Overview
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Talonflame's main niche in Doubles lies in its ability Gale Wings, which grants priority to its Flying-type attacks, particularly Brave Bird. This makes Talonflame a fantastic offensive supporter that performs consistently well against Trick Room, Tailwind, rain, and sun teams. In addition, its great base Speed and STAB Flare Blitz allow Talonflame to threaten a large portion of the metagame. Access to moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Tailwind allows it to support its team as well. However, Talonflame's base Attack is only average, so many threats can tank a hit and strike at its mediocre defensive stats. The abundance of Intimidate in Doubles hinders its damaging potential as well. Lastly, both of Talonflame's STAB attacks also have high recoil damage, so it gets worn down very quickly.
Gale Wings Attacker
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name: Gale Wings Attacker
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Tailwind / Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Protect
ability: Gale Wings
item: Life Orb
evs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Brave Bird is a high-powered priority STAB attack that hits a large portion of the metagame for decent damage. Flare Blitz is a secondary STAB attack that hits the Steel- and Electric-type Pokemon which resist Brave Bird. Priority Tailwind can be used to grant Talonflame's team a chance to sweep when it cannot. Will-O-Wisp is an easy way to cripple threatening physical attackers that can sponge Talonflame's attacks, such as Mega Kangaskhan and Tyranitar; however, keep in mind that their STAB attacks will still do devastating damage to it, even while they're burned. Protect is commonplace in Doubles, protecting Talonflame from Fake Out and allowing it to ruin offensive strategies, scout, and stall harmful field conditions.
Set Details
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An Adamant nature is preferred over Jolly because Talonflame needs all the power it can get with its subpar Attack stat. It is already faster than most threats it would want to Flare Blitz against, anyway. The only perks for Jolly and 252 Speed EVs are outspeeding Choice Scarf Tyranitar and beating other Adamant Talonflame. The current EV spread maximizes Talonflame's Attack and allows it to outspeed Thundurus-T, a fast threat that it would need to use Flare Blitz against; however, it can't afford to lose the Attack power of an Adamant nature to go Jolly and outspeed Thundurus. The rest of the EVs go into HP for marginally boosting its longevity. Life Orb is the most reliable item for Talonflame because it boosts its damage output while allowing it to switch moves, as opposed to a Choice Band; the recoil does add up quickly, though.
Usage Tips
========
Talonflame fits well on offensive teams due to the pressure it puts on a large portion of the metagame. However, it cannot deal out many KOs on its own, so it needs to work with a teammate that can sufficiently weaken the opponent. For example, any Latios that wants to switch in to take out a partner Terrakion cannot because Rock Slide puts it in Brave Bird's KO range. Whenever it cannot KO, Talonflame needs to stall with Protect and Will-O-Wisp until its partner deals enough damage, or else the opponent will easily KO Talonflame back. For this reason, it cannot switch out often, as switching it in safely with its lack of bulk is near impossible due to Doubles's fast-paced nature.
Most of the time, Talonflame will be using Brave Bird because of the coverage, priority, and power it offers. Flare Blitz should only be used when Brave Bird is not very effective, particularly against Steel- and Electric-types. When dealing with physical attackers that are out of KO range with Will-O-Wisp, keep in mind that even when burned, many attackers can still damage Talonflame severely. It is common for Talonflame to use Tailwind when offensive pressure is too great against its team, sacrificing itself so new switch-ins can outpace the opponent and regain momentum. Because its main STAB attack is priority, Talonflame has to watch out for Quick Guard users, such as Keldeo and Terrakion, that can mess up its offensive strategies.
Team Options
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Teammates with spread attacks, such as Terrakion, Tyranitar, and Landorus-T, make great partners because they deal chip damage to both opposing Pokemon, putting them in range for Talonflame to KO. Grass-types such as Venusaur and Ferrothorn make good partners to Talonflame because they can eliminate the bulky Water- and Rock-types that threaten it, such as Rotom-W and Tyranitar. It also appreciates partners that can get rid of Heatran, such as Rotom-W and Conkeldurr. Hitmontop offers valuable Feint support, which allows Talonflame to hit through Protect and Quick Guard, which greatly hinder its performance. Preventing Intimidate users from crippling Talonflame is also a good idea; while it already threatens Hitmontop and Scrafty with Brave Bird, partners such as Mamoswine and Rotom-W can deal with Landorus-T, and Gyarados can be handled by Mega Manectric and Thundurus. Having Bisharp by Talonflame's side also works, as it makes the opponent think twice about bringing in a Pokemon with Intimidate.
