Strategy Session – Competitive Pokemon XIX: Flareon

When we talk about Eevees, Flareon is the one most often accompanied by curses towards the game developers. “Physical fire attacks introduced in Diamond and Pearl,” we say, “and no Flare Blitz for Flareon? Why does Game Freak hate life?” Flareon has some decent stats, but it suffers from poor stat distribution and the notorious Curse of the Eevee more than any other in its evolutionary line.

Flareon
Fire
HP: 65 Atk: 130 Def: 60 Sp Atk: 95 Sp Def: 110 Spd: 65
Ability: Flash Fire: This Pokemon is immune to Fire. If struck by a Fire-type attack, the base power of this Pokemon’s Fire-type attacks are boosted by 50%.

The first thing most people notice about Flareon is that monstrous attack. At base 130, Flareon’s Atk is equal to such monsters as Garchomp, and even approaches that of Metagross and Salamence. Its movepool is very poor, but he does get some interesting support options in the form of Wish, Curse, and Baton Pass. With the release of Heart Gold and Soul Silver, Flareon also gets access to Heal Bell, making it an unorthodox but useful cleric in the lower tiers. Its low speed makes these things a bit of a challenge to use at times, but if you’re careful, Flareon can be a big shock to foes.

Unfortunately, there’s not really much Flareon can do without risking death, support movepool or no. Fire is an atrocious defensive type, and Flareon’s low Spd means it’s going to be taking hits on a regular basis. Combined with HP and Def stats that are truly abysmal, Flareon’s life expectancy hovers somewhere around mayfly level. And then, of course, there’s the Curse of the Eevees; that atrocious movepool. Its strongest physical attack outside junk like Trump Card and Giga Impact is Iron Tail, a move whose type coverage and accuracy are both atrocious. Its most powerful physical STAB move is Fire Fang, of all things, a move whose base power is a joke.

Between its horrible defensive stats, a vulnerable elemental type, and a bargain-basement Spd, Flareon’s prognosis is not good at all. Of all the Eevees, Flareon requires the most finesse to use properly, and even then, don’t expect too much out of it.


Ball Lightning

Flareon @Life Orb / Leftovers
Quiet (+Sp Atk, -Spd) nature
Flash Fire ability
40 HP, 216 Atk, 252 Sp Atk
-Fire Blast
-Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Fighting / Shadow Ball
-Return
-Iron Tail
This Flareon is meant to be played on a Trick Room team. With a base Spd of 65, Flareon is one of the quicker Pokemon under Trick Room, meaning it may actually get a chance to use that brilliant Atk before it goes down.

Aside from that, this Flareon is meant to be something of a wall breaker, and may actually be of some use in OU play. Hidden Power Grass can do a number on Swampert, Donphan, and other defensive Ground or Water types, while Fire Blast makes life difficult for Bronzong. Bronzong and Forretress may actually be a bit of a challenge for Flareon, though, since they may be running Spd-lowering natures in order to make the most of Gyro Ball. Gyro Ball itself isn’t a huge problem for Flareon, but they may also carry Earthquake, which is another matter entirely.

In UU, Hidden Power Fighting may be of more use than Hidden Power Grass, thanks to the presence of Pokemon like Aggron and Probopass, though Fire Blast will hit both of them neutrally. Shadow Ball is a decent choice if you haven’t got access to Hidden Power. On the physical side, Iron Tail makes short work of Ice and Rock-types, while Return is there for raw power. You could also use Giga Impact as a sort of pseudo-Explosion, for when you know you won’t survive much longer.

Magnesium Flare
Flareon @Leftovers
Careful (+Sp Def, -Sp Atk) nature
Flash Fire ability
252 HP, 252 Atk, 6 Def
-Return
-Fire Fang / Protect
-Curse
-Wish / Baton Pass
This set will be very, very difficult to pull off, but it does make good use of Flareon’s highest stats. Just make sure you take any Water-type Pokemon your foe has before trying to set up with Curse. Even with a Sp Def of 110, Flareon’s low HP means it won’t be able to take many super effective Surfs before going down.

One thing Flareon has over other Cursers is Wish, which allows it to recover HP much easier than Pokemon like Snorlax, which have to rely on the much less effective Rest. Protect isn’t much use if you’re using Baton Pass, but Wish and Protect form a good combination, allowing you to PP stall foes while recovering HP. Unfortunately, you’ll be incredibly easy to wall with only one attack, so it’s not an easy choice.

Burning Bush
Flareon @Choice Band
Adamant (+Atk, -Sp Atk) or Brave (+Atk, -Spd)
Flash Fire ability
252 HP, 252 Atk, 6 Def
-Fire Fang / Fire Blast
-Return
-Iron Tail
-Giga Impact / Quick Attack / Bite
This is Flareon’s best bet for dealing as much damage as possible before going down. With a Brave nature, you could give it Fire Blast to deal with physical walls, and since it’s a -Spd nature, it’ll also work effectively on a Trick Room team.

Flareon’s biggest problem with such a straightforward moveset is its speed. This Flareon requires some sort of support, whether it’s the aforementioned Trick Room, or a Pokemon who can Baton Pass Agility or Rock Polish. Without some kind of aid, this Flareon is going to have some serious trouble holding out for very long.



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