OU Spotlight: Talonflame

History

On May 11, Fletchling was one of several Pokémon announced, and we all knew that he would be the signature bird of this generation. As time passed, his final evolution, Talonflame was announced, but some people were either surprised, disappointed, or both, to see that instead of staying a Normal / Flying type as Fletchling is, he was announced as a Fire / Flying type. The Fire / Flying type, as Charizard had shown in the past, is a somewhat crippling typing, leaving one open to Electric- and Water-type moves, but the significant weakness is a 4x weakness to Rock, meaning that Talonflame loses half of his health upon switching in to Stealth Rock, making sweeping opportunities hard to consistently pull off. And looking at his stats, they're all pretty mediocre outside of Speed; they're manageable, don't get me wrong, but they're severely lacking compared to top OU threats. I mean, how can you possibly compare Talonflame's base 81 Attack to Bisharp's base 125 Attack? And those defenses are rarely going to hold against highly offensive attackers. So it seemed like Talonflame was scheduled to be another NU bird, hanging out with Pidgeot and company. And yet, if you check the OU viability rankings, Talonflame rests at A+ rank, an incredible feat that few Pokémon can boast. What gives? The answer lies in the ability that belongs to the Talonflame family line and their line only: Gale Wings. This single ability has turned Talonflame into the premier revenge killer through prioritized Flying-type moves, and has really done this signature bird some serious good.

Talonflame's Qualities

Talonflame is very unique in that he's the only fully evolved Pokémon to have Gale Wings, which adds +1 priority to any and all Flying-type moves he uses. What this means is that Talonflame makes for an excellent revenge killer, often sparking debates as to whether or not he's the flat out best revenge killer in OU. Having priority removes the stress of dealing with Choice Scarf attackers, as well as usually outspeeding other priority users, such as Aqua Jet Azumarill and Sucker Punch Absol. In a way, his ability makes up for his lack of defenses, while his STAB moves, Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, make up for his middling Attack (to an extent). And while his typing leaves him with exploitable weaknesses, it also brings very important resistances to the table, including ones to Steel-, Fairy-, and Fighting-type moves, as well as an immunity to Ground-type moves. Another factor that his typing sets apart from most other physical attackers is that he is immune to burns, meaning that Intimidate is the only reliable way to lower his Attack. His Speed is simply amazing at base 126, outrunning even Weavile, so you don't have to rely too much on Brave Bird. As mentioned, his Attack is manageable at best, but no doubt usable, and he does have a few methods of powering himself up.

Playing With Talonflame

There is a rule of thumb when using Talonflame: a competitive Talonflame must have Gale Wings, or his usefulness on the battlefield will go down by a noticeable degree. With that said, Talonflame becomes somewhat predictable, as his main role in OU is spamming prioritized Brave Birds, but being predictable doesn't mean that he's bad, and he does have a few tricks up his sleeve. He has two roles in OU: revenge killing and late-game sweeping. His primary role is being an excellent revenge killer, finishing off any foes that manage to beat one of your Pokémon. His secondary but still very effective role is late-game sweeping, finishing off weakened foes that would normally be able to take a Brave Bird. And to aid in his cause, he has several sets that work in OU, and predicting the wrong one could very well cost you the match. His most popular set is the Choice Band set, immediately threatening most offensive Pokémon, such as Latios, Lucario, Mega Pinsir, Volcarona, Conkeldurr, Gengar, and many, many more. The immediate power it provides really helps with revenge killing, and it's a good tool to use for sweeping in general. The next set is a Swords Dance set, trading great, immediate power for even greater but delayed power, which is better for a long sweep. Because Talonflame's most common set is the Choice Band set, which is the one that forces many switches, using Swords Dance can turn a predicted switch into an advantage. While he lacks a fourth move to rely on with Swords Dance filling up a slot, and he has mediocre power if he doesn't get the chance to set up, the exchange is that he's not locked into a move, somewhat easing the need to predict, and he has amazing power when he does successfully set up. His final set is a somewhat rare Bulk Up set, which is a much slower-paced set that focuses more on survivability than power. With Bulk Up, some would-be checks and counters can become setup bait. For example, Mega Mawile and Mega Charizard Y can no longer 2HKO Talonflame, meaning that he's free to set up with Bulk Up and recover with Roost, and sweep the opposing team from there. He can also use Will-O-Wisp to burn most would-be counters and wear them down. However, this set is rarely seen these days because of his lack of stats for the part and the fact that it's too slow-paced for his liking. Aside from its STAB moves, Talonflame has U-turn to scout sets and punish a reckless switch-in. He also has Steel Wing to hit Rock-types with, but its low power steers players away from using it. He also has some support options in Tailwind and Will-O-Wisp, but those aren't well-placed on him.