Other Options
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A Choice Band set is a decent option for Talonflame, as it nets a few KOs against threats that a Life Orb set misses out on, such as Mega Charizard Y; U-turn works especially well for momentum gain with it. However, the damage difference is minimal in most cases, and the utility of switching moves is much more appreciable. Quick Guard is a surprisingly useful option, as Talonflame outspeeds all relevant Fake Out users in Doubles except Weavile, so it can protect its team against most priority attacks in the metagame. Swords Dance is a method to deal with Intimidate, turning Talonflame into a terrifying threat, but it is hard to set up in the fast-paced Doubles environment. It is also hard to replace any of Talonflame's moves. Taunt is a good option to surprise Trick Room leads, but it also has trouble fitting into Talonflame's moveset. To minimize recoil damage, Talonflame could use a Sharp Beak or go itemless and use Acrobatics, but in both cases, the damage output is worth the loss of HP. It could try to fit Roost onto the set to increase its longevity, but most attacks do more than 50% damage do Talonflame anyway, so it will have trouble finding time to use it. Because it can't normally touch Heatran, Talonflame could hold a Shuca Berry and use Natural Gift to deal solid damage to it. However, that is the only Pokemon in Doubles for which this strategy is worth using, so it is generally not worth it. Lastly, Substitute is an option to ease prediction, but recoil damage is already a problem for Talonflame, and this will just make it worse.
Checks & Counters
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**Intimidate Users**: A lowered Attack stat severely cripples Talonflame, leaving its offensive capabilities very underwhelming. Intimidate users that can switch into Talonflame easily include Landorus-T, Gyarados, Salamence, and Mega Manectric.
**Offensive Typing Advantage**: Rock-types, such as Tyranitar and Rhyperior, resist Talonflame's STAB attacks and can easily KO in return with their own STAB moves. Choice Scarf Tyranitar can also surprise Adamant Talonflame by outspeeding and KOing with Rock Slide while it tries to use Will-O-Wisp. Electric-types resist Brave Bird and threaten Talonflame with their STAB attacks. Mega Manectric outspeeds Talonflame and cripples it with Intimidate. Rotom-W and Rotom-H resist both of Talonflame's STAB attacks and can KO with Thunderbolt. Heatran completely walls most sets, setting up Substitutes easily and threatening both Talonflame and its team. In general, many bulkier Pokemon can take a hit and do enough damage to take out Talonflame, such as Mega Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Garchomp.
**Opposing Weather**: Politoed threatens Talonflame because it can easily take a Brave Bird and KO with a Water-type STAB. Rain also weakens Talonflame's STAB Flare Blitz.
**Utility Moves**: Fake Out can take out Talonflame before it can use Brave Bird. Mega Kangaskhan's Fake Out in particular packs a punch. Quick Guard completely ruins any Brave Bird strategy, allowing a teammate to take Talonflame out. Popular users include Terrakion and Keldeo.
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Talonflame's main niche in Doubles lies in its ability Gale Wings, which grants priority to its Flying-type attacks, particularly Brave Bird. This makes Talonflame a fantastic offensive supporter that performs consistently well against Trick Room, Tailwind, rain, and sun teams. In addition, its great base Speed and STAB Flare Blitz allow Talonflame to threaten a large portion of the metagame. Access to moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Tailwind allows it to support its team as well. However, Talonflame's base Attack is only average, so many threats can tank a hit and strike at its mediocre defensive stats. The abundance of Intimidate in Doubles hinders its damaging potential as well. Lastly, both of Talonflame's STAB attacks also have high recoil damage, so it gets worn down very quickly.
Gale Wings Attacker
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name: Gale Wings Attacker
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: Tailwind / Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Protect
ability: Gale Wings
item: Life Orb
evs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Brave Bird is a high-powered priority STAB attack that hits a large portion of the metagame for decent damage. Flare Blitz is a secondary STAB attack that hits the Steel- and Electric-type Pokemon which resist Brave Bird. Priority Tailwind can be used to grant Talonflame's team a chance to sweep when it cannot. Will-O-Wisp is an easy way to cripple threatening physical attackers that can sponge Talonflame's attacks, such as Mega Kangaskhan and Tyranitar; however, keep in mind that their STAB attacks will still do devastating damage to it, even while they're burned. Protect is commonplace in Doubles, protecting Talonflame from Fake Out and allowing it to ruin offensive strategies, scout, and stall harmful field conditions.
