[OVERVIEW]
Talonflame makes the most of its base 126 Speed and ability Gale Wings to be a decent fast Swords Dance sweeper and revenge killer of threats like Mega Sceptile and Mega Pidgeot for offensive teams. Swords Dance allows Talonflame to break through defensive cores by boosting its initially mediocre Attack stat, and its Flying- and Fire-type STAB attacks hit the majority of the metagame for good damage. Despite Talonflame losing 50% of its health to Stealth Rock, its typing also grants it useful resistances to Bug-, Steel-, Fairy-, and Ground-type attacks from Pokemon like Scizor and Sylveon. Useful resistances aside, however, Talonflame's weakness to common threats such as Rotom-W, Mega Manectric, and Mega Aerodactyl make its job slightly difficult to perform versus some team archetypes like VoltTurn offense. If Talonflame is not at full health, it can no longer use its ability Gale Wings to outspeed threats such as Mega Sceptile and Mega Beedrill with its Flying-type STAB attack, which puts extra pressure on your team to have extremely reliable hazard removal.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Flare Blitz
move 4: Taunt / Roost
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Gale Wings
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Talonflame uses Swords Dance to boost its subpar Attack stat, which lets it be a competent sweeper. Brave Bird is Talonflame's main STAB attack and heavily damages the majority of the tier after a Swords Dance boost. Brave Bird also has +1 priority when Talonflame is at full health thanks to Gale Wings, which lets it hit normally faster threats such as Mega Beedrill and Mega Sceptile hard. 190-Base Power Supersonic Skystrike deals massive damage to foes with the benefit of being at +1 priority if Talonflame's health is at its maximum, which allows Talonflame to OHKO Mega Aerodactyl after Stealth Rock damage at +2. Flare Blitz allows Talonflame to break past Steel- and Electric-types that resist Flying like Empoleon, Metagross, and Raikou. Talonflame can use Taunt to turn passive Pokemon like Hippowdon and non-Facade Gliscor into perfect setup opportunities, and it can also be used to prevent the opponent's Pokemon from using recovery or setup moves. Roost can give Talonflame a way to sustain itself throughout a battle given the number of switches Talonflame forces, and it can also let Talonflame heal back to full health to use additional priority Flying-type attacks. Roost also lets Talonflame beat Sylveon in a one-on-one situation. Tailwind is an alternative option for the fourth slot that lets Talonflame support your team with a temporary Speed boost.
Set Details
========
A spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe with a Jolly nature allows Talonflame to hit as hard as possible while also outspeeding threats like Raikou and Mega Pidgeot. Flyinium Z lets Talonflame use its 190-Base Power Supersonic Skystrike. Gale Wings gives priority to Talonflame's Flying-type moves when it is at full health, which is preferable for revenge killing purposes. Talonflame can run an Adamant nature for additional power, but this comes at the cost of being outsped by threats such as Mega Pidgeot and Zygarde-10%.
Usage Tips
========
Talonflame can be used early-game as a revenge killer and wallbreaker, as Stealth Rock is less likely to be up on your side of the field then and Talonflame will not have many opportunities to switch in thanks to its poor bulk. Talonflame can also function as a late-game sweeper. Because of its versatility, it can perform well during any stage of the game.
Although Talonflame's bulk is subpar, it can still find opportunities to switch in versus passive Pokemon such as Sylveon and Amoonguss when Sleep Clause is active, and it can even find opportunities to switch in versus bulky Scizor sets. Once Talonflame is brought in, it can either revenge kill the current threat or set up to deal heavy damage to checks like Rotom-W or passive walls like Hippowdon. Against these passive walls, Talonflame should use Taunt to get a free setup opportunity. If the opponent's physical walls and checks to Talonflame are severely weakened or removed, Talonflame can also attempt to sweep the opposing team with or without a boost.
