[OVERVIEW]
Fearow's combination of sky-high Attack, Normal-type STAB, and excellent Speed makes it the premier offensive threat in the tier as well as perhaps the single most dominant Pokemon overall. It blasts opponents with powerful attacks early- and mid-game, and if it's left healthy it can easily clean up a weakened team. It has an excellent Speed stat that makes it faster than every Pokemon except Rapidash and Scyther while also giving it a fantastic 19.5% critical hit rate. Since most switch-ins will take two attacks from Fearow before being able to strike back, they have to be healthy enough to survive not only Double-Edge, but also a follow up Hyper Beam, making Fearow very hard to switch in to. Additionally, the chance for a critical hit means an otherwise decent check, such as Nidoqueen or Arcanine, can be forced out quickly.
Despite Fearow's overwhelming positive qualities, its frailty and fear of paralysis prevent it from effortlessly blasting through teams. Although its Flying typing offers a nice immunity to Ground-type moves, it doesn’t have any other notable resistances and is weak to moves such as Blizzard and Thunderbolt from extremely common Pokemon, such as Nidoqueen and Porygon. Fearow's notable lack of Body Slam means it has to rely on the mediocre Double-Edge as its Normal-type STAB move, and the move's recoil further hinders Fearow's longevity, notably putting it in 2HKO range of Fire Blast from Rapidash and Arcanine and OHKO range of Scyther's Hyper Beam at +2. Fearow's frailty makes it very reliant on its Speed, forcing it to run away from Thunder Wave users it would normally beat, such as Drowzee and Staryu. 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. However, Graveler and Omanyte are easily exploitable thanks to Porygon, which can switch into all of their moves and hit them super effectively, alleviating Fearow's worst matchups. Fearow's strengths heavily outweigh its weaknesses; it is an elite Pokemon, and it should almost never be dropped when building a team.
[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 2HKOes Scyther, Pinsir, and Machamp. This is useful since the chance for a critical hit discourages the former to set up Swords Dance in front of Fearow, and the latter two are among 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 53.9% to Seaking. Two Double-Edges followed by Hyper Beam is guaranteed to KO every non-resistant Pokemon in the tier aside from Sandslash, and 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 Scyther, making it much harder to revenge kill, and negates the Speed drop from paralysis. Agility is most useful late-game when Fearow is ready to sweep a weakened team.
Fearow is best saved for the mid- and late-game, once its teammates have weakened foes enough for Fearow to OHKO them. However, Fearow can still make use of its revenge killing prowess early-game. Since Fearow is frail and hates paralysis, getting it safely on the field takes some effort. One way Fearow can get in is by switching into a predicted Earthquake from Nidoqueen. This is risky and should only be done once Nidoqueen is in KO range for Double-Edge into Hyper Beam, but the reward of getting Fearow in safely is often worth it. Another way to get Fearow in is through partial trapping moves from teammates such as Rapidash and Dragonair.
Once Fearow is on the field, it is very hard to stop. The most common ways to deal with Fearow are to either switch in a Rock-type or sacrifice a Pokemon and revenge kill it with Rapidash or Scyther. Nidoqueen can also be an effective revenge killer if it is at high enough HP. It should be no surprise then that Seaking is an excellent teammate for Fearow, since it has an excellent matchup against all of the aforementioned Pokemon. Additionally, Staryu and Porygon can help with the Rock-types, while Omanyte and Arcanine can switch into Rapidash. 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. Rapidash is an excellent teammate that can use 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. It can also help Fearow wear down shared checks in Graveler and Omanyte and potentially burn them with Fire Blast. Pinsir is also a good teammate thanks to its powerful Slash that lowers foes such as Dragonair and Seaking into Fearow's Hyper Beam range. 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
=============
Double-Edge, Drill Peck, and Hyper Beam are all integral to Fearow's success, so Agility should be dropped if another move is to be used. Substitute is a move that takes advantage of players' tendencies to sacrifice weakened Pokemon to Fearow. If Fearow uses Substitute on a turn where the opponent switches in a sacrifice, Fearow can KO it the next turn and still have the Substitute. A critical flaw with Substitute is that it does not protect Fearow from paralysis, so it should only be used if all Thunder Wave users are already KOed or in KO range for Fearow. 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.