Set Details
========
An Adamant nature is preferred over Jolly because Talonflame needs all the power it can get with its subpar Attack stat. It is already faster than most threats it would want to Flare Blitz against, anyway. The only perks for Jolly and 252 Speed EVs are outspeeding Choice Scarf Tyranitar and beating other Adamant Talonflame. The current EV spread maximizes Talonflame's Attack and allows it to outspeed Thundurus-T, a fast threat that it would need to use Flare Blitz against; however, it can't afford to lose the Attack power of an Adamant nature to go Jolly and outspeed Thundurus. The rest of the EVs go into HP for marginally boosting its longevity. Life Orb is the most reliable item for Talonflame because it boosts its damage output while allowing it to switch moves, as opposed to a Choice Band; the recoil does add up quickly, though.
Usage Tips
========
Talonflame fits well on offensive teams due to the pressure it puts on a large portion of the metagame. However, it cannot deal out many KOs on its own, so it needs to work with a teammate that can sufficiently weaken the opponent. For example, any Latios that wants to switch in to take out a partner Terrakion cannot because Rock Slide puts it in Brave Bird's KO range. Whenever it cannot KO, Talonflame needs to stall with Protect and Will-O-Wisp until its partner deals enough damage, or else the opponent will easily KO Talonflame back. For this reason, it cannot switch out often, as switching it in safely with its lack of bulk is near impossible due to Doubles's fast-paced nature.
Most of the time, Talonflame will be using Brave Bird because of the coverage, priority, and power it offers. Flare Blitz should only be used when Brave Bird is not very effective, particularly against Steel- and Electric-types. When dealing with physical attackers that are out of KO range with Will-O-Wisp, keep in mind that even when burned, many attackers can still damage Talonflame severely. It is common for Talonflame to use Tailwind when offensive pressure is too great against its team, sacrificing itself so new switch-ins can outpace the opponent and regain momentum. Because its main STAB attack is priority, Talonflame has to watch out for Quick Guard users, such as Keldeo and Terrakion, that can mess up its offensive strategies.
Team Options
========
Teammates with spread attacks, such as Terrakion, Tyranitar, and Landorus-T, make great partners because they deal chip damage to both opposing Pokemon, putting them in range for Talonflame to KO. Grass-types such as Venusaur and Ferrothorn make good partners to Talonflame because they can eliminate the bulky Water- and Rock-types that threaten it, such as Rotom-W and Tyranitar. It also appreciates partners that can get rid of Heatran, such as Rotom-W and Conkeldurr. Hitmontop offers valuable Feint support, which allows Talonflame to hit through Protect and Quick Guard, which greatly hinder its performance. Preventing Intimidate users from crippling Talonflame is also a good idea; while it already threatens Hitmontop and Scrafty with Brave Bird, partners such as Mamoswine and Rotom-W can deal with Landorus-T, and Gyarados can be handled by Mega Manectric and Thundurus. Having Bisharp by Talonflame's side also works, as it makes the opponent think twice about bringing in a Pokemon with Intimidate.
Other Options
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A Choice Band set is a decent option for Talonflame, as it nets a few KOs against threats that a Life Orb set misses out on, such as Mega Charizard Y; U-turn works especially well for momentum gain with it. However, the damage difference is minimal in most cases, and the utility of switching moves is much more appreciable. Quick Guard is a surprisingly useful option, as Talonflame outspeeds all relevant Fake Out users in Doubles except Weavile, so it can protect its team against most priority attacks in the metagame. Swords Dance is a method to deal with Intimidate, turning Talonflame into a terrifying threat, but it is hard to set up in the fast-paced Doubles environment. It is also hard to replace any of Talonflame's moves. Taunt is a good option to surprise Trick Room leads, but it also has trouble fitting into Talonflame's moveset. To minimize recoil damage, Talonflame could use a Sharp Beak or go itemless and use Acrobatics, but in both cases, the damage output is worth the loss of HP. It could try to fit Roost onto the set to increase its longevity, but most attacks do more than 50% damage do Talonflame anyway, so it will have trouble finding time to use it. Because it can't normally touch Heatran, Talonflame could hold a Shuca Berry and use Natural Gift to deal solid damage to it. However, that is the only Pokemon in Doubles for which this strategy is worth using, so it is generally not worth it. Lastly, Substitute is an option to ease prediction, but recoil damage is already a problem for Talonflame, and this will just make it worse.