Team Options
========
Talonflame works best on hyper offense, so a suicide lead teammate that can set up entry hazards while preventing the opponent from doing so as well is recommended. Especially good examples of this include Azelf, Froslass, and Aerodactyl. Talonflame's extreme weakness to Stealth Rock necessitates that reliable hazard removal be paired with it at all times. Mega Blastoise in particular is an excellent partner, as Talonflame can break past several of the defensive answers to Mega Blastoise like Amoonguss and Blissey, and Mega Blastoise can use Rapid Spin for Talonflame while also checking threats that Talonflame struggles with like Mega Aerodactyl. Because Talonflame falls flat versus Mega Manectric and Rotom-W, offensive answers to these Pokemon like Hydreigon, Mega Sceptile, and Mamoswine make good partners for it. Teammates that enjoy having Gliscor and Hippowdon overwhelmed with offensive pressure are good partners for Talonflame. Sweepers like Scizor, Cobalion, and Terrakion are particularly good partners, as they appreciate Talonflame's ability to wear down their checks. Since Talonflame struggles to do more than moderate damage to physical walls like Alomomola and Quagsire, special wallbreakers like Nidoking, Hydreigon, and Primarina make good partners. Talonflame's Speed, while significantly above average, still prevents it from outspeeding threats such as Mega Aerodactyl, Crobat, Mega Beedrill, and Mega Manectric, so Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion and Hydreigon make good partners. Cleaners like Mega Sharpedo and Scizor make good partners for Talonflame, as they can finish the battle after Talonflame has done its job of weakening the opposing team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Talonflame can attempt to run a bulky Flame Body set to use its defensive typing to the fullest to provide an adequate check to Scizor, but this set has a large amount of competition from Moltres, which for the most part performs this role better than Talonflame. Acrobatics is an option to prevent Brave Bird's recoil damage from breaking Gale Wings, but the power drop and the lack of a Z-Move significantly cut down on Talonflame's breaking ability. Natural Gift with a Liechi Berry can be used in order to heavily damage Rotom-W and other switch-ins weak to Grass-type attacks like Swampert and Quagsire, but this is a noticeable downgrade from the power and utility provided by Flyinium Z.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Stealth Rock**: As long as Stealth Rock is on the field, sending in Talonflame will cause it to lose half of its maximum health, severely cutting its longevity and limiting its opportunities to switch in.
**Electric-types**: Talonflame as a whole struggles with most of the Electric-types in the tier. Rotom-W takes minimal damage from Talonflame's STAB attacks and OHKOes in return, Mega Manectric can survive a boosted Supersonic Skystrike thanks to Intimidate and is naturally faster than Talonflame, and Raikou can beat Talonflame in a one-on-one situation if Talonflame has yet to set up a Swords Dance.
**Faster Threats**: Once Talonflame is no longer at full health, Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion and Krookodile and naturally faster threats like Crobat and Mega Manectric can easily revenge kill it. Mega Aerodactyl is a particularly notable faster threat that resists both of Talonflame's STAB attacks and OHKOes in return, but it must be wary of a boosted Supersonic Skystrike after Stealth Rock damage.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types like Suicune, Jellicent, and Alomomola can give Talonflame trouble, although many of them do not like switching into a boosted Supersonic Skystrike.
Talonflame makes the most of its base 126 Speed and ability Gale Wings to be a decent fast Swords Dance sweeper and revenge killer of threats like Mega Sceptile and Mega Pidgeot for offensive teams. Swords Dance allows Talonflame to break through defensive cores by boosting its initially mediocre Attack stat, and its Flying- and Fire-type STAB attacks hit the majority of the metagame for good damage. Despite Talonflame losing 50% of its health to Stealth Rock, its typing also grants it useful resistances to Bug-, Steel-, Fairy-, and Ground-type attacks from Pokemon like Scizor and Sylveon. Useful resistances aside, however, Talonflame's weakness to common threats such as Rotom-W, Mega Manectric, and Mega Aerodactyl make its job slightly difficult to perform versus some team archetypes like VoltTurn offense. If Talonflame is not at full health, it can no longer use its ability Gale Wings to outspeed threats such as Mega Sceptile and Mega Beedrill with its Flying-type STAB attack, which puts extra pressure on your team to have extremely reliable hazard removal.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Flare Blitz
move 4: Taunt / Roost
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Gale Wings
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Talonflame uses Swords Dance to boost its subpar Attack stat, which lets it be a competent sweeper. Brave Bird is Talonflame's main STAB attack and heavily damages the majority of the tier after a Swords Dance boost. Brave Bird also has +1 priority when Talonflame is at full health thanks to Gale Wings, which lets it hit normally faster threats such as Mega Beedrill and Mega Sceptile hard. 190-Base Power Supersonic Skystrike deals massive damage to foes with the benefit of being at +1 priority if Talonflame's health is at its maximum, which allows Talonflame to OHKO Mega Aerodactyl after Stealth Rock damage at +2. Flare Blitz allows Talonflame to break past Steel- and Electric-types that resist Flying like Empoleon, Metagross, and Raikou. Talonflame can use Taunt to turn passive Pokemon like Hippowdon and non-Facade Gliscor into perfect setup opportunities, and it can also be used to prevent the opponent's Pokemon from using recovery or setup moves. Roost can give Talonflame a way to sustain itself throughout a battle given the number of switches Talonflame forces, and it can also let Talonflame heal back to full health to use additional priority Flying-type attacks. Roost also lets Talonflame beat Sylveon in a one-on-one situation. Tailwind is an alternative option for the fourth slot that lets Talonflame support your team with a temporary Speed boost.