Checks and Counters
===================
**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. Graveler in particular is extremely deadly if it switches into a predicted Hyper Beam from Fearow, since it can use Rock Slide on the recharge turn and leave Fearow in an uncomfortable prediction situation; stay in and risk another Rock Slide, or switch out and risk the switch-in taking massive damage from Counter.
**Paralysis**: Fearow hates being paralyzed, since high Speed is one of its most important assets. Although this can be alleviated with Agility, Fearow still hates the chance for full paralysis due to its frailty, and the turn to set up Agility makes it vulnerable. This means Fearow has to run from Pokemon it would otherwise easily beat. 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 is too frail to switch into Fearow, it is a fantastic revenge killer. It outspeeds 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.
**Scyther**: Although it loses one-on-one and cannot switch into Fearow, Scyther is one of only two Pokemon that outspeed Fearow, allowing it to revenge kill Fearow at low HP. Scyther can also attempt to revenge kill Fearow at high HP, but it requires a turn to set up Swords Dance, leaving it vulnerable to an OHKO from a critical hit Drill Peck.
**Ground-types**: Nidoqueen is able to survive Double-Edge followed by Hyper Beam and hit Fearow super effectively with Blizzard, winning one-on-one. It is also risky for Fearow to try to fish for a critical hit Hyper Beam on the second turn, since if it fails, Nidoqueen can set up a Substitute and KO Fearow as it recharges, now having a Substitute up against whatever comes after Fearow. Although Nidoqueen loses to Fearow one-on-one if it has to switch in, Blizzard will do enough damage to put Fearow in KO range for both Rapidash's Fire Blast and Scyther's Slash. Nidoqueen also likes to use Thunderbolt sometimes to prevent Seaking and Staryu from switching into Blizzard and prevent Fearow from using Mirror Move. Sandslash survives two Double-Edges followed 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/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Fearow's combination of sky-high Attack, Normal-type STAB, and excellent Speed makes it the premier offensive threat in the tier as well as perhaps the single most dominant Pokemon overall. It blasts opponents with powerful attacks early- and mid-game, and if it's left healthy it can easily clean up a weakened team. It has an excellent Speed stat that makes it faster than every Pokemon except Rapidash and Scyther while also giving it a fantastic 19.5% critical hit rate. Since most switch-ins will take two attacks from Fearow before being able to strike back, they have to be healthy enough to survive not only Double-Edge, but also a follow up Hyper Beam, making Fearow very hard to switch in to. Additionally, the chance for a critical hit means an otherwise decent check, such as Nidoqueen or Arcanine, can be forced out quickly.
Despite Fearow's overwhelming positive qualities, its frailty and fear of paralysis prevent it from effortlessly blasting through teams. Although its Flying typing offers a nice immunity to Ground-type moves, it doesn’t have any other notable resistances and is weak to moves such as Blizzard and Thunderbolt from extremely common Pokemon, such as Nidoqueen and Porygon. Fearow's notable lack of Body Slam means it has to rely on the mediocre Double-Edge as its Normal-type STAB move, and the move's recoil further hinders Fearow's longevity, notably putting it in 2HKO range of Fire Blast from Rapidash and Arcanine and OHKO range of Scyther's Hyper Beam at +2. Fearow's frailty makes it very reliant on its Speed, forcing it to run away from Thunder Wave users it would normally beat, such as Drowzee and Staryu. 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. However, Graveler and Omanyte are easily exploitable thanks to Porygon, which can switch into all of their moves and hit them super effectively, alleviating Fearow's worst matchups. Fearow's strengths heavily outweigh its weaknesses; it is an elite Pokemon, and it should almost never be dropped when building a team.