Checks & Counters
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**Intimidate Users**: A lowered Attack stat severely cripples Talonflame, leaving its offensive capabilities very underwhelming. Intimidate users that can switch into Talonflame easily include Landorus-T, Gyarados, Salamence, and Mega Manectric.
**Offensive Typing Advantage**: Rock-types, such as Tyranitar and Rhyperior, resist Talonflame's STAB attacks and can easily KO in return with their own STAB moves. Choice Scarf Tyranitar can also surprise Adamant Talonflame by outspeeding and KOing with Rock Slide while it tries to use Will-O-Wisp. Electric-types resist Brave Bird and threaten Talonflame with their STAB attacks. Mega Manectric outspeeds Talonflame and cripples it with Intimidate. Rotom-W and Rotom-H resist both of Talonflame's STAB attacks and can KO with Thunderbolt. Heatran completely walls most sets, setting up Substitutes easily and threatening both Talonflame and its team. In general, many bulkier Pokemon can take a hit and do enough damage to take out Talonflame, such as Mega Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Garchomp.
**Opposing Weather**: Politoed threatens Talonflame because it can easily take a Brave Bird and KO with a Water-type STAB. Rain also weakens Talonflame's STAB Flare Blitz.
**Utility Moves**: Fake Out can take out Talonflame before it can use Brave Bird. Mega Kangaskhan's Fake Out in particular packs a punch. Quick Guard completely ruins any Brave Bird strategy, allowing a teammate to take Talonflame out. Popular users include Terrakion and Keldeo.
Overview
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name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: U-turn / Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Protect / Tailwind
ability: Gale Wings
item: Life Orb
evs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
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**Intimidate**
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- Talonflame's main niche in Doubles revolves around its ability Gale Wings which grants priority to its Flying-type attacks.
- Priority STAB Brave Bird makes Talonflame a fantastic revenge killer. The ability to perform well as a revenge killer inside almost every Speed strategy in Doubles including Trick Room, Swift Swim, Chlorophyll, and Tailwind just makes it even more fantastic.
- STAB Flare Blitz and good Speed let Talonflame keep offensive pressure against even more of the metagame.
- It has a cool movepool outside of its STAB attacks, including U-turn, Tailwind, Roost, and Will-O-Wisp.
- Sadly, Talonflame's defenses are not good and its Attack stat is lower than average. This means that many threats can take a hit and KO back. Intimidate, which is common in Doubles, only adds to Talonflame's offensive burdens.
- Both of Talonflame's STAB attacks have large recoil damage, so combined with its defenses, Talonflame isn't going to last long.
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name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Flare Blitz
move 3: U-turn / Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Protect / Tailwind
ability: Gale Wings
item: Life Orb
evs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
- Brave Bird is a high-powered, priority STAB attack that deals a solid chunk of damage.
- Flare Blitz is another high-powered STAB attack that allows Talonflame to hit Steel-types that wall Brave Bird super effectively as well as hitting Electric-types harder.
- U-turn allows Talonflame to keep momentum against the opponents team while getting rid of Attack drops from Intimidate (which attract to Talonflame like no other).
- WoW burns stuff.
- Tailwind is also a great move that allows Talonflame to support the team. Because of Gale Wings, Tailwind is +1 priority, so Talonflame is almost guaranteed to set it up.
- Protect is commonplace in Doubles; it allows Talonflame to scout attacks, block Fake Out, stall field conditions, and mess up offensive strategies.
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- Adamant is preferred over Jolly because Talonflame's Attack stat is lower than average, so it needs all the power it can get. It is faster than most threats it may want to Flare Blitz or U-turn against, anyway. The only perks for Jolly and 252 Speed EVs are outspeeding Choice Scarf Tyranitar and beating other Adamant Talonflame.
- The current spread outspeeds Thundurus-I and below.
- Going off of the first point, Talonflame needs all of the power it can get. Life Orb is the most reliable item because of the increased damage output.
- Will-O-Wisp allows Talonflame to check threats that it cannot take out with its STABs, such as Mega Kangaskhan and Tyranitar. But, they are still able to KO Talonflame anyway, so it shouldn't rely on Will-O-Wisp unless it has nothing better to do against the team.
