Reshiram [QC 0/3]

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[OVERVIEW]

* Reshiram's amazing base 150 Special Attack stat, great neutral STAB coverage in Fire / Dragon, and access to powerful STAB options in Blue Flare and Draco Meteor can make it very threatening when played correctly.
* Reshiram is outclassed by Ho-Oh and Primal Groudon defensively, which boast superior defensive typings and better bulk.
* Reshiram's only average base 90 Speed makes its otherwise-great STAB coverage much more prediction-heavy, its otherwise decent bulk less impressive, and its weakness to Ground much more of a hindrance than it would be otherwise.
* Reshiram's weakness to Stealth Rock makes it even more difficult to come in without a free switch and still be useful.
* Despite being a Fire-type, Reshiram cannot check Xerneas due to its secondary Dragon typing.
* Reshiram is often overshadowed by Naganadel and Kyurem-W; the former due to its access to Nasty Plot and Beast Boost as well as having even better STAB coverage in Poison / Dragon despite having far inferior bulk to Reshiram, and the latter due to having more Speed and Special Attack, making it a superior Choice Specs, Life Orb, and Choice Scarf user.
* Reshiram is a giant Kyogre magnet, which completely shuts it down unless it has Bloom Doom.

[SET]
name: Firium Z
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Blue Flare
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor
move 4: Stone Edge / Roost
item: Firium Z
ability: Turboblaze
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Sunny Day sets sun, powering up Blue Flare to a rather large extent. When powered up with Firium-Z, it gives Reshiram +1 Speed, fixing its otherwise-wanting Speed tier and making it possible for it to sweep.
* Blue Flare is extremely powerful in sun; only a few select Pokemon such as Blissey, Arceus-Water, and Ho-Oh can avoid getting 2HKOed, and others such as Xerneas, Yveltal, offensively-based Arceus formes, and Mega Sableye get OHKOed after Stealth Rock.
* Blue Flare can also be powered up into Inferno Overdrive, which in sun easily OHKOes stall staples such Lugia as well as support Arceus formes. If directly following Blue Flare, it is a guaranteed OHKO on specially defensive Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock as well as a very favorable roll to OHKO Blissey after Stealth Rock.
* Dragon Pulse allows Reshiram to deal heavy damage to Dragon-types such as Ultra Necrozma, Rayquaza, and Mega Salamence without getting forced out directly afterwards. It should be noted, however, that a resisted Blue Flare in the sun is more powerful than a neutral Dragon Pulse.
* Draco Meteor consistantly OHKOes opposing Dragon-types and hits harder than a resisted Blue Flare in the sun, but forces Reshiram out afterwards, potentially wasting the Speed boost granted from Z-Sunny Day and is thus counter-intuitive when trying to sweep offensive teams. However, it does put in its fair share against stall- and balance-oriented teams, grabbing OHKOs against Pokemon such as Zygarde, Giratina, and Giratina-O.
* Stone Edge prevents Reshiram from getting shut down from Ho-Oh.
* Roost can be run to make Reshiram more useful against stall if Ho-Oh is not a concern.
* Solar Beam can be run over Roost to hit Arceus-Water as well as the rare Arceus-Rock and Mega Diancie harder than all of Reshiram's other moves when going for Z-Sunny Day, but it still cannot hit Primal Kyogre. In addition, Kyogre, Rayquaza, and Tyranitar can exploit the usage of Solar Beam by switching in and easily KOing Reshiram while it is locked in.

Set Details
========

* 252 Special Attack EVs coupled with a Modest maximize Reshiram's offensive power, causing it to be able to roll OHKOs on offensively-oriented Xerneas, Yveltal, Mewtwo, and Arceus formes in the sun. They also allow Reshiram to OHKO Mega Gengar outside of sun, and while a rather rare situation, grab a guaranteed KO specially defensive Primal Groudon after Stealth Rock with Inferno Overdrive or a have very high chance to do so with Draco Meteor if it switched into Blue Flare.
* 252 Speed EVs allow Reshiram to outspeed everything up to Timid Mega Mewtwo Y.
* A Timid nature could be ran in order to outspeed positive-natured Deoxys-A after Z-Sunny Day, but the decrease in damage output is rather noticeable.
* Firium Z allows Reshiram to be able to use either Z-Sunny Day or a 195-Base Power Inferno Overdrive, depending on the matchup.