[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 2HKOes Scyther, Pinsir, and Machamp. This is useful since the chance for a critical hit discourages the former to set up Swords Dance in front of Fearow, and the latter two are among 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 53.9% to Seaking. Two Double-Edges followed by Hyper Beam is guaranteed to KO every non-resistant Pokemon in the tier aside from Sandslash, and 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 Scyther, making it much harder to revenge kill, and negates the Speed drop from paralysis. Agility is most useful late-game when Fearow is ready to sweep a weakened team.
Fearow is best saved for the mid- and late-game, once its teammates have weakened foes enough for Fearow to OHKO them. However, Fearow can still make use of its revenge killing prowess early-game. Since Fearow is frail and hates paralysis, getting it safely on the field takes some effort. One way Fearow can get in is by switching into a predicted Earthquake from Nidoqueen. This is risky and should only be done once Nidoqueen is in KO range for Double-Edge into Hyper Beam, but the reward of getting Fearow in safely is often worth it. Another way to get Fearow in is through partial trapping moves from teammates such as Rapidash and Dragonair.
Once Fearow is on the field, it is very hard to stop. The most common ways to deal with Fearow are to either switch in a Rock-type or sacrifice a Pokemon and revenge kill it with Rapidash or Scyther. Nidoqueen can also be an effective revenge killer if it is at high enough HP. It should be no surprise then that Seaking is an excellent teammate for Fearow, since it has an excellent matchup against all of the aforementioned Pokemon. Additionally, Staryu and Porygon can help with the Rock-types, while Omanyte and Arcanine can switch into Rapidash. 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. Rapidash is an excellent teammate that can use 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. It can also help Fearow wear down shared checks in Graveler and Omanyte and potentially burn them with Fire Blast. Pinsir is also a good teammate thanks to its powerful Slash that lowers foes such as Dragonair and Seaking into Fearow's Hyper Beam range. 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
=============
Double-Edge, Drill Peck, and Hyper Beam are all integral to Fearow's success, so Agility should be dropped if another move is to be used. Substitute is a move that takes advantage of players' tendencies to sacrifice weakened Pokemon to Fearow. If Fearow uses Substitute on a turn where the opponent switches in a sacrifice, Fearow can KO it the next turn and still have the Substitute. A critical flaw with Substitute is that it does not protect Fearow from paralysis, so it should only be used if all Thunder Wave users are already KOed or in KO range for Fearow. 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.
Checks and Counters
===================
**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. Graveler in particular is extremely deadly if it switches into a predicted Hyper Beam from Fearow, since it can use Rock Slide on the recharge turn and leave Fearow in an uncomfortable prediction situation; stay in and risk another Rock Slide, or switch out and risk the switch-in taking massive damage from Counter.
**Paralysis**: Fearow hates being paralyzed, since high Speed is one of its most important assets. Although this can be alleviated with Agility, Fearow still hates the chance for full paralysis due to its frailty, and the turn to set up Agility makes it vulnerable. This means Fearow has to run from Pokemon it would otherwise easily beat. 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 is too frail to switch into Fearow, it is a fantastic revenge killer. It outspeeds 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.
**Scyther**: Although it loses one-on-one and cannot switch into Fearow, Scyther is one of only two Pokemon that outspeed Fearow, allowing it to revenge kill Fearow at low HP. Scyther can also attempt to revenge kill Fearow at high HP, but it requires a turn to set up Swords Dance, leaving it vulnerable to an OHKO from a critical hit Drill Peck.
**Ground-types**: Nidoqueen is able to survive Double-Edge followed by Hyper Beam and hit Fearow super effectively with Blizzard, winning one-on-one. It is also risky for Fearow to try to fish for a critical hit Hyper Beam on the second turn, since if it fails, Nidoqueen can set up a Substitute and KO Fearow as it recharges, now having a Substitute up against whatever comes after Fearow. Although Nidoqueen loses to Fearow one-on-one if it has to switch in, Blizzard will do enough damage to put Fearow in KO range for both Rapidash's Fire Blast and Scyther's Slash. Nidoqueen also likes to use Thunderbolt sometimes to prevent Seaking and Staryu from switching into Blizzard and prevent Fearow from using Mirror Move. Sandslash survives two Double-Edges followed 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/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Last edited:
