groudon, and hits Pokemon that resist Flying harder, as well as Steel types like Mawile.
- Tailwind allows Talonflame’s teammates to outspeed opposing Pokemon, and comes with Priority due to Gale Wings.
- Quick Guard protects Talonflame’s teammates from moves like Fake Out, coupled with Talonflame’s high speed, as well as Prankster moves such as Encore and Taunt.
Set Details
========
- The EVs are simple, allowing Talonflame to move as quickly as possible, and hitting hard. The 4 in Defense is added so that Talonflame is guaranteed to live -1 Jolly Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge.
- A Jolly nature is run in order to outspeed Fake Out users such as Weavile while using Quick Guard, and to outspeed Prankster Taunt users like Thundurus, however Adamant could be run if you are not worried about those things. An Adamant nature can be used instead if you prefer the boost in power, dependent on how much outspeeding things like Weavile and max speed Thundurus is to you.
- Life Orb is used in order to boost Talonflame’s attacking power while still being capable of using support moves.
- Gale Wings is Talonflame's main niche, allowing it to use a priority Tailwind to avoid Taunt, and priority Brave Bird to hit hard before opponents regardless of Speed control.
Usage Tips
========
- Talonflame’s principal job in most games will be to set-up Tailwind.
- You will typically want to Quick Guard on predicted early Fake Outs, or on crippling Prankster attacks, then set-up Tailwind whenever possible.
- After you set-up Tailwind, you will typically want to just click Brave Bird/Flare Blitz until Talonflame goes down and you get a free switch into something in the back.
Team Options
========
- Primal Groudon. Primal Groudon’s harsh sun boosts the power of Talonflame’s Flare Blitz, and Tailwind can allow Primal Groudon to outspeed opposing Primals.
- Smeargle. Talonflame can set-up Tailwind so that Smeargle can outspeed things and put them to sleep, and can provide Quick Guard support in order to stop Fake Out and Prankster Taunt/Encore.
- Mawile. Talonflame can set-up Tailwind, allowing Mawile’s low base speed to become less of an issue.
- Primal Kyogre. Despite Rain nullifying Flare Blitz, Tailwind allows Primal Kyogre to outspeed opposing Primals and things like Mega Kangaskhan as well as Mega Salamence.
- Xerneas. Talonflame can protect Xerneas from Prankster Taunt, Encore, and Thunder Wave with Quick Guard.
- Mega Rayqyaza. Delta Stream allows Talonflame to survive some Rock/Electric moves, and Tailwind allows Rayquaza to beat Mega Salamence. Talonflame can also take care of Steel types that would typically pose a problem for Mega Rayquaza. However, if running both Talonflame and Mega Rayquaza, you need to watch out for Item Clause seeing as they both want to run Life Orb. In this case you could run one of the aforementioned other options for Talonflame, or a Focus Sash on Mega Rayquaza.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- There are very few other Talonflame options, seeing as it only has a few jobs.
- Any bulk will simply be worn down by recoil+LO recoil, and it needs to be able to use all of its moves.
- Taunt can be run instead of Quick Guard if you wish to stop Dark Voids as opposed to Fake Outs. Protect can also be run instead of Quick Guard to stop leads such as Kangaskhan and Smeargle, or you could run Will-O-Wisp in that slot to cripple Kangaskhan,
- A Choice Band set could be run to hit harder, however it loses access to support moves like Tailwind and Quick Guard, and as such is rarely the best option.
- A Lum Berry set can be run if you are not afraid of losing the extra power to block Dark Void.
- A Sharp Beak could be run if you would like to avoid the LO recoil, however Talonflame will not survive for long anyways.
- You can run a bulkier spread of 124 HP/ 116 Attack/ 12 Special Defense/ 252 Speed in order to survive attacks like +2 Timid Xerneas Moonblast and opposing LO Adamant Talonflame Brave Bird, at the cost of some power. You could also run 116 Speed as opposed to Attack, however then you sacrifice enough Speed to the point where many faster Pokemon will outspeed you, especially if you run Adamant.
- You could run Swords Dance as an option to setup on predicted Protects, however you lose another important move by doing so.
- You could run Snatch to steal opposing Tailwinds and predicted setup moves (however Geomancy is not stolen, so these opportunities will be rarer) however this will most likely infrequently be used.
Checks and Counters
===================
- **Landorus-Therian**: Landorus-Therian Intimidates Talonflame, and can KO it with Rock Slide.
- **Crobat**: Crobat can block Brave Bird with Quick Guard, and can match Talonflame’s Tailwind with its own.
- **Mega Rayquaza**: Extreme Speed out prioritizes Brave Bird, and it resists Fire.
- **Thundurus**: Thundurus resists Brave Bird, and despite Quick Guard blocking Prankster, Thunderbolt will KO Talonflame.
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