Playing Against Talonflame

When facing Talonflame, it's important to note that revenge killing him is rarely an easy task, as Talonflame has priority and whatnot, so his list of foolproof counters is larger than his list of foolproof checks. On that note, his biggest OU counters are Heatran, Tyranitar, and Rotom-W, which isn't really that long of a list, but they easily get the job done. What they all have in common are resistances to Talonflame's STAB moves, good defenses, and a means of hitting him super effectively, STAB or not. Heatran stands out as the best counter, due to Flash Fire providing a possible free switch against Flare Blitz and resisting everything else Talonflame can throw at it, as well as having Ancient Power to pick him off, though Talonflame with Roost can actually counter Heatran if it lacks Ancient Power. The next best counter would be Tyranitar, having the raw physical bulk to come in on his STAB moves easily, and even more easily OHKO with Stone Edge, and sand can really wear Talonflame down with the passive damage on top of recoil damage, though Tyranitar is weak to U-turn and Steel Wing. Third place goes to Rotom-W, who can come in on STAB moves and OHKO Talonflame with Volt Switch or Hydro Pump, though his lack of a good HP stat can get in the way of switching in on boosted hits unless you move its EVs around. One important note is that if your counter is still alive, Talonflame will be very trigger-happy when it comes to U-turn, especially on Choice Band sets, making the job of countering him much harder. The job of checking or revenge killing him is more challenging due to his high Speed and access to priority, so it's easy to understand why countering him is an easier task. But the best check would have to be Mega Aerodactyl, who has more Speed than Talonflame, resists his STAB moves, is able to live a +2 Brave Bird, and can KO with Rock Slide. Anything with solid Defense and HP can wall him, such as Hippowdon, Mandibuzz, Slowbro, Gliscor, and physically defensive Intimidate Gyarados, though switching directly in is a risky gamble, depending on the set. Another way of checking Talonflame is catching him locked into a move; Bisharp, Aegislash, Excadrill, and Mega Mawile can take a Brave Bird and hit back or KO with the right attack, while Azumarill and Keldeo can take Flare Blitzes and easily set up or KO back. Electric-types are also good checks to Talonflame, good examples being Thundurus, Mega Manectric, and Raikou. Rocky Helmet Rough Skin Garchomp can also easily punish Talonflame for spamming Brave Bird and force him out due to the raw passive damage that would be inflicted. Intimidate also works well against Talonflame, such as from Mawile before Mega Evolving, Landorus-T, and Mega Manectric, and the latter two can easily KO with the right attack. Due to his relative frailty, Extreme Speed users have an advantage in out-prioritizing Gale Wings, so Dragonite and Lucario are good candidates for checks, but Talonflame's STAB of choice can easily punish them on the switch or if he lives the hit. But the most reliable way of putting tons of pressure on Talonflame is setting up Stealth Rock, as losing half of his health upon switching in on top of recoil will severely limit his sweeping prowess.

Fitting Talonflame Onto Your Team

Talonflame's efficiency at revenge killing and late-game sweeping are excellent assets to many offensive teams, whether they're bulky or balanced. But the bigger question isn't which team does Talonflame benefit the most, but which team can support Talonflame the best. Talonflame's weaknesses are his lack of coverage and his low stats aside from Speed, making him vulnerable to bulky attackers. The best partners for Talonflame can endure a hit, even boosted at times, and retaliate accordingly. Mega Venusaur is a good partner in this respect, as she has high defenses, great Special Attack, and the ability to take on all three of Talonflame's counters with the right attack; Heatran falls to Earthquake and Tyranitar and Rotom-W are taken care of by a Grass-type move of choice. If someone else is already taking up your Mega Evolution slot, then Gastrodon is a surprisingly good partner, taking on Rotom-W, Heatran, and Tyranitar with relative ease, though Hidden Power Grass from any of them will punch holes in him. Good offensive partners are Staraptor and Mega Pinsir, who form good synergy called "Bird Spam" with Talonflame, who both power their way through defensive Pokémon that wall Talonflame with the appropriate move, while in return, Talonflame can get quick kills on fast, offensive Pokémon that threaten Staraptor and Mega Pinsir. Talonflame himself isn't quite meant to be on a defensive team, as he needs offensive support to muscle past his counters. However, any offensive team will greatly appreciate Talonflame's presence, and Talonflame will enjoy having something to take out his counters for him. One more element of support that Talonflame always needs is Rapid Spin or Defog, with Excadrill being the best Rapid Spinner for Talonflame, as Excadrill can take care of his counters, and best Defogger being either Skarmory, who can rack up entry hazards and take hits from Tyranitar, or one of the Lati twins, who can each take on Heatran and Rotom-W very well.

Get Out There!

It's funny how an ability alone can make a Pokémon that's normally terrible one of the scariest revenge killers and late-game sweepers in OU. His flaws are present, but his positives greatly outshine them, making it easy to see how he leaves his mark in what's known as one of the cruelest metagames out there. Out of all of the Pokémon released in Generation VI, Talonflame has become one of the most significant additions to the metagame, and is one that should always be prepared for, or else most of your battles ahead will be filled with defeat and agony.

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