Set Details
========
A spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe with a Jolly nature allows Talonflame to hit as hard as possible while also outspeeding threats like Raikou and Mega Pidgeot. Flyinium Z lets Talonflame use its 190-Base Power Supersonic Skystrike. Gale Wings gives priority to Talonflame's Flying-type moves when it is at full health, which is preferable for revenge killing purposes. Talonflame can run an Adamant nature for additional power, but this comes at the cost of being outsped by threats such as Mega Pidgeot and Zygarde-10%.
Usage Tips
========
Talonflame can be used early-game as a revenge killer and wallbreaker, as Stealth Rock is less likely to be up on your side of the field then and Talonflame will not have many opportunities to switch in thanks to its poor bulk. Talonflame can also function as a late-game sweeper. Because of its versatility, it can perform well during any stage of the game.
Although Talonflame's bulk is subpar, it can still find opportunities to switch in versus passive Pokemon such as Sylveon and Amoonguss when Sleep Clause is active, and it can even find opportunities to switch in versus bulky Scizor sets. Once Talonflame is brought in, it can either revenge kill the current threat or set up to deal heavy damage to checks like Rotom-W or passive walls like Hippowdon. Against these passive walls, Talonflame should use Taunt to get a free setup opportunity. If the opponent's physical walls and checks to Talonflame are severely weakened or removed, Talonflame can also attempt to sweep the opposing team with or without a boost.
Team Options
========
Talonflame works best on hyper offense, so a suicide lead teammate that can set up entry hazards while preventing the opponent from doing so as well is recommended. Especially good examples of this include Azelf, Froslass, and Aerodactyl. Talonflame's extreme weakness to Stealth Rock necessitates that reliable hazard removal be paired with it at all times. Mega Blastoise in particular is an excellent partner, as Talonflame can break past several of the defensive answers to Mega Blastoise like Amoonguss and Blissey, and Mega Blastoise can use Rapid Spin for Talonflame while also checking threats that Talonflame struggles with like Mega Aerodactyl. Because Talonflame falls flat versus Mega Manectric and Rotom-W, offensive answers to these Pokemon like Hydreigon, Mega Sceptile, and Mamoswine make good partners for it. Teammates that enjoy having Gliscor and Hippowdon overwhelmed with offensive pressure are good partners for Talonflame. Sweepers like Scizor, Cobalion, and Terrakion are particularly good partners, as they appreciate Talonflame's ability to wear down their checks. Since Talonflame struggles to do more than moderate damage to physical walls like Alomomola and Quagsire, special wallbreakers like Nidoking, Hydreigon, and Primarina make good partners. Talonflame's Speed, while significantly above average, still prevents it from outspeeding threats such as Mega Aerodactyl, Crobat, Mega Beedrill, and Mega Manectric, so Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion and Hydreigon make good partners. Cleaners like Mega Sharpedo and Scizor make good partners for Talonflame, as they can finish the battle after Talonflame has done its job of weakening the opposing team.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Talonflame can attempt to run a bulky Flame Body set to use its defensive typing to the fullest to provide an adequate check to Scizor, but this set has a large amount of competition from Moltres, which for the most part performs this role better than Talonflame. Acrobatics is an option to prevent Brave Bird's recoil damage from breaking Gale Wings, but the power drop and the lack of a Z-Move significantly cut down on Talonflame's breaking ability. Natural Gift with a Liechi Berry can be used in order to heavily damage Rotom-W and other switch-ins weak to Grass-type attacks like Swampert and Quagsire, but this is a noticeable downgrade from the power and utility provided by Flyinium Z.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Stealth Rock**: As long as Stealth Rock is on the field, sending in Talonflame will cause it to lose half of its maximum health, severely cutting its longevity and limiting its opportunities to switch in.
**Electric-types**: Talonflame as a whole struggles with most of the Electric-types in the tier. Rotom-W takes minimal damage from Talonflame's STAB attacks and OHKOes in return, Mega Manectric can survive a boosted Supersonic Skystrike thanks to Intimidate and is naturally faster than Talonflame, and Raikou can beat Talonflame in a one-on-one situation if Talonflame has yet to set up a Swords Dance.
**Faster Threats**: Once Talonflame is no longer at full health, Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion and Krookodile and naturally faster threats like Crobat and Mega Manectric can easily revenge kill it. Mega Aerodactyl is a particularly notable faster threat that resists both of Talonflame's STAB attacks and OHKOes in return, but it must be wary of a boosted Supersonic Skystrike after Stealth Rock damage.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types like Suicune, Jellicent, and Alomomola can give Talonflame trouble, although many of them do not like switching into a boosted Supersonic Skystrike.
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