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- Talonflame's main job is to revenge kill, coming in to KO fast threats to the team.
- Because Brave Bird is priority, it is typically the main STAB Talonflame uses. Flare Blitz should only be used against Steel- and Electric-type Pokemon.
- U-turn is great early game so Talonflame's team can keep momentum.
- If an attack doesn't KO, it is wise to switch out or use U-turn (depending on how fast the threat is) and let partners do more damage first.
- Later in game, if Talonflame has Tailwind and the opponent has a lot of offensive pressure against you, it is wise to sacrifice Talonflame and set up Tailwind because it immediately switches the momentum to Talonflame's side of the field.
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- Talonflame needs teammates such as Venusaur, Amoonguss, Trevenant, and Breloom that can handle Rotom-W and other bulky Water-types.
- Teammates that can eliminate Landorus-T quickly really help, such as Mamoswine, Weavile, Suicune, and Rotom-W, so Talonflame doesn't have to constantly switch out to avoid the Attack drop.
- Bisharp makes it really hard for Intimidate users to switch in on Talonflame, and it really enjoys Tailwind. Other partners that love Tailwind include Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Heracross.
- Rock-type Pokemon wall Talonflame's STAB attacks and can easily take it out, so teammates such as Landorus-T, Excadrill, Hitmontop, and Conkeldurr make great partners in that regard.
- Feint partners such as Hitmontop and Mega Pinsir allow Talonflame to hit through Protect and Quick Guard, two moves that easily stop Talonflame.
- Wide Guard support from partners such as Hitmontop and Aegislash protect Talonflame from threatening attacks such as Rock Slide and Discharge.
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- With a Shuca Berry and Natural Gift, Talonflame can do a lot of damage to Heatran, who completely walls Talonflame otherwise.
- Substitute can allow Talonflame to take advantage of the many switches it forces, but residual damage is already a pain in its rear.
- A Sitrus Berry can make up for some of Talonflame's residual damage, but it's usually not enough health to make much of a difference.
- Acrobatics can be used with a Berry to activate the power boost, or by being itemless, to avoid residual damage. The power loss still stinks, though.
- if the recoil damage is too bothersome, Sharp Beak is a reliable substitute, considering Brave Bird is the attack Talonflame uses most of the time.
- Swords Dance can also be used over U-turn / Tailwind to make Talonflame more of a win condition. However, it finds a hard time setting up, its STAB attacks are walled by Rock-types, and the utility of U-turn / Tailwind is much more consistent.
- CB for awesome power (KO's Mega Zard Y) but really hard to use well.
- Quick Guard is an option to beat Fake Out and to support its team against priority attackers.
- Taunt can be used to support its teammates against strategies such as Trick Room, Tailwind, and Sleep. However, Talonflame itself doesn't need it so much.
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**Intimidate**
- A weakened Attack stat severely cripples Talonflame, leaving its offensive supporting capabilities to be near useless. Intimidate users that can switch into Talonflame remotely easily include Landorus-T, Gyarados, Salamence, and Mega Manectric.
- Rock-types, such as Tyranitar and Rhyperior wall Talonflame's STAB attacks and can easily KO with their own. Scarf Tyranitar can also surprise Adamant Talonflame by outspeeding and KOing with Rock Slide while it tries to U-turn out.
- Electric-types resist Brave Bird and threaten Talonflame with their STAB attacks. Mega Manectric can outspeed and it weakens Talonflame's Attack with Intimidate. Rotom-W and Rotom-H resist both STAB attacks and can KO with Thunderbolt. Scarfed Electric-types can also surprise Talonflame attempting to U-turn out.
- Heatran completely walls Talonflame and can set up Substitutes easily.
- In general, many bulkier Pokemon can take a hit and do enough damage to take out Talonflame, such as Mega Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Garchomp.
- Politoed in particular threatens Talonflame because it can easily take a Brave Bird and KO with a Water-type STAB. Rain also weakens Talonflame's STAB Flare Blitz.
- Fake Out really hurts Talonflame, because every bit of residual damage adds up. Mega Kangaskhan in particular makes a great Talonflame revenge killer.
- Quick Guard completely ruins any Brave Bird strategy, allowing a teammate to take Talonflame out. Popular users include Terrakion, Keldeo, and Machamp.
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