Usage Tips
========

* This is Reshiram's most adaptable set; it can either serve as a wallbreaker or a sweeper depending on the matchup.
* In either case, Primal Kyogre must be removed before attempting to use Reshiram at all, and Stealth Rock should be up on the other side of the field, especially if the opponent has a Ho-Oh.
* Against offensive teams, Reshiram is best saved until late-game when the opposing team is worn down a little bit and their Choice Scarf users are removed. At that point, it can set up Z-Sunny Day and attempt to sweep.
* It should be noted that Reshiram has enough bulk to take almost any unboosted hit from full health, allowing Reshiram to consistently set up Z-Sunny Day or Sunny Day.
* Against stall, it may be better to set up sun and use Inferno Overdrive to OHKO things like Lugia. Beware, however, that Pokemon like Toxapex and Chansey can take it easily and then immediately heal off the damage.

Team Options
========

* Since Primal Kyogre completely shuts down this set, Pokemon that can beat it such as Primal Groudon, Ferrothorn, Zekrom, Dialga, and Palkia are welcome teammates.
* Primal Groudon, Dialga, and Ferrothorn can also set Stealth Rock, which neuters Ho-Oh.
* Primal Groudon can directly beat Ho-Oh and opposing Primal Groudon for Reshiram.
* Because Reshiram is weak to Stealth Rock, it necessitates the inclusion of Defoggers such as Arceus-Water.
* Arceus-Ground beats Primal Groudon and can Defog or set Stealth Rock.
* Mega Scizor can bring Reshiram in with a slow U-turn and can reliably Defog hazards. In return, Reshiram offers its 4x resistance to Fire to complement Mega Scizor's 4x weakness to it.
* Yveltal can threaten Primal Groudon as well as offer a very useful Ground immunity. It can also Defog hazards.
* Xerneas appreciates Reshiram's ability to deal heavy damage to opposing teams and offers a welcome Dragon immunity.
* Gothitelle and Mega Gengar can trap and remove Chansey, support Arceus formes, and Toxapex.
* Mega Diancie can deal with Ho-Oh, deter Stealth Rock with Magic Bounce, and set Stealth Rock itself. It should be noted, however, that it loses to many common Stealth Rock setters, including Primal Groudon, Excadrill, and Necrozma-DM.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Using Grassium Z over Firium Z with Solar Beam over Stone Edge or Sunny Day allows Reshiram to usually defeat Primal Kyogre by itself, but almost necessitates Sticky Web support to be truly effective, and Reshiram will either lack power without Sunny Day or will be walled by Ho-Oh. In addition, if the opponent is aware of the existence of Grassium Z, it is unlikely that Reshiram will actually hit Primal Kyogre with Bloom Doom. Either way, defensive variants of Primal Kyogre can survive it and Rest off the damage. Furthermore, Reshiram will become deadweight against stall due to forgoing the option of Inferno Overdrive.
* Dragonium Z can be used in a similar manner as Grassium Z, but lacks relevant targets that aren't hit by other moves.
* Defog can be used, as Reshiram can beat setters like Necrozma-DM and Ferrothorn, but Reshiram is not a very good user of the move due to its weakness to Stealth Rock as well as the fact that it loses to Primal Groudon and Dialga.

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

**Kyogre**: Kyogre completely shuts Reshiram down by replacing the weather with rain and can OHKO with its STAB move of choice. The only thing Kyogre fears from Reshiram is Bloom Doom, and it doesn't consistently OHKO after Stealth Rock on defensive variants.

**Ho-Oh**: Armed with a resistance to Fire and a massive Special Defense stat, Ho-Oh can shrug off sun-boosted Blue Flares and Inferno Overdrives and takes negligible damage from Draco Meteor and Dragon Pulse. As such, the only way Reshiram can beat it is with Stone Edge.

**Blissey and Chansey**: Blissey and Chansey wall Reshiram completely and utterly, easily healing off the damage from Blue Flare. However, Blissey cannot switch into a sun-boosted Blue Flare followed by a sun-boosted Inferno Overdrive if Stealth Rock is up.

**Primal Groudon**: While offensive variants cannot switch into Reshiram, they can still OHKO it with Precipice Blades. Specially defensive variants can even avoid the 2HKO from Blue Flare. However, if Reshiram still has the Z-Move move handy, Blue Flare + Inferno Overdrive is a guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock, or if running Draco Meteor, Blue Flare + Draco Meteor has a very high chance of doing the same.

**Arceus-Water and Toxapex**: Arceus-Water and Toxapex can shrug off Blue Flare and Inferno Overdrive and can proceed to Toxic stall Reshiram. While Arceus-Water is OHKOed by Blue Flare + Inferno Overdrive in the sun, it is almost always fast enough to recover off the damage before getting hit by Inferno Overdrive. However, it is OHKOed by Bloom Doom.

**Faster Attackers**: Faster attackers such as Yveltal, Xerneas, Mewtwo, and Deoxys-A can outspeed Reshiram and deal heavy damage to it. In addition, Pokemon like SD Arceus-Ground, Ultra Necrozma, Kyurem-W, and Palkia can OHKO it with their STAB moves.

**Entry Hazards**: Reshiram's typing gives it a weakness to Stealth Rock in addition to being affected by all other entry hazards, making Reshiram even easier to check every time it switches in.

**Rock-types**: Arceus-Rock can switch into Blue Flare and 2HKO with STAB Judgment. While it cannot switch into Blue Flare and is OHKOed by Solar Beam, Mega Diancie can survive one Blue Flare and OHKO with Diamond Storm, or if Reshiram is not boosted, simply OHKO it.

**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar replaces the weather with sand, forcing Reshiram to set it up again if it has Solar Beam or simply just out. Otherwise, Tyranitar can either deal heavy damage with Earthquake or simply use Reshiram as setup fodder.
 
Last edited:

Stoward

Ah, you're finally awake
Hi, just a few things I'd like to add here. I know there's been plenty of discussion with QC staff in discord about the actual Reshiram set, so I won't go into detail about that, but there are a couple of things I feel should be addressed in Team Options and Other Options
  • I feel like a specific point should be made about defoggers - as Reshiram struggles enough to switch into attacks from common threats - even if entry hazards aren't up, and it takes 25% from Stealth Rock, so hazard removal is absolutely essential on a team with Reshiram.
  • I really don't think Ho-Oh is a good partner for Reshiram at all. As I mentioned in the first point, Reshiram really dislikes hazards and needs hazard support, if you add Ho-Oh onto the same team, your defoggers are going to be forced in all the time the second someone sets rocks up, ultimately putting you in a situation where you're not in control of the game. Furthermore, you're not just stacking Stealth Rock weakness, but you're also stacking to the same common Pokemon, thus making them even harder to check. While Ho-Oh does provide the team a ground immunity, there are naturally better Pokemon who can serve that exact same roll, such as Yveltal or Celesteela.
  • Naturally I don't think Z-Sunny Day Ho-Oh should be mentioned in Other Options. Sunny Day Ho-Oh just seems like really bad roll compression, as you'd need a sun setter who finds it easy to switch in, in order for it to actually be effective. Even though Other Options is meant to be for things that aren't viable, stacking gimmicks really isn't helpful for a thread that's meant to be helping people get into competitive Pokemon. While Ho-Oh can appreciate the Sun Boosted Sacred Fires, I still can't see how it would be worth taking away anything on Ho-Oh's moveslot for it.
  • Entry Hazards should get a mention in Checks and Counters, as it really limits Reshirams ability to switch in, and thus limits its ability to wallbreak.
  • This point might be worth discussing with QC, but I believe Mega Diancie would be a useful partner for Reshiram, as it provides the team with an answer to Ho-Oh, a potential Stealth Rock Setter, and Magic Bounce allows it to stop entry hazards from the other side of the field. However it is worth noting that Mega Diancie loses to the most of the common Stealth Rock setters in the tier such as Primal Groudon, DM Necrozma and Excadrill.
 
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