Quality Control - Sia (Chandelure: Choiced sets) [QC: 0/2] (2024)

[OVERVIEW]

With Chandelure's tremendous Special Attack and STABs, it can hit the entire tier for atleast neutral damage, barring Incineroar. Chandelure, donning a Choice Specs, easily breaks through would-be checks like Diancie and Alolan Muk. However, with Choice Scarf, it becomes a dangerous revenge killer that’s able to check setup sweepers like Munkidori and Lucario. Chandelure also learns Trick, which allows it to cripple walls and bulky set-up sweepers alike such as Umbreon, Incineroar, and Cresselia. Chandelure's deep utility movepool also gifts it the ability to run a defensive set that can check the plethora of Fighting-types in NU. But, most Fighting-types run Dark-type coverage in Knock Off. Chandelure also has to deal with being extremely weak to entry hazards, limiting its switch in opportunities. Also, Chandelure itself is quite easily revenge killed due to faster Choice Scarf users that are able to threaten it with their own STAB or through coverage moves like Flygon, Mienshao, and Indeedee.

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Energy Ball
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Specs
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Grass / Fire

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====

Fire Blast is preferred to 2HKO Alolan Muk as to not let it switch in safely, but Flamethrower can be used to be more accurate. Energy Ball hits Fire-type resists such as Swampert and Diancie. Trick cripples walls like Umbreon and Incineroar. Tera Grass allows Chandelure to take a Ground- or Water-type attack in a pinch while boosting its Energy Ball, but Tera Fire can be used to give it insane breaking power.

Chandelure has issues with coming in, so Pokemon that can pivot like Mienshao, Flygon, and Dragalge pair well, drawing in defensive Psychic-, Grass-, and Steel-types such as Galariam Slowbro, Vileplume, and Copperajah for Chandelure to prey on. With Trick crippling specially defensive walls like Alolan Muk and Umbreon, a partner that can take advantage of this like Munkidori or Cresselia helps with overwhelming these shared checks. Pairing Chandelure with Fighting-types like Mienshao, Gallade, and Scrafty helps it take on Dark-types like Incineroar and Alolan Muk which it tends to struggle against. With how susceptible Chandelure is to entry hazards, it pairs greatly with hazards removal from Talonflame, Tsareena, and Tentacruel. Vileplume, Wo-Chien, and Tsareena are great teammates for Chandelure as they check the Ground- and Water-types that scare it out like Flygon, Feraligatr, and Inteleon; on top of that, the former two teammates can spread paralysis with Stun Spore.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Energy Ball
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Grass / Fire

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====

Fire Blast gives Chandelure a powerful STAB Fire-type attack, but Flamethrower can be run for a more accurate move. Energy Ball hits Fire-type resists like Diancie, Vaporeon, and Swampert. Trick cripples walls and bulky set-up sweepers like Alolan Muk and Scrafty. When backed into a corner, Tera Grass lets Chandelure take a Water- or Ground-type attack and boosts its Energy Ball, but Tera Fire can help it clean more easily.

Wallbreakers like Lycanroc-D and Flygon pair well with Chandelure as they chip away at the opposing team, helping it more easily facilitate a sweep. With how Chandelure fails to do much of anything versus Dark-types like Incineroar and Alolan Muk, partners that can overwhelm, whittle away at, or cripple these Pokemon are vital. So, pair Chandelure with Munkidori, Basculegion, and Indeedee. Chandelure's middling Speed means more common opposing Choice Scarf users like Mienshao, Flygon, and Hisuian Typhlosion will easily outspeed and OHKO it. Placing Chandelure on a hyper offense team withSticky Web support from Galvantula and set up sweepers like Lucario, Cloyster, and Gallade helps it circumvent its disappointing Speed tier and provides it tons of wallbreakers to help it clean weakened teams in the endgame. Chandelure's weakness to being worn down by entry hazards stops it from revenge killing as much as it would want to, so teammates like Tsareena, Talonflame, and Tentacruel are crucial. Opposing Fire-types like Incineroar, Choice Scarf Hisuian Typhlosion, and Infernape are quite difficult for Chandelure to take care of right away, meaning Water-type partners like Cloyster, Feraligatr, and Milotic are great teammates to help weaken them.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====

With a moveset of Will-O Wisp / Pain Split / Energy Ball / Hex, an EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe, and a Bold Nature, Chandelure, with Heavy-Duty Boots, can become an effective physically defensive wall, spreading burns on the opposing team quite easily; however, most things it would want to check typically carry super effective coverage in Knock Off. Heavy-Duty Boots Chandelure can also run Flame Charge or Trailblaze to pick off weakened threats to allow it to clean after with its boosted Speed. Chandelure can run Hex on a status spreading team. However, it must give up either powerful STAB, coverage, or Trick to do so. Choice Scarf Chandelure can run Memento on a hyper offense team to try to aid its teammates in setting up once Chandelure becomes useless. Chandelure can also run Heavy-Duty Boots or Air Balloon to circumvent its entry hazards weakness and Ground-type weakness, respectively. If it runs these, though, it becomes noticeably weaker.

Checks and Counters
====

**Dark-types**: Dark-types are a pain for Chandelure mostly because they tend to be able to take one attack and retaliate with a Knock Off. Specifically, Incineroar is quite a pain to deal with since it resists all of its attacks and is quite specially defensive, but, due its to lack of recovery and entry hazards weakness, Incineroar can be chipped over the course of a game and taken advantage of with Trick, giving Chandelure its Heavy-Duty Boots.

**Ghost-types**: While Chandelure is able to beat Ghost-types like Basculegion, Brambleghast, and Hisuian Typhlosion offensively, defensively it struggles to switch into and take priority from the former two, and more often that not it will get outsped and KOed by the latter two.

**Revenge Killers**: With Chandelure's middling Speed, even with Choice Scarf, it is quite easily revenge killed by faster threats. Most Notably, faster Choice Scarf users like Flygon and Mienshao threaten Chandelure through their super effective STAB attacks or coverage, respectively.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.102/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user